Should Home Schooling be allowed or not?

[Watchful_Eye]

There is a long-term debate in Germany about allowing "Home Schooling" or not - and as far as I know, it is allowed in the USA, so it is interesting for me to read your thoughts about it.

In my opinion, a state should try to give the same possibilites of public education to every child - independent of their parents. The subject of education is the child - and if the state is so "liberal" to allow the parents to teach their children themselves, it actually takes the choice off the children to go to a public school, because the parents are the ones who finally could decide it, not the children themselves (even if they could, the parents are able to influence their opinion towards it in several ways).

The imagination of religious extremists etc. indoctrinating their "image of the world" to their children without any critic from "outside" seems very frightening to me.

Another problem is the educational standard - of course a state can instruct different kinds of tests, but still a test is just able to ask about a specific kind of knowledge - a school often has more possibilites, e.g. to show physical phenomenas with experiments. In addition, it is impossible to test social competences, which are probably lacking because of missing contacts to classmates and different teachers. If a wealthy family should think that the educational quality of the public schools is lower than it would be possible at home, it is still able to send their child to a private school which is approved by the state - so I think that this argument is also not very strong.

Do you think "home schooling" should be allowed?
Do you have some empirical impressions about it?

(I hope, my english is understandable - discussions like this are also a kind of "language training" for me. Feel free to tell me about my profoundly mistakes per PM, and I will correct them if I find the time. Thank You. )

 

[KillerSOS]

I believe that homeschooling should be allowed.

As to your point about parents taking the choice away from their childrent it is simply not the childs choice to begin with. Until the child is 18 the parent is legally obligated to make what they feel is the right choice in the childs upbringing. The reason the system is the way it is is because children are effected by peers and elders and are unable to truly make their own choices.

Eductation standard is a good point. All you can really do is give standard testing. Life will simply weed out the ones who know what they need to know and those that don't. In my personal experiance most homeschooled kids are perfectly fine and thrive in the college enviroment.

 

[Gaara♥]

I say public school, despite its many flaws and its lower standard of education in most instances, is probably better for a child in the long run. I have a few friends in college that were home schooled their whole lives and they severely lack normal social skills and they seem to just generally be afraid of human interaction. The same instances might not occur for every home schooled child but that IS a side effect of home schooling.

Although if the parent has the proper credentials and training as a well rounded teacher, then I say why not let them be home schooled as long as they get some kind of human interaction other than their own parents.

After all, we dont want robots running our future, we want live humans with the ability to think for themselves and think outside of the box.

Thats my take on home schooling.

 

[KillerSOS]

I say public school, despite its many flaws and its lower standard of education in most instances, is probably better for a child in the long run. I have a few friends in college that were home schooled their whole lives and they severely lack normal social skills and they seem to just generally be afraid of human interaction. The same instances might not occur for every home schooled child but that IS a side effect of home schooling.

Although if the parent has the proper credentials and training as a well rounded teacher, then I say why not let them be home schooled as long as they get some kind of human interaction other than their own parents.

After all, we dont want robots running our future, we want live humans with the ability to think for themselves and think outside of the box.

Thats my take on home schooling.

I have a few friends that were homeschooled. They have plenty of social skills and are doing fine in college. I think it just depends on the child. Not everyone is going to be a social person even if they go to public school.

As long as they can pass the tests I say let parents choose how their children learn what they need for life.

 

[Wrath`]

Homeschooling is fine to an extent, I have a few friends who are/were homeschooled, 2 of them are great in social situations, but ther other 5 or 6 are really bad at it, the two that are fine though, were in many outside activities.

I think if you are to homeschool your children, it should be law that you involove your kids in an extra cirricular activity so they can get social interaction.

 

[.Marik]

It depends on the child.

While allowing a child to be homeschooled can keep them away from negative situations, they may not develop any social skills, and will lack them. Social skills are a crucial part for being successful in modern society.

There's no evidence to claim which decision is better, but they both have their disadvantages and advantages.

Me personally, would send me child to a regular public school, due to the fact I'm not a religious extremist, and want him/her to grow up around other children their age...

