Homeschooling

Amie - posted on 11/25/2010

I agree with everything Laura's posted and see her point.



Even if it is a small percentage of homeschooling parents who are not teaching their children properly, they need to be found.



I don't care how you go about teaching your children. However guidelines need to be in place to make sure they are at least receiving the same base education the children in school are learning.



This is not about how each parent would (or does in Tara's case) go about teaching their children at home. It is about making sure our next generation will receive the education they need and deserve to enter University and the work force in the future.



Edit to add:



When I say how you (general) go about teaching your children; I mean the actual teaching technique. I do not mean leaving out gaps of information or entire subjects entirely. Every child deserves to be exposed to each subject and thereby affording them opportunities that may have been denied. It does not matter what the parent thinks, we can not see the future and do not know what will grab our children's fancy when they come to choose a career.

Sarah - posted on 11/25/2010

I'm pretty much in agreement with Laura.

Although at the end of the day, if parents want to homeschool, then I guess that's up to them.
I think they will be doing their kids a HUGE disservice, but that's their call. Hopefully, the kids will be able to get a decent enough education at some point.

I'm sure some homeschooling parents do a great job, but I think that it's a VERY hard task to undertake and that more kids will end up with a patchy knowledge than will end up gaining a really well rounded education through it.

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

Im glad your happy your children are not im my school district.
And maybe you should start a campaigned against this, because you are clearly irritated, that I don’t see your point, and very passionate….to the point of a subtle insult

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

Thank god my kids don't go to school in your neighbourhood...my kids celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, The Lunar New Year. My daughter's best subject is visual arts...her choir is being led by a famous conductor this year and they just started french.

I think that people make assumptions about schools without always knowing the truth. yes, SOME schools suck, the same way that SOME parent educators will suck.

Do you believe that home schooled children need to be tested by adults outside the home to make sure that they ARE being educated? Because even if it IS the minority of home-educators who are (in my opinion mentally abusing) their children by not educating them properly...there need to be regulations to protect their children.

Jodi - posted on 11/25/2010

I plan on homeschooling my children and I dont' plan on passing any tests to do so. BUT, I also plan on purchasing a curriculum (more for guidance than to actually follow step by step.). I think parents have the right to raise their children how so ever they see fit, that includes homeschooling. Many states have pretty strict regulations on homsechooling requirements and at least some (I couldn't tell you how many or which ones, I only know MY state) do require annual or bi-annual testing by the student, some require that the parent follow a curriculum that the state and/or school district agree upon, others are pretty lax with very few requirements.

And I think it's relatively FEW homeschoolers that are using the chance to indoctrinate or isolate their children from ideas. To me, this really should be a non-issue. Public schooling has turned into a religion free, sex-ed free, budgetless, musicless, artless pile of poo that does nothing to teach any child as an individual, has outdated text books and vastly limited resources. I'm all for homeschooling...if that's what you choose.

Joy - posted on 11/25/2010

I think homeschooled children need to be required to pass the same tests as the children who go to public/private schools. I agree with you that the parents should also have to be required to pass the same schoolwork because after all, the parents are the teachers in a homeschool environment. I know that some homeschool programs have online classes but in the end, when your homeschooled child has a question they are going to ask Mom (or Dad).

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

Depends…

In my case…I DO :-)

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

My point was... do OTHER people get to choose...and ignore those things. Who has more rights? The parent or the child?

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

Now see your not getting what im saying, I said some subjects are not necessary to spend extensive time on…I never listed what they are.



Grammar, reading, writing properly, is very important to me



And while he learns so would I

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

not if your parents didn't give you the proper building blocks...that's my point.

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

its called freedom of speech….its wrong, but it happens….

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

And another thing you’re never to OLD to learn, and go back to school…sometimes people feel that time has run out…and its to late…

I hated biology…I barely remember a thing from it (besides dissecting animals) because I don’t use it…but if I needed to I could go back to school and get the knowledge that I need…

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

Should a parent be allowed to tell their kids that black people are proven genetically inferior? Should they be allowed to teach their kids that it doesn't matter how you spell "there/ their/ they're"? Should they be allowed to teach their kid that evolution is a myth?

How much farther does your "right" to educate him go than his "right" to be educated properly?

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

Well, I have a very high opinion of myself and I SAY I have a lot of common sense :-0)

And it came from a rough and diverse life.





And if that lady sends her kids into the world with no solid knowledge of the country in which her child is part of then its on her…

Would I agree with her no….but can I stop her no…



And many schools leave our important facts…well what I felt were more important then other topics when I was older…



Like when the “NEW world” was “Discovered”

They tried to enslave the indigenous aka Native Americans to the now USA….but could not keep up with them, one of the MANY reasons was because they could not be in the sun long, and they new the land better and could run and hide…those are just a few of the facts…



But the school I went to never said that…they probably felt that it was not important….



All I can do is worry and give attention to what I can do, and that is teaching my OWN how I see fit….if and when I choose to do so, and until then make sure that what he is not learning at school, I will teach him here at home





As far as restrictions go…yeah sure there should be some…but im perfect so restrictions are not relevant to me :-p

Krista - posted on 11/25/2010

Can you honestly say, everything you learned in school you use today???? If so WOW

Nope. But can I honestly say that I may not need to use any of those skills tomorrow?

