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2 hours homeschooling equals a whole day of public schooling


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I don't know. Younger grades maybe. We do a longer school year though so our daily lessons are smaller. And my teacher to student ratio is only 2:1.

My rising 7th grader does about 4 hours of school a day. He is very smart though and has a dang near photographic memory. I also don't require lots of busy work. If he knows a concept and has mastered it, there is no need to do 100 problems. We just move on.

My rising 4th grader does about 3 hours all told. And we get a lot accomplished.

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I agree with these too. Most of the classes I taught were lab type classes where the students worked independently. They spent 5-10 minutes getting their supplies out and ready to go and another 10 minutes at the end of class cleaning up. So they were lucky to get 25 minutes out of 45 to actually work on their projects. Sometimes they would have a whole class period where they got nothing done because they needed help from me and with 25-30 students in a class, it might take me a whole class period to get to them.

 

Don't homeschooled students have to spend time doing those things too? Probably they wouldn't have the other problem you mentioned (waiting all of the class to get help from the teacher), but one would hope that ps students would use that time wisely by pulling out their Spanish homework or something.

 

I don't know. We seem to spend an awful lot of time on some of the things people mention in this thread as time wasters in public school -- dealing with papers, going over old assignments, discussing new assignments. We aren't "efficient" homeschoolers, I guess. I joke that a 15 minute lesson takes us 40 minutes.

 

I do think everything would take my ds much longer in ps, because he has great difficulty concentrating in a group setting. But we have never been done in 2 hours past kindergarten and maybe first grade.

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Don't homeschooled students have to spend time doing those things too? Probably they wouldn't have the other problem you mentioned (waiting all of the class to get help from the teacher), but one would hope that ps students would use that time wisely by pulling out their Spanish homework or something.
Ah, now that's what I did all through High School! I got pretty adept at holding stuff on my lap under the desk, or tucking it into the notes for the class I was in, thus avoiding the, "Young lady! This is Biology! Do you do your Biology homework in English class?!?" lecture. (The answer would have been, "Well, yes, I do. And it's working out pretty well for me. I hardly ever have to take homework home." Except I was too meek to be that sassy.)

 

I have a rising third and a rising fourth. It takes us about four hours to cover our daily subjects to my satisfaction.

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I've heard from other homeschoolers that 2 or so hours of homeschooling is equal to a full day of public school. Now I don't know what age or grade that is referring to, but it seems off to me. I used to work in public schools (not as a classroom teacher though). It wasn't unusual for me to observe a student in the classroom setting and most of what I saw was instruction/learning time. I never saw instances where it took 15 minutes for everyone to open their books or turn their papers in. Am I off?

 

 

I remember this coming up often in other homeschooling forums, and I do remember former teachers saying that on a GOOD, efficient day, students in their class would get approximately two hours of work done. I remember another former teacher describing her day and saying that nothing really started happening until well over an hour after the school day "began."

 

There does seem to be a general thought (not so much here) that two hours of homeschooling equals a full public school day. I remember hearing that before I even homeschooled.

 

What I remember about my own school days is that, yes, we were "working," but what we were doing was so pathetic was that it hardly seemed worth counting. For example, I remember spending hours and hours in my years of history copying definitions out of the book's glossary to turn in, or doing "fill in the blank" worksheets with sentences straight from the text. (And yes, these were two "excellent" schools in different parts of the country.)

 

I would think that two hours of good reading, discussion, marking on a timeline, and outlining would be superior to the weeks we spent of doing that nonsense.

 

So I guess it depends on what you mean by "equal."

 

Oh, I will say that another thing I remember about my school days is that there was a LOT of down time. In middle school, we had three days a week where we had a 45-minute "study hall." And I remember doing a lot of reading while I was waiting on something ...

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Well, I remember from going to PS that we spent a lot of time waiting for other kids to do things (read alouds, answer questions, do work on the board, etc) - I suppose technically that is teaching, too, (learning from other people's problems) but I generally used all that excess time to read my fantasy book under the table... :D In grammar and German, for instance, I would read the chapter on my own in the first 5 minutes of class and be ready to move on - the remaining 45 minutes were just a waste of time, during which the teacher would stand at the front and drone on, other kids who didn't understand the information would ask lots of questions & the poor teacher would desperately try to get kids to answer enough questions that she felt the information was slowly sinking in. Every once in awhile she would ask me something, I would respond with the right info, she would sigh in relief and move on to someone else, and I would go back to my book.

 

Hmmmm... in fact, the above sort of thing happened often enough that I decided I'd homeschool my kids before I ever had them - for lots of reasons, but in large part because then I could ensure that they paid attention and learned and moved forward to their full potential instead of just wasting time in a classroom!! lol. Seriously, though, I probably could have learned the majority of the things I learned in PS in at least 1/3 of the time. I graduated 2nd in my highschool class of 200+ and still felt like it was basically a waste of time.

 

There were a few classes in which we did lots of intensive, can't be missed type work the entire class period, but that was mainly in high school and usually only specialty classes (Calc 2, Science dissections, etc).

 

So...

 

Yeah, I'd have to say that in *my* experience, I could have accomplished pretty much my entire Elementary to Middle School day in 2-3 hours or so instead of the 5-6ish hours (net of breaks) of PS. In High School, I think I would have needed twice that or so to get the things in that I did in HS - but I probably would have expanded my horizons into doing tons of other things if I had that opportunity, so I'd have spent a lot more time. At least, that's what I hope my kids will do!! :)

 

ETA - I was comparing a typical PS day to what that would have taken me, personally, if I were homeschooled. Of course it all depends on your children's abilities, but also - I have a much more intensive day with much higher standards than a general run-of-the-mill PS. I personally spend about 3-4 hours a day with Elementary, including lots of extras. Also, I agree that lots of the stuff that I don't consider part of my "school day" are absolutely educational - self-reading, "PE" type activities, creative episodes, etc.