 

[M.K]

There is a saying about home-schooled children:

"2 Levels above in Education, 2 Levels below in Social Skills".

There isn't a clear defining border between the intellect of home-schooled children vs. public education.
I know a guy who is home-schooled due to his severe fear of social situations. He says it is so bad that he can not be in a public setting for too long.
However, it is at the parent's (and sometimes at the childs) discretion as to whether or not the child is home-schooled.

 

[Xsyven]

It's the parent's decision on how children should be taught, one hundred percent. I'm pretty sure this sort of thing wouldn't fly in the US at all.

 

[ArcPoint]

I'm pretty much in agreement with everybody here. They have the legal right as their parents to home school them, however, would I homeschool my own children? No.

 

[KillerSOS]

I feel as long as they find activities for their kids to hang out with other children their age then its perfectly fine.

 

[GwJ]

I completely support home schooling. Every child has access to public schools, but if their parents don't want them to be exposed to a certain group (Say they lived in an area that is full of gangs, drugs, etc... and they can't move because of money) the parents should be allowed to home school them.

 

[KillerSOS]

Parents are still paying taxes that pay for school so you can't really say that they don't want to pay for their childs schooling.

I support home schooling 100%

 

[:mad:]

I don't care much for it, I'd go ahead and keep Germans in school.
Maybe Germany knows something the US doesn't, that's probably we don't have the... smartest kids, in a way. We certainly have the fattest.

 

[Watchful_Eye]

"It's the parent's decision on how children should be taught, one hundred percent. I'm pretty sure this sort of thing wouldn't fly in the US at all."

If Parents (regularly) spank their children if they do something wrong, they get punished by the law - so they already have no 100% control above the bodies of their children. I think its a danger to give the parents a "hundred percent" control about the things their children learn (their "mind") until they are adult - in my opinion, the public school can be a great "counter-weight" to the things they learn at home, even without "home schooling". Parents and pupils are still able (and should) learn something together at home when the school is over.

 

[Prince Of Fire]

There is a long-term debate in Germany about allowing "Home Schooling" or not - and as far as I know, it is allowed in the USA, so it is interesting for me to read your thoughts about it.

In my opinion, a state should try to give the same possibilites of public education to every child - independent of their parents. The subject of education is the child - and if the state is so "liberal" to allow the parents to teach their children themselves, it actually takes the choice off the children to go to a public school, because the parents are the ones who finally could decide it, not the children themselves (even if they could, the parents are able to influence their opinion towards it in several ways).

The imagination of religious extremists etc. indoctrinating their "image of the world" to their children without any critic from "outside" seems very frightening to me.

Another problem is the educational standard - of course a state can instruct different kinds of tests, but still a test is just able to ask about a specific kind of knowledge - a school often has more possibilites, e.g. to show physical phenomenas with experiments. In addition, it is impossible to test social competences, which are probably lacking because of missing contacts to classmates and different teachers. If a wealthy family should think that the educational quality of the public schools is lower than it would be possible at home, it is still able to send their child to a private school which is approved by the state - so I think that this argument is also not very strong.

Do you think "home schooling" should be allowed?
Do you have some empirical impressions about it?

(I hope, my english is understandable - discussions like this are also a kind of "language training" for me. Feel free to tell me about my profoundly mistakes per PM, and I will correct them if I find the time. Thank You. )

I personally think that home schooling should not be allowed. I say this because I believe that if home schooling is allowed than it lets students become socially confused or just less in tune with the outside world. Obviously that person is not going to go crazy or anything (haha) because they still do other things in their lives but, that person loses touch with people who they can relate to in there age group. I find that going to school and learning with your peers and working and learning together is a much more effective way to get a good education, and be a part of a working society. Maybe one on one learning and a more tactile environment works for some people but with this day and age and all of the help people can get via Special Education staff...those kind of issues should not be a problem for most people.

Being home schooled (through your life or throughout most of it) could allow someone to leave a life of isolation to a certain degree. I'm sure some of you have seen The Waterboy ? Throughout that entire film Bobby believes that everything his mother taught him while growing up is 100% correct and thats what he believes in, sort of like a religion. Now to put it simply, imagine that happening to someone you know. Basically, you lose the ability to think for yourself if you are constantly exposed to one viewpoint.

