Posted on 11/29/2005 1:34:50 AM PST by Lorianne
Like many critics, I used to feel vaguely sorry for home-schooled kids. What a shame, I thought, that they might be deprived of the well-rounded education and social skills to become integrated, productive members of society. I never thought to question why cafeteria food fights or the predatory pack habits of teenage girls would be better for molding productive members of society.
This uninformed, critical opinion lasted precisely until I met my first home-schooled children several years ago. Within one month I met five home-schooling families, and their 13 children were among the most polite, well-adjusted, socially adept and academically advanced kids I'd ever seen. Being home-educated seemed to have given them a confidence and maturity — and yes, social skill — far beyond their years. They had many friends, but didn't seem dependent on their peers for approval — a far cry from what I remember as a kid.
I've since learned that these kids were not the home-schooling exception but the rule, which makes me wonder how anyone could look at the data and say it deprives kids of anything. In a landmark study by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, among 7,000 young adults who had been home-schooled, 74 percent had attained some college courses, compared with just 46 percent of other young adults — and 82 percent said they would home-school their own kids. On the social front, almost twice as many home-schooled adults as those in the general population were active in their community (71 percent to 37 percent) and "very happy" with life (59 percent to 28 percent).
In 1998, a Home School Legal Defense Association's study of 20,760 home-school students found that: "In every subject and at every grade level (on standardized tests), home-school students scored significantly higher than their public and private school counterparts." Younger home-schoolers performed one grade level higher than their public and private school counterparts, and by eighth grade, "the average home-school student performs four grade levels above the national average."
Obviously, home education doesn't fit every family. But the evidence makes me think it's the kids who aren't home-schooled who may be missing out, not the other way around.
My oldest one got a close-to-free-ride at a private university. How do you prove skills? With the standardized tests, and by taking some college courses before actually starting 4-year college.
I decided to have my oldest take the SAT in 8th grade. She'd already covered algebra thru trig, and the grade-appropriate standardized tests they gave homeschoolers didn't really measure where she was. Her high score on the SAT gave her the credibility to take Bio I at a nearby college during the summer. At 15, I heard the local community college had a program where high-school seniors could do their senior year at the college, taking credit courses that would transfer to a regular 4-year. Her SAT plus having gotten an A in her summer college course got her in to the community college program.
While in the community college program, she took some SAT-II subject tests. Those scores, plus her grades in the first semester of community college gave her credibility to the admissions officers
It's good to hear you singing a different tune. Your first post, asserting that home schooling would be illegal soon, was so off-the-wall, that I jumped to the conclusion that you were pre-millenial. Who else would assume that a steadily expanding move of God could be so easily snuffed out? A reformation is underway -- millions of Christian families are thinking and acting in more Biblical ways, and we have yet to see what God will do for His glory. Meanwhile, it's great to have a piece of the action!
"For my kids, I based my anecdote on their own performance before and after they entered homeschool."
Well this is the only thing that matters- you made a choice for your kids.
" don't think I agree on your population selection issue. To use only high achievers from the public (or private) school domain would skew the homeschooler statistics the other way - make them look worse than they should"
.......
"At any rate, I would hope we can agree that nearly all statistics are self-selecting and misleading, to some extent."
No, statistics are a pretty complete and true science - its the conclusions that are made from the statistics that cause the problem.
Incremental progress is easier to measure if you benchmark against a representative population. It's not about making any particular group look "good" or "bad".
The conclusion a lot of homeschooler make when interpreting the statistic that shows a 30-point increase in standard tests among homeschool vs. public school is that homeschooling is responsible for the increase. THAT is a conclusion not supported by the statistic. Further, homeschoolers often make the additional conclusion that ALL public schools are "bad" - also unsupportable.
"The best set of options is to completely dump government schooling."
Well, at this point we've departed the statistical discussion and gone to the constitutional. I also have an opinion on this. Please start a thread, and I'd be happy to participate in that discussion
"My youngest one, currenty being homeschooled, is ADHD. He s homeschooled precisely BECAUSE she's ADHD, and the local public school couldn't deal with her"
You're more the commendable exception than the rule, I believe. I've seen the "special" classes in my kids school and I agree with your decision - unfortunately many parents don't or can't make the same decision - which is why these classes are so full.
