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First of all, this is the only "study" on homeschool performance NOT done by a homeschool organization.
It was then published in an educational journal, reported by CBS, and carried around and throughout without once taking time to inquire as to the details of the actual study.
Here's what it says about the "study" that was done and by whom:
The research, which was conducted by Michael Cogan, the director of institutional research and analysis at the University of St. Thomas, focused on the experiences of homeschooled students at an unnamed medium-sized university in the upper Midwest. Can Homeschoolers Do Well in College? - CBS News
This tells me the following:
(1) We know that this was done at only 1 university, and given the limitations of one university, he opted to leave it unnamed to boot. This right away is a problem for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that it might be a religious university, with a positive slant toward homeschooling for religious reasons.
(2) Even if that were not a problem, we don't know how many students were sampled. We know only 1 university was used. How many homeschool students were interviewed there? 5 students? 3 students? It is a known fact that the number of homeschoolers at universities can usually be counted on the fingers of one hand. For example, in any given year, there will be 1, 2 or 3 homeschoolers at Harvard. No more. Same with others. Homeschoolers are almost non-existent at universities and I'll get to the reason why below.
(3) Since this "study" was based on the experiences of the homeschoolers and not on factual data (transcripts requested from the unnamed university, interviews with the professors, interviews from other students), this is a purely subjective interview of the 1 - 5 students reviewed by this Michael Cogan.
(4) If a questionnaire was used (which is what must've been used, given that the study was based on experiences alone), I'd like to see the sort of questions asked.
Therefore, this study was done on a tiny, tiny sample, and reported as a conclusively accurate reflection of homeschoolers in college.
The reason there are almost no homeschoolers at universities is that homeschoolers have a hell of a time getting into college. To begin with, unlike public and private school kids, they have no class grades to speak of. Their mothers assign the grades. Therefore, a GPA means absolutely nothing, and universities are very reluctant to accept a student with a GPA provided by his mother. Second, while it might be true that there could be reliance upon the SAT as the sole deciding factor in acceptance into colleges, the SAT alone is not a proper measure of performance.
Also, college admissions boards are reluctant to accept students that have been so sheltered from normal social exchanges throughout their educational years. It's one thing to spend hours each day at a school, interacting with teachers and students while engaging in countless activities from study to sports, art, etc., and quite another to be driven by mom to a social activity for homeschoolers, so the child will have some human interaction with someone who is not his mom. Homeschoolers aren't given room to develop socially, and grow to rely excessively on their moms.
My boss ended up (in a college rooming assignment) living with a homeschooler. He was shy and withdrawn at the dorm, at the university, and everywhere. Maybe he was unused to dealing with people, maybe he felt weird that his mom and dad weren't there - dunno. Long story short - he ended up befriended by a little group of outcasts, and soon had dropped out of college.
I have lots more to say on the homeschooling topic, but that will wait.
They wont deal with the real life ones that end up in the work place. They make crazy comments at times and thats the ones who can talk and hold eye contact. Its usually more than education that causes home schooling. A brainwashing agenda is usually close behind.
I'm confident there are some terrible homeschoolers. But I'm equally confident there are a lot more terrible public schools. And bad public schools are failing a lot more chidren than bad homeschools.
No one school choice is right for everyone.
First of all, there are no terrible homeschoolers. There are terrible mothers, who don't know how to teach but insist upon it anyhow, teach inconsequential bs (such as Creationism pseudo-science and religiosized history of the U.S.), and keep their children isolated from any outside environment in which they would learn how to live among other regular human beings.
Second, there are no bad public schools. There are bad moms and dads that are under the impression that "Junior" should have knowledge surgically implanted into his brain by his teachers, without having to do any reading, without Junior having to do any work, without Junior having to pay attention in class, without Junior having to do anything at all but getting up, entering the school building, and then leaving it at the end of the school day. These same moms and dads require nothing of Junior for his educational betterment, but then accuse the teachers and schools of not somehow waving a magic wand at Junior and causing him to magically learn what requires hard work on the student's part to learn, and which Junior won't do because he's not compelled to, or obligated to by mom and dad.
I'll repost my post for you. Here you go:
Quote:
First of all, this is the only "study" on homeschool performance NOT done by a homeschool organization.
