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Feels like there is a big homeschooling article once every other week here and a whole slew of parents saying, "We homeschool and its great and our kids love it

Feels like there is a big homeschooling article once every other week here and a whole slew of parents saying, "We homeschool and its great and our kids love it" and then a bunch of adults saying, "I was homeschooled and it was not great, and I did not love it" Regular schooling isn't ideal. But homeschooling is a pretty major reaction to that, and it shouldn't be done without serious consideration for the non-zero chance that your kids will resent you for that decision.

Ancapistani 3y ago
> But homeschooling is a pretty major reaction to that, and it shouldn't be done without serious consideration for the non-zero chance that your kids will resent you for that decision. As a parent of two daughters who are homeschooled - unschooled, actually - I 100% agree. As with everything, our approach is intentional and we're open with our kids about it. If they wanted to go to a school - public, private, or religious - we would make that happen. Our eldest is currently taking three hours per day at the local public high school. She's 15, wants to own a equine stud farm, and is taking every agriculture class she can find. After this year she will have exhausted their offerings in that subject, so she'll likely start at the local community college in the fall.
deleted 3y ago
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kredd 3y ago
It’s HN, we have to keep in mind there is a huge self-selection bias that’s happening. In general, I consider good public schools can be good, bad ones can be bad. But even in the worst case you somewhat interact with other people at the least. Same goes to the homeschooling — some can be successful, some can be disastrous. The majority of homeschooled kids that would fail, definitely wouldn’t be on these forums. So we’ll hear mostly success stories that came out of it. It’s hard to apply the comments to a generalized idea from HN.
Pinsy352 3y ago
Yeah, I have definitely run into other formerly homeschooled students who really enjoyed it. Usually they had some choice in being homeschooled (either requested it or were given a yearly option to opt out). I myself would say I had a mixed experience. I did well academically because my parents prioritized academics and had college as a strong goal for me, but the religious indoctrination and utter lack of social experiences was awful for me. It also seriously strained my relationship with my mom, who did not manage her chronic illness, extended family issues, and homeschooling me well. Another family I knew had a 16 year old who could barely do 5th grade level math, a girl my age who couldn't read, and two more kids who were also going to be 'unschooled' by their IMO neglectful mother. HSLDA has successfully lobbied against even tracking if a child is homeschooled, so there is no way to truly statistically tell which experience is the representative one. All you get are anecdotes, mostly from the parent's point of view.

Ancapistani 3y ago

> But homeschooling is a pretty major reaction to that, and it shouldn't be done without serious consideration for the non-zero chance that your kids will resent you for that decision. As a parent of two daughters who are homeschooled - unschooled, actually - I 100% agree. As with everything, our approach is intentional and we're open with our kids about it. If they wanted to go to a school - public, private, or religious - we would make that happen. Our eldest is currently taking three hours per day at the local public high school. She's 15, wants to own a equine stud farm, and is taking every agriculture class she can find. After this year she will have exhausted their offerings in that subject, so she'll likely start at the local community college in the fall.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

kredd 3y ago

It’s HN, we have to keep in mind there is a huge self-selection bias that’s happening. In general, I consider good public schools can be good, bad ones can be bad. But even in the worst case you somewhat interact with other people at the least. Same goes to the homeschooling — some can be successful, some can be disastrous. The majority of homeschooled kids that would fail, definitely wouldn’t be on these forums. So we’ll hear mostly success stories that came out of it. It’s hard to apply the comments to a generalized idea from HN.

Pinsy352 3y ago

Yeah, I have definitely run into other formerly homeschooled students who really enjoyed it. Usually they had some choice in being homeschooled (either requested it or were given a yearly option to opt out). I myself would say I had a mixed experience. I did well academically because my parents prioritized academics and had college as a strong goal for me, but the religious indoctrination and utter lack of social experiences was awful for me. It also seriously strained my relationship with my mom, who did not manage her chronic illness, extended family issues, and homeschooling me well. Another family I knew had a 16 year old who could barely do 5th grade level math, a girl my age who couldn't read, and two more kids who were also going to be 'unschooled' by their IMO neglectful mother. HSLDA has successfully lobbied against even tracking if a child is homeschooled, so there is no way to truly statistically tell which experience is the representative one. All you get are anecdotes, mostly from the parent's point of view.