Why do homeschoolers eat their own?

[Dmmetler]

I mean, seriously, does it MATTER what kind of approach or methodology you use? Or who pays for the materials?

 

I'm just so frustrated right now that I can't stand it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

It matters to the child what approach or methodology you use. If you choose things that are good for your children, I don't care what they are. I do care, as a member of society and as someone who is affected by other homeschooler's decisions, if the approach or methodology is harmful or ends in neglect (and there are some that do). I don't care who pays for it, but I do recognize that whoever pays for it gets a say in what and how things are taught.

[AK_Mom4]

I don't know. But I just found out that snowshoe hares will also dine happily on their own species.

 

At least we are in good company!

[KrissiK]

I'm sorry you're feeling that way! It shouldn't matter. But, I think in the homeschooling world, there's a bit of "Mommy Wars" that goes on, since the continuum of philosophies is so broad - from unschooling to ..... whatever is the complete opposite of that and everything else in between. Most homeschoolers, to a certain extent, (whether we want to admit it or not) believe that they are doing what's best (even if it is only for their children) and people who aren't doing what they're doing (or something sort of close) are... well.... doing it wrong. Or at least not nearly as right as we are.

[Truscifi]

I don't know. But I just found out that snowshoe hares will also dine happily on their own species.

 

At least we are in good company!

 

Pigs will too. Yuck.

[Lisa R.]

Well, having home schooled for over 15 years now, I've seen that there are as many ways to home school as there are home schoolers.

 

Having said that, I do think we have a larger responsibility to the home schooling movement (in addition to the responsibility we have for our own family) to do a good job home schooling.

 

Back in the 70s and 80s, the home school pioneers fought to make home schooling legal. It is now legal in all 50 states. However, if more and more people do a poor job of home schooling, these freedoms could be eroded. So in that sense, it does matter, to some extent, how others home school.

 

I've seen home school graduates excel. I've seen some home school graduates that make me weep. Once you've seen some very poor examples of home schooling, it may make you realize that their poor choices could one day affect your choice to home school.

 

Yes, there are public schooled students who fall through the cracks. This is often the argument brought up when a home school student has been poorly educated. I still would argue that more bad publicity for home schoolers could cause laws to change.

 

Still...if someone is educating their children and following their state's laws--it should be none of my business. So in *that* sense, I agree with the OP.

[Geo]

I mean, seriously, does it MATTER what kind of approach or methodology you use? Or who pays for the materials?

 

I'm just so frustrated right now that I can't stand it.

 

Your thread title needed to be said/asked...regardless of the response to it.

 

Thank you.

Edited May 17, 2012 by Geo

[Element]

Well, my kids come from the same parents and live in the same home and I can't even use the same methods (let alone materials) on one as I used on the other. So, I'm certainly not one to judge anyone else's homeschooling choices!

[milovany]

I hope I haven't been guilty of "eating our own." I probably have in the past. I do know that presently I feel frustrated here at times when accusations/standards of "neglect" are stated in regard to a very relaxed approach to homeschooling. I have a feeling many might think we "neglectful" according to their definition (I do not feel like we have been, and I think our kids are smart, well-rounded people despite not being classically educated in any way, nor fed a standard curriculum, but having more studied the "Three Rs" and then delving into areas of interested beyond that).

 

I rarely post about how we homeschool, in threads that either start off with or veer into educational standards, because of this -- I don't want to feel munched on. ;)

Edited May 17, 2012 by milovaný

[Geo]

Well, having home schooled for over 15 years now, I've seen that there are as many ways to home school as there are home schoolers.

 

Having said that, I do think we have a larger responsibility to the home schooling movement (in addition to the responsibility we have for our own family) to do a good job home schooling.

 

Back in the 70s and 80s, the home school pioneers fought to make home schooling legal. It is now legal in all 50 states. However, if more and more people do a poor job of home schooling, these freedoms could be eroded. So in that sense, it does matter, to some extent, how others home school.

 

I've seen home school graduates excel. I've seen some home school graduates that make me weep. Once you've seen some very poor examples of home schooling, it may make you realize that their poor choices could one day affect your choice to home school.

 

Yes, there are public schooled students who fall through the cracks. This is often the argument brought up when a home school student has been poorly educated. I still would argue that more bad publicity for home schoolers could cause laws to change.

 

Still...if someone is educating their children and following their state's laws--it should be none of my business. So in *that* sense, I agree with the OP.

 

Oddly, the ps fails students on a much larger scale than homeschoolers, yet is as politically powerful as ever. Why? Because any attack on homeschool freedom is fueled more by a hidden political agenda than altruistic fervor.

Edited May 17, 2012 by Geo

[Geo]

I hope I haven't been guilty of "eating our own." I probably have in the past. I do know that presently I feel frustrated here at times when accusations/standards of "neglect" are stated in regard to a very relaxed approach to homeschooling. I have a feeling many might think we "neglectful" according to their definition (I do not feel like we have been, and I think our kids are smart, well-rounded people despite not being classically educated in any way, nor fed a standard curriculum, but having more studied the "Three Rs" and then delving into areas of interested beyond that).