 

[Narukari]

I think a lot of people here don't know what homeschooling actually entails.

It's not a free for all for the parents to teach the child anything they want. The parents register at the school to be able to home school their child. Then the school district will send them rubrics that have the criteria of all the subjects that their child needs to learn at a certain grade, and standardized tests to make sure the child is learning what he needs to. If the child starts dropping to much in any of the subjects, they will force the parents to send the child back into public schooling.

Also, parents should have the right to raise their children however they want, whether society agrees with it or not. This would be a law that gets way too close to regulating how people are supposed to behave.

 

[Maniclysane]

Home schooling is fine as long as the children take whatever standardized tests the public schools take. If the kid passes, he stays in home school. I'm not sure about German law, or much about Germany, but if they're a country that takes their education system very seriously, then I could imagine removing the home school system.

In some parts of America, education is practically ignored. Most tax money goes to things, other than education. The public schools often, are very poor and usually are not the best option. If I were a parent in a place with less than satisfactory public schools, I would consider home schooling.

 

[CT Chia]

While yes, I certainly agree that the parent and child should be able to decide how the child should be educated, you have to wonder if the parents are qualified. It depends on if you believe everyone should be educated to a certain point regardless. There is nothing stopping anyone from having no attempt at an education.

But to perhaps have a qualified education from home schooling that counts as credit to get you jobs or into other schools later, I believe the parent or whoever that would be teaching the individual should have to pass some sort of test or inspection to see if they qualify somewhat as a teacher, like normal teachers do. Obviously the standards wouldn't be set as high since it's not their profession, but they would have to be at a level of being capable of providing the individual an education.

 

[yummynbeefy]

i actually dont believe in home schooling and dont think it should be allowed in this day and age

if a child is home schooled he/she is loosing the social experience that school provides

also with all the distracting electronics and such a child may never get a social life if he doesnt go to school

and finally life requires social skills that homeschooling does not offer in any way whatsoever besides parent-child relationship which is important but the child needs many social skills to suceed in this world

 

[:mad:]

i actually dont believe in home schooling and dont think it should be allowed in this day and age

if a child is home schooled he/she is loosing the social experience that school provides

also with all the distracting electronics and such a child may never get a social life if he doesnt go to school

and finally life requires social skills that homeschooling does not offer in any way whatsoever besides parent-child relationship which is important but the child needs many social skills to suceed in this world

This post worries me a little. I'm all for home schooling, there's plenty of good things that come from being taught at home. Now, it's not as simple as the Waterboy reference, because Bobby was sheltered from other people, so he really didn't have anyone to correct his false beliefs. Exactly what is so important about every child having a social life? That could potentially distract them from homework, and cause them to actually fail their classes in public school.

Home-schooled children have several advantages over most regular public school goers. They get more individual attention, for one. The instructor will always give their full attention to the student. If they're strict, there's no way you'll ever be distracted by electronics. Especially if the parents are there to make sure the homework gets done.

You also claim that people need social lives. That's true to an extent, the home-school student will always have friends to talk to, and they'll develop social skills later in life. Their primary concern is school, unless they weren't raised to believe this. Not only that, but have you ever considered how rough public school is? Death threats, weapons, constant bullying. Some kids might have already had underdeveloped social skills, and they get picked on for it. Or, better than that, the bullies will just assault the poor child for no reason. The education system is so bad, this will never get 100% fixed. Fearing for their safety, a student should have the right to request home-schooling if they state their reasons.

Your entire argument is based on social skills...
The student will not be entirely sheltered, they will have some freedom, and go out fairly often. Public school was not made for socializing between friends, people go there to learn. There just happens to be other people, so you really can't help but develop some kind of relationship with other people.

 

[Ryan Ludovic]

What seems to be at debate here, is responsiblity, V government control.
IE: The parent is not responsible enough to raise his/her child correctly and teach social skills, so let the government institutionalize my child in a corrupt business scheme.

