Who knew? My parents are cool. Homeschooling is becoming hipster. Celebrity parents like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie proudly discuss their homeschooling lifestyle. But pioneers like my parents set the trend of educational freedom.Posted on 01/27/2013 11:08:23 PM PST by Kaslin
Who knew? My parents are cool. Homeschooling is becoming hipster. Celebrity parents like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie proudly discuss their homeschooling lifestyle. But pioneers like my parents set the trend of educational freedom.
The plan was to send me to public school. My mother enjoyed her job as an R.N. and was not bored. She was simply a creative rebel. And my father encouraged her to pioneer—because he believed in freedom.
My mother is a rebel with her own style. She once told me: “I never wanted to be like anyone else. I always did my own thing. But my girlfriends would copy my artwork and my clothes. I would get a new outfit, and they would go out and buy the same outfit. I was happy when I could eventually sew my own clothes and they couldn’t copy me. But when they copied my artwork, it irritated me.” My grandmother told her: “When they copy you, it is the highest form of flattery.”
My mother designed, sewed, modeled and won fashion awards for her clothes. Her parents could not afford to buy drawing paper so she innovatively recycled newspaper to sketch her designs.
As an adult, I think the artist in my mother motivated her to do something unique with her children’s education—and, once again, set a trend that her peers would copy. When I was five years old, homeschooling was not as cool and acceptable as it is today; homeschooling parents were scrutinized and ridiculed. My mother did not care; she was an entrepreneur.
My mother’s friends openly doubted her ability to teach her own children. She proved them wrong; I graduated Summa Cum Laude from college, my sister is a teacher at a private school and I have a brother in medical school. Today, many of my friends and cousins are homeschooled.
More and more American parents are choosing homeschooling. Here’s why:
1.) Freedom
Homeschooling parents want freedom—for themselves and their children. They do not want their children’s First and Fourth Amendment rights to be routinely violated as they are in many public schools through censorship, unprovoked random drug tests (for athletes) and unwarranted searches and seizures.
Education, per the Constitution, should be left up to individuals and states. Americans should have options for how to educate their children. Thomas Jefferson once said: “It is better to tolerate the rare instance of parent[s] refusing to let their child be educated, than to shock the common feelings and ideas by the forcible transportation and education against [their] will.” Some of the most successful entrepreneurs (think Steve Jobs) never finished college; there is no perfect formula for how much formal education someone needs to achieve success. Children learn in different ways and at different rates—and parents will always make better educational choices for their children than the state.
However, former presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson ushered in an unconstitutional era of compulsory education—directed at the federal level.
Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano explains in his book, Theodore and Woodrow, that public schools were started as a way to turn children into obedient little statists—not to provide equal educational opportunity.
Napolitano writes: “Public schools were an ideal place to weed out students in order to create an elite class of people, while relegating the rest to their rightful position in life. …Many ideas advocated by Roosevelt and Wilson were not far off from those of some European dictators of the time.” Bottom line, compulsory education is an offense to individual liberty and the Constitution.
2.) Personalized Academics
Academics is a top motivator for parents, who believe that they can use one-on-one attention to develop their children’s intellectual gifts and overcome any weaknesses. USA Today reports: “…home-schoolers, on average, scored 37 percentile points above public school students on standardized achievement tests.”
3.) Culture and Morals
Increasingly, parents want to teach their own culture and morals to their children—not the “morals” of the state. Napolitano writes that U.S. public schools: “did not separate church and state. Instead, they hoped to emphasize Protestant teachings over other religions, specifically, Catholicism.”
Secular and religious parents alike increasingly find that public schools do not meet their expectations. According to USA Today: “Secular [homeschool] organizations across the country report their numbers are growing...”
4.) Developing Talents
Homeschooled children have the benefit of more time and parental focus to develop unique extracurricular talents. Some of my friends focused on developing skills that require intense time commitments—like figure skating. Many athletes, actresses and musicians opt for homeschooling or online school at some point in their careers (think Taylor Swift, Jason Taylor and Tim Tebow).
I like to think that I am cooler than my parents. But, honestly, at this point, they are cooler than me. Because without their brazen pioneering, I would not be nearly as unique.
I do hope it’s the wave of the future.