People in my generation will, on average, change careers 7 times in their lifetime. Who knows what it'll be for our kids' generation? I think that, as parents, we owe it to them to make sure that they are as well-rounded as is humanly possible, and to provide them with that strong foundational education. Then, if they choose to branch off and specialize when they go for post-secondary education, that is fine. But at least if they change fields, and get into something where they need math, for example, they don't need to go back to Grade 7 and take those courses that they never took.

Tara - posted on 11/25/2010

As the only home education parent to respond so far I will defend my right to educate my children how I see fit. I use a mix of unschooling and eclectic homeschooling, with just a dash for book work, and a splash of memorization. I have done my homework on the subject at hand, I have a 17 year old homeschooler who is completely auto didactic. My kids are all exposed to all subjects that they would learn about in school and than some. They just tend to experience things first hand rather than through a book or a teacher at the front of a room, or a dvd in a dark class room etc.
For example, if we choose to study Egypt as a family, then we would likely cook and eat Egyptian food, study how their clothing was made and attempt to make some or dye them etc. we would learn about mummification and mummify a chicken (this is our winter project this year), we would also learn about Egyptian engineering, mathematical discoveries etc. and in doing all of these things my children would receive a very broad education in Egypt, while at at the same time enjoying the whole experience a lot more. :)
I don't have a stance on whether a parent should need testing to teach their kids.
I have yet to meet a homeschooling parent who is not intelligent enough to more than adequately teach their children. Plus they have the advantage of knowing their student better than anyone else.
The post you quoted was either made by a mom who is missing a few digits or a mother who is not homeschooling her children for the right reasons. It's unfortunate that everyone thinks they can or should take on the life long task of home education.

Krista - posted on 11/25/2010

I think that if a parent wants to homeschool, they should have to teach all of the subjects in the state/province's curriculum (I certainly wouldn't teach -- it took me 5 tries to spell "curriculum."). It shouldn't matter HOW they do it, or in what order, as long as, at the end of the year, that child is just as well-versed in those subjects as his peers. (And the child would need to be tested annually.)

That allows the parent to adapt the teaching to her child's particular learning style, and allows for flexibility of scheduling, while still ensuring that the child is not utterly screwed out of life's opportunities, due to receiving less education than 99% of his peers.

Rosie - posted on 11/25/2010

but who says that you have common sense ebony?? now i'm not saying you don't, but don't you think there should be some restrictions on this, and what are people leaving out when teaching their children? do you think it's fair that someone out there can just leave out the whole civil rights era just cause she's a racist prick and doesn't want her kids to learn about that type of stuff? she doesn't think it's important to her childs upbringing. should that person have the right to teach whatever she wants?
i think people should be able to teach their children at home, but i really think they need to regulate the hell out of it, AND make parents take some type of course so they know these people are capable of teaching their child anything other than 2+2.

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

But how would he ever learn that he LOVED physics if he never showed an interest in basic math or science.

So many of the subjects that I love now, I didn't even know existed when I was in high school...

The ruling class has always been taught by people who know what they are talking about. I think that if I were to educate my child myself, I would be GUARANTEEING them a position in the working class...and it really creeps me out that the leadership of the parties on the right are encouraging people to do it...seems like they're making sure they have followers and not leaders...no?

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

Can you honestly say, everything you learned in school you use today???? If so WOW



But yes as his mother I would see what’s more important and what’s not necessary… granted that you have some common sense about the world around you.



If I knew he wanted to work with computers or he loved to count money then I would focus more on math…and geometry…ect that would go for anything he is more interested in….he would get the general education, but I would not spend a lot of time on subjects that would be useless…when it came time to go out…



If he enjoyed a subject that I felt was “Not necessary” I would indeed spend more time on it…as much as he wanted.



I think with home schooling you have the ability to educate specifically,

Teresa - posted on 11/25/2010

I also disagree w/ limiting subjects based on your opinion of their importance. Though if it's not required for gradutation I think there can be SOME leeway allowed.....

Teresa - posted on 11/25/2010

In general I'm against homeschooling anyway (though I do know a few people that it's working out GREAT for), but I don't necessarily think you have to be highly educated to choose to homeschool. However, if you can't read, write, and speak basic English (or whatever language they happen to be teaching... for other countries) properly then no, I don't think they should be homeschooling. It's fine to be homeschooling subjects that you don't know IF you have the ability to find someone else to help your child (for instance... if you lag on mathematic abilities), but to not even have a firm grasp on the language you are teaching in can have a major negative effect on your child in EVERY subject.

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

So you would limit his opportunities based on what YOU thought was an important subject at school? I thought being educated was a human right.

♏*PHOENIX*♏ - posted on 11/25/2010

Yes I do think a person should have the right to educate their child the way they see fit.



I have thought of home schooling him, but think I will wait until he is in middle school



I would make sure my son got the real 411 about history of the world, and there would be things I leave out as far as certain areas of math, and algebra….some of those things are not necessary to me. Unless I knew my son was going into a profession that required extensive knowledge in those areas.

Isobel - posted on 11/25/2010

For example... this was recently posted on the welcome page.



do the same as me if you have the time, my kids just didnt fit into school so i home educate them so much fun and to have such an amazing relationship with you children is great, school is not complosory only education, but they dont tell you that when you children get to school age they make you belive you have to send them to school, look up home education on the internet i would never have sent mine to school in the 1st place if i had know i could teach them myself and no you dont have to be a teacher fare form it. if you cant home educate put your complaint to the school governers in writing, i had teacher try bulling me and my kids not that i let them bullie me but when i tryed to sort it out they didnt want to know, all the best hope you get it sorted``



Should this woman be "allowed" to teach her child English?