Is it safe to assume that a few of us are in these institutions, and may I base some of what I say off of that assumption? Take the next week, and observe. Observe what you are being taught. Does this have anything to do with your future? Or is it so that the school can make money off of state tests and get a fancier gymnasium and new computers in the computer room?

School isn't a learning establishment, as much as it is a business, and you and me, are their product. Their formula does not base itself off of learning and expansion of passionate learning. Instead, students must regurgitate and repeat information. They are taught to cram, repeat, then forget. Put forth the bare minimum, sleep through notes, turn in your copied homework late, and get a A+ on the curved test where the average grade was more like a C-.

There is no passion based off of learning. Yeah, there are outliars, but the entire educational system as a whole prints them an honor role slip from their fancy new printer, and spends all the rest of their time.

If you pass the state tests, they get money. If you do not, then they do not. Thusly, a school year goes as follows.

Quarter 1: Whoops, you forgot everything over the summer because of our unhealthy and standardized teaching methods where we strip you of the passion of learning, and instead, replace it with a fear-based system. Time to reteach everything from last year.

Quarter 2: Realization that you still haven't caught everything from last quarter, so that spills over, then we re-discover the basics needed for this class.

Quarter 3: Just when we finally were learning something, it's time to prepare for a state test, so everything is haulted while you study.

Quarter 4: Continuation of this study method, a day to review after the test, followed by a dwarfed learning period of stuff planned to be forgotten over the summer, along with the 'understanding that summer is near' so you are allowed to slack.

While a homeschooled child has the condition where it may be possible they wind up unsocial, i have many friends who are more social than myself, (a kid whom was beat up consistantly for being different.)

 

[Mr. Rogu]

i actually dont believe in home schooling and dont think it should be allowed in this day and age

if a child is home schooled he/she is loosing the social experience that school provides

also with all the distracting electronics and such a child may never get a social life if he doesnt go to school

and finally life requires social skills that homeschooling does not offer in any way whatsoever besides parent-child relationship which is important but the child needs many social skills to suceed in this world

I would have to agree with this almost 100%. I also dont believe in home schooling, but i also dont think they should make a law that bans it. Ultimately, its the parents decision whether or not to home school their kid. If they are certified to teach and think they can teach their kid better, i say go for it. but if neither of them dont have the qualities to teach the kid, and they do it anyway, then their kid might be screwed. there are many schools that are great places to go and get your education. Unless all the schools around them are either a threat to the childs safety or just not good enough, then i say home schooling is the way.

When a kid is home schooled, yeah, they dont have to worry about bullies, peer preasure, or anything else that might happen in school thats bad for them, but thats how you get those skills. To get the experience to conquer that bully, or say no to ditch class for the rest of the week.

School is also a place where many kids meet their group of friends that they hang out with. Not everyone has best friends from school, but you learn how to interact with others you dont know, how to make friends in uncomfrontable situations. I remember my first full day of high school. I knew almost no one. but around a month later, i found some cool people to sit at lunch with and got to know them. Now, i know a lot of people there.

Certain skills that you need in life can only be gotten/obtained growing up at school.

but have you ever considered how rough public school is? Death threats, weapons, constant bullying. Some kids might have already had underdeveloped social skills, and they get picked on for it. Or, better than that, the bullies will just assault the poor child for no reason.

If the public school around that childs area is so bad, why send them there? There are plenty of other public and definately private schools that are way better.

 

[:mad:]

If the public school around that childs area is so bad, why send them there? There are plenty of other public and definately private schools that are way better.

You tell me. Most parents don't even know what goes on in these schools, children are hesitant to talk about these problems to anyone.

Not exactly, parents would have to change their schedules if they had to travel farther to other public schools, and not everyone can afford private.

 

[Chis]

Well, home schooling should be allowed, since they'll may be getting the one to one help required at home. Also, this will give certisn children opportunities, if they're unable to go to school for whatever reason, such as location, illness or exclusion. However, I would only see it as a last resort as a qualified Teacher seems me likely to teach better then your average parent.

I'm not so sure on this 'social' skills argument. Just because they don't go to school, doesn't mean that they can't/don't interact with children their age. They could even be bullied at school, which happens a lot, so it's not that big of a loss.

