Homeschooling - how common is it where you are?

[soon]

Homeschooling.  Share your thoughts and/or experiences here.

Edited October 4, 2017 by soon

[soon]

14 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

No idea. Yes. No idea. No. No idea.

You're welcome.

bozo!  

[Zoot]

I was homeschooled from 7th grade - 11th grade and there was never more than 10 kids in the program with me... so I'd say it's not that popular here.

All in all, it was a great experience. No complaints. Did you have specific questions about it?

[Gracii Guns]

I currently know one family who homeschooled. The elder daughter was on the autism spectrum, and wasn't getting on well at her primary school. So they homeschooled her and her younger brother. She's now at Oxford. 

Generally, it's not that common, as in the UK (certainly in my city) there is a wide variety of school types (faith, grammar, comprehensive, Steiner, Montessori, private etc.) which can provide education for a variety of income ranges. 

[Len Cnut]

Fuck that bullshit, send em to school and let em get some snot on their sleeves and some dirt under their fingernails, get an idea of what the world out there is like, people are made to be among people, not in the garage with their Mum memorizing their times tables.

[SoulMonster]

I agree with Len. School is important for socializing. Extremely important. Sure, you can learn spelling and your maths at home - maybe even better than at schools - but you can't learn to be a human without interacting with others.

If the problem is that public schools are bad, then the solution is to fix them, not take your kids out of school.

As for how usual it is where I live (Norway) -- I have never heard of it and don't think it is even an option.

[alfierose]

I know of quite a number of home schooled children through a parents group (for children with additional needs). The vast majority of kids home schooled in the UK have developmental or mental health issues - these problems don't just magically occur upon reaching adulthood.

It's something I've considered because my son just cannot cope with a massive high school. He currently only attends about 12 hrs a week and it's far from ideal but there is a huge gap in provision for kids like him that are academically capable but developmentally way behind their peers.

I'm currently trying to get him into a specialist autism provision, there is only 20 places available (for our whole area) and my battle is coming up to over a year long now to get him moved. It's possible I may still have to go to appeal beyond that. In the meantime the years are ticking by and his pre 16 education may well be almost over by the time we start to get anywhere.

Sadly our situation is far from unusual so I can see why many home educate if they feel they are able to do so.

[Len Cnut]

Its different I suppose if your kids ain't well.  See the problem with that autism shit is there are degrees of it and like, you can send em to special schools and that but like...I ain't no fuckin' expert or nothing but looking at those schools you kinda find yourself with like, kids on the lower end of the spectrum and kids who are like...y'know, PROPER not well all in the same school and that always like, to my limited understanding made me think like, are you bringing your kids level up to the best of his ability or are you like...maybe lowering it a bit?  But I guess those schools are about like individual attention so I'm sure they look after each kid with like a more tailored approach to their level, i dunno, this is just something that occured to me in the course of looking at a kid in my family ain't well. 

I dunno man, that stuff breaks my heart, I really rate parents who do that, look after their kids who ain't well, I'm not sure I'd be that good at it, all these gorgeous little boys and girls and like...fuckin' helll, i dunno, makes my head swim, you just want so much for them to just like...y'know, switch on, get better, be able to do and enjoy all the normal things and that.  They're so sweet and innocent and you just think fuck, you're gonna get eaten alive in secondary school.  Really makes me feel rotten if i really think about it.

[SoulMonster]

Obviously, if a kid has some kind of problem and the school can't cope with that, then things are different. My post was more from the perspective of parents thinking the school isn't good enough or don't like the curriculum.

[alfierose]

11 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Obviously, if a kid has some kind of problem and the school can't cope with that, then things are different. My post was more from the perspective of parents thinking the school isn't good enough or don't like the curriculum.

I think that is quite rare in the UK. More common I believe in the US perhaps for religious reasons or perhaps rural geography.

 

15 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

See the problem with that autism shit is there are degrees of it and like, you can send em to special schools and that but like...I ain't no fuckin' expert or nothing but looking at those schools you kinda find yourself with like, kids on the lower end of the spectrum and kids who are like...y'know, PROPER not well all in the same school and that always like, to my limited understanding made me think like, are you bringing your kids level up to the best of his ability or are you like...maybe lowering it a bit? 

You are right it is a problem. There are a number of special schools in my area but they are for children who have low cognition which wouldn't help at all. The unit i'm looking at is attached to a mainstream high school and provides life skills stuff around them attending as much of the mainstream curriculum as they can manage. As I said though only 20 places available covering a huge area, luckily I'm told they do have a place for my son but now the battle is getting the education authority to pay for it because it costs more. All this fighting for stuff wastes years of a kid's life.

