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Our Homeschooling Odyssey
Econlib ^ | September 13, 2021 | Bryan Caplan

Posted on 09/14/2021 12:59:57 PM PDT by karpov

Six years ago, I began homeschooling my elder sons, Aidan and Tristan. They attended Fairfax County Public Schools for K-6, becoming more disgruntled with every passing year. Even though they went to an alleged “honors” school for grades 4-6, they were bored out of their minds. The academic material was too easy and moved far too slowly. The non-academic material was humiliatingly infantile. And non-academics – music, dance, chorus, art, poster projects – consumed a majority of their day. As elementary school graduation approached, my sons were hungry for a change.

So what did we do? In consultation with my pupils, I prepared an ultra-academic curriculum. Hours of math every day. Reading serious books. Writing serious essays. Taking college classes. And mastering bodies of knowledge.

In 7th grade, I prepared my sons for the AP United States History exam, and had them informally attend my course in labor economics.

In 8th grade, I prepared my sons for the AP exams in European History, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics, and had them informally attend my course in public choice.

While my sons’ objective performance and subjective satisfaction in middle school were both sky-high, my wife insisted that they try regular high school. Back in those days, the political brainwashing at FCPS was modest, but the anti-intellectual pedagogical philosophy was already overwhelming. I never liked high school, but at least in my day teachers actually taught their subjects. Not so at FCPS. With the noble exception of their calculus teacher, my sons’ high school teachers just showed videos and treated teens like babies. After three weeks, my wife gave a green light to resume homeschooling.

Silver lining: Since comedy is tragedy plus time, we’ll be laughing about those three weeks of regular high school for the rest of our lives.

(Excerpt) Read more at econlib.org ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: homeschooling
I ran into the 300-word limit. The next sentence was

Yes, a kid in their Spanish class really did raise his hand and say, “Spain’s in… South America, right?”

1 posted on 09/14/2021 12:59:57 PM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

A decent government — a government that actually cared about citizens — would help more people make this choice. There ought to be a variety of paths. And one might argue that there are multiple paths.

But most people see the “free” government schools and really have no idea how any other path could be attempted. There would seem to be mountains to overcome — financially (private school) or intellectually (home school) or time-commitment-wise (again: home school).

But a good government would help people see that this isn’t as hard as it appears. A good government would help. I wish we had one of those.


2 posted on 09/14/2021 1:14:10 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (China is like the Third Reich. We are Mussolini's Italy. A weaker, Jr partner, good at losing wars.)
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To: karpov

“Yet they were waitlisted by Harvard and Columbia, and rejected by all the lesser Ivies.”

I can help him with this. Many of the graduates of those schools go on to be political leaders in this country, and they know home schooled kids are likely to love America.


3 posted on 09/14/2021 1:50:22 PM PDT by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: karpov
What this guy showed is children will rise to the level they are expected to rise. If you go to public school, you are rising to the level of a moron they want you to be. That is why communicating with a reasonably smart child get you "like" and "you know" about a dozen times a sentence.

This parent also needs to realize that the courses he chose for his children aren't offered anywhere, even in private school. A normal parent can easily use ABeka and other curriculum to get a superior education for their child than public school.

We home schooled our daughter for 11 of her 12 years and she went through college easily. She is now working on her Masters, but money is more of an issue than ability.

One more thing I'm kind of tired of addressing is social skills. She was raised around all ages of people. She was just as happy around a 10 yo as an 18 yo when she was 8 yo. She went to church with us along with all other assemblies we went to as a family. The bonus we received out of home schooling was knowing where she was, who she was with, and never worrying about drugs and sex because we were chaperoning her. Our neighbors all experienced drug problems and babies with no daddy.

Save yourself a lot of grief and home school your kids. The only problems you might have is breaking them in to following your instructions. Kids today don't listen to parents so it takes awhile to get them to understand that they get no personal time until they do their work. We fought for a couple of years to get her to understand that by fighting doing her work, she was wasting HER time, not OURS. Now she is a self starter and understands no one is going to do her work for her. 90% of home schooling is common sense. It helps a great deal to know math also. The things we couldn't help her with are all found on the internet.

4 posted on 09/14/2021 1:57:28 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: karpov

The first woman in Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s 160-year history to earn the position of Cadet Chief Engineer for her class has graduated from the school.

Shanna Post-Maher, daughter of Jeffrey Maher and Lorraine Post-Maher of Dartmouth, earned a bachelor of science degree in marine engineering, magna cum laude. She served as cadet chief engineer for the class of ’03, and according to academy spokespersons, was the first woman to earn the position in the school’s history. For her performance in the position, she was awarded the Leadership Medal from the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States.