But for better or for worse, many kids in your daughters situation are mainstreamed in regular classrooms. This can be to the detriment of ALL the students - depending on the specific situation.
Very good. We have dual enrollment here but they do not want to test until the child is 15. I guess I can press the issue. Thanks!
You make an excellent point. I remember liking school but hating the other kids for the pure harassment factor. Plus, I did well but I graduated highschool 30 years ago and am still unlearning a lot of social and educational indoctrination. Homeschool has helped me a lot!
You are not to question. Questions are negative. Just believe.
Check the actual law carefully. Here in PA, they can do it early if the college they're going into says it's academically required. There may be a way to work it early.
Also, if he were in a private school, would he need school district permission? If not, there may be a homeschool support group in your area which is organized as a private school, which you can simply "transfer" him to, and which can issue the needed permission
One common factor in all homeschooling environments: the parent is passionate about having the kid learn (otherwise the parent would not be homeschooling). This is THE major contributor for success, in either a homeschool or conventional-schooled environment
I've had the same problem. :) Sometimes what you're thinking doesn't come across in words very well so it's easy to be misunderstood. I see what you meant. In our case, since my two oldest already knew how to read by 5, I had a real strong suspicion that they wouldn't be challenged in public school, but that was only a part of the reason we homeschooled. So in a way it did play a part in our decision, but not from experience. I think that every reason given is one that influenced our decision and there was not one factor that pushed us over, so to speak; it was the weight of them all together.
There's an excellent little book out that I had to read for one of my college courses called "How to Lie with Statistics".
It gets into this whole subject area and after you read it, you won't believe another "survey" again.
BTW, I know a number of homeschoolers who are not in the high achieving end of the spectrum, several are downright poor, and many with not exceptionally well educated parents. So these folks are not skewing the statistics.
That occurred to us, also. The amount of time we spend on school each day is only slightly more than what we would spend on doing homework and then the kids are not trapped in school all day, to boot. I never could figure our what's going on in school all day that would require the teachers to sent home all that homework to do instead of being able to complete it in class. The lessons do not take that much time to teach; it's the paperwork that takes the time. Out of a 45 minute class, it does not take 45 minutes to teach the subject material.
You expect a newspaper to be unbiased, fair and accurate? Ha! Good luck.
To RFEngineer: Studies (such as Dr. Lawrence Rudner's 1998 examination of home schoolers) readily admit that they have not proven that home schools are superior to institutionalized schools. This is because we don't know how the home schoolers in the studies would have performed if they had been placed in public or private school. Such proof would require a prospective, randomized, controlled trial where, for example, a large group of kids are randomly selected and required to attend home school and another group is required to attend an institutionalized school. The study would have to be normalized for factors such as parental motivation. The study would be cumbersome and expensive and it would be difficult to find willing participants. Since you are so interested in the data - why don't you pay for and conduct the study?
Also, you jump to an unscientific conclusion when you claim that home schoolers are more gifted from the start. Where is your data to support this? Where are the studies? Where is your measurement of the impact of other factors, such as the superior student/teacher ratio of home schools, or the fact that the tutorial approach is more efficient and therefore allows the coverage of more material, or that a custom-tailored eduction can target weaknesses and appeal to strengths more effectively, or the impact of learning in a nurturing home environment, or the simple fact that home schoolers watch far fewer hours of tv on average than their public and private school counterparts, or the fact that home schooling maximizes parental involvement, or the fact that home schooling allows more time and freedom for enriching activities (creative play, friendships, reading, sports, hobbies, and experiencing the real world) outside of the 25 X 25 cell where public and private school kids spend most of their school day. Where is your data?
Uh, that wasn't me that 'sang that tune.'
Yes we homeschool, too. Most of our children's friends wish they could be schooled that way too.
It's tough enough being a parent, but I think our family bonds are better because it seems we are close knit.
I thank my wife for the wonderful way she has with our four children. She carries the major load of homeschooling.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.