[Zoot]

You guys do realize that homeschooled kids are still socialized right? It's not like we're taken out of school and locked in a tower until graduation.

I'm not sure how it is in the UK, but here your parents are RARELY the ones teaching you. You usually meet 1 on 1 with a teacher from the school district, 5 days a week for 6 hours per day. On top of that, there's activities that you can sign up for (swimming, horseback riding, art classes, music lessons and other sports) to socialize with kids your age.

As for who should be home schooled... Honestly, I think it's something people have to look at case by case. For me personally, I have a very week immune system and a slew of other health issues, so being in public school was quite dangerous for me. The other kids in the program either had health issues of their own, were on the autism spectrum or were teen parents that had a baby to take care of.

Anyway, my point is... don't be so quick to judge until you've done your research. Depending on your childs situation it can really be beneficial for them to be taken out of regular school.

 

[alfierose]

1 minute ago, Zoot said:

You guys do realize that homeschooled kids are still socialized right? It's not like we're taken out of school and locked in a tower until graduation.

I'm not sure how it is in the UK, but here your parents are RARELY the ones teaching you. You usually meet 1 on 1 with a teacher from the school district, 5 days a week for 6 hours per day. On top of that, there's activities that you can sign up for (swimming, horseback riding, art classes, music lessons and other sports) to socialize with kids your age.

As for who should be home schooled... Honestly, I think it's something people have to look at case by case. For me personally, I have a very week immune system and a slew of other health issues, so being in public school was quite dangerous for me. The other kids in the program either had health issues of their own, were on the autism spectrum or were teen parents that had a baby to take care of.

Anyway, my point is... don't be so quick to judge until you've done your research. Depending on your childs situation it can really be beneficial for them to be taken out of regular school.

 

It's my understanding that home schooling in the US has better organised networks because it is more common. Here they are few and far between and not very well advertised or co-ordinated, I've looked and it's hard to find any information. My education welfare officer told me to look into home schooling but couldn't give me any advice and didn't know of any groups in the area. 

[Len Cnut]

35 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

@alfierose you sound like a nice mum and I wish you and your kid good luck!

I don't know if it's because I have autism spectrum disorder or not but I went to a 'normal' highschool...it...it did not go well. LOL.

Nah, you're just a cunt

(no you're not, you're lovely but if you leave the door open for me like that I'll slip in everytime )

Edited October 4, 2017 by Len Cnut

[soon]

11 hours ago, Zoot said:

I was homeschooled from 7th grade - 11th grade and there was never more than 10 kids in the program with me... so I'd say it's not that popular here.

All in all, it was a great experience. No complaints. Did you have specific questions about it?

Thanks for answer.  If you're open to them i do have some questions.  Was the curriculum given to you by board of education and was it the same as in school kids (not sure if youd know that?)?  Did you have to get through curriculum on a by the year basis or could ou ignore math for a year and double up when you felt like it?  Was any of your education self directed - like did you decide that youd cook meals or do wood working as part of your homeschooling or anything like that?

[soon]

Im outta likes, but thanks for conversation so far everyone!  

I know a few homeschooled kids and a few homeschooling parents.  Plus some non-schooling ones.  And an herbalist and a farmer who teach home and non-schooled kids a weekly class. But save for one case, Ive never really seen into the world of homeschooling.  Seems to me that the parents have been made to feel defensive when asked.  Im just really curious about it for whatever reason.  Based on the parents and kids Im left with an incredible positive view of it.

My thoughts are with parents of children whose needs are not met by the classroom.  Hope programming is made available or that if homeschooling is desired it is also made available.  

[john lennon]

It's practically illegal where I live, so no, it's not common at all. I mean obviously there are exceptions, such as if a kid suffers from say cancer or something else that require a lot of hospitalization, since that would mean it would be hard for the kid to keep up due to missing so much. 

I think that's good, to be honest, because school teaches you so much more than facts and numbers, you know? I mean, kids learn taking turns, respecting others, making friends and so on and so forth, which are all very important skills to have when you grow up. 

You can do online schooling after 9th grade, but that's not very common either. 

[john lennon]

And I mean, naturally the fact that most schools are really bad at handling kids who are different some way is a huge problem that needs to be fixed. I'm not just talking kids with problems or disorders, I mean other kids as well. I mean, kids who know what it's all about after hearing it once, or kids who finished their worksheet before the other ones even read through it... they need something else, you know? Because these kids are gonna go through school and they ain't gonna learn shit in the end because they will just give up and go somewhere else and do something else with their time. Perhaps that part works better in other countries, but in Sweden it most definitely doesn't. I've a kid brother who's 9, right? And he's a fucking pain in the ass to his teachers and peers to the level that they suspect something might be wrong with him, when in reality it's just about him being bored and under-stimulated because the 3rd grade curriculum is way too easy for him. I was the same. I mean, I drank all my brain cells away when I got older though, so nowadays I'm quite stupid. 

