Quote From: mammato4boysLOL! This is either entirely frustrating or incredibly comical... I can't decide which.
I don't have the desire to dig up old posts from you about your lack of information concerning your state laws. Seriously, we can both read back and see them... as can anyone else. Like I said before, you now have the knowledge... that's the important part. Make sure you share it with other parents you know so they may be informed as well. :)
Also, what you say goes on in my schools...how do you know? You don't even know what district I'm in, how could you possibly know what goes on?
Because I keep up with the news Kira. It's pretty easy. Remember me telling you how you can too? Google alerts, it's easy. You would be amazed how many news stories don't make the news. Check it out for yourself: http://itcanhappeninyourschool.blogspot.com/
I suppose you also didn't know that Alabama has actually had to draw up a bill telling teachers they are not allowed to have sex with their students? No kidding... how sad is it that we actually have to make this law? http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/7758057.html
Last, the GI Joe/Transformer issue....you freely gave me that information in regards to your curriculum in an average day.
Actually, I shared a typical day for us which happened to include the morning hours as well. Somehow you believe the GI Joe/ Transformer shows were curriculum or even lessons. How you got that impression is logically beyond me. I also mentioned I drink coffee in the morning hours, do you believe that is also curriculum or lessons?
I know about 8-10 homeschooling families. Is that enough for you?
Oh, it would certainly be enough for me. LOL! It doesn't appear to be enough for you though. Seriously, you're still discussing the socialization aspect of education. It's a tired argument and one that has been proven false.
Kira- What do you know about your child's education? I am not talking about your kid's social issues... I am talking about the very reason your child is sent to school. You know, we don't send them to school to make friends, although it could be a nice side-effect.
You can keep asking me about how many friends my children have and I can keep answering the questions but it will never be enough for you. I suppose for *you* to believe my children are socialized I should sequester 30 children into a room, huh?
Also, how does a HS family , if they are so involved with the Real World each day, manage to "keep kids from the sickness of the world"? This is curious to me. I was just at Wal Mart today with my kids and saw many things just in that one trip that would have been very uncomfortable to explain if I had been asked to. I would have explained the best I could but I wonder how HS families avoid these things.
Well, short of moving onto a deserted mountain top I think there is no way to keep children from the "sickness of the world". See, I believe my children should not be taught that many of the "sicknesses" are okay. I don't want them given the majority of their moral lessons by their peers. Think back to your own schooling days.... how were those lessons you received? Maybe your peers talked about... not respecting parents or teachers, wanting to party all the time, being soooo bored in school, not caring about grades, etc..... These are the social lessons my children are free from.
There are many social ills in our world. As you pointed out, Walmart. Heck, we just went to the Indy 500 last wkend... how many social ills do you think we saw? LOL!
The point is not to "hide" them, the point is not to indoctrinate them. This should be fairly easy to understand, LOL. Here's the basics: you take a child and stick them with peers who give very bad advice and moral lessons for the majority of the day and then try to reverse the thinking to coincide with your Christian beliefs. This works for you, good. I choose to educate my children on the way things should be done (according to our beliefs) for the majority of the day and the other part of their day is spent with their peers who (undoubtedly) try to reverse the thinking to more along the lines of the "social norm". It only seems like common sense to me that the more "training", "lessons" or "experience" a child receives on one subject the more they will accept the teachings. IOW, my children are shown the right way most of the time and the wrong way a small part of the time. How hard is it to figure out which way I believe works best? Also, how silly is it for you to tell me my children need more of this unbecoming socialization? Really, if either of us were to actually try to tell the other how to do things don't you think we should at least consider what is best for the child? So, let's see.... bad most of the time or good most of the time. It's kind of a no brainer for me. But, go ahead and continue to tell me my children aren't being socialized properly Kira. LOL!
You also stated in a subsequent post about this very issue that ANYTHING can be educational and that was the biggest divider between us.
Yes Kira, you're right I did. However, read back to that post again. I was defending the fact that my children's curriculum happened to coincide with a tv show (Survivor) we watched. The curriculum coincided with the show. Get it now?
Seems curious to me that families who don't feel kids should be exposed to things too early would use TV and Internet so readily in the "education" of their kids.
Kira, the reason this seems "curious" is because you have made your own version of the truth. That's why you don't understand.
I have repeatedly explained why I don't feel HS is for MY FAMILY. I have very strong feelings about what I am doing for my family- as do you. That's great but you seem intent on discrediting any opinion I have as to why HS is not comfortable for me.
No, no, no, no. How can you possibly read our conversation and get that conclusion?
There are negatives to each situation.
Yes, I agree. However, as TLC pointed out, you apparently do not see any negatives in your situation. Also, you seem to ONLY see negatives in the homeschooling setting. Seriously, has it occurred to you that everything about homeschooling bothers you? This seems similar to your other "battle" or vendetta. It seems anything you haven't chosen bothers you greatly. That's a shame.
See, here's the bottom line Kira. I'm not about to tell you what you should do with your child. Your children are your responsibility and you must make choices in their upbringing. This is no different than any other parent. You do what you feel is best for your child because only you know what is best. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what to do.
BUT, I won't allow you to interfere with my parenting. You suggest many regulations on homeschooling. LOL! We see how good regulations are in other areas of government schooling, do you really think they would work? ;)
But really, go ahead and tell me my children are missing out because:
They don't have other authority figures in their life.