 

[Cherry64]

I personally think that You may do whatever you want your kids to do, as this decision is ultimately up to the Parents.
I however would not want to do home-schooling, and to put it simply is because I feel that my time at school taught me so much more than the Curriculum did. Life is a tough place so grade 9 math isn't going to tell you what to do when faced with people talking about suicide, or People getting bullied. Are your parents? probably not.

 

[:mad:]

I personally think that You may do whatever you want your kdis to do, as this decision is ultimately up to the Parents.
I however would not want to do home-schooling, and to put it simply is because I feel that my time at school taught me so much more than the Curriculum did. Life is a tough place so grade 9 math isn't going to tell you what to do when faced with people talking about suicide, or People getting bullied. Are your parents? probably not.

I'm sorry, this isn't really a poll, we aren't asking if you wouldn't want to be homeschooled or not. It's not exactly easy to respond to this, because you went so far off track in nearly every sentence.

Oh, and welcome to the proving grounds, good sir. Why are you posting in a font?

 

[Cherry64]

Good question. Too used to it but that was the first and last time.
It didn't really go off track, Straked. If you want me to clear it up there here goes.

Home-Schooling should not be allowed as it takes away from things you learn in school that are outside of the curriculum. All you would learn from home schooling is what you need to know to pass the final exam. You learn so much more than that at school such as How to talk to people, How to manipulate some people, if you are good at reading people. If you were home schooled you would still meet other kids your age, but not regularly enough to learn good people skills. Therefor, I conclude taht I agree with yummynbeefy and Mr.Rogu

 

[:mad:]

Good question. Too used to it but that was the first and last time.
It didn't really go off track, Straked. If you want me to clear it up there here goes.

Home-Schooling should not be allowed as it takes away from things you learn in school that are outside of the curriculum. All you would learn from home schooling is what you need to know to pass the final exam. You learn so much more than that at school such as How to talk to people, How to manipulate some people, if you are good at reading people. If you were home schooled you would still meet other kids your age, but not regularly enough to learn good people skills. Therefor, I conclude taht I agree with yummynbeefy and Mr.Rogu

Thanks for clearing that up, I couldn't quite understand what you said at first, it was less organized.

That's not true in the least, students often get less done in school because a teacher can't keep track of everything at once. At home, you have the benefit of constant attention, so there's no slacking off.

How to talk to people and the ability to manipulate are skills you learn through gossip amongst the people that will never get in to college, because they're only there for drama and friends. Those people are bad influences.

People skills? You're acting like you're sheltered inside your entire life, and don't make contact with anyone outside of your confinement.

 

[|RK|]

The responses are rather interesting, I must say. Despite the fact I just argued against neutrality in another topic, I must claim it in this one. However, I shall present it in a productive format. Now, recently, my younger brother and I were discussing the merits of school. We both agreed that if school were to be a movie (public school mind you), it would most likely be rated R, and a movie that would be censored. Depending on your child's level of influence and thinking before the entrance of school, things can be different on how much they absorb. Unlike the majority of my class, I was taught before entering school, and was generally a social outcast with my colleagues until the end of Elementary School, at which point my colleagues became more accepting of my intelligence. I was generally far less corrupted. However, I have seen some kids change, from clothing style, to language, etc. We all know about schools like Virginia Tech and the like, as well as how many students and teachers have engaged in sexual intercourse.

On the other hand, after reading Smash Director Teran's Blog, I realized that every experience I have endured, from the cruelty in Elementary School to the currently mass amount of friends in High School, every single one of them has contributed to who I am today. It is your school experiences that make you who you are. This can be either positive or negative, but graduating out of school gives you much more merits than home schooling. You know that you came out with your ideals, your intelligence, your constant struggles to juggle relationships with classmates and teachers... you know that you have truly met with success.

With these two notes, I mark the end of neutrality on this subject. I believe that home schooling should not be banned, but for a single reason: it violates the rights of Americans, some of whom turned out great despite the fact that they grew up in home schooling. However, I would prefer and encourage a public school more. As a parent, if your child can come from school uncorrupted, you know that you have done something right. At least one thing that warranted a series of good choices, and I know that if I were to be a parent, I would be proud.

