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You're complaining about an authoritarian public school system, but are replacing it with an even more authoritarian solution. Homeschooling keeps the child und

by Noos 7y ago

You're complaining about an authoritarian public school system, but are replacing it with an even more authoritarian solution. Homeschooling keeps the child under the parent's eye 24-7 and completely captive to their worldview and idea. If that worldview and idea is for them to be "schooled" in helping their dad run his landscaping business, or being prepared to be married off, well, good luck. Public school is important precisely because it is public. It gets the kid out to realize society exists and to deal with it as it exists. Homeschooling to me is bad because the child is dominated by their parent too much and it's not something that can really be fixed except with great effort by the child later in life.

esaym 7y ago
>Public school is important precisely because it is public. It gets the kid out to realize society exists and to deal with it as it exists. Perhaps your public school was better than mine, but what I was conditioned into socially while in high school did not line up at all with "the real world". At the age of 20, after many months of deep thought about my life's direction, I literally realized I needed to throw out everything I learned/was indoctrinated into by the public school and start over. The sad thing is, thanks to facebook, I've looked up many of my old high school buddies. They are still the same. They are 30+ years old now and act like they are still 15. Still playing the same video games, listening to the same kind of music, still showing the same attitudes, still not having any responsibility. Which is the point I realized when I was 20, why send your teenager into an institution that will condition him/her into acting like a typical teenager? A person with a "teenager" mentality will never be a CEO, will never own a company, will never be successful and will never make wise choices. And why would they? They already know everything and can't be taught a dang thing. Its clearly a two way street. I've seen some terrible products of homeschooling and I've seen some really good ones. But that brings the question of if the "terrible products" of homeschooling had went to public school, would they have been better off? I've going to assume probably not.
- Noos 7y ago
  You don't know the opposite though. The kids that fail are barely educated; they may have fourth grade level math. They end up indoctrinated totally by their parents worldview or unable to function with others. They have no real way to connect with others because there isn't even the shared topic of "public school sucks." CEO isn't an option for them; hell a life apart from their parents barely is. I think people romanticize it way too much, and there is the HLSDA which really pushes a lot of narratives about it. The blog Homeschoolers Anonymous is inactive, but a good reference on some of the issues.
  - esaym 7y ago
    >You don't know the opposite though. I've seen good and bad products from both public and non-public. So I don't know what you mean by opposite. The worst case was my own friend's brother whose mother pulled him out of public school after he failed the fourth grade for the 2nd time. She said the school was "full of mexicans" and she'd just teach him herself. But she never did anything... He has been arrested many times for selling drugs, which he did because he could never get a "normal" job as he had no ID or birth certificate (his mom lost all that). Thankfully through prison he learned how to read and do math and he was given a prison ID card which can be used in place of a birth certificate to get an official ID card from the DMV. But he's' still not doing too well... But that's the worst case, and his brother that graduated from public school isn't doing much better. The point I make is, the parents should know what is best for their own children and they should have their children's best interest in mind. Sure, some don't and or can't but they still need to have options. But as a society of sovereign individuals, this is what we allow. To overreach this area through government regulation will just end up with a loss of rights and a poorer ending (that has already been played out in other countries of the past)
lostcolony 7y ago
The kind of parents that would object to this and find it a reason to homeschool aren't going to be "follow and don't question authority" kinds of parents. Your concern for the children of parents who think public school is not authoritarian enough (and the children must stay home and be 'properly reared'), is fair. But, that's just it. It's an alternative, that can be good or ill.
heywot 7y ago
This is a really dismal view of homeschooling that I don't really understand. Are there bad situations with homeschooling? Absolutely! Are there bad situations in public schools? Absolutely! One is not inherently better than the other. Maybe myself, my siblings, and our many homeschooled friends are just abnormalities, but we have never had issues embracing society, understanding it, and we never needed to have "fix" our parent's influence later in life. Do I know kids that struggled with that? Sure. You want to know where else I see kids deal with all the issues you mentioned? Public school. Lots of 'em. I don't know if you were homeschooled as a kid and had a bad experience, know someone who did, or are just spouting the typical "homeschooling is bad! they have no social abilities!" arguments I hear constantly. But I would encourage you to maybe challenge that perspective. Homeschooling can be a wonderful tool and equip kids in ways that public schools are simply not able to. It takes a ton of work. It's not for everyone. But to say it is inherently a lesser education and experience than public schools just doesn't line up.