 

Your school experience sounds very similiar to mine.

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<snip> "Young lady! This is Biology! Do you do your Biology homework in English class?!?" <snip>

 

This reminds me of something that happened when I was in elementary school. I was the first one done with a written assignment, and when I walked up to the teacher's desk to hand it in, she immediately began fussing that I had rushed through it, I couldn't have thought about my answers, it wasn't neat enough, and so on. I was to go back to my desk and rework it.

 

Well, I knew very well that it was acceptable work, and she was just chagrined that I ruined her plans :001_rolleyes:

 

So, I nodded politely, returned to my seat, and read some Nancy Drew until I saw a few people turn their papers in. I then got up and turned the exact same paper in, earning a big smile and "That's much better" from the teacher.

 

Ah, I can still remember the faint purple of the mimeograph and the dusty smell of chalk near the teacher's desk - the day I became a cynic! :D

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I don't know how much time public schoolers depend on academics. I think it depends on the teacher and the school.

 

I do think that with a younger child, two hours at home is enough time to keep up with and often surpass the schoolkids.

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Depends on the child, depends on the school you are comparing, depends on the parent, etc...

 

That line is akin to "no matter what you do, it's better than public school." :001_huh:

 

I've been in many classrooms. Except for the poor ones, the majority of a 50 minute or so class period is spent productively. The students get *instruction* and often extension activities, etc. Some may not value anything except the time they spend writing an assignment on paper, but that doesn't mean the time spent interacting with the teacher and class was not a learning opportunity.

Edited by angela in ohio
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I only made it through page 3, so forgive me if someone else says this....

 

I think in general it is true, if you put it like this...

 

2 hours of private one on one instruction is equal to 6 hours in a public school setting. Meaning, if you take out lunch, going to and from class, general disruptions, etc. you are left with 4 hours (maybe less). 4 hours of classroom learning is probably equal to 2 hours of private one on one instruction.

 

Then you take out gym, assemblies, field trips, other things that are not direct instruction, and PS has even fewer hours. However, in the 2 hours of one on one instruction, you do not count many things.

 

I think it is more than possible to make this generally true, no matter what the age/grade....

 

However, that is assuming a lot from the one on one instruction. It is far more efficient, more is actually learned, etc. but home education is not always like that, and 2 hours homeschooling= 6 hours Public school classroom learning cannot actually be universal. Too many variables. Extra good school, extra good teacher, kid's ability to focus, interest, ability, subject etc. vs. slacker HS mom, being disorganized, not really good instruction etc. etc.

 

So, my feeling is that if you take the best case scenario of HS and the worst case scenario of PS, that stat is totally legit. However, I think in general, you would need to up the hour on HSing to at least 3, and possibly 4 to even out all the variables better.

 

JMHO:D

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When ds 20 was in first grade in a private school, I used to spend an hour on the road (30 minutes each way) in the morning, another hour in the afternoon. When i brought him home to homeschool, we took all their curriculum with us because we had prepaid for half the school year. We got the full Abeka program. It took us 45 minutes per day to school.

 

I can see two hours per day in the younger grads, not at a junior high school level. I find that the two hour rule mainly applies up to grade three but we still do hqve days like that now.

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If my only goal in homeschooling was to be on par with our local PS I would consider 2 hours for k through 2 to be sufficient. I would need 3 hours for grades 3-5, and time more with each rising grade.

 

I do not, however, seek equality with the local schools. My children may only do seated work a fraction of the time that they would be at PS but that does not reflect the whole of thier educational experience. I figured it up last year, (for a debate my PS teacher mother and I were engaged in), that for every minute my children were pencil to paper at a table they spent 3 minutes engaged in books, (audio, read aloud, or independently), 2 minutes engaged in imaginative play, (including Legos and other moter pursuits), and 2 minutes engaged in educational discovery activities.

 

So, if we are talking pencil to paper, I can do a full day of school in less than the PS. (In the lower grades.) However, if we are talking the amount of time spent in meaningful educational pursuit, the school needs to work to catch up with me. ;)

Edited by BLA5
Removal of misplaced word
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I find it interesting that so many feel that high school takes so much longer than the younger grades. I would say that it really depends upon the student and the work expected. High school was a huge waste of time for me. I slept through several of my classes each day while maintaining close to perfect scores in those classes, even in AP-level courses. Participation was either required or enjoyed in some of my other classes, so I suppose I could say that time was better spent, but the actual learning time was still a small fraction of the time spent in class. I think I could have easily done the work of high school in two hours a day or less, if things had been structured differently. All the classes I took were the most challenging ones offered, so it wasn't that I had an easy course load.

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Looking back at my "awesome" education, I am going to say YES, even in high school. From what I remember this is how my day would go (10th grade)

 

1st - Geometry - go over last nights homework, answer any questions, try not to fall asleep, new learning, assign homework

2nd - English - go over last nights homework, answer any questions, move on even if I had more questions, new learning, assign homework

3rd - Japanese - go over last nights homework, answer any questions, move on even if I had more questions, new learning, assign homework

4th - PE - run (our teacher loved running :glare:)

5th - Art - work on a project

6th - History - go over last nights homework, answer any questions, move on even if I had more questions, new learning, assign homework

7th - Algebra 2 (yes I did 2 years of math in 10th) - go over last nights homework, answer any questions, try not to fall asleep, new learning, assign homework

 

After spending 7 hours at school, I would still come home and do 2-3 hours of homework, more if I was studying for a test.

 

Now take my oldest dd (yes I know she is only in 5th grade and it is not a perfect comparison) she will spend an 5.5 hours doing sit down work, and that is it. NO HOMEWORK, no relearning something on her own, no unanswered questions. When she is done with a subject, she is done for the day.