It was then published in an educational journal, reported by CBS, and carried around and throughout without once taking time to inquire as to the details of the actual study.
Here's what it says about the "study" that was done and by whom:
The research, which was conducted by Michael Cogan, the director of institutional research and analysis at the University of St. Thomas, focused on the experiences of homeschooled students at an unnamed medium-sized university in the upper Midwest. Can Homeschoolers Do Well in College? - CBS News
This tells me the following:
(1) We know that this was done at only 1 university, and given the limitations of one university, he opted to leave it unnamed to boot. This right away is a problem for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that it might be a religious university, with a positive slant toward homeschooling for religious reasons.
(2) Even if that were not a problem, we don't know how many students were sampled. We know only 1 university was used. How many homeschool students were interviewed there? 5 students? 3 students? It is a known fact that the number of homeschoolers at universities can usually be counted on the fingers of one hand. For example, in any given year, there will be 1, 2 or 3 homeschoolers at Harvard. No more. Same with others. Homeschoolers are almost non-existent at universities and I'll get to the reason why below.
(3) Since this "study" was based on the experiences of the homeschoolers and not on factual data (transcripts requested from the unnamed university, interviews with the professors, interviews from other students), this is a purely subjective interview of the 1 - 5 students reviewed by this Michael Cogan.
(4) If a questionnaire was used (which is what must've been used, given that the study was based on experiences alone), I'd like to see the sort of questions asked.
Therefore, this study was done on a tiny, tiny sample, and reported as a conclusively accurate reflection of homeschoolers in college.
The reason there are almost no homeschoolers at universities is that homeschoolers have a hell of a time getting into college. To begin with, unlike public and private school kids, they have no class grades to speak of. Their mothers assign the grades. Therefore, a GPA means absolutely nothing, and universities are very reluctant to accept a student with a GPA provided by his mother. Second, while it might be true that there could be reliance upon the SAT as the sole deciding factor in acceptance into colleges, the SAT alone is not a proper measure of performance.
Also, college admissions boards are reluctant to accept students that have been so sheltered from normal social exchanges throughout their educational years. It's one thing to spend hours each day at a school, interacting with teachers and students while engaging in countless activities from study to sports, art, etc., and quite another to be driven by mom to a social activity for homeschoolers, so the child will have some human interaction with someone who is not his mom. Homeschoolers aren't given room to develop socially, and grow to rely excessively on their moms.
My boss ended up (in a college rooming assignment) living with a homeschooler. He was shy and withdrawn at the dorm, at the university, and everywhere. Maybe he was unused to dealing with people, maybe he felt weird that his mom and dad weren't there - dunno. Long story short - he ended up befriended by a little group of outcasts, and soon had dropped out of college.
I have lots more to say on the homeschooling topic, but that will wait.
My daughter goes to public school, mostly to be around her friends.
I also homeschool her too.
Everyday, even weekends, she is learning something academic, or about the dog eat dog world we live in.
The bill is sponsored by a Republican. I tend to think he is drumming up business for private schools which are suffering in this economy. Drive them from their home environment into something more "main stream" where they can be part of a larger group where one size fits all.
As for the poster who said homeschooled children ought to be "protected" from child abuse, I imagine a few parents wish they had homeschooled their children in Columbine, CO and Newtown, CT.
My family did all three types of educating based on the needs of our family at any given time. All 3 of them are successful adults today.
They wont deal with the real life ones that end up in the work place. They make crazy comments at times and thats the ones who can talk and hold eye contact. Its usually more than education that causes home schooling. A brainwashing agenda is usually close behind.
Precisely! I wasn't even going to go there fully, but yes, generally what's behind homeschooling is the desire to turn their kid into a robot that spews the same ignorant bs they do.
Precisely! I wasn't even going to go there fully, but yes, generally what's behind homeschooling is the desire to turn their kid into a robot that spews the same ignorant bs they do.
I was going to suggest you are engaging in hyperbole, but then I concluded you actually believe your statement. The few homeschoolers I've known have typically turned out well and are more independent acting in their choices. They are not herd types or group think automatons. Nor do they have to go through the hellish times of a high school that includes bullying, peer pressure and much of the other cultural downers associated with too many of our schools today.
I'm thinking that the public school system does a much more effective job at "brainwashing" though why they would wash a brain is beyond me. Now, is that hyperbole?
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