my homeschooled kid

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michaels4gardens":31maktnw said:
I feel that any parent that will take a little time with the child, help them find out what they want to know, encourage the child to learn important things, [like how to read well, and math skills ] and try to find answers to the questions the child has that we can't answer, will always provide a better education then the system. --but-- one of the biggest advantages the child , and parent will have, is that the child and parents can choose their own value system, and morality parameters -- and not have the state force "by close association" , "belittling " or "direct indoctrination" the self destructive, self centered value system of the "educators" and "the system"

Well said!!
 
:bunnyhop: after reading all of these posts I feel like if I ever have a kid that it is MY duty to educate them, not the government. I can totally related to the idea that not much of the information sticks as it is crammed down our throats. Chemistry, which is the class I am sitting in now, is that way for me. I do not understand the concepts nor do I have any interest in it. The only reason I am taking this advanced class is because it is required for graduation. I will more than likely never have to know host of these things with the field I plan to go into considering this is physical science.
 
Our daughter is in the public school system and I think it teaches the child to have a thicker skin. But that aside. We do summer school at our home each year. That gives us a chance to enrich her education. Last summer we worked on algebra, book reports and some biology. This year is art, power point presentations, and animal husbandry.

Parents need to be more involved in their children's life and education.
 
I don't expect to be catered to in the slightest but there is really no encouragement nor any direction. With public school it is sink or swim. They never give you a map to tell you were there is an island to settle down and dry your feet. I suppose that is what bothers me. We have a variety of things thrown at us but they aren't an option to "get your feet wet". You are forced into learning many different paths without any set direction. Thusly, it would be natural that student not do as well in subjects that they have no interest in.
 
wamplercathy":4wb5t1a7 said:
Our daughter is in the public school system and I think it teaches the child to have a thicker skin.

I'm glad that you are able to take a more active role in your daughter's education, that's great! :) Respectfully though, I worry about the 'thicker skin' aspect of children in public school. I had an awful time in public school, many people do fit in well and have a positive experience, but then again, many kids do not. Instead of developing a 'thicker skin', they end up with long lasting psychological damage, sometimes even suicide.

I'm glad public school is working out well for your family though. Most kids are probably 'ok' with it. It's hard for me to ignore the huge advantages of homeschooling though, and I realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to travel that path.
 
Either school has there pros and cons. I didn't have the easiest time in school either. My daughter has to contend with bullies too even though the school has a "zero tolerance policy" Both Chris and I take the time to talk through things with her or go to the school and be "that mom" :p :lol: And my mother and brother are very active in her life as well. We're all different and our home is a judge free zone. It doesn't matter what your issues may be, gay,straight, black, white, fat, thin, ect. We allow her to be her. As far as the thicker skin goes, well when you go to work the same people are out there. Bullies are bullies and time wouldn't change them into decent people. Some good, some bad, and as many problems as public schools have they do introduce your child to the messed up world we live in. It's our responsibility, as the parents, to provide a strong safety net. No matter which schooling you may choose. I've seen both end horribly and both end with shining stars. In the end it the parents that make the difference. :D

Syberchick70 great job bragging on your son. Kids need that. :p
 
wamplercathy":1ilk9em6 said:
It's our responsibility, as the parents, to provide a strong safety net. No matter which schooling you may choose. I've seen both end horribly and both end with shining stars. In the end it the parents that make the difference. :D

I agree, the support network a family provides makes a huge difference.

Those of us with weak support....may not have fared any better in a "home school" environment. Still a lot of people have had some pretty traumatic experiences.

The public school my husband was in pushed his (weak willed) mother to place him on Ritalin at age 4 due to the recommendation of his kindergarten teacher. He was (often physically) forced to take the drug for 10 years (until they could legally no longer force him), but...they never did manage to discover that he was struggling with dyslexia.

I was directly accused of spreading Satanism by a school principle and a teacher (because I enjoyed playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. ) and was severely bullied by students who were encouraged by school staff.
(This might have something to do with my preference towards keeping religion at arms length.)

Those are both examples of things that a child with a strong or close family would not have had to endure.
Turns out that even adult bullies are good at picking out easy victims, AKA children with poor support networks.

Had I simply had access to a cyber school, I could have legally educated myself. :(
 
Zass":1bzx7jhj said:
I was directly accused of spreading Satanism by a school principle and a teacher (because I enjoyed playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. ) and was severely bullied by students who were encouraged by school staff.
(This might have something to do with my preference towards keeping religion at arms length.)

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me, Zass :(
And I have no doubt they would try to force my son on ritalin in the school system.
 