 

[Cherry64]

Thanks for clearing that up, I couldn't quite understand what you said at first, it was less organized.

That's not true in the least, students often get less done in school because a teacher can't keep track of everything at once. At home, you have the benefit of constant attention, so there's no slacking off.

How to talk to people and the ability to manipulate are skills you learn through gossip amongst the people that will never get in to college, because they're only there for drama and friends. Those people are bad influences.

People skills? You're acting like you're sheltered inside your entire life, and don't make contact with anyone outside of your confinement.

You sir are taking the extremes of what I am saying here. Yes they get less done for the curriculum work and barely scrape by, but they learn other things that I think help them more in life than science20 would if your going into business.

We differ in that respect, I have to say that knowledge is power and gossip is for the most part, true. which is why it's so desperately covered up. It isn't a waste of time if you learn some new way of attaining information. That is something I got from high school myself. Figuring people out a little better and understanding what they are lying about and why they would lie.

Sheltered life? pfft did you not read what I wrote. I said that home schooled children are less likely to get more people experience in because they won't see as many kids their age. NOT because they were sheltered, but simply because they will miss out on 6 hours of making friends while listening to a teacher ramble on. generally kids don't like to go outside of their little group. It's how we are, we like our friends and we generally only will hang out with a select few and that few are your close buddies at school. Want to know why? so that you won't be bored, or called a loser because your walking down the hallways alone because all of your friends are sitting at home with their parents learning.

 

[:mad:]

You sir are taking the extremes of what I am saying here. Yes they get less done for the curriculum work and barely scrape by, but they learn other things that I think help them more in life than science20 would if your going into business.

We differ in that respect, I have to say that knowledge is power and gossip is for the most part, true. which is why it's so desperately covered up. It isn't a waste of time if you learn some new way of attaining information. That is something I got from high school myself. Figuring people out a little better and understanding what they are lying about and why they would lie.

Sheltered life? pfft did you not read what I wrote. I said that home schooled children are less likely to get more people experience in because they won't see as many kids their age. NOT because they were sheltered, but simply because they will miss out on 6 hours of making friends while listening to a teacher ramble on. generally kids don't like to go outside of their little group. It's how we are, we like our friends and we generally only will hang out with a select few and that few are your close buddies at school. Want to know why? so that you won't be bored, or called a loser because your walking down the hallways alone because all of your friends are sitting at home with their parents learning.

In class, you learn things related to the subject that you're in. Teachers are not encouraged to stray off topic, so if they do, you're not being taught right.

So by saying this, you only further prove my point. If a kid can't make friends because of the superficial student body, it would only help to homeschool them. If you're born without the natural, witty personality or good looks, you won't make friends. The friends you do make will probably be sheltered as well, and won't help you as much because they don't know about basic people skills either.

Heha. If you're called a loser, it only gives you more incentive to prove them wrong. If you only focus on making friends, you won't be learning anything. To succeed in school means doing what you're obligated to, sit in class and pay attention. Your friends will only distract and take away from the learning experience.

 

[|RK|]

In class, you learn things related to the subject that you're in. Teachers are not encouraged to stray off topic, so if they do, you're not being taught right.

So by saying this, you only further prove my point. If a kid can't make friends because of the superficial student body, it would only help to homeschool them. If you're born without the natural, witty personality or good looks, you won't make friends. The friends you do make will probably be sheltered as well, and won't help you as much because they don't know about basic people skills either.

Heha. If you're called a loser, it only gives you more incentive to prove them wrong. If you only focus on making friends, you won't be learning anything. To succeed in school means doing what you're obligated to, sit in class and pay attention. Your friends will only distract and take away from the learning experience.

Straked, I am the perfect counter-argument. I worked hard in school. I was hated, despised, and termed a nerd for it. I still went on. Eventually, every person who had had me a nerd came to respect me as a friend. i make friends by being who I am: a quiet, yet kind, individual. Even people who hated me... I was still kind, and they changed completely. I was called a loser, a nerd, and much more, and I still don't do the things they wanted me to do, but I still have them as friends. I sit in class and pay attention and I still have many friends. They don't take away from the learning experience, rather make it more worthwhile, and far more bearable.

