Messages By: omgwhocares

Quote From: julie1418

Sure.. maybe if YOU want to send them there, you have my prayers for the safety of your kids. However, my homeschooled child will be the one to excel, and be the one to climb to the top of the corporate ladder, and will be happy to interview your kid for a job.

 

 

LOL! Because there are NO public or private school graduates who have amounted to anything! Statements like these are one of the primary reasons I do not want to homeschool my children. I don't want them raised to believe they have the right to make such arrogant assertions of their own superiority. It's too bad because many homeschoolers and unschoolers on this board have been gracious. They have challenged me to think differently about education, but then posts like this pull me RIGHT back again!

Quote From: fredastare

Okay,  you make a claim (which may be valid) that colleges are filled with home schooled students, or that they are actively recruiting such students.

 

Yet you will NOT back your claim up.........really it was a simple question, that once again garnered a very defensive reply.  Not too mention a way out IMO on you end from answering the question.

 

 

Hmmm?

 

 

I am not against homeschooling, but I am finding that my stomach churns at the idea of joining a league of self absorbed closed minded group of individuals, who will not answer an honest question.

 

Thank goodness for you, that there are several very refreshing and non-combative people on this board that are indeed answering questions and giving real insight into their choices and experiences in embracing alternate educational routes for their families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote From: momofbrw

I really feel for the lady on stage who found herself in tears.  I can understand...that would be me too.  I am so pasionate about keeping my kids safe but it is not my main reason for homeschooling.  I pray that your husband reads through these replies and opens his mind a litte.  If you are that passionate - you will do a good job at teaching your kids, no doubt.

 

I waited on someone else to say this but since they have not - I will.  For him to say that your kids are safer in school than at home shows that he has not really looked into it at all.  We all know that our children are not safer at school.   He is disagreeing with you without a shred of understanding about what he's so against.  I would be glad to take him on if he would like to quiz me about some of his fears.  My MIL supports our decision, my Mom does not.  I am constantly defending our choice so I feel that I could help your husband to understand too.

 

I wish you luck and my heart goes out to you and your children!

Quote From: julie1418

Give me a break! I think she has been thoroughly converted. Why is it that the root of every offense must come back to the public schools?

 

I do not believe ANYONE has the corner market on arrogance, but THAT comment was arrogant. I have met some terrific homeschoolers in person, and there are some great homeschoolers and unschoolers on this board. Truly, some of the posters here have given me some serious food for thought. What I keep getting pulled back to it that many (not all) of the homeschoolers are what I would call evangelical homeschoolers. Why is it okay to make broad insults against public schools, the parents who send their kids to public schools, and the future of the children who attend public schools?

 

If you read my posts, I am not opposed to homeschooling. I am against the need to trash public schools to make your case. If homeschooling is so great, it should stand on its own merit, don't you think?

Quote From: julie1418

Do you research!  Stop expecting someone else to do if for you.  You must have been publicly schooled

 

This is the kind of thing that is driving me crazy ( I won't say hostile, I still want to play nice with the rational people out there!) Why is the assumption every thing to do with public schools must be lazy and ignorant?  I really do not get the hostility towards traditional schools.

Quote From: julie1418

No worries. There are enough people on this board genuinely answering questions and even deflecting attacks with grace and diplomacy.

 

Unfortunately, I am put off from homeschooling because I do not want my children's social circle to be predominately homeschooled kids. I have met some homeschooling parents who are just lovely, but many others (from MY experience) are so evangelical about their homeschooling it is a turn-off. Maybe I'm just noticing the squeaky wheels, but I don't feel like I would ever "belong" in the group, and I don't want my children to have a traditional school is evil (or even inferior) mentality. I am loathe to put them in any situation when they would cultivate a sense of being inherently better than everyone else or a sense of being among the "enlightened few."

Quote From: julie1418

Okay, I'm all for giving someone looking into homeschooling the best information, but the statistics given on the hslda website are flawed and invalid. One of the main researchers, Lawrence Rudner, has complained that the hslda has misused his findings. Read this..

 

epsl.asu.edu/epru/articles/EPRU-0503-102-OWI.pdf

 

 

It is an analysis of how the research was conducted and why the methodology and conclusions are invalid. It isn't, in my opinion, biased against homeschooling. Rather it critiques the research.

 

If someone is considering homeschooling, I would rather them have a full picture, rather than walk away with the impression that simply homeschooling will yield high test scores.

Quote From: tinkerbell123

I believe there are several ways of thinking, besides the traditional conventional wisdom!  I even understand some points of concern, by homeschooling parents, about the public schools.  I just have always and forever thought that I want to teach my children to do whatever they can to help their community, neighbors, peers, and society as a whole and I feel that starts in public school, not in the home!!  I also enjoy your posts, by the way were you the second couple on the great debate?

Quote From: julie1418

Let me preface this by saying that I know some people who homeschool who are simply dynamite. I don't want to make generalizations just for the sake of it. However, when it comes to MY children and MY life, I DO have to look around and consider my personal experiences when making a decision. It is NOT my intention to insult anyone here.

 

The fact is, most of the homeschooling families I know are very militant and evangelical about homeschooling. There seems to be a NEED to convert. I just responded to a post that ended with (and I am paraphrasing) "the public school kids will be the service workers to our homeschool children - the true free thinkers!" I really don't want my kids to be surrounded with that kind of attitude.

 

 I have mentioned this before, but we could easily afford to send our kids to an elite private school. We are hesitant. We don't want are children to take affluence for granted and think EVERYONE has that lifestyle. We want them to have a true appreciation for the blessings in their life, and I'm not sure going to school going to school with kids who drive BMW's will do that.

 

Are children are young, and we are still discussing and considering our options. The more comments I hear about the public school kids being the employees of the superior homeschool kids, the further I am pushed away from that option. Again, I know a great many of you here do not hold that attitude.

Quote From: kschmittz

My hubby and I have been discussing these posts over the dinner table and can't help but be dumbfounded. The above post is the exact reason kids have no boundaries and we have many of today's problems. Even more interesting is that those who practice these 'methods' believe that their way prevents such things! WRONG! Proven research by almost every accredited organization shows that structure, discipline and consistency are the cornerstones we need for today['s children. What if, let's say, your child wants to pee in the living room? Or they were hungry so they hit their sibling? Their tired so let's hug them and reward them for being naughty? What if their basic needs are met and the behavior continues? Then what? Also, the idea that siblings have a squabble and you reward that by playing a game is insane to me. Let's carry this theory to adulthood....an adult is hungry, has no means to get food when HE wants it, robs the store and in the process kills someone trying to stop the crime. That is all OK because they were hungry? He had a need to be met so everyting else just doesn't count? Sorry, your theory is just an excuse not to parent. YOU don't want to deal with the stress that comes with raising kids. YOU find it easier to do it your way. I can tell you from my own experience that a 4 y/o doesn't have the physcial capacity to determine the consequences of his actions to the degree an 8 or 10year old might. Some things (leaving toys in the rain, they rust, sorry) are natural consequences but then they forget the incident two minutes later. My own 4 y/o doesn't like eating dinner but then is starving later at bedtime. Should I just let everyone have their own dinner time, own meals and so on? Wrong! To some degree, I will accommodate my kids but I run my house because I take parenting seriously. My kids respect me and love me. We all have a role in the family and our actions affect everyone- similar to your theory. They have learned to do not only for themselves but for others. They are kind, giving and loving. I just think it's more important to teach my kids rather than be friends with them. We'll see whose children run the world....