The school tried with us and I said no way to Ritalin. That was in her early days in elementary school. She is now in middle school and we did have her tested a few months back but it was because she asked why it was so hard to concentrate. After a long discussion we saw a specialist. Schools like to drug the kids so it will make their job easier.
 
:angry:
wamplercathy":1fllofct said:
The school tried with us and I said no way to Ritalin. That was in her early days in elementary school. She is now in middle school and we did have her tested a few months back but it was because she asked why it was so hard to concentrate. After a long discussion we saw a specialist. Schools like to drug the kids so it will make their job easier.

Absolutely! I'm against medicating kids in that manner unless it's a truly severe case. If you medicate them, they never learn to cope and have a harder time functioning as adults.

I think if a person still has issues as an adult, it's ok to selectively take medication to make things easier, but it's not good to do that with developing children.
 
When my oldest son was in kindergarten the school decided that he and my brothers kid [the same age, and class] needed to be on ritalin , My sister in law put her son on ritalin, we pulled our son from school. The two boys were about the same, a little rambunctious, and both very talkative, and had a hard time sitting still with their hands folded for an hr.[esp. at church , and school] but they played together, and we had both of them together at our house a lot as we had a lot of room for boys to play. After the ritalin started, my nephew began to change and become more moody , angry, and depressed, he was not as fun to play with so eventually the boys choose different friends to spend time with. But he came over from time to time, -- At about 14 he got in trouble at home [his folks had moved to S. Ca. ]so came to our house to live [in N. Ca.] for a almost year, he did his farm work, and began to have a little better attitude, but was still depressed, and moody, [and did not get into trouble] after a while he and his folks made up, and he went home, -- so-- he got busted for drugs again, and went to a detention center, -- now days my son is an attorney for the state, and my nephew has spent more time in prison then out. - I believe ritalin stopped the natural development of coping skills, and normal emotional development, in my nephew, and when ritalin was his coping skill, other drugs followed to help with life's bigger problems.
I am convinced that the only difference between how the boys turned out was , ritalin, and -poor parenting choices, and parental examples.
 
michaels4gardens":2koq1528 said:
I believe ritalin stopped the natural development of coping skills, and normal emotional development, in my nephew, and when ritalin was his coping skill, other drugs followed to help with life's bigger problems.
I am convinced that the only difference between how the boys turned out was , ritalin, and -poor parenting choices, and parental examples.

I do believe it can do that. I'm sure there were many other influences involved, but learning to take drugs 'so you can cope' is not a lesson I want to teach my son.
 
There are so many different reasons for the choices we each make. I didn't get into trouble nor get bullied in school but I was so monumentally bored. Except for the 2 years I went to a two-room school in Maine--3rd grade in the "little" room where I could read to or help younger kids in the K-3 room and then 4th grade in the "big" room where I could listen in on a geography or math lesson being given to older kids up to 8th grade. Then they sent us to a "bigger & better" school that meant a long bus ride and sitting through classes with nothing new for years.

I think one of the things i liked about the two-room school and about home-schooling was having less segregation by age and more freedom to pursue interests. Back when we started I had people give me the "real world" lecture, but I didn't see spending every day with same age kids and one adult as a real world setting. So I'd just say my goals for my children didn't include having them institutionalized. Different choices about education do prepare people for rather different lives--for some a private school and networking with the right people is important, or for others going to public school and learning to fit in is important. And probably, as with homeschooling, the choices are made for many different reasons. But it always seems important to me to figure out what the goal is when looking for the best way to reach it.
 
Rainey":194dz4cm said:
I think one of the things i liked about the two-room school and about home-schooling was having less segregation by age and more freedom to pursue interests. Back when we started I had people give me the "real world" lecture, but I didn't see spending every day with same age kids and one adult as a real world setting.

That's a big part of it for me as well :)
 
LopLover":47jh8y31 said:
:bunnyhop: after reading all of these posts I feel like if I ever have a kid that it is MY duty to educate them, not the government.

Yay! Good for you! :p

LopLover":47jh8y31 said:
I can totally related to the idea that not much of the information sticks as it is crammed down our throats.

Yep... someone did a little experiment where they gave students a test on Friday and then gave them the same test the following Monday. There was a dramatic drop in overall scores.

LopLover":47jh8y31 said:
The only reason I am taking this advanced class is because it is required for graduation.

Here in California, those that want to graduate early can take the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam). My son is going to take it in a couple of months so he will have a state issued graduation certificate. The only things they test on are English language skills and math.

I took the same test and "got out" of high school when I was 15.