At commencement ceremonies held June 21 in Buzzards Bay, she took the oath as a Merchant Marine Officer, 3rd assistant engineer and was awarded leadership citations from Maersk Lines Ltd. and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.

A Commonwealth of Massachusetts Senator Paul E. Tsongas Scholar, she also received merit scholarships from the National Rifle Association, the ladies branch of the New Bedford Port Society, the Massachusetts Police Association, the New England Association of Facilities Engineers and others.

During her time at the academy, Ms. Post-Maher trained aboard the California Maritime Academy ship Golden Bear and the MMA training ship Empire State, visiting China, Japan, Hawaii, the Azores, Spain, Greece and various North and South American ports.

She sailed aboard the Italian Navy sail-training ship “Idea Due” on a transatlantic voyage from Massachusetts to Portugal in 2000 and was a crewmember of the Tall Ship HMS Bounty in 1999.

Currently, Ms. Post-Maher is serving as a deck officer trainee aboard the Pacific supertanker Longbeach and will be returning to MMA to pursue a degree in marine transportation in the fall.

A homeschooler, Ms. Post-Maher received her high school diploma from her parents.

This story appeared on Page F1 of The Standard-Times on July 6, 2003.

🙂 Great job!
She is a Merchant Marine officer...chief mate...on the research ship “Endeavor”.

Homeschooling allowed her to reach the level of her potential....a long time ago.

Just do it!!!


5 posted on 09/14/2021 2:11:40 PM PDT by dasboot (Nuanced foreign relations is the germ of international misunderstanding. )
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To: dasboot

That is, great job by the homeschooler who wrote of the journey!


6 posted on 09/14/2021 2:19:14 PM PDT by dasboot (Nuanced foreign relations is the germ of international misunderstanding. )
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To: karpov

bump


7 posted on 09/14/2021 3:09:37 PM PDT by Albion Wilde ("Let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late." —Bob Dylan)
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To: karpov

Thanks for posting this.


8 posted on 09/14/2021 3:57:06 PM PDT by upchuck (The longer I remain unjabbed, the more evidence I see supporting my decision.)
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To: karpov

This is all well and good, but I had a lot of fun in High School playing football, wrestling and rugby. Chased every girl I could. Had a blast with all my friends all 4 years. Applied myself academically enough to earn a 4 year ROTC scholarship. Graduated flight school and flew UH-60’s for over 20 years.

My sons are on a similar path. But yeah, I live in a wealthy town and the public schools are excellent. I realize not everyone has this option. But for me, I’m glad I went to public school. But your mileage may vary.

I don’t know anyone that home schools. I’m sure they’re around and that’s great. I know there are any home schooled kids on my son’s sports teams. Not sure if our town allows it.


9 posted on 09/14/2021 4:13:51 PM PDT by strider44
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To: strider44

Homeschooling laws are set at the state level, and homeschooling is legal in all states.


10 posted on 09/14/2021 4:20:47 PM PDT by karpov
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To: chuckles

This isn’t true - depends on the school district. I live in Fremont, CA with one high-school that has been rated in the top 100 schools in the US for decades. 10% of their graduating class are National Merit Scholars (top 0.15ish percent of PSAT scores).

This school offers most of the AP classes he mentioned (not the advanced Macro Econ class - but many others.)

Why is this school so highly rated - because 80% of the students are from immigrant parents from either Asia or India. Their parents drive their academic pursuits - the kids don’t have a life.


11 posted on 09/14/2021 4:26:57 PM PDT by fremont_steve
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To: karpov

I meant home-schooled kids aren’t always allowed to play on the local school’s sports teams. I’m not sure if it’s allowed in my part of Massachusetts


12 posted on 09/14/2021 6:08:41 PM PDT by strider44
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To: fremont_steve

Well, I was talking about normal public schools. Sounds like you have a charter school with special classes. You mentioned Asians and Indians. Check who wins the Spelling Bee and the Geography Bee every year. It’s usually Asian and Indian home schooled kids. They have the life the parents want, no drugs and pregnancies and their flame is lit for a CEO job or high paying Tech jobs. Most American kids graduating from local HS get out and but tires or be a cop. Many kids find a future in the military to get them more education and a better job.


13 posted on 09/14/2021 6:15:58 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: chuckles

Not a charter school. Just a public school with a a student body of driven youths. The average household has both parents have college degrees and one with an advanced degree.


14 posted on 09/15/2021 8:32:06 PM PDT by fremont_steve
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