[Vaquero]

I went to a catholic parochial school. We were terrible. Had fights. Started trouble. But not in school. Or more correctly when we did we paid a stiff penalty including corporal punishment. As a boy I can tell you we were allowed to do boy things.

The answer isn’t home school but private schooling where kids get an education and learn to be responsible respectful citizens.

I sent my kids to public school but monitored what they were being taught and told them when the schools were WRONG. I told them not to be disrespectful of their ‘wrong’ teachers but to understand the right thing.

[goodnesswins]

The other posters here said it best....

[Dr. Sivana]

The answer isn’t home school but private schooling where kids get an education and learn to be responsible respectful citizens.

I went to a secular prep school from 6th grade through graduation. Overall I received a good education, including some excellent teachers and some duds. I did NOT learn citizenship from the prep school, that I got from good friends outside of school and my religious upbringing. The kids in the prep school were mostly wealthy, but I realized only later that many were jerks.

Now, are there good private and parochial schools?

Absolutely, and I have donated to some and supported others in various ways. We don't use one now, even though there are plenty to choose from because I think my youngest son would thrive in a single sex environment, and single sex male-only schools have all but gone the way of the dodo bird.

Different families have different needs, and home-schooling and private schooling can both be good choices.

[Chickensoup]

So you didnt take the time or treasure to school your kids well, and now you lecture others.

Jump off a cliff.

[Tired of Taxes]

As a boy I can tell you we were allowed to do boy things.

Just guessing - you must be around my age or older. Because Catholic schools today are not what they used to be.

And, in public school for the past 20 years, boys have not been free to behave like boys. They are medicated to sit still.

However, outside of school, boys are free to be boys. They can play sports, go camping with their scout troop*, etc. Instead of school, they can attend co-ops, which are school-like but boy-friendly.

We were terrible. Had fights. Started trouble.

Anyone who believes "homeschooled" boys are perfect little angels either is living in denial or has never "homeschooled" boys.

* (Yeah, yeah, I've heard the scouts have changed now, but my kids have great memories of camping, etc.)

[The Unknown Republican]

On a cross country flight I sat next to the Director of Admissions for a major private Catholic University. His comment was that he wished all of his applicants were homeschooled. According to him, homeschooled kids are generally better at both vertical and horizontal socialization are better prepared for collegiate life. His words, not mine.

[wintertime]

The answer isn’t home school but private schooling

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What private school do you know of that could do what homeschooling did for my children? The private schools in our area follow the same lock-step pacing as our government schools.

My children enrolled in college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13. All were finished with Calculus 3 and the required courses by the age of 15. Two completed a B.S. degree in mathematics by the age of 18.

[wintertime]

By the way, my now adult children are not geniuses. They aren't any smarter than the children of other Freepers. They merely had the opportunity to learn at their own pace.

As you drive by your local government and private schools, please remember that at least 10 to 20 % of the children would be doing what my kids did if they could homeschool. They would zoom ahead because they would be learning to learn independently for the pure love of it.

[SecAmndmt]

“...I sent my kids to public school...”

Then you did not even follow your own advice. LOL.

As to private schooling, if one has a bunch of children, it is a ridiculously expensive proposition.

Your participation in government schooling acts as encouragement for other Christian parents to do the same. And many of them are NOT diligent about watching what their children are taught. Even if they are, they are still getting a poor education.

The country is wallowing in moral relativism, and children graduate from government schools with about a 90% conversion rate from Christianity to humanism, per the Barna surveys.

When Christians prey their heads out of their backsides, we’ll see things turn around in this country. Otherwise, we’re going to lose. And sooner than many expect.