Lighten up. If school were just about education, I’d have a lot of sympathy, but you’re missing a huge chunk of social development (as the lack of sense of humor in this post shows). I’ve known many home schooled kids in my day, and I’ve yet to meet one of them who wouldn’t have been better off with a real Public/Private school upbringing. How was your Prom?
Lack of social development??? That’s precisely why I am upset by this comment. You are showing a great deal of ignorance in your post.
I and my children have a great sense of humor, thank you. And, I’m curious as to how many homeschoolers you’ve actually met? Not all homeschoolers are the same, and not all homeschool for the same reasons.
I personally have had psychologists and doctors whom our family is friends with express to me that my children are more well-adjusted, and very matured socially in comparison to the other government-schooled children they’ve come in contact with. I’m afraid you are very off-the-mark with your comments...
Ignorant does not even begin to describe your blanket indictment of homeschooled kids. And while what I describe above is NOT the absolute for ALL public schools it is but the tip of an iceberg full of reasons why people home school today.
How was your Prom?
My prom would have been the same whether I was homeschooled or not. But looking on the bright side, mom is a great dancer.
” Lighten up. If school were just about education, I’d have a lot of sympathy, but you’re missing a huge chunk of social development (as the lack of sense of humor in this post shows). I’ve known many home schooled kids in my day, and I’ve yet to meet one of them who wouldn’t have been better off with a real Public/Private school upbringing. How was your Prom? “
My 3 nieces are homeschooled in Maine. I’ve gotten to know them and the kids in their homeschooling co-op, which pools resources to do a lot of things together, pretty well. Their educational levels are all far superior to that of their peers in public schools, and, to a one, their social development is not only equivalent to that of their public school friends, but years ahead of them. They are comfortable in their own skins, gregarious and considerate, polite, and able to defer gratification. The only discomfort they experience with public schooled kids their age has to do with the immaturity, selfishness, and laziness of the public-schoolers.
If it was only my nieces, I could say it was genetic. But since it is also the rest of the group, I can’t. If it was only the religion-based homeschoolers, I could credit their faith. But my nieces are atheists (but outstanding people nonetheless), while most of the others are Jehova’s Witness members. (Interesting combo).
I went to the graduation party of my eldest niece last month. There were a lot of homeschoolers there, and a number of public schoolers. It was a dance. We had a blast. They had a blast. They have more fun than anyone I know, and they have maturity and perspective to balance it. I would stack those kids up against anybody you’ve got. And I know what would have happened to them if they’d gone to public school:
Slowest Common Denominator.
Did you forget the < sarcasm >??? Please say yes.
Becky
My homeschooled husband will gladly tell you how, when his classmates asked him about missing the prom, returned fire and asked how many of them went to their proms. As they were at an engineering school, the answer was not many...
I was homeschooled and I'm sure I would have been better off in public school, where I could have been picked on for being fat and nerdy, developed an eating disorder, started studying Elementary Education instead of computer science, found an abusive boyfriend and gotten pregnant at 18.
Missing a huge chunk of social development?
You mean like missing out on these wonderful opportunities?
Like being sexually abused by a teacher?
Learning to cheat on tests to pass?
Or being shaken down for lunch money?
Or having your personal belongings stolen out of your locker?
Or becoming a slave to fashion and peer pressure?
Or having your jacket sliced open on the school bus?
Or like having the boys in the back of your bus pee on your feet?
Or having them spit in your face?
Or being raped on the bus or in the bathroom or on stage?
Or being sodomized in the boys locker room?
What kind of social development is so critical for my children to learn that sending them to public schools is good for them?
Being with only their age all the time, like we are out in the real world?
Raising their hands and asking permission to talk, go to the bathroom, go to the nurse, do ANYTHING like we do at work?
Always being told where to go and when, as the bell rings?
Why would I want my kids to develop like that?
Being herded around a building you’re confined to all day is not reality and not good for social development. Jails don’t reform people, why would schools do something positive?
School SHOULD BE just about education and not be about social development, that’s what playing and working are for.
Yeah, too bad my daughters are gonna miss out on all the gangsta culture, pro-gay sentiment, and global-warming as religion hype. They will defintely be missing out!
“Missing social development”, you say?