So, I think pretty much every school system is flawed somehow, you know? I'm sure we can all agree on that. I don't think homeschooling is necessarily the solution however, but the ones responsible should do something to fix those flaws instead. Sorry, I'm rambling again. I haven't worked all week because I didn't get any hours and I've also been lonely because all my friends are working and my boyfriend's working away so it's just been me and the cat for three days now. 

[soon]

Im starting to get the impression that where I live it is easier to home or non school.  Maybe non schooling isnt even legal elsewhere it sounds like?  Ive lived in places across the province and naturally came into contact with homeschooling wherever Ive been.  People across the political spectrum, secular and religious.  The kids get plenty of socialization in any situation I know of.  Maybe a more diverse socialization even?

[Georgy Zhukov]

Yes I homeschool my kids so they don't have to go to one of them godless liberal schools teachin' them Satanic rituals like Evilolution. MURICA!!!!!

[Zoot]

3 hours ago, soon said:

Was the curriculum given to you by board of education and was it the same as in school kids (not sure if youd know that?)? 

The exact same. Same textbooks, standardized testing and assignments.

Quote

Did you have to get through curriculum on a by the year basis or could or ignore math for a year and double up when you felt like it? 

Yes and no. It worked similarly to a regular high school where at the beginning of the year you would have your core classes that you had to take (Math, Science & English) every year. Then on top of those, you had a list of graduation requirements that you could take at your own pace. So if you wanted to put off history until your last year and then double up, you could.

Quote

Was any of your education self directed - like did you decide that youd cook meals or do wood working as part of your homeschooling or anything like that?

You get to choose your own electives. Like I said in my other post, they had some activities that they offered through the school district, but you could also take classes on your own and have your instructor sign off on them as your elective. For example, instead of signing up for one of their Art classes I took a Special Effects Makeup class and they let me count that towards my Art requirement.

[Lio]

19 minutes ago, Georgy Zhukov said:

Yes I homeschool my kids so they don't have to go to one of them godless liberal schools teachin' them Satanic rituals like Evilolution. MURICA!!!!!

That's exactly what I think of (and am afraid of!) when I hear 'homeschooling' 

I'm all for school, even with all its problems, as others have mentioned. Addressing those problems should be one of the main focuses of any government.

I do understand however that there are specific cases where homeschooling would be preferable.

[soon]

42 minutes ago, Georgy Zhukov said:

Yes I homeschool my kids so they don't have to go to one of them godless liberal schools teachin' them Satanic rituals like Evilolution. MURICA!!!!!

This is strange to me.  No one I know who homeschools is motivated by this.  And we've read examples here that arent that.

[Chris 55]

9 hours ago, Len Cnut said:

Its different I suppose if your kids ain't well.  See the problem with that autism shit is there are degrees of it and like, you can send em to special schools and that but like...I ain't no fuckin' expert or nothing but looking at those schools you kinda find yourself with like, kids on the lower end of the spectrum and kids who are like...y'know, PROPER not well all in the same school and that always like, to my limited understanding made me think like, are you bringing your kids level up to the best of his ability or are you like...maybe lowering it a bit?  But I guess those schools are about like individual attention so I'm sure they look after each kid with like a more tailored approach to their level, i dunno, this is just something that occured to me in the course of looking at a kid in my family ain't well. 

I dunno man, that stuff breaks my heart, I really rate parents who do that, look after their kids who ain't well, I'm not sure I'd be that good at it, all these gorgeous little boys and girls and like...fuckin' helll, i dunno, makes my head swim, you just want so much for them to just like...y'know, switch on, get better, be able to do and enjoy all the normal things and that.  They're so sweet and innocent and you just think fuck, you're gonna get eaten alive in secondary school.  Really makes me feel rotten if i really think about it.

If this post doesn't show just how important school is, nothing will. 

[Gracii Guns]

2 hours ago, soon said:

This is strange to me.  No one I know who homeschools is motivated by this.  And we've read examples here that arent that.

Read Georgy's post again with more sarcasm. 

[Len Cnut]

3 hours ago, Chris 55 said:

If this post doesn't show just how important school is, nothing will. 

Exactly, nothing, nothing at all, not the police, the British army, the RAF, the grenadier guards, the sight of Chrises mum getting bummed by Queens Head second 11, nothing!