LopLover":47jh8y31 said:
We have a variety of things thrown at us but they aren't an option to "get your feet wet". You are forced into learning many different paths without any set direction. Thusly, it would be natural that student not do as well in subjects that they have no interest in.

I think students of conventional schooling learn a little about a lot of things, but don't know a LOT about anything in particular. The beauty of homeschooling and unschooling in particular, is that the student is free to explore what interests them the most... therefore they can become experts in their chosen field.

Syberchick70":47jh8y31 said:
Rainey":47jh8y31 said:
I think one of the things i liked about the two-room school and about home-schooling was having less segregation by age and more freedom to pursue interests. Back when we started I had people give me the "real world" lecture, but I didn't see spending every day with same age kids and one adult as a real world setting.

That's a big part of it for me as well :)

The only place we are segregated by age is in school, which is definitely NOT "real world".

I have to laugh when people ask "But how will they get socialized?" :roll: Institutionalized is a more accurate description of what they come away with from that setting.

I believe it is actually very detrimental to children to put them with a group of kids all the same age. It is better for them to interact with people of all ages and emotional maturity. Not to mention those with more knowledge than they have.

I am always amazed by the way the homeschooled kids treat other children, especially those that are "different" in some way. There is a level of kindness and tolerance that you just don't see elsewhere.

For example, some friends have an adopted son that was a "drug baby" and was born missing a large portion of his brain. "The doctors" said he would never speak or be able to function in any meaningful way.

Thankfully, they were wrong... but he still functions way below his age level, and has a rather tyrannical personality- imagine Mr. Incredible's boss, right down to the stature, and you will get a good picture. ;) Anyway- all of the kids up here just accept him into the group and for who he is.

As a matter of fact, my son Colliepup thought that was just the way he was. When I mentioned the fact that he was a drug baby and missing part of his brain, Colliepup said dryly "Well that is a rather important piece of information to have."
 
Michaels4gardens, I think you may be right. My husband got into drugs shortly after stopping Ritalin at 14.
The battle to got him clean took years of my life. He simply didn't know how to exist sober.

(FYI, I'm not a bleeding heart, but my intuition was correct, he was more then worth the trouble. ;) )

And I'd like to say, I agree with MSD about everything stated above. Actually, the cyber school forced me to research children who are "gifted learners" (since that is how they categorize mine)

Turns out, such children tend to NOT thrive when confined to groups of age peers, mostly because they are frequently at a different emotional age than their peers. That's only scratching the surface. There is a ton of info on this available to read online, and I highly suggests you guys read up on it.

My 10 year old daughter is a brown belt in shotokun karate. That turned out to be an excellent choice for her, as rank is based on merit instead of age. She gets a chance to teach and be taught by students both younger and older than her.
 
Zass":30et4on0 said:
Turns out, such children tend to NOT thrive when confined to groups of age peers, mostly because they are frequently at a different emotional age than their peers. That's only scratching the surface. There is a ton of info on this available to read online, and I highly suggests you guys read up on it.

My 10 year old daughter is a brown belt in shotokun karate. That turned out to be an excellent choice for her, as rank is based on merit instead of age. She gets a chance to teach and be taught by students both younger and older than her.

That's interesting info to have... not that I consider my son particularly 'gifted', I think most kids would fall into that category when given the advantage of free learning at home, but I think that would still cause him to be pretty unhappy in a public school environment if he were thrust into one.

And congrats to your daughter :D
 
That's interesting info to have... not that I consider my son particularly 'gifted', I think most kids would fall into that category when given the advantage of free learning at home, but I think that would still cause him to be pretty unhappy in a public school environment if he were thrust into one.

I agree, I tend to think most students are damaged and repressed, so given freedom to actually learn they preform far above expectations.

What the school taught me, is that there is a vast difference between hot-boxed kits (who are forced to memorize information to make their parents happy,) and the naturally gifted (who can be identified because they teach themselves at a higher level then school students are taught, and are often not motivated by grades.)

Apparently, most gifted learners do have "gifted" parents, so their parents tend not to think that their child's behavior is at all special. (This was news for me, but I did recently discover my husband's grandfather made his living working on rocket engines.. :cool: So I guess they do have some good stuff in the bloodlines )

What I'm saying is that, according to them, it's not even a surprise that the PARENTS of gifted students remember being miserable and struggling in a typical school setting, as they were never hardwired for it to begin with. Keeping their children out in that context is basically just reflexively protecting them from what they already KNOW can be devastating to a sensitive and highly intelligent mind.
(Don't all children have these? That is where I get confused.)
 
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