I had this posted this earlier, and is a take on the issue in India:
More Parents Opting For Homeschooling [India]
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-15/bangalore/28113439_1_textbooks-parents-tutors
BANGALORE: Does your child hate going to school? Is she stressed out, pressurized and overloaded? Or, are you sick of the conventional schooling system? Simple, don’t send them to school. Try homeschooling — that’s what more and more parents in Bangalore are doing.
In cities like Mumbai and Pune, many parents have stopped sending children to regular schools. Instead, they learn by themselves at home or are taught by parents or tutors. There are over 50 such children in Bangalore and there’s even an online forum where their parents interact with each other and seek help. All of them have different reasons for choosing this system.
For agriculturist Vivek Kariappa, it was the realization that conventional schooling is biased against the rural system. His children followed no textbooks, but an agriculture-oriented curriculum. They were urged to read, to search for more information, to face problems and solve them.
When his son, who was interested in sports, complained he wasn’t getting time to indulge in his passion, Sunil Ruthnaswamy thought of pulling his child out of school last year. “Now, I have time for both. I study three hours a day, which I feel is equal to a day studying at school. I devote three hours each for cricket and rowing and am quite happy,” said Joshua Ruthnaswamy, 14.
However, for many, dislike for the conventional system made them opt for homeschooling. Says Amit Mathur, a software professional: “My wife and I were not satisfied with the education we got. We don’t trust the present system of schooling. I don’t want to see my child growing up without thinking.”
There are also children with learning disorders for whom homeschooling is a better option.
HOW IT WORKS
There is no separate syllabus for homeschooling children. Most parents TOI spoke to followed prescribed textbooks. However, some didn’t follow textbooks and others designed their own curriculum by referring to syllabi of different boards.
None of them thrust books on their children. “When my child was in first grade, I used to take him to shops and make him understand addition and subtraction. Later, I used textbooks as worksheets. That’s how I taught him maths,” said a parent, Chetana Keni. Children are encouraged to figure out things by themselves and find pleasure in learning new things.
While most parents help children in the lower classes, they take the help of tutors when they can no longer deal with a subject. “We have a forum. Each parent is good in some subject. For example, I love maths. So, when a child needs assistance in it, I help him out,” said Amit Mathur, a software developer.
On reaching Class 10, the child can take the board exam privately by registering with the National Institute of Open Schooling or International General Certificate of Secondary Education. The degree is acceptable across the world.
BACK AT HOME
Most children have a timetable, which is not regimented. They study for a particular number of hours (ranging from 2 to 6 hours), spend time pursuing their area of interest, with friends and then by themselves.
“The biggest advantage is that the timetable is flexible. The child can learn what he wants when he feels like it. He can go as in-depth as he wants. He learns it at his pace, the way he wants. He takes ownership of his learning. The stress on the child is zero,” said Aditi Mathur, a strong believer of alternative education methods.
The children are generally happy with what they do. “I get a lot of time in doing what I always wanted to do. I know how to divide time between activities. The only thing is school was much more fun with so many friends around,” said Joshua.
TRAINING FOR PARENTS
Experienced homeschoolers say parents should know how to go about teaching their children in the right way. “All parents are not born teachers. Even they need training on teaching methods, and creating a conducive environment, how to instil discipline and so on,” said Chetana Keni, who gives such training to parents.
SOME WORRIES
A child’s social networking skills is one area of concern. “I won’t recommend homeschooling for any child who lives in a flat without good interaction with neighbours,” says Chetana. However, some parents say they have made new social circles — in the neighbourhood, during extra-curricular activities and at home. “The advantage here is they have friends from all age groups, and not just their peer group,” observes a parent.
EXPENSE
The cost of homeschooling varies on what and how the child learns. “At times, it can be more expensive than sending the child to regular schools. It depends on the child’s learning needs. Apart from routine requirements like books, CDs, painting kits, one also needs to pay for extra classes which these days cost not less than Rs 500,” said Chetana.
PSYCHOLOGISTSPEAK
Considering the system our schools are following, homeschooling is a good option. A school is crammed — be it in curricular or extra-curricular activities. In a family, it’s a more relaxed environment and therefore more conducive for learning. Some say the pressure the child faces in school is good. But, in 90% of cases, the pressure doesn’t do any good. Homeschooling is good as long as the child doesn’t take it easy.