by Noos 7y ago

esaym 7y ago

>Public school is important precisely because it is public. It gets the kid out to realize society exists and to deal with it as it exists. Perhaps your public school was better than mine, but what I was conditioned into socially while in high school did not line up at all with "the real world". At the age of 20, after many months of deep thought about my life's direction, I literally realized I needed to throw out everything I learned/was indoctrinated into by the public school and start over. The sad thing is, thanks to facebook, I've looked up many of my old high school buddies. They are still the same. They are 30+ years old now and act like they are still 15. Still playing the same video games, listening to the same kind of music, still showing the same attitudes, still not having any responsibility. Which is the point I realized when I was 20, why send your teenager into an institution that will condition him/her into acting like a typical teenager? A person with a "teenager" mentality will never be a CEO, will never own a company, will never be successful and will never make wise choices. And why would they? They already know everything and can't be taught a dang thing. Its clearly a two way street. I've seen some terrible products of homeschooling and I've seen some really good ones. But that brings the question of if the "terrible products" of homeschooling had went to public school, would they have been better off? I've going to assume probably not.

Noos 7y ago
You don't know the opposite though. The kids that fail are barely educated; they may have fourth grade level math. They end up indoctrinated totally by their parents worldview or unable to function with others. They have no real way to connect with others because there isn't even the shared topic of "public school sucks." CEO isn't an option for them; hell a life apart from their parents barely is. I think people romanticize it way too much, and there is the HLSDA which really pushes a lot of narratives about it. The blog Homeschoolers Anonymous is inactive, but a good reference on some of the issues.
- esaym 7y ago
  >You don't know the opposite though. I've seen good and bad products from both public and non-public. So I don't know what you mean by opposite. The worst case was my own friend's brother whose mother pulled him out of public school after he failed the fourth grade for the 2nd time. She said the school was "full of mexicans" and she'd just teach him herself. But she never did anything... He has been arrested many times for selling drugs, which he did because he could never get a "normal" job as he had no ID or birth certificate (his mom lost all that). Thankfully through prison he learned how to read and do math and he was given a prison ID card which can be used in place of a birth certificate to get an official ID card from the DMV. But he's' still not doing too well... But that's the worst case, and his brother that graduated from public school isn't doing much better. The point I make is, the parents should know what is best for their own children and they should have their children's best interest in mind. Sure, some don't and or can't but they still need to have options. But as a society of sovereign individuals, this is what we allow. To overreach this area through government regulation will just end up with a loss of rights and a poorer ending (that has already been played out in other countries of the past)

lostcolony 7y ago

The kind of parents that would object to this and find it a reason to homeschool aren't going to be "follow and don't question authority" kinds of parents. Your concern for the children of parents who think public school is not authoritarian enough (and the children must stay home and be 'properly reared'), is fair. But, that's just it. It's an alternative, that can be good or ill.

heywot 7y ago

This is a really dismal view of homeschooling that I don't really understand. Are there bad situations with homeschooling? Absolutely! Are there bad situations in public schools? Absolutely! One is not inherently better than the other. Maybe myself, my siblings, and our many homeschooled friends are just abnormalities, but we have never had issues embracing society, understanding it, and we never needed to have "fix" our parent's influence later in life. Do I know kids that struggled with that? Sure. You want to know where else I see kids deal with all the issues you mentioned? Public school. Lots of 'em. I don't know if you were homeschooled as a kid and had a bad experience, know someone who did, or are just spouting the typical "homeschooling is bad! they have no social abilities!" arguments I hear constantly. But I would encourage you to maybe challenge that perspective. Homeschooling can be a wonderful tool and equip kids in ways that public schools are simply not able to. It takes a ton of work. It's not for everyone. But to say it is inherently a lesser education and experience than public schools just doesn't line up.