 

Maybe a better comparison would be 5.5 hours of real learning = 9 - 10 hours of just trying to get by :D

 

Frankly with all you learn in English - 1 hour is NOT enough time

 

just my 2 cents

Edited by CatMomof3
misspelling
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If my only goal in homeschooling was to be on par with our local PS I would consider 2 hours for k through 2 to be sufficient. I would need 3 hours for grades 3-5, and time more with each rising grade.

 

I do not, however, seek equality with the local schools. My children may only do seated work a fraction of the time that they would be at PS but that does not reflect the whole of thier educational experience. I figured it up last year, (for a debate my PS teacher mother and I were engaged in), that for every minute my children were pencil to paper at a table they spent 3 minutes engaged in books, (audio, read aloud, or independently), 2 minutes engaged in imaginative play, (including Legos and other moter pursuits), and 2 minutes engaged in educational discovery activities.

 

So, if we are talking pencil to paper, I can do a full day of school in less than the PS. (In the lower grades.) However, if we are talking the amount of time spent in meaningful educational pursuit, the school needs to work to catch up with me. ;)

 

I had to run earlier, kids and all that, but I wanted to clarify something in my post. As Punk has increased his seated work time there has been a decrease in some of the other catagories. I am interested to see how it plays out this year as the expectations for him are increased. He spends 2.5 hours on seated work, 4-5 hours reading, (it depends on how into a book he happens to be), an hour in play or in educational pursuits. It just depends on the day and his mood. Quite frankly I find that much of play is educational; I only broke it down originally for the purpose of my discussions with my mother.

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I think we really need to take into consideration how much homework kids in ps get. I don't think the 2hrs hs = 1 day ps really figures in ps homework, which is often an hour or so in elementary and 2-3 in high school. And quite often with the elementary school kids homework, parents do sit and help, so there is extra 1 on 1 instruction.

 

Also, as hs'ing parents, we do try to get our kids to work independantly, so that doesn't exactly count as 1:1 instruction either!

 

There are just too many factors at play to be able to make any hard and fast corrolations.

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  • 1 year later...

I have a 1st and 2nd grader and I can not for the life of me figure out how anyone makes it LONGER than 2 hours??! I have added in numerous activities (randomly) and there is no way I could consistently make our school day longer than 2 hours :/ What is everyone doing that takes so long?

 

I guess at least some of it has to do with how young my children are. Maybe others are counting things that we aren't as school?

 

I would love to know your secret of getting done so fast! I have a 3rd grader and Kindergartner and a friend with similar aged children as mine told me she only spends 2 hours doing homeschool daily with both kids combined and I was blown away!

 

 

My 3rd grader spends:

Math: 60  minutes                    

Reading: 45 minutes  (she can do independently)                   

Writing- 30 minutes                                      

Spelling- 20 minutes    (she can do independently)                       

Foreign Language on the Computer- 20 minutes  (she can do independently)

Science/ History (alternated every other day combined with both kids) 60 minutes

 

 

 = Total 4 hours 5 minutes doing homeschool

 

My Kindergartner  spends:

Math- 30- 45 minutes

Reading- 30 minutes

Computer Time (usually math or phonics): - 20 minutes

Writing- 25 minutes

Science/ History alternated every other day- 60 minutes (combined with both kids)

 

= Total 2 hours 45 minutes of homeschool

 

They also practice piano for about 30 minutes daily and do extracurricular sports & dance.   

That is the time they spend ACTUALLY DOING the work and not the in between time, time spent dawdling or breaks.  If they drag their feet (which they often do) these tasks can take MUCH longer.  Plus, we usually throw in other things like science movies, read aloud chapter books, field trips etc. that I am not counting. 

 

So honestly when you consider that the public schools take a recess and a lunch, my kids are probably spending about the same amount of time on academics as kids in public school.   I use Right Start Math, which I have heard takes longer than other math programs.  For my 3rd grader's writing she does summary/ dictation exercises out of Writing with Ease or she summarizes what we have learned in Story of the World or Science. 

 

I also have a 2 year old, so we have lots of interruptions.  So I start at 7:00 in the morning and we are usually just finishing up around 4:00 pm.  Is this normal, or is this totally overkill???  My husband who was homeschooled (I wasn't) has been saying that I am spending way too much time on this lately. 

 

 

 

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In K-2 we definitely could do school in two hours here. My son is in grade 4 this year & it takes about 4 hours on average... sometimes closer to five. That includes all of our reading too. My daughter is in public middle school this year, but last year she averaged 5-6 hours to cover everything. I'd say we cover a lot of ground during our school time and always have. It just becomes more time intensive with each grade because the workload increases. Not in a bad way though. It goes by quickly IMO.

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No way.

 

Not for the first time do I feel some people are absolutely delusional about what goes on in good public schools.

 

Kindergarten is oft cited in previous posts. I can tell you that I don't think many homeschoolers on earth could match the richness of the experience my child had in his Kindergarten year. Those days were packed with fun learning, hands-on-projects, stories, play, and creative outlets. I know, I volunteered in the classroom quite a bit that year. I was blown away!

 

Could I match (or exceed) what was going on in the classroom in a few small areas? Yes. I'd started my son off with creative approaches to math and had him reading prior to K, and "home math" bested "school math." But there is no way in creation that I could have duplicated all the rich resources and experiences of that K year at home. Impossible.

 

People that think students at good public schools aren't doing anything all day are kidding themselves. 

 

Bill

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Not for the first time do I feel some people are absolutely delusional about what goes on in good public schools.

 

Kindergarten is oft cited in previous posts. I can tell you that I don't think many homeschoolers on earth could match the richness of the experience my child had in his Kindergarten year. Those days were packed with fun learning, hands-on-projects, stories, play, and creative outlets. I know, I volunteered in the classroom quite a bit that year. I was blown away!

Not for the first time do I feel that you have absolutely NO FREAKING CLUE what goes on in a TYPICAL public school rather than your own child's atypical one.