How comical is this? What world do you live in Kira? In my really real world we have police officers, government officials, etc.... Hell, even a shop owner is considered an authority figure if you are in his store. :)
They won't be exposed to all the sickness in the public school.
Yeah, that sounds like a logical argument. LOL!
"Here's the basics: you take a child and stick them with peers who give very bad advice and moral lessons for the majority of the day and then try to reverse the thinking to coincide with your Christian beliefs. This works for you, good. I choose to educate my children on the way things should be done (according to our beliefs) for the majority of the day and the other part of their day is spent with their peers who (undoubtedly) try to reverse the thinking to more along the lines of the "social norm". It only seems like common sense to me that the more "training", "lessons" or "experience" a child receives on one subject the more they will accept the teachings. "
To start with this....maybe just maybe if you instilled the proper values correctly (assuming you acutally live them yourself) they would choose the "right" friends from the start. I don't "stick" my kids with immoral peers anymore than you hide yours from the world. Now who's view is skewed? Also, as for what works for me , you have assumed this whole time and never asked. My kids (as most) are still young and do accept our beliefs. Will this change as they get older? I expect it will but hopefully as human nature runs its course they will return to our values. Every child, regardless of upbringing, will experiment and try things outside of their world...I choose to be honest about that and work with it instead of try and avoid the inevitable. I cannot control or pick who they run into in life....that is for God to decide. Meaning, I may think this friend or that one is not "good" for my son but ultimately he makes the choice. If they have good self esteem and see the value of making a good choice then they will do so.
"IOW, my children are shown the right way most of the time and the wrong way a small part of the time. How hard is it to figure out which way I believe works best? "
I'm assuming the acronym IOW stands for In Our World? If so, that is exactly that type of mentality that keeps me from homeschooling. Why do you feel you need to create another world for your kids? They will be living in this one. Also, the right way...hmmm...who decides that? To me, that is a matter of perception. For example, in my house (not my world) we don't believe in divorce but someone else may feel justified in that decision. In my house, we don't steal or cheat...for others who are starving that may be a means of necessity. You see, Mamma, anything can be considered right or wrong depending on the circumstances. My husband said it best and at first I was confused but now I get it. He said there is no place for Christian kids in a Christian school anymore than Jesus belonged in a church.
"BUT, I won't allow you to interfere with my parenting. You suggest many regulations on homeschooling. LOL! We see how good regulations are in other areas of government schooling, do you really think they would work? ;)"
Tell me ...how do my opinions interefere your parenting? If someone else's point of view in another state affects your life that much then maybe you need to regroup and see how strong your values are. In my house, they are age-old philosphies that withstand the test of many things. You see, it is a struggle (one we call life) to teach kids right from wrong and how to apply that in the world. Life is not always fair just because you'd like it to be and because you are nice. However, I teach my kids that if you are nice and good to people it will come back someday and some time. Not sure what goes on in your house that is so different but to each his own.
"How comical is this? What world do you live in Kira? In my really real world we have police officers, government officials, etc.... Hell, even a shop owner is considered an authority figure if you are in his store. :)"
I agree on this being comical. Police officers are not part of our everyday decision making with our kids but yes, we do teach them to respect them when we see them. As for governement officials you seem adamant they don't do much anyway but screw up the schoools. As for respect of shop owners...I don't know who owns the Wal Mart but I can tell you my kids don't treat a place of business like a playground. When I talk about authority figures, I 'm referring to everyday influences - parents, teachers, family friends, coaches. If you are the ever present denominator in all things they will depend on you forever. In turn, I am not at school but he is supervised. He (my son) has choices to make without me present. That's when the true test of our teachings matter- does he make a good choice even when I'm not there?
"Maybe your peers talked about... not respecting parents or teachers, wanting to party all the time, being soooo bored in school, not caring about grades, etc..... These are the social lessons my children are free from. "
As I said, many kids stray from what the core family values are at some point- this is human nature. To me, the above scenario happens when parents only want to control and shelter kids from these things. Instead I choose to accept they exist and impose consequences for rules my child breaks along the way- ditching school, dis-respect. You assume that these are the only social lessons that exist at a public school. You are naive...these things are everywhere...this is society as of late. That is why I show my kids what I do....let them decide how they feel about what they see and hear. IMO, if they are "free" to develop their own choices, opinions and feeling about this or that they are more likely to stick to them when the time comes. Again, my kids are still young so much of what you talk about is not really applicable to me. Also, if you think that by only showing them positive things (however you do that) they will only choose that way...God help you later in life. This is what bothers me most about homeschooling- the contradictions. How can you possibly expose your children to the world but show the the majority of "good" things most of the day?
"I choose to educate my children on the way things should be done (according to our beliefs) for the majority of the day"
The only way to do this is to keep them at home....exactly the reason I don't agree with homeschooling! The things I choose to educate my kids on are best used in life while they are living it- not avoiding it. There are good things everywhere and lessons to be learned from every situation.
Parents want the best for their children, but what’s the best way to educate them? Dr. Phil’s guests face off in a debate about whether to school, homeschool or unschool. Dana and her husband, Joe, call themselves radical unschoolers. They say education happens as a side effect of life, and they don’t believe in tests, curriculums or grades. Are their three kids learning what they need to know? Then, RaeAnn says public schools are death traps and wants to homeschool her children. Her husband, Steve, says their kids are safer at school than they are at home. Can this couple reach a compromise? Plus, Nicole feels like an outcast at 26. She says she hated being homeschooled, and couldn’t relate to other kids. Share your thoughts here.