My teachers may give us plenty of homework, yet they still find time to veer off track from time to time. One of them told jokes, others let us watch movies, yet they are still effectively preparing us for all of our tests. Some classes learn in more fun ways. Like in Chemistry, the class made lollipops before Winter Break. The lollipops encouraged proper chemistry by taste. If you messed up, it would result in a terrible aftertaste and taste, period. I have many friends, despite being quiet, yet I still make Honor Roll and pass every class that I take. I work hard, talk to my friends from time to time outside of class, and even make more friends at lunch and social activities in class. So your argument is sadly null, or extremely situational. Should I get back my paper from my English teacher, I must PM you the paragraph I typed on friendships. How my friends helped me in school, when I have headaches, stayed up all night doing homework, or the like. How a single friend wrote a letter that we could have done in groups. I hadn't even been working with him; I was working alone. But he just told me "Don't worry about the letter; I'm putting your name on mine, too." I am deeply distressed by your perception of friends, and consider your opinion extremely negative.

 

[:mad:]

Straked, I am the perfect counter-argument. I worked hard in school. I was hated, despised, and termed a nerd for it. I still went on. Eventually, every person who had had me a nerd came to respect me as a friend. i make friends by being who I am: a quiet, yet kind, individual. Even people who hated me... I was still kind, and they changed completely. I was called a loser, a nerd, and much more, and I still don't do the things they wanted me to do, but I still have them as friends. I sit in class and pay attention and I still have many friends. They don't take away from the learning experience, rather make it more worthwhile, and far more bearable.

Being deemed a nerd, I'm sure they wouldn't talk to you in class. Honestly, I'm glad these people are starting to accept others, but the fact remains that you're one of the few exceptions to this rule. With friends, you're tempted to talk. This is veering a little off-track.

My teachers may give us plenty of homework, yet they still find time to veer off track from time to time. One of them told jokes, others let us watch movies, yet they are still effectively preparing us for all of our tests. Some classes learn in more fun ways. Like in Chemistry, the class made lollipops before Winter Break. The lollipops encouraged proper chemistry by taste. If you messed up, it would result in a terrible aftertaste and taste, period. I have many friends, despite being quiet, yet I still make Honor Roll and pass every class that I take. I work hard, talk to my friends from time to time outside of class, and even make more friends at lunch and social activities in class. So your argument is sadly null, or extremely situational. Should I get back my paper from my English teacher, I must PM you the paragraph I typed on friendships. How my friends helped me in school, when I have headaches, stayed up all night doing homework, or the like. How a single friend wrote a letter that we could have done in groups. I hadn't even been working with him; I was working alone. But he just told me "Don't worry about the letter; I'm putting your name on mine, too." I am deeply distressed by your perception of friends, and consider your opinion extremely negative.

We don't need anecdotes. You're only giving us a personal perspective on your teachers, they're not perfect. Someone would do just as well if not better if they were homeschooled. You're still not getting education to the fullest, if you aren't being pushed as hard as possible all of the time. These kids are your competition for college, the reason why you won't attend any major universities. My opinion is in no way negative. I'm only trying to make a strongly opinionated argument because all of you are just agreeing with each other, there's no debate.

 

[|RK|]

I won't be attending any major universities? I find that rather negatively inclined. I am merely noting that public school gives you a better option. It helps to make you. If f you are consistently being sheltered all your life, then how can you possibly take disappointment, or pain? The reason that colleges give out sports scholarships is because they are looking for well-rounded individuals in their college. Home schooling does not give you that same well-roundedness that public school does. You don't meet as much people when sheltered as such. You see, in my Career Research and Development I course, we were talking about Networking. There are many types, including those that open up doors and windows of opportunities simply because you met the right person at the right time and the right place. Homeschooling drastically lowers that chance. Most of the people whom have famous mothers and fathers, the people who meeting gives the most opportunity to are in public schools. The most common quote is that these parents want to have their kids lead a normal life. There are many people, some of whom I know, that have intelligence quotients far exceeding that of typical schoolchildren in that same grade level. Home schooling has absolutely nothing to do with your chance for succeeding intellectually, while public school provides the benefits of friendships and learning opportunities.

