Posted on 01/18/2002 2:20:59 PM PST by Thoeting
I have a question to homeschool advocates.
I teach English to students with learning disabilities in a small (500 students) middle school. I work mostly with 6th graders. These are students who are 11-12 years old.
This September, we had 6 students enroll who were previously home-schooled. Each set is coming into the public school system for different reasons. In 2 families, the parents have split up and both parents must now work. The others either just wanted to try it, or were tired of home. or moved from a large city. Of the 6, 1 enrolled in the school's gifted/talented program. Of the others, all 5 are coming in with deplorable skills. 2 of them (siblings) are unable to recognize all letters of the alphabet, and are also quite weak in math. They can count to 100, and do 1 digit addition and subtraction. Of the other three, 1 cannot recognize cursive, 1 can spell nothing beyond four letters, and the last one reads at about a 2nd grade level.
Everyone one of the 5 that I work with have "iffy" social skills. None are comfortable around large groups, and 3 of them are actually afraid of the other kids. All of them prefer to be with the adults.
I work with these 5 in an English class. Because of their discomfort with large groups, I requested to have only these five for this year. I enjoy their personalities greatly and I am thrilled every day to watch them grow. However, even though they are of normal intelligence, it is likely, that most of them will not learn to read at a 6th grade level before leaving middle school, which means they will continue to be behind considerably into high school.
I know that there is a large homeschool contingent that read FreeRepublic and I would like to know if anyone here has seen a situation like this before. Is there anyone out there looking out for kids to make sure they are actually being instructed? At what point do homeschool parents start to get worried? Is there any type of agency that oversees homeschool parents? As I have conferenced with these parents over the course of the year, NONE were aware that there was a problem! Yet some of these children were up to 6 years behind.
Please don't take this as a slam against homeschooling. Obviously something went wrong in these situations, but I think (or at least hope!) that the majority work well.
I think I can tell you exactly what you ran into here.
Homeschooling became "trendy" over the last six or seven years. What used to be highly unusual is now quite common.
The problem is that too many of these parents like the idea of homeschooling but they haven't the energy, commitment, sense of sacrifice, or requisite drive to really work. Example: one family I know......attempting to homeschool 3 of their five children (they gave up on the younger two since they're incorrigible, so they packed them off to public elementary school as soon as they could toss 'em on a bus). The mother's idea of homeschooling? She found a curriculum that is computer / Internet based and sits the kids in front of a computer all day (well, at least until they get bored). NO involvement on her part because, well, "gee, I'm just so disorganized, and I just seem to be so busy, and.......and........and.....".
Frankly, it's called "laziness".
Compound that with an unwillingness these days for "Mom" to stay at home and work with the kids. No, it's FAR easier for Mom to go get a job to support "lifestyle" more often than not, rather than "necessity". Oh, they may try it for a while but then realize that that mortgage is just too stiff or they'll have to give up restaurants 3 nights a week or lose that country club membership...........and then momma's back in an office, kids are shuffled off to "the system". Sound cynical? You see it every day, all around you. You have for years.
You can't just fall in love with the idea of homeschooling. It takes work and one hell of a lot of it.
I feel certain that you ran into some good kids who are saddled with LAZY parents who didn't do their homework, didn't prepare, didn't try to work with their kids...............finally threw up their hands and tossed them into the public school system saying "oh gee, that was too hard; YOU fix 'em".
I'll guarantee you that your opinion of homeschooled children would be VASTLY different if you met my kids.
In each case, I evaluate what the student knows, what he/she does well, and what the learning style is. Then, I go through background remediation materials that are ungraded to fill in the spaces. And, when they are working on new material, I tie it to their previous learning styles and information and don't let them feel that they are in somehow lacking in information, just that they know different things from the other students. And, they should be encouraged to work with others and be helpful with those having difficulties with skills they have mastered.
The other thing to watch out for is that these students often don't learn best in the silly team/group environments that have permeated the classroom. These students often do well if you give them procedures, a few examples, and let them puzzle things out on their own...in a positive learning environment.