 

I rarely post about how we homeschool, in threads that either start off with or veer into educational standards, because of this -- I don't want to feel munched on. ;)

 

Obviously there is more than one way to be "ignorant"....or, at the very least, narrow minded. ;)

 

ETA: I believe some are emboldened by a type of group consensus...like bullying/ostracizing the "odd one out" that is experienced by nonconformists in a school setting . In other words, the "stronger" establishing it's superiority over the perceived, "weaker".

Edited May 17, 2012 by Geo

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I think homeschoolers who are careful to provide instruction in the 3R's and give their children enough tools to understand and learn from the world around them should be both supported and left alone, whether anyone else likes their methods or not.

 

I think homeschoolers who deny access to instruction in the 3R's and basic skills should be helped. I think if they refuse help and insist on keeping their children both isolated and ignorant, they should not be surprised when other homeschoolers (or anyone else) are less than impressed.

[scrappyhappymama]

Homeschoolers are delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:D :lol:

[Veritaserum]

It matters to the child what approach or methodology you use. If you choose things that are good for your children, I don't care what they are. I do care, as a member of society and as someone who is affected by other homeschooler's decisions, if the approach or methodology is harmful or ends in neglect (and there are some that do). I don't care who pays for it, but I do recognize that whoever pays for it gets a say in what and how things are taught.

 

:iagree:

[kalanamak]

I think homeschoolers who are careful to provide instruction in the 3R's and give their children enough tools to understand and learn from the world around them should be both supported and left alone, whether anyone else likes their methods or not.

 

I think homeschoolers who deny access to instruction in the 3R's and basic skills should be helped. I think if they refuse help and insist on keeping their children both isolated and ignorant, they should not be surprised when other homeschoolers (or anyone else) are less than impressed.

 

:iagree:

1) enough hs educational neglect and our laws will get stricter

2) what a terrible thing to do to a child in our complex world

3) my child has to live with the results

4) what a fine and comforting thing, a thing that gives confidence and hope, is education

[Danestress]

Which doesn't mean I plan to eat them:). But I feel much less connected to some homeschool families than I do to some families with working moms. I will always support a loving, attentive mother who is doing her best.

 

I am not sure of what situation your are upset by, but whatever it is, I don't feel any special obligation to support parents in harming a child just because it falls under "homeschooling."

Edited May 17, 2012 by Danestress

[Audrey]

I think homeschoolers who are careful to provide instruction in the 3R's and give their children enough tools to understand and learn from the world around them should be both supported and left alone, whether anyone else likes their methods or not.

 

I think homeschoolers who deny access to instruction in the 3R's and basic skills should be helped. I think if they refuse help and insist on keeping their children both isolated and ignorant, they should not be surprised when other homeschoolers (or anyone else) are less than impressed.

 

:iagree: 100%

[momma2three]

Oddly, the ps fails students on a much larger scale than homeschoolers, yet is as politically powerful as ever.

 

Frankly, there's no way to know this, because the success of homeschoolers is not in any way tracked. The failed public school students also happen to actually be the ones that their is a political war against, but that's another issue.

[intp4yhwh]

I've been around homeschooling for a long time ... since 1981. That being said ... it doesn't matter. Period. The most important thing is to -try- to instill a love of learning in your children. (Some kids take to it like a duck to water, others just don't.)

 

I've seen very 'well educated' homeschooled kids in their 20's not know what they want to do in life, and life is passing them by. (How mature is that?)

 

I've seen 'neglected' homeschooled kids in their 20's, married with kids and their own successful businesses.

 

Obviously, the curriculum or methodologies used are not what make our kids mature, successful adults. There's a whole lot more to it than that. As long as a child has 1- the 'want to' and 2- the basic ability, they can find and learn anything they want, especially in this day and age.

[kalanamak]

What is a home hooker, besides the obvious?

[Danestress]

What is a home hooker, besides the obvious?

 

Honestly, I was not calling anyone a hooker. I really meant for it to say home schoolers.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Honestly, I was not calling anyone a hooker. I really meant for it to say home schoolers.

 

:smilielol5:

[kalanamak]

I've been around homeschooling for a long time ... since 1981. That being said ... it doesn't matter. Period. The most important thing is to -try- to instill a love of learning in your children. (Some kids take to it like a duck to water, others just don't.)

 

I've seen very 'well educated' homeschooled kids in their 20's not know what they want to do in life, and life is passing them by. (How mature is that?)

 

I've seen 'neglected' homeschooled kids in their 20's, married with kids and their own successful businesses.

 

Some people aren't instilling a love of learning.

 

I didn't know what I wanted to do in life and "life was passing me by". Was I immature? Yes, but I also know people who plowed straight through school following expectations and were miserable in their career, etc. while I waited and did what I needed to do *when I had the maturity to do so*. I don't consider my years of working bottom-rung jobs and figuring out my strengths a "waste", even if it wasn't "mature".

 

If they own successful businesses, unless they are meth dealers, they must have some basic math skills. I cringe when the homeschooler I know with recent grads tells me their children are doing basic math in community college, and "having trouble with the concept of negative numbers".

 

:) You do know you haven't stumbled into a nest of unschoolers, right? ;)

[kalanamak]

Honestly, I was not calling anyone a hooker. I really meant for it to say home schoolers.

 

We have to pay for all that curriculum somehow.

[LibraryLover]

Fowl do it as well. One of my chickens showed a weakness, and two other hens pecked one of her eyes out.

 

Just felt like telling