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Not for the first time do I feel that you have absolutely NO FREAKING CLUE what goes on in a TYPICAL public school rather than your own child's atypical one.

 

There are many good public schools in America. Far too many bad ones too. But the ones your children will be competing with to go to good Universities and for slots in the best careers in the future are not going to schools whose daily education is matched with 2 hours at home.

 

You can be delusional in your thinking if you choose to be. if the standard you want to measure yourself against is a "failing school" then have at it. But if your standard is highly functioning schools, I'm here to tell you, the answer is" "No Way."

 

Bill

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No way.

 

Not for the first time do I feel some people are absolutely delusional about what goes on in good public schools.

 

Kindergarten is oft cited in previous posts. I can tell you that I don't think many homeschoolers on earth could match the richness of the experience my child had in his Kindergarten year. Those days were packed with fun learning, hands-on-projects, stories, play, and creative outlets. I know, I volunteered in the classroom quite a bit that year. I was blown away!

 

Could I match (or exceed) what was going on in the classroom in a few small areas? Yes. I'd started my son off with creative approaches to math and had him reading prior to K, and "home math" bested "school math." But there is no way in creation that I could have duplicated all the rich resources and experiences of that K year at home. Impossible.

 

People that think students at good public schools aren't doing anything all day are kidding themselves.

 

Bill

Not for the first time do I feel that you have absolutely NO FREAKING CLUE what goes on in a TYPICAL public school rather than your own child's atypical one.

There are many good public schools in America. Far too many bad ones too. But the ones your children will be competing with to go to good Universities and for slots in the best careers in the future are not going to schools whose daily education is matched with 2 hours at home.

 

You can be delusional in your thinking if you choose to be. if the standard you want to measure yourself against is a "failing school" then have at it. But if your standard is highly functioning schools, I'm here to tell you, the answer is" "No Way."

 

Bill

I see it differently from both posts. I think the idea that "there is no way in creation that I could have duplicated all the rich resources and experiences of that K year at home. Impossible." is based on assumptions that instructional/educational objectives are more valuable than imaginative play. It is not a given.

 

The idea that primary grade academic experiences are going to so influence a child's future such that "the ones your children will be competing with to go to good Universities and for slots in the best careers in the future are not going to schools whose daily education is matched with 2 hours at home" is again based on the view that cognitive development is best served in an instructional environment.

 

It is not an either/or scenario. If a child is sitting passively watching TV or playing on the computer, they are being cognitively deprived of developing essential mental skills. However, if a child is in an environment that allows for exploration, imagination, dramatizing, etc, then 2 hrs of academic instruction with hrs of higher order thinking skill activities (eta: for primary grades).....then, YES, way.

 

It doesn't have to be a matter of comparing to good or bad ps. What matters is what cognitive skills are being developed. The idea that they can only be developed in a structured educational environment is, again, not a given.

 

Fwiw, I have no problem with my kids' education being compared to to that of the really great schools out there when they apply to university. :)

 

However, I will say that I am disturbed by the idea that upper grades can be completed in a similar amt of time. LOL......There was a recent thread on the logic board that left me pinching myself bc I was arguing Bill's position which I disagree with for younger children. ;). :). (Said in a completely conversational, not confrontational tone. :) )

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We have 1 day a week that my 4th grader gets no more than 2 hrs instruction time.  She does something on her own in the morning like a handwriting worksheet and start her math or spelling, things she can often open up and start w/out me. Then we head out the door to her gymnastics class.  (So there she has an hour of PE in a gym.) Home for lunch, then we hit the road to drop her sis off at dance for 2 hrs.  We head to the library. 

 

So now it is 3:00 and she has had no instruction time w/me yet.  But now we have an intense 2 hrs.  We do all of her L.A. and finish her math together.  Then we head to scouts.  Scouts can cover all kinds of things.  Because we homeschool and can make her projects part of her school when we want to, we can put a lot into them.  Last year we were studying a unit on birds w/her sis.  Sis ended up designing her year long Bronze award around a project for birds.  Yes, we continued on w/other science projects over the year, but she went deeper and learned more about birds because we could.  Oh and we listen to our foreign language CDs in the car to practice our vocabulary. 

 

After scouts when we finally head home for the night, dd does her reading of lit and history or science for day in bed.

 

Yes, we do more on the days we aren't running around crazy like that.  We don't do any tests or art projects or practice our flashcards for math facts.  It is a more bareboned day, but it is once a week.  Technically I could say she only had 2 hrs of school if I am only counting when I worked w/her, but she truly got a lot more in when you look at the whole day.   I would venture to say most hsers mean it like that when they say something like that.

 

 

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I haven't read this whole tome, but it's something I've thought a lot about recently as I've started homeschooling my 2nd grader.  I was very active volunteering in her class last year, so I have a pretty good idea what a day in the life was like.  

 

For her, it's absolutely true:  in 2 hours of focused time we do more than they did at school between 8-2:20.  The teaching is efficient, one-on-one, and it's at her level.  Not only that, but she's tested into 3rd grade level on a lot of things, and we can go ahead and work where she's at, so she's getting "more" from her 2 hours in terms of progressing than she would spending a year of 6-hour days in 2nd grade.  There is just no question in my mind that this is true.

 

For my 6th grader, she spends the same amount of time studying as her ps friends do.  The main differences are 1) She can sleep till she wakes up, so she's well rested, 2) She gets it all done during "school hours", 9-4, and so she doesn't have evening homework that interferes with her extracurricular interests & hobbies, and 3) she is learning things more deeply (though perhaps less broadly) and is producing higher-level written output than her friends are.  (I know this because I talk to them all the time and am very nosy about what they're working on  ;) )

 

Whether this pattern will hold for the future, I can't say.  And granted, I'm comparing to our local ps which is ranked something like 16%, not the local $20,000+ private school where I am sure they do all kinds of amazing things . . . 