These students have an awful lot to offer to a classroom. Home-schooled are often less whiney and immature about doing things on their own. They usually have very good manners and are not dependent on fitting in. So, enjoy this opportunity to teach and learn from students who have differnent things to offer in the classroom!
See my reply immediately above. Now, let's address the ever-present "socialization" issue.
First, read everything I wrote above. Still applies.
As far as our kids are concerned, I'll tell you that this was our biggest concern before we started homeschooling as well.
As it turned out, that has been the LEAST of our concerns in reality.
Kids attract kids. Now, we have a bunch of 'em. You don't. We have kids in the area. You say you don't (but you probably have more kids in your neighborhood than you sometimes realize). That aside, there are churches.......church youth groups. There's Scouting: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, etc. There's the YMCA. There are youth sports leagues. You get the idea. There are DOZENS of ways for kids to be with other kids.
In addition, my kids are very comfortable being with adults because, via homeschooling, they've had tremendous 1-on-1 time with an adult. They are used to talking to adults. They aren't shy, they show respect, and are at ease with themselves, their peers, and adults.
Don't fall into a trap that's laid out here by many who haven't the slightest clue what they're talking about. I DO know what I'm talking about on this one. They wish you to believe that public school is the answer to all of this; that little Johnnie or Suzie will learn such wonderful social skills in public school.
In this day and age, do I really have to tell you how full of holes THAT argument is????
Case in point: My 14 year old son. Great kid; truly a wonderful boy. Sharp, getting pretty tall and a good lookin' young man, so the girls are noticing him in a big way, etc., etc.......in his very first year of public schooling (ninth grade). He's even on the wrestling team and is doing well with that. Guess what lovely things his peers are trying to get him to do? Swear. Yep. They can't understand why he won't swear; he refuses to do it. They don't understand homeschooling, so they say things like "Bet you don't even know HOW to use drugs, do you?????" Again, you get the idea. THAT is what your kids' peers "teach" each other these days.
No, we didn't send our kids to public high school to learn "social skills"; trust me on that one.
You've gotta work at it. Commit. Put the effort into it. I recommend a curriculum from Christian Liberty Academy. We've used it all these years and it's unbelievably thorough, challenging, and highly effective.
Then get your child out into the world on a regular basis........not just to interact with other kids, but to learn about their world.
We have our son in an all Catholic Curriculum. Math is Saxon.
Not an issue. YOU and your wife are the most important "social" entities in your children's lives at this point. Jesus was treated with contempt for his lack of formal education, but he seemed to have learned something while hanging around with Joseph in the carpenter's shop! And no one would accuse the gregarious friend of sinners of being anti-social!
Seriously, though, the fellowship children hunger for most is with their own parents. Get that need filled, and they have all the confidence needed to take on the world with poise and tact.
While I don't operate according to a fixed curriculum (eg 9-10am math, 10-11 English, etc), I do have definite ideas on what my kids should learn. The main topics I cover with my 13-year-old daughter include:
are you trying to tell me that it is not the place of a teacher to teach kids simple basic math skills?...
Are you saying that they have deplorable skills compared to what other government educated kids have?
Homeschoolers, this is worse than it sounds. It's not like they're behind for homeschooling, which I wouldn't be surprised to find 5 out of thousands who weren't up to homeschooling snuff. But these kids aren't even up to 6th grade level for a government school. And as all homeschoolers know, government educated 6th graders have deplorable skills. Often I have wondered if the government schools have anyone watching the kids to make sure education is happening. Whenever I talk to people in the government schools, they don't even seem to think there is a problem.
Anyway, it is definately unusual for any homeschooler to be behind government schooled children. Finding five in one classroom is a real shocker.
But don't worry about their social skills. In homeschools we don't teach them how to have sex, do drugs, carry weapons to school, act rudely, form cliques, etc. I'm not surprised these kids feel out of place in a government school.
Shalom.
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