Misconceptions about homeschool families.....

When I home schooled, I never thought of my
children's household chores as part of their
schooling; I simply thought of them as part of
living.

As it turned out, my son married an Asian wife
who had to learn to cook American food after
they were married. Fortunately, he knew how
to teach her. They are both wonderful cooks.

My daughter, on the other hand, married a very
talented (in other areas) man who is domestically
challenged. She does much of the home repairs
and upkeep and is teaching him. He is learning.

 

Wow, Molly. Looks like we read the same book. But, the only thing is, I didn't read any books on homeschooling. Could it be a God given way of doing this?

 

While my son is only 20 months, we plan on homeschooling all children God gives us.

Public schools are not worthy to teach anymore. I realize it is a necessity for some, but if the option is available, I believe that homeschooling is the best.

 

Preach the Word,
That is great that you are planning on homeschooling all of your children.

To the others,
I agree that homeschool parents ought to work very hard to teach their children as much as the can, but most Christian homeschool parents are most concerned about discipling the children and pouring out the Word of God into their hearts.

That to me is the main reason we homeschool. If my children gradutate with C's in math but know the Word and apply it to their lives I will have considered my homeschooling successful,

BTW, the eldest is an A student in math.

HCL

 

My wife and I considered home schooling, but after serious consideration decided it might lead to homicide, so we put our kids in a Christian school.

Back to the original question, yes, it is true that not all home schoolers are of the same philosophy and there are many good reasons for home schooling, but there are some real way out home schoolers out there. Some do not believe in graded education, so they won't attend Sunday School classes. Others don't believe in mixing with possible unsaved kids (a disregard of Jesus' prayer in John 17), so they won't come to youth functions of the church. There are even a few who have decided to have their own home church, because they do not like the local church in their community. While these are not the majority, they are areas of out-of-balance thinking within the home school movement, so beware.

 

And there are some really way out there public schoolers too, and manny more way out there private schoolers for that matter.

Yet some public school parent get so involved in their sports and other activities that their local church only sees them at the Holiday. Most don't even have a church.

Or worse yet a church school where the kids and the parents are taught it is "us 4 and no more!" Fellowship with other Christians? They never fellowship outside their little world.

Unfortuanatly these kinds of problems are rampant in the public and private schools. Beware!

Bottom line. There are weirdoes on all sides of the fence.

So is it OK to pick on you Circuitrider?

 

Jeremiah

Well Said.

The people who oppose homeschooling are mainly teachers. They think they are the only ones who can provide a good education. And they find it insulting that parents with little or no credentials can provide a good education for their own children.

[ December 24, 2002, 04:31 PM: Message edited by: jimslade ]

 

One of the biggest pains to me is having to answer the "socialization" question.

My girls are very quiet and aren't prone to having zillions of friends. They aren't into the pop tv or music culture, they don't gab endlessly on the phone, they aren't overly interested in the lastest fashions. Most of the adults I've met think they are odd because they are not like "normal" teenage girls. So, I get to hear "if they were in school they wouldn't be so quiet and backward"...."they need to get out and be with kids their own age"....etc, etc. It's difficult for them to find teens that are not shallow or that are intested in the same things they are.

They take dance and music lessons, do community service work, take community college classes and have a variety of friends incompassing different ages and interests. They are polite and courteous with people they don't know, but are careful about who they choose to be close to.

What some people see as backward, I see as wisdom....what some people see as naive I see as purity.

 

Thanks ... not often can I type with clarity.

Although you have a pretty broad generalization here ... I would agree in principle. I think it is the lack of information and the focus on some problem areas that is the real battle.

The funny thing is that I see more problems with not home schooling when looking at the public and private educational system. The same problems people point out with homeschooling are happening in a much larger scale in the public schools.

Admittedly, I know several home schoolers that do need help in educational areas. There are groups set up for home schooling parents that need assistance.

On the other hand, I know many more home schoolers that are so much more advanced in communication and education than their peers.

-- Jeremiah

 

Circuitrider,
Have you ever asked these familes why they do not participate in Sunday School?

Of the many reasons I could think of why some families choose not to a few are: age segregation, peer pressure and teachers who are not very good role models.

Do you think that someone should teach Sunday School if their own home life is a wreck, (their marriage and children's behavior?)


HCL

 

Circuitrider,

I have seen some of the more extreme elements of the homeschoolong movement that you describe here in central Illinois. In fact, a new church for homeschoolers is getting off the ground in the area, which I find a bit disturbing. It appears unnecessariy divisive to me.

Suzanne,

I have heard the "socialization" criticism many times as an objection to homeschooling. While I agree that it is important to involve our children with other children in the church and the community, I disagree that our children need to be around other children in order to learn proper "social skills". In my view, children will never learn "proper social skills" from other children. They will learn them from their parents. Having said this, and speaking as pastor and a homeschooler of three children, I have been diturbed with the tendency in some cases to so shelter children that they are virtually incapable of living "in the world." I have also noticed a disturbing tendency in some older homeschooled children toward arrogance and a know-it-all attitude. In my experience, these children are usually among those whose parents keep them from any other input from outside the home, including Sunday school or youth group activities. Thus, I would argue for the kind of balanced approach that you obviously take.

Pastork