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I think people in this thread are using this "2 hours" statement to say it's okay for a 3rd grader to do *focused academic seat-work* for less than 6 hours at home each day, and I certainly agree, but the implication that one could spend 2 hours working and then just throw away the rest of the day altogether and still accomplish more than a PS classroom is completely false.

 

My 2nd grader has been at a pretty good PS for K-2 so far (though not as wonderful a one as Spy Car's).  From volunteering in the classroom, I know they DO get more than 2 hours worth of work done there.  Yes, one-on-one instruction just for my daughter would be more efficient and allow her to move along faster, but I definitely disagree with the "2 hours = one day" rule for even a "pretty good" PS classroom, even in K.  I am sure one could provide a great K year at home with 2 hours of *academics* and daily extras like art classes, playgroups, and regular field trips, but that is not the same thing as "2 hours = one day" at all.

 

A lot of PS parents are VERY aware of the limits on their time with their kids and consciously try to make the most of family free time.  Not all, of course, but whether kids spend their free time watching the Disney Channel or at an engineering festival has more to do with their family culture than a "homeschool vs public school" division.  Plenty of PS kids go to museums and zoos, go hiking, and work on scout badges; they spend hours reading for pleasure, they watch documentaries, they help cook dinner, they participate in their parents' hobbies, and they make up games at recess based on predator-prey relationships or Greek mythology (and then tell their parents about them in excruciating detail over dinner).  All these things are common among non-deprived children in homeschool AND public school.  It is great when homeschooling allows kids plenty of time for those good things, but it's not really fair to suggest that the vast majority of PS kids are not getting them.  Of course, count ballet classes as PE if you want to, but it wouldn't be accurate to double-count them as both PE and something no average PS kid would get to have.

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That is one of our reasons for homeschooling.  I've had dubious looks when I tell friends and family that.  (Although I've never used the 2 hour number, but it seems about right)  Then I ask the dubious audience to think back to a time they had to be home for an extended time period, like Chicken Pox, Pink Eye or Mono.  How long did it take to do all the work required?  I always gets nods of agreement then.  I had chicken pox in late elementary and pink eye in early High School and Mono in late High School.  In none of those time periods did the required work take more than 2 hours per day.  In fact, each time was a boost in my grade because I studied my textbooks out of boredom. 

 

Of course, we will spend more than 2 hours. 

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I see it differently from both posts. I think the idea that "there is no way in creation that I could have duplicated all the rich resources and experiences of that K year at home. Impossible." is based on assumptions that instructional/educational objectives are more valuable than imaginative play. It is not a given.

 

The idea that primary grade academic experiences are going to so influence a child's future such that "the ones your children will be competing with to go to good Universities and for slots in the best careers in the future are not going to schools whose daily education is matched with 2 hours at home" is again based on the view that cognitive development is best served in an instructional environment.

 

It is not an either/or scenario. If a child is sitting passively watching TV or playing on the computer, they are being cognitively deprived of developing essential mental skills. However, if a child is in an environment that allows for exploration, imagination, dramatizing, etc, then 2 hrs of academic instruction with hrs of higher order thinking skill activities (eta: for primary grades).....then, YES, way.

 

It doesn't have to be a matter of comparing to good or bad ps. What matters is what cognitive skills are being developed. The idea that they can only be developed in a structured educational environment is, again, not a given.

 

Fwiw, I have no problem with my kids' education being compared to to that of the really great schools out there when they apply to university. :)

 

However, I will say that I am disturbed by the idea that upper grades can be completed in a similar amt of time. LOL......There was a recent thread on the logic board that left me pinching myself bc I was arguing Bill's position which I disagree with for younger children. ;). :). (Said in a completely conversational, not confrontational tone. :) )

 

I am one who supports home education. That is why we pursue "home education" in my home, even if we are not "homeschoolers." 

 

I understand that there are many enriching ways to lean beyond using curriculum or programs, and it is very possible to build cognitive development working outside an instructional environment. But that means "busting a hump" to create that you call "environment that allows for exploration, imagination, and dramatizing."

 

Such things do not happen out of thin air, or by deluding oneself into thinking that 2 hours a day is going to match what is happening in good public schools (or great homeschools). People that are thinking that way are fooling themselves. We both know that.

 

Does that mean a motivated parent can't create a highly enriched experience at home? Of course not. It just takes hard-work (and not the phony rationalization that 2 hours a day is up to snuff).

 

I'm sure we agree :D

 

Bill

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If we're talking about outcomes and not time "on task," then I believe that two hours is about right for the elementary years.  I'd bump it to 3-4 hours for middle school and 4-5 hours for high school.  I'm basing these estimates on what it would take to do an *average* curriculum and what I know about what is done in b&m schools, which is decidedly not what many people here do.

 

 

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I am one who supports home education. That is why we pursue "home education" in my home, even if we are not "homeschoolers." 

 

I understand that there are many enriching ways to lean beyond using curriculum or programs, and it is very possible to build cognitive development working outside an instructional environment. But that means "busting a hump" to create that you call "environment that allows for exploration, imagination, and dramatizing."

 

Such things do not happen out of thin air, or by deluding oneself into thinking that 2 hours a day is going to match what is happening in good public schools (or great homeschools). People that are thinking that way are fooling themselves. We both know that.

 

Does that mean a motivated parent can't create a highly enriched experience at home? Of course not. It just takes hard-work (and not the phony rationalization that 2 hours a day is up to snuff).

 

I'm sure we agree :D

 

Bill

 

Actually, I don't think it means "busting a hump" to create an environment that allows for exploration, imagination and dramatizing.   From my perspective, a lot of it is strictly self-entertainment and self-exploration.   It means buckets of construction type toys, drawers of dress-ups, spending time outside, etc.   I don't believe it means that an adult needs to show a child something and help them make connections.   It means letting them go at it and figure it out for themselves for the most part.  (It goes w/o saying that it also means restricted screen time.)