 

[:mad:]

I won't be attending any major universities? I find that rather negatively inclined. I am merely noting that public school gives you a better option. It helps to make you. If f you are consistently being sheltered all your life, then how can you possibly take disappointment, or pain? The reason that colleges give out sports scholarships is because they are looking for well-rounded individuals in their college. Home schooling does not give you that same well-roundedness that public school does. You don't meet as much people when sheltered as such. You see, in my Career Research and Development I course, we were talking about Networking. There are many types, including those that open up doors and windows of opportunities simply because you met the right person at the right time and the right place. Homeschooling drastically lowers that chance. Most of the people whom have famous mothers and fathers, the people who meeting gives the most opportunity to are in public schools. The most common quote is that these parents want to have their kids lead a normal life. There are many people, some of whom I know, that have intelligence quotients far exceeding that of typical schoolchildren in that same grade level. Home schooling has absolutely nothing to do with your chance for succeeding intellectually, while public school provides the benefits of friendships and learning opportunities.

Merely an educated guess. With the major universities only having a 10% acceptance rate, they look for the most qualified.

Correction. Most colleges have athletic programs, for those that have both talent and intelligence. While I respectfully disagree, I can't help but get that nagging doubt that it's not worth replying to this. You're just bringing up exceptions to these rules. Homeschooling does give you an advantage intellectually, it gives you book smarts. If some gifted student goes in to public school, he's not overwhelmingly superior because of what he learned from the teachers, these people are smart because they were born that way. These are the people that are socially inept, but still attend anyway.

 

[|RK|]

Merely an educated guess. With the major universities only having a 10% acceptance rate, they look for the most qualified.

Correction. Most colleges have athletic programs, for those that have both talent and intelligence. While I respectfully disagree, I can't help but get that nagging doubt that it's not worth replying to this. You're just bringing up exceptions to these rules. Homeschooling does give you an advantage intellectually, it gives you book smarts. If some gifted student goes in to public school, he's not overwhelmingly superior because of what he learned from the teachers, these people are smart because they were born that way. These are the people that are socially inept, but still attend anyway.

Straked, can it truly be a rule when there are exceptions? Such is the same in science. It is merely a theory until it is proven as such in all cases and instances. The fact that there are so many exceptions says something about the alleged "rule".

You can teach yourself just as well whilst being home-schooled as in a public school. You see, either way, students have the options to teach themselves. This gives the public school student a far better advantage to succeed than the student who was home-schooled. Allow me to provide proof, especially of the principles of networking. Have you ever seen the movie "Homeless to Harvard"? It's a pretty good movie. The thing about it though, is that it is a true story. The girl in the movie was absolutely brilliant, ahead of her class despite not going to school. Her parents didn't teach her. She memorized Encyclopedias. She suffered through her mother's drug abuse and plain abuse. She never ended up doing drugs. Her best friend believes that "people like them" don't belong in school. She finally went to a school. A public school, much like a private school. It was going to that school that gave her the opportunity to advance. The secretary gave her an advertisement for a scholarship to Harvard (networking). She ended up going to Harvard University, despite previously being homeless, simply because of the networking opportunity the school gave her.

Simply put, public schools have the advantage, due to the higher chance for networking.

 

[Maniclysane]

When I saw Die Hard, I saw this guy get shot, so murder is fine.

 

[|RK|]

So I assume that Die Hard is a true story?

 

[Narukari]

We need to try and bring all this info around. Even if public schooling has the advantage. Is that enough to ban all parents from homeschooling their children?

@RK Joker

Single examples only prove things for one person. There are plenty of people who have been homeschooled who have made it into universities as well.

--------------------------------

While being public schooled might be better for a child statisticly. I don't think we should force every parent to send their kids to public school. Thats one of the reasons why they can teach topics that not all parents agree with. If they disagree strongly in what is being taught in schools, it's always their option to homeschool their child.

 

[|RK|]

Ah, but do note that I did not under any circumstances say that the home-schooled din't make it to universities. I said that their chances of experiencing the networking public school students bask in is significantly less.