*snickers*
Ask my dad (ImaGraftedBranch) what he thinks of the so-called “homeschoolers can’t socialize” canard.
Besides, considering the state of “social development” in public schools today, I wanted no part of it.
Public school socialization...was the EXACT reason we HS'ed....
I'd guess you are a PS teacher...by your comment.
What a dope.
BWDIK?
*snort* Why do folks who want to denigrate homeschoolers always comment about 'the prom'? There are many of us who went to public school and never attended a prom, because our schools didn't have one, or maybe we just decided we didn't want to go through the hassle and expense. Actually, there are some large homeschooling groups that offer a prom experience to their kids, so that isn't a 'problem' anymore.
Our daughter was homeschooled from the 8th grade on, and she never lacked for social activities. In fact, she was active in Girl Scouts, our Parish youth group, and helped run the Anime Club at the local public high school. This past spring, her college had a Semi Formal for its students, and she and one of her roommates, and two young men friends decided to have a 'nerd prom' instead, and went out for a casual dinner. They had a great time.
She's actually a fairly shy person, and doesn't tolerate fools gladly. One of the reasons we decided to homeschool her was that she didn't have anything in common with the kids in her school; she wasn't into the middle school girl activities. She didn't care for sit-coms on TV, didn't like to the lastest musical groups, thus she had no knowledge or interest of pop culture. So she didn't have anything to talk about with the girls, and thought all the teen drama was silly. She was just as happy to be home, getting her education on her own. She even attended college her last year of high school, and didn't have a problem fitting in the the kids and adults there. Many folks choose to homeschool their kids for the same reason; maybe they don't fit in, and it's not because of some defect on the part of the homeschooling kids, maybe they just don't want to waste their time in the daily regimen of school and the teenage angst that accompanies it.
Don't presume to judge all homeschoolers by the limited number you've known.
Granted I got out ('96) just before everything seemed to self-destruct. I don't remember having condom education, attempted global warming indoctrination, and certainly was never assaulted as some others here have insinuated that its a normal thing in public school. However, the whole "diversity" cult phenomenon was just beginning. The cover of my senior yearbook even had the word "diversity" spelled out in rainbow colored letters.
Really? And when exactly was "your day"? Or perhaps I should ask, what era do your prejudices date from?
As a mom who's had three children go through public schools, and one child who is currently homeschooled, I'm pretty up-to-date on what choices are out there.
I know hundreds of homeschooled kids -- and I've "yet to meet one of them who wouldn't WOULD have been better off with a real Public/Private school upbringing."
(Interesting that you choose the word "upbringing" to describe what public schools do. Traditionally, "upbringing" has been the parents' job, not the schools.')
As for proms: Our homeschooling associations offer both graduations and proms for our students. They're great, too -- unless you want your teenagers to have that wonderful public/private school "experience" of renting extragant limos, staying out all night unchaperoned, and getting dead drunk or worse.
:::yawn::: This line gets soooo old.
FYI, our local homeschoolers have a prom. Not to mention the fact that my homeschooled children have more social interaction with other children now than they did when they attended public school. For example, at my son's former junior high school, they got no breaks between classes and were only allowed to visit during lunch when the "bad cop" principal was in a good mood. My daughter's former elementary school allowed recess 2 or 3 times a week, unless they were prepping for the TAKS test, in which case they got no recess.
Your tired old argument about "social development" holds no water with me.
So what’s so great about a prom?? Once you’re past, say 19 or so, it becomes less than meaningless.
From the Dad of two Homeschooled kids, my BS detector just pegged the redline.
My kids the get every thing a public schooled kid has -- at LEAST once a week, I drag my kids into the bathroom, beat them up and take their lunch money. I make my son make lewd and rude comments about my daughters body daily. I make sure that my 11 year old boy hangs out EXCLUSIVELY with other 11 year old year boys, ESPECIALLY the really cool ones that have had a stint or two in "juvie". I make sure that my kids get promoted to the next level by doing just enough to get by.
All of this will properly prepare them for 60 years of adult family and career life, where physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, doing just enough to get by , and associating only with people your own age are daily REALITY. (Do I really need to add the sarcasm tag to the previous?)
Socialization? Into this society? Better? In a public school setting? Yours and the horse you rode in on red rider...
Your comments show your ignorance.