— M S Thimmappa, clinical psychologist, and former vice-chancellor, Bangalore University
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com
Our six older kids attended brick and mortar schools. By the time they entered high school they acquired what we believed was peer induced snarky attitudes about how un-cool their parents were. We have home schooled our youngest since kindergarten. He is now fifteen. We have concluded that snark must be nature’s way of forcing the child away from the parents in order to venture away from the nest. We are officially un-cool in his eyes.
“Hip” is good.
HipSTER in BAD. No one likes hipsters.
School didn't do that to me. Reflecting on life and analyzing how I was treated made me that way. I can't move out soon enough.
If I ever have kids (preferably adopted, because I don't want to curse a child with my genes), I'll treat them respectfully from the start, and rather than treat them like a small child and lie about things, I'll be honest about everything, so they learn early that the world can be a cruel and dangerous place, instead of protecting them from everything. I feel that's the better way to raise kids. Plus they'd be good on airplanes and not make noise, because I'd teach them to be mature early on.
Nobody likes a kid when they kick your seat, no matter how cute they are.
LOL! I once mentioned in a group of other parents that I thought my oldest was being deliberately impossible so we wouldn't miss her when she left home. Several others said, "Hey, that's it!"
For the record, I did miss her, but I'm not sure I'll miss the second one, if he actually leaves for college in the fall. He plays electric guitar.
Homeschool ping.
Not only are the elitist Bolsheviks grooving on home schooling but it turns out they are all suddenly into hunting too. Go figure.
My wife and I homeschooled our daughter for all but 2 years. She went to a university at age 16 and now has two undergrad degrees and one graduate degree.
Our homeschool schedule was instruction from 9 to noon and then the rest of the day she was free to be a kid. When she wanted to go to a local high school to be with some friends, they evaluated her and recommended that she be placed two grades above her age peers. We agreed to placement one grade level above. But she never graduated due to a bureaucratic restriction. The public school refused to give her proper credit for some previous work in a foreign language because they did not have a person who was qualified to evaluate it.
But by that time she was already enrolled in a nearby state university and doing any additional work towards a high school diploma was a waste. She now runs her own retail shop. We would do it all over again.
One advantage for the parents who homeschool is that they get to revisit old subjects and refresh their own knowledge. It is like a refresher course because you have to know a subject in order to be able to teach it.
I don’t trust these people one bit. They will call ty-dying mathematics and write it off as such.
This ping list is for articles of interest to homeschoolers. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping List. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from either list, or both.
The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.
This ping list is for articles of interest to homeschoolers. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping List. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from either list, or both.
The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.
My first thought on this was that even leftists don’t like their kids being dumbed down to be little unthinking cogs on the State machine.
Leftists want their kids to be in the ruling class, not in the ruled class.
As for the hunting, I have a niece who’s really into the freebies offered by socialism - daycare, paid days off, etc, mandated by California.
However, she recently asked me about the purchase of a gun.
I asked her what she needed one of those for, the government will take care of her. No response.
“hip” and “cool” have some “operational definitions” that folks should think about.
Being “hip” or “cool” means being on that leading edge of rebellion to tradition, parents, or society, in order to fit in with the value system of the world, and not that of parents or parents’ generation.
Homeschool grad married to another grad (we met on FR) here. We’re planning on homeschooling our kid, of course. We definitely think homeschooling made us the people we are today, in all the best ways.
My daughter is a sponge and a mimic. She picks up bad behaviors just watching other kids in the pews ahead of us in church or in the grocery store. I’m so grateful that I can stay home with her and be her primary influence. I don’t want her being like other preschoolers, or other high school students when she gets that old; I want her to be like her.
The term “hipster” needs to die.
While I applaud home schooling, not everyone though is qualified to home teach. I for one could have never home schooled my children
BTW, I'm speaking as someone with one homeschooled child and one government schooled child. One child made it all the way through without entering a government school. Against my wishes, my wife decided to put our youngest into government schools for her last four years. So I know how hard it is to deal with a spouse who wants to government school. But conservatives have to do what they can to liberate their children.
I used to think that vouchers were the way out of our educational morass. But I'm beginning to think that homeschooling may be the way. I see an upper limit of 20% of the school age populuation being homeschooled; more if taxation ever gets under control. But if homeschooling ever approaches 20%, government schools will feel the heat. And a 20% cohort of homeschooled children would do wonders for the country. Right now, 2-3% of the school age population is homeschooled.
In our case it was ballet. I have one kid in a good university pursuing a dance career on a scholarship, and another one about to start in the Fall.
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.