Were You Homeschooled?

[abbeyej]

Yes, K-8.

[abbeyej]

Answering Ritko's questions...

 

1. What did you like most about being home-schooled?

This question is a little challenging 'cause it sounds like "what did you like most at the time" which is probably a little different than "what, in retrospect, do you think was best", you know? At the time I had always been home schooled. I liked the freedom. But it's a little like asking someone what they like best about living on planet earth when they've never been elsewhere. ;) Still, overall it was a pleasant experience. We enjoyed the flexibility to travel when other kids were in school, to finish by lunch time (through most of the elementary years at least), not to be slowed down by the rest of the classroom or forced to spend time on busy work... In retrospect, *always* being expected to figure something out and do it well before moving on was a tremendous benefit of being home schooled. Once I got to "real" school ;) I discovered that one could simply do "enough" and take the A and run -- even if it were far below what one *could* or *should* do. As long as I did a little better than nearly everyone else, I'd be praised. Regardless of whether it even approached my best effort.

 

2. What did you like least about it.

Saxon math. (Combined with my mother's math phobia.)

 

3. What do you think about the whole "but they are not being socialized," argument that I constantly hear popping up? Do you feel you missed out on a lot of socialization?

I think this is an argument that both sides get wrong. Home schoolers love to say that "socialization isn't an issue". It is. On the other hand, people unfamiliar with home schooling seem to think there's no way for kids to learn to interact with their peers unless they attend a school building for 30 hours a week, 36 weeks of the year. And that's not right either. ... The truth is that sometimes home schooled kids are isolated from their peers. Sometimes they're denied interaction with the world and the transition back into that world can be tough. They miss out on the language and the cultural touchstones of their peers. ... Not always. But it's something to be aware of. Some home schoolers protect their kids so much (intentionally or inadvertently) that those kids have difficulty connecting to their peers. ... On the other hand, it's also possible to raise home schooled kids who are kind and generous and able to carry on interesting, intelligent conversations with people of all ages *including* their age-peers. ... I'll admit that one of the reasons I let my kids watch some stupid tv shows on the weekends is so they are not as clueless as I was at 11, when I was home schooled and attended a conservative little church where nearly all of the other kids were home schooled as well. I'm pretty protective of my kids in some ways, but I do try to make sure they spend time with kids who are not just home schooled and have exposure to pop culture things that I don't consider truly harmful.

 

4. Do you home-school your children/child now?

I do. I have one in grade 3/4 and one in grade 7. We have always home schooled and have no plans to put the kids in school. (Though I also recognize that things change and at some point we may consider school to be our best option...)

 

5. If you do home-school, what curriculum do wish was available back then, that is available now?

I think "curriculum" is a relatively minor issue. There's some great stuff out there now, don't get me wrong, but I think it's mostly about the teacher. I think a good teacher who is dedicated to the kiddos in her care can do an excellent job with pretty limited resources -- and I think that the best resources in the world can only do so much to make up for a mediocre or tuned-out teacher. ... But to answer your question, I think the proliferation of Latin and Greek programs for elementary and middle school students is particularly fantastic.

 

6. Where you home-schooled singly or with siblings and if with siblings, how do you think they would answer these questions.

I think their experiences with home schooling were generally positive and I doubt they have major regrets. Neither of them has children yet and I have no idea if they will consider home schooling when that becomes an issue.

[Nicoleab2]

Yes, I was from 6th grade to 12th, along with 5 other siblings.

 

My mom was more into life learning and you'll learn it if you want to or need to. I think we missed out on a lot of academics, but gained a lot

about life, family, etc. We had a wonderful Little House on The Prairie

life in so many ways and for that I'll be forever grateful. But, I was a nerdy school lover and really missed all the tests and things like that.

 

All of us have struggled with jobs, schooling etc because we didn't have a good foundation at home. But when we really wanted to do something, we would figure out a way to make it happen. It would sometimes just take longer because we had to start from scratch.

 

But, to this day we all have a close relationship with each other and love our memories at home. And.... we all love learning. I think that was my mom's goal. To always love learning and to love each other.

 

 

And yes, my children have always been homeschooled, but we do it differently than what I had. I want them to love learning and each other as well, but I want to give them tools they can use to learn with.