 

I love old, out-of-date science/activity books (and I mean OLD....like 70-100+ yrs old)   Why? They are full of simple activities that kids used to do on their own without adult supervision and with things just found around the house.   Kids knew HOW to do things w/o expecting someone to tell them what to do and standing over them all the time supervising.   It was a much different culture and kids knew how to self-entertain and figure things out on their own.  

 

If someone asked who had higher intelligence......kids from the 1930s or kids from the 2010s......my answer would be no question the kids from the 1930s.   Kids today may have more base knowledge, but I believe the kids from the 1930s had better cognitive skills.   They didn't get it from a classroom full of projects.   They got it from life.   And, I value those skills over rote-knowledge.  Most people can be taught knowledge.   Unfortunately, too many people do not know how to think.

 

I am not willing to go so far as to say do one in exchange for the other.   I simply want my kids to have the best of both worlds.   I think we have found a good balance.  I am pretty sure you and I really don't agree on what is appropriate academic goals for pre-k through 2nd grade. Iffy on 3rd-5th.  Probably by middle school, we would agree.   But, simply because we don't agree on the what's, I am sure that our desired outcomes are the same and that in terms of larger goals we would agree.   We most likely just disagree on the path to getting there.

 

I'm sure we both want kids to end up in the same place.  Do they?   I don't think either of us can really answer the question factually.   I do know where my own kids have ended their high school educations and I have no serious regrets about the path I chose for them.

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I would say 2 hours is a stretch, but not a huge stretch, for the average child.

 

I have worked with Miss A (a child with average intelligence and processing problems) and got through more than a PS day's academic curriculum in about 2.5 hours - with much more retention than the teacher achieved.  That was in 1st grade.  Miss E could probably learn a day's worth of new information in about 10 minutes, but she's an unusual case.

 

I'm not counting some stuff they do at school that I don't do at home.  Religion class, chapel, art/gym/music, recess, lunch, library time, transition time, bla bla bla.  That's 3-4 hours right there at this age.

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In my house, home schooling is a full time 100% commitment job for one parent regardless of the amount of academic time or age.  The kids may see only 2-6hrs of academic time during the day, but for the parent it is near 100% of the day figuring out how to optimize things so that the child gets the best balance of academics, sports, creative play, independent learning, and other critical life experiences.  In truth, the difference between homeschooling and public school isn't time.  It's responsibility.  In the modern world, parents generally compete to find the best public schools they can send their kids to, volunteer for the schools, and then help the kids out afterwards...but the general focus is that the child's achievement is the schools responsibility, and secondarily the parents.  As a result of limited resources at public schools, greed, and a huge amount of politics -  kids are tracked for different futures, educational content is usually mediocre, and even the brightest kids are held back to what is economical for the school (in even the best cases). 

 

Home school is a totally different mindset - it is a belief is that every child can do wonders if given the right one-on-one tutoring, environment, and balance of activities.  The parent is 100% responsible for the growth of the child.   It's saying 'hell, no - anything less than the best future I can give my child is not acceptable'.   The parent becomes responsible for  for the child's mind, body, and character in a way that public school parents almost never are. He/she learns how to be a teacher, strong evaluator of curriculum options, learns how to look out for learning deficiencies or anything that can be holding the child back, and also becomes enormously familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of his/her child and how needs and capabilities changes as they mature.  He/she may consult with many other experts, but isn't looking for someone else to be an authority or make the decision.  Any mention of 2hrs a day or that public schools are anyway comparable completely misses the point.  Home school is attitude, philosophy, and all the time you can give.  Public schools are saying that your life is more important than your child's and hoping the public school eventually delivers an adult you'll be able to live with and eventually be proud of. 

 

The current day I have set for my boys who are 8 and 10 years old is 3-5hrs pure academics, 1-3hrs minimum additional learning or reading on their own, at least 1-2hrs of pure play, 1-2hrs of challenging sports, and then an average of 1-2hrs of socialization with peers or family time.  The boys may feel like they've had an unstructured day, but it is anything but.

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I think this is something that parents of younger children like to say as a way to validate what they are doing at home and relieve their own vague feelings of "not doing enough" because it doesn't take as long as public school. I think this could be true for very young kids. By 4th or 5th grade (maybe even 3rd), I think it no longer holds true.

 

It's along the lines of "anything you do at home is better than what they'd get in school" which is, unless you have truly abysmal schools, also generally not true.

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Well, I guess I can comment since I've been homeschooled, been in private school and done time in public school.

I can say that I was an equal opportunity time waster in all three places. But at least when I was wasting time at home I tended to be learning something. In private school, we had such a limited libary that I ran through it in about three weeks. All this reading while I was actually being put on a speed reading machine because my reading wasn't good enough. In public school when I wasted time it was generally spent trying to figure out how I would avoid humilitation in PE, or wondering what on earth would make the other children hate me because I actually liked my teachers. Or doodling, because there just were no books, and I'd already read my textbooks cover to cover.

At home when I wasted time, it was to avoid completing my math, which I never liked anywhere. But I would waste my time in reading short stories from my literature book, studying my science books, reading my Merck manual, drawing on actual drawing paper with actual charcoal pencils, and sometimes assisting my brother in his schoolwork. Far more productive use of my wasted time, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We did grammar, reading, and math in 1.5 hours today. We will read later today but that's just because we can't afford tv.

 

I don't have to spend time correcting work because I'm in his face correcting as we go.

 

There is no busy work because it's wastes my time and his. When he gets it we move on. (Not the whole class)

 

I did read on here awhile ago that a elementary public school teacher said she only works with her students for 2 hours in the morning because after lunch it's pe, art, music, quiet time, etc. 30 Littles can't focus for sit work after lunch easily.

