My government subsidized public school is 37th in the nation and has provided me with an excellent education. My family pays enough for it; we might as well use it. There is no way in heaven above or hell below that I would ever attend an all-male Catholic school, sorry. My social studies department, the main source of indoctrination IMHO, is overwhelmingly conservative, so very little indoctrination happens. My teacher spent 2 years teaching army brats in the military school at Gitmo. Thanks to the school's AP curriculum, I can be done with a year of college before ever leaving high school. Does your home school do that?
By law, government schools have to practice and promote liberal ideology (the only approved course texts available are liberal ones, and they also have to practice affirmative action, and pretend that God does not exist).
And to answer your question, most high school age homeschoolers I know start taking one or two college classes a semester while in high school, thereby allowing them to complete college in 3 years or less.
"My government subsidized public school is 37th in the nation and has provided me with an excellent education. My family pays enough for it; we might as well use it. There is no way in heaven above or hell below that I would ever attend an all-male Catholic school, sorry. My social studies department, the main source of indoctrination IMHO, is overwhelmingly conservative, so very little indoctrination happens. My teacher spent 2 years teaching army brats in the military school at Gitmo. Thanks to the school's AP curriculum, I can be done with a year of college before ever leaving high school. Does your home school do that?"
Yes, it does. I'm glad your school does what sounds like a very good job; vast amounts of the country's kids are not so well served, and should not be forced to swallow what is being crammed at them. Parents who are unable to get quality education for their kids without the radical leftist reprogramming that is very prevalent in this area, are obliged to do for themselves. My sister-in-law (an atheist, by the way), does an outstanding job with her 3 girls, and they have far outperformed their classmates in academics, personal development, social skills, and emotional health.
Yes, many homeschoolers do have the option to take AP courses. Many are already taking college courses by the time they are 16.
Homeschooling parents do not need to have a college education to teach their children. There are so many co-ops available for courses that seem too difficult to teach for some parents. It's so much easier than they think!!
I'm horrible at math. I failed algebra in high school. My son was taking calculus at the junior college by the time he was 16 because another homeschool parent shared her knowledge of math with my son. In return, I shared my knowledge of art with her daughter.
A homeschooling mother in our town, who is also a chemistry prof., decided to open up her home to other homeschoolers while she was teaching her son high school chemistry. My son was able to take chemistry without blowing up my house!!! ((for free))
My daughter loves science, but I'm not really great in that area either. She uses a Christian DVD curriculum and has a 98 average so far. There are many options available for whatever she enjoys studying.
I've had so many friends (who are not homeschoolers) tell me that they could never do what I do! They are sure that I'm super-smart or school from 6am to 6pm because my kids are so advanced for their ages. They are then shocked when I tell them that I dropped out of high school and failed math.
We only school from 8am till noon. (two kids) the rest of the afternoon is either spent at homeschool choir, piano, sports (homeschool teams) JMG, scrapbooking, or whatever else the kids are interested in. My kids do not have courses that are of no use to them. They study what they love and what is necessary for their future roles. These courses may fluctuate from year to year.
I don't know about others here, but I sure as heck don't remember one thing from biology class (except almost passing out at the smell of a fetal pig) because it was not something I was interested in and it was of no use to the job I have now. I do remember the bullying, the peer pressure, who wore what, who was having a party, who was going to fight who in the bathroom after Phys. ed., who got pregnant, who had an abortion, the teacher who was flirting with us girls, etc... All that and I wasn't wearing one piece of armor from the Lord.
Homeschoolers can actually finish the same amount of work given to public school children in less than half the time, freeing them up to enjoy many other activites that they love.
When my son was in school, he did schoolwork all day long, then came home and did homework till it was time to go to bed. That's ridiculous!
We are not rich by any means! Most of the homeschooling activities are free and we buy used curriculum from other homeschoolers when possible. There's also quite a bit on the internet for free. There's always help available and other homeschooling parents with advice.
Having said that:
I have three friends that send their kids to the government schools. I do not agree with their reasoning, but I also do not beat them over the head with my opinions. We talk about it and I do let them know what's going on with the NEA, without being preachy. They are my friends, and I love them and respect them. (I also pray for them daily)
There are many reasons why parents think they can't homeschool:
not enough money
not enough education
not enough patience
two income family to keep up with the Jones's
too busy a social life to deal with kids all day long
think their kids need the socialization the government schools offer. (that's a scary thought)
There is nothing more important than the education of our children. This education extends far beyond what can be taught in a classroom and begins and ends with the Lord.
When we die and stand before our Lord, is he going to care what college we got into, or how book smart we are, how big of a house we built or how nice of a car we drove? There is only one book that He will ask if we've read. His book. There's only one school he's interested in, the school that teaches His precepts, and places Him first above all worldly things. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matthew 8:34 "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Matthew 8:36
Is there really a difference between secular schooling and Christian schooling?
"Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain..." Psalm 127:1
The sad fact is that 88% of Christian kids leave the church after high school.
Bruce Shortt said in an HSLDA article:
"We know as Christian parents we're supposed to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and that our children's education should lead to a Christian worldview. Unfortunately, 80–85% of Christian parents educate their children in government schools because they don't realize that our government school system has become aggressively anti-Christian. But studies have shown that a majority of children from Christian families leave the church after high school. In fact, a 2002 Southern Baptist Convention study puts the percentage leaving at 88%. And why should we be surprised at this when we educate our children for 12 years in an institution that treats the name of Christ and Christmas carols as hate speech?"
The entire interview can be found at:
http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/55/hshb5501.asp
The harsh truth about public schools:
http://harshtruth.blogspot.com/
I highly recommend the Harsh Truth about Christian Schools by Bruce Shortt to every parent, regardless of whether they use the public schools or not. If you're a parent who has decided to continue to use the public schools, at least be armed with the knowledge of what's going on at your child's school.