[Mrs.Gregg]

No. My husband and I were not homeschooled. We both attended public school and grew up with full-time working mothers. Both of our mothers have been married and divorced twice. They are are wonderful women and great moms, who support DH and I in our homeschooling adventure. On a side not Dh's father and Step-mom are raising our nieces and Homeschool :)

[Clear Creek]

 

1. What did you like most about being home-schooled?

 

2. What did you like least about it.

 

3. What do you think about the whole "but they are not being socialized," argument that I constantly hear popping up? Do you feel you missed out on a lot of socialization?

 

4 Do you home-school your children/child now?

 

5. If you do home-school, what curriculum do wish was available back then, that is available now?

 

6. Where you home-schooled singly or with siblings and if with siblings, how do you think they would answer these questions.

 

 

I was homeschooled Pre-K through 6th grade.

 

1. I liked being able to go outside and ride my bike when my schoolwork was finished for the day - while the public schooled kids were still in school :)

 

2. We schooled year-round so that we could take time off whenever we wanted throughout the school year, and I was very jealous of my public schooled friends who had the ENTIRE summer off every year. It just didn't seem fair to me.

 

3. No, I don't feel like I missed out on any "socialization". There were plenty of opportunities for kids to tease me or make fun of me at dance class, on my paper route, at the park, etc., lol! Some kid even beat me up and took my candy money when I was walking to the corner store one morning! Oh, and we belonged to a homeschool group and went on field trips and were very active in our church, so I had plenty of opportunity for positive socialization as well :)

 

4. Yes, even though I swore I would never homeschool my own children. I was bullied and ostracized for the first four years of public school, and I blamed it on being homeschooled (I am very much an introvert). Then I gave birth to my first child and realized that people can be born an introvert :tongue_smilie:! I was bullied because the kids at my school were idiots, which would not have changed if I had started school earlier. I would have just been bullied sooner. That's not my only reason for homeschooling (the public schools in my area of TX are terrible), but it made me reconsider the idea.

 

5. I wish my Mom had been able to find ANYTHING besides Abeka :ack2:. It worked (the first two years I was in public school was all review for me), but I still shudder when I see the books and it really burned my poor Mom out.

 

6. I have several younger siblings who were also homeschooled, and I honestly have no idea how they would answer these questions. Homeschooling is not something we ever talk about. I have a very close relationship with all of them, and they know I homeschool, but they have never made any comments about it one way or another.

[mommaduck]

No, though I would have thrived wonderfully under it, and under normal circumstances. My mother, however, was not very motherly and would not have been able to stand being in a house with us kids...or even just me...for that long. She could barely stand the limited amount of time she had to be around us outside of her work hours and shoved us on the Sunday School bus every Sunday to be rid of us an extra day.

 

Yeah, I was determined to be the opposite of my mother.

[SnowWhite]

I was homeschooled for grades 9-12.

 

1. What did you like most about being home-schooled?

The time and opportunity to read widely.

 

2. What did you like least about it.

Lack of competition.

 

3. What do you think about the whole "but they are not being socialized," argument that I constantly hear popping up? Do you feel you missed out on a lot of socialization?

I think socialization can sometimes be overemphasized. I do think parents in any setting do well to provide for their children opportunities to be with others.

 

4 Do you home-school your children/child now?

Yes, and plan to continue.

5. If you do home-school, what curriculum do wish was available back then, that is available now?

Anything literature based.

6. Where you home-schooled singly or with siblings and if with siblings, how do you think they would answer these questions.

With siblings and since 2/3 of them also hs (the third is single), I think they found it appropriate.

[LarlaB]

I was not homeschooled, but DH was from grade 2- grade 12. He has 4 younger siblings who were homeschooled K-12...and you'll get a varied response from each of them as to their opinions on the experience.

 

Their mom is a lovely, capable woman, but a tad insecure....so she really pushed her children to succeed- needless to say, they had a very rigorous education. DH has not-so-fond memories of starting math at 6am.

 

Three of the 5 (DH included) have gone on to earn MA degrees (Business, Seminary & International Relations), 1 is a nurse who is pursuing an MA and the other has a BA and is in graphic design. Good times. :)

[jasar31629]

Nope...thought it was odd at the time judging by the few I knew.