 

I agree with pp that it's probably a younger hser saying this, that was public schooled themselves, because they don't know why they finish so early.

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Last year DS started 3rd grade. I started math. He had never done any formal math prior to that. He spent less than an hour a day on it and is a month ahead of where he should be in 4th. He spends 15-20 minutes a day 3-4 days a week on math this year.

 

Science he does on the weekend and he does the entire week in less than an hour. An hour and a half at most if he is exploring more on his own.

 

He has 15 books logged this school year for literature.

 

History he spends 15-20 minutes on a day plus 45 minutes on the weekend.

 

I do not do a formal grammar program with him because he did it in a month. I will probably have him do the next level in January.

 

I will have to check the local districs website to see what they are using for math and science and get a sample to do a sample work day. I doubt it would take longer than 2.5 hours.

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DS is in 4th in PS. they spend only about 3 hr in academic seat work each day so I can easily see that is equal to about 2 hr HS work

3 hr includes 1 hr ELA, 1 hr Math 30 mins science and 30 mins  social studey

I was checking his schedule, they have recess, lunch and today, he has PE, Music. It seems he has at least 2 special each day (PE, Art, music, orchestra and  chorus, computer/ library)  those combine takes about 2.5 hrs/day

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Such things do not happen out of thin air, or by deluding oneself into thinking that 2 hours a day is going to match what is happening in good public schools (or great homeschools). People that are thinking that way are fooling themselves. We both know that.

 

Does that mean a motivated parent can't create a highly enriched experience at home? Of course not. It just takes hard-work (and not the phony rationalization that 2 hours a day is up to snuff).

 

I'm sure we agree :D

 

Bill

 

As a afterschooler Mom with kids go to a GREAT public school. I will have to agree with this. There is no doubt that academically, HS (good one) give kids a lot more personal attention and need. But there is no question in my mind that a regualr school (Good one) also provide lots of oppurtunities that I don't feel I can provide if I have to homeschool. for example... this is very obvious that I can't teach grammar :laugh: . and I can't provide the varies activies done in school

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No, actually, it doesn't, although space and materials and time for exploring and building, and a companion or too for the journey, are helpful.

 

The environment I experienced at home as a small child was richer, with more opportunities for exploration, creativity, imagination, and dramatizing than anything I personally have experienced or observed in a school setting. We lived on a small farm, with household and farm tasks that gave us opportunities to work and observe and learn real life skills (including many math skills such as measuring, figuring costs, making change, etc.). My parents filled our home with good books and good music, they read to us and helped us practice instruments. They taught us to cook and scrub floors and wash dishes and thin corn and make applesauce. And they gave us endless ours to PLAY--swinging, climbing, building with sand and blocks and legos, making patterns with cuisinaire rods (I had no idea they were not designed to be toys), pretending, story telling, reading encyclopedias, making dioramas, coloring and drawing and cutting and gluing, putting on plays, building dams across irrigation furrows (oh wait, maybe we weren't supposed to be doing that....), riding bikes, talking, exploring, thinking, discovering...

 

No way could a school ever match that. You know those experiments with rats? The famous ones that showed the rats in enriched cages had larger and better developed brains than the ones raised in plain old normal cages? Do you know which rats had even larger, more developed brains? The ones that grew up in a normal rat environment, no cage in sight.

 

The best of schools work hard to expand learning opportunities, they are enriched and provide room for exploration and discovery. It seems your child is in one of these schools. But you know what? I think any school is at best an enriched cage. There is so much more that is possible. Is an enriched school environment better than an un-enriched and confining home environment? Absolutely. But is it better than natural learning in an enriched and un-confining home and community environment?

 

Not in my experience.

 

And sadly, the majority of schools don't come anywhere close to the ideal of a rich, supportive environment in which exploratory learning can take place. Cages, indeed.

Exactly! :). Beautifully articulated.

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No, actually, it doesn't, although space and materials and time for exploring and building, and a companion or too for the journey, are helpful.

 

The environment I experienced at home as a small child was richer, with more opportunities for exploration, creativity, imagination, and dramatizing than anything I personally have experienced or observed in a school setting. We lived on a small farm, with household and farm tasks that gave us opportunities to work and observe and learn real life skills (including many math skills such as measuring, figuring costs, making change, etc.). My parents filled our home with good books and good music, they read to us and helped us practice instruments. They taught us to cook and scrub floors and wash dishes and thin corn and make applesauce. And they gave us endless ours to PLAY--swinging, climbing, building with sand and blocks and legos, making patterns with cuisinaire rods (I had no idea they were not designed to be toys), pretending, story telling, reading encyclopedias, making dioramas, coloring and drawing and cutting and gluing, putting on plays, building dams across irrigation furrows (oh wait, maybe we weren't supposed to be doing that....), riding bikes,  talking, exploring, thinking, discovering...

 

No way could a school ever match that. You know those experiments with rats? The famous ones that showed the rats in enriched cages had larger and better developed brains than the ones raised in plain old normal cages? Do you know which rats had even larger, more developed brains? The ones that grew up in a normal rat environment, no cage in sight.

 

The best of schools work hard to expand learning opportunities, they are enriched and provide room for exploration and discovery. It seems your child is in one of these schools. But you know what? I think any school is at best an enriched cage. There is so much more that is possible. Is an enriched school environment better than an un-enriched and confining home environment? Absolutely. But is it better than natural learning in an enriched and un-confining home and community environment?

 

Not in my experience.

 

And sadly, the majority of schools don't come anywhere close to the ideal of a rich, supportive environment in which exploratory learning can take place. Cages, indeed.

 

Attending school 180 days a year (or so) out of a year does not—despite misperceptions to the contrary—eliminate children's opportunities to engage in creative play. 

 

I don't undervalue creative play, but also know that the law of diminishing returns can set in, and what is good in moderate doses can devolve into simple neglect if that is all there is.

