Posted on 08/12/2010 4:35:33 AM PDT by GonzoII
NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - When asked why they do it, homeschool families consistently answer that they do it because it is the absolutely best way to educate children. Far from being elitist however, or the statement of simple, ignorant, or deluded homeschool parents, it seems that two decades of research affirms this answer with empirical evidence, according to a recent study.
In February of this year, Brian Ray published a study of the largest nationwide sample of home educators and their children in the United States. Also a review of existing research on homeschooling, it asserts an incredible fact that most do not know, and often do not believe:
"[H]omeschool students and their families are in some ways a select population: although the income for homeschool families with school-age children in this present study is at about the national median, '. education levels are well above national averages'. This is consistent with the body of extant research. It is not a surprise" (Academic Achievement and Demographic Traits of Homeschool Students: A Nationwide Study).
What the evidence consistently suggests is that there is much more involved in an "education" than a teacher's certificate, curriculum packages, sports or electives. After all, the family structure in most home schools is traditional and overwhelmingly Christian, headed and taught by married parents. The father is the primary wage earner while the mother stays at home, and they have three or more children.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
Please thing about this.
You are already doing a ton of “afterschooling”. You are already likely doing as much “afterschooling” as any parent who homeschools. Honestly...When my homeschooled children were 8 we rarely spent more than 1 to 1 1/2 hours in formal homeschooling.
Were you able to afford babysitting when your child was a pre-schooler? If you were able to afford day care then, why not now?
Suggestion: If you absolutely must have 2 parents working, please consider removing your child from the godless, socialist, government owned and run schools and put him in daycare. Homeschooling for an hour in the morning, evening, Saturdays, and continue doing it thorough the summer and other typical government school holidays.
And...Again, please read post #20.
Go for older, used versions if you can find them
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Is there a difference between the newer editions and the older?
But...Which is better? Is it better to being a “pretend” scientist in an institutional high school or be **FINISHED** with a bachelors, masters, or Ph.D. in a hard science by the age of 18, 19, or 20?
My own 3 homeschoolers started college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13. The two younger earned B.S. degrees in mathematics from our state's flagship university at the age of 18. The older of these two earned a B.S. in mathematics at the age of 20.
The oldest homeschooler is a nationally and internationally ranked athlete. He has represented the U.S. worldwide. He choose to attend college part-time. But...Even with his heavy training and travel schedule he will soon finish a masters in accounting at the same age as his institutionalized contemporaries. He also worked full-time for our church for a few years in Eastern Europe and is completely fluent in Russian. Some native Russians have told me that he speaks Russian without an accent. Even though his undergraduate degree is in business, he finished Calculus III by the age of 15.
Oops! That should read:
Is it better to be a “pretend” scientist in an institutional high school.....
For those that think they cant homeschool....
I home school our kids in the mornings. My wife who works outside the home gets on video skype at lunch and does science from her office and in front of our kids on camera while they both eat lunch together. We constantly get complemented on how polite , articulate and smart our children are by others. We spend about 3.5 hours a day on studies. Yes, and that is plenty. Kids can learn far more in a shorter time in homeschooling situations.
Just try it.
I cannot begin to express the relief I (and she) feels about not returning to public school! WooHoo
I heard that some of the newer, soft cover editions are not as good as the older ones, but I’ve never seen them myself.
We’ve got the older ones and we’re hanging on to them for my kids to use.
Maybe someone else knows.
That’s great. If there’s any help or advice you need, any homeschooler on this forum can help.
Congratulations! All of you are smart and hard-working!!
“Liberal” - bingo!!!! Liberals disdain homeschooling and portray it as an excuse for religious, right-wing zealots not to educate their children to the level that the government deems necessary. Uber-convenient for them to completely ignore the multitudes of amazing homeschool success stories. Case in point: I was recently with my family in NY and saw the Bway show Addams Family (our daughter is Bway wanna-be star!). Anyway, the 18 yo daughter makes an intentional pun to show off her ignorance and, after being corrected, she replies (paraphrase): “What do you want from me, I was homeschooled?”. Audience, of course, replies with uproarious laughter.
The only thing that “Father of the Year” John Edwards was correct about was that there are indeed 2 Americas (not the 2 he portrayed, of course) and they are flying apart at warp speed. The results, unfortunately, cannot be good.
“Liberal” - bingo!!!! Liberals disdain homeschooling and portray it as an excuse for religious, right-wing zealots not to educate their children to the level that the government deems necessary. Uber-convenient for them to completely ignore the multitudes of amazing homeschool success stories. Case in point: I was recently with my family in NY and saw the Bway show Addams Family (our daughter is Bway wanna-be star!). Anyway, the 18 yo daughter makes an intentional pun to show off her ignorance and, after being corrected, she replies (paraphrase): “What do you want from me, I was homeschooled?”. Audience, of course, replies with uproarious laughter.
The only thing that “Father of the Year” John Edwards was correct about was that there are indeed 2 Americas (not the 2 he portrayed, of course) and they are flying apart at warp speed. The results, unfortunately, cannot be good.
If they do something smart, they say, "Hey, I was homeschooled!"
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