 

There are times for free-play, and times for creative engagement. There is value and fun to be had in biking, playing , and making dams, but there are limits on the value of these activities too. They do not (alone) replace academic learning. It is best to strike a balance, whether a child is educated at home or in a school. Two hours a day of academic work will not match what is happening in good schools.

 

Bill 

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 I think any school is at best an enriched cage. There is so much more that is possible.

 

And how.

 

I have never tried to duplicate, recreate, keep up with, imitate, or in any other way emulate a school. My oldest daughter (now 19 and a freshman in college) was in a school from the end of 6th-12th. Her high school was a good school that gave her a good education (it was still a school, with all the attendant downsides of a school, but that's not the point here). I could not have replicated here at home what that school did. I don't have the money, expertise, or critical mass of students to do so.

 

But that's ok. I'm not trying to. The school environment is just one learning environment. It is neither the only nor automatically the best. I make trade-offs by homeschooling my kids rather than sending them to school just as parents who send their children to school make trade-offs by not homeschooling. I don't worry about which is better or worse, and I certainly don't worry about who my children might be "competing" against later in life. My yardstick is not what everyone else is doing. It's whether what we are doing works for our kids' academic, social, and emotional development. My goal is not for my children to beat out the competition for a spot in a highly prestigious university. It is for my kids to have the skills and maturity to decide for themselves what they want to do and how best to use their assets to achieve that.

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No, actually, it doesn't, although space and materials and time for exploring and building, and a companion or too for the journey, are helpful.

 

The environment I experienced at home as a small child was richer, with more opportunities for exploration, creativity, imagination, and dramatizing than anything I personally have experienced or observed in a school setting. We lived on a small farm, with household and farm tasks that gave us opportunities to work and observe and learn real life skills (including many math skills such as measuring, figuring costs, making change, etc.). My parents filled our home with good books and good music, they read to us and helped us practice instruments. They taught us to cook and scrub floors and wash dishes and thin corn and make applesauce. And they gave us endless ours to PLAY--swinging, climbing, building with sand and blocks and legos, making patterns with cuisinaire rods (I had no idea they were not designed to be toys), pretending, story telling, reading encyclopedias, making dioramas, coloring and drawing and cutting and gluing, putting on plays, building dams across irrigation furrows (oh wait, maybe we weren't supposed to be doing that....), riding bikes,  talking, exploring, thinking, discovering...

 

No way could a school ever match that. You know those experiments with rats? The famous ones that showed the rats in enriched cages had larger and better developed brains than the ones raised in plain old normal cages? Do you know which rats had even larger, more developed brains? The ones that grew up in a normal rat environment, no cage in sight.

 

The best of schools work hard to expand learning opportunities, they are enriched and provide room for exploration and discovery. It seems your child is in one of these schools. But you know what? I think any school is at best an enriched cage. There is so much more that is possible. Is an enriched school environment better than an un-enriched and confining home environment? Absolutely. But is it better than natural learning in an enriched and un-confining home and community environment?

 

Not in my experience.

 

And sadly, the majority of schools don't come anywhere close to the ideal of a rich, supportive environment in which exploratory learning can take place. Cages, indeed.

 

Our school goes from 8am to 2PM and 5 days a week, it does not last 24/7.

 

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Two hours a day of academic work will not match what is happening in good schools.

What are you counting as academic work? Does that include time spent working math problems on their own (in class or as homework)? Does that include reading assignments (done in school or at home)? Does that include free reading time (for an AR quiz or for fun)?

 

I think hsers tend to only count their face time with their kid, but then the kid will have to do more work on their own after the meeting with the parent. In that case 2 hours is generous. If it did include the kid's time to work alone, it would be too little.

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I did not claim that these activities replace academic learning, nor that school eliminated all access to such activities. I was responding directly this this quote:

 and the idea that creating an environment that allows for exploration, imagination, and dramatizing requires "busting a hump". Children, given freedom and opportunity, and preferably a companion or two, naturally explore, imagine, and dramatize.

 

No classroom required. Little adult intervention necessary, except to provide access to a reasonably safe area to explore and perhaps some materials to work with, though sticks and rocks and dirt can be pretty amazing as raw materials...

 

Perhaps you could give some specific examples of the things your son's school did to facilitate exploration, imagination, and dramatizing that you find so superior to what might happen in a homeschool environment without parental hump busting.

 

 

And I'm telling you that there is a magnitude of difference between children getting creative free-play time and the enrichment that comes when conscious adults pour there time and talents into creating stimulating and educational projects, activities, games, and other things that you seem to disparage a being an "enriched cage."

 

School kid's have time to play in irrigation ditches (or what-ever) too, this play does not replace other forms of enriched activity. 

 

As to writing out all the activities that the children enjoyed in Kindergarten, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. They had fun, hand-on, and inspiring learning opportunities all day long, mixed with breaks to play, eat and hear stories. What you are asking is too tall an order. There were new and different things all the time.

 

Bill

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Perhaps you could give some specific examples of the things your son's school did to facilitate exploration, imagination, and dramatizing that you find so superior to what might happen in a homeschool environment without parental hump busting.

 

That's what I'm (vaguely) curious about, because it is so far away from any real life experiences I've ever had with public education.

 

Of course public schools eliminate opportunities for creative play. How could they not? Between going to school, homework, extracurricular activities (when applicable), and the work that more and more schools--especially "good" schools--are expecting children to complete over the summer, children are often left with little free time for creative play and exploring their own interests. And what we don't use, we lose. When the majority of a child's time is spent doing adult directed study, play, activities, and games, I do believe children are at risk of losing the ability to play creatively, to entertain themselves, and to explore subjects just because they're interesting.

 

We're all going to err; that probably goes without saying. When I err, I'd rather it be on the side of giving my kids too much free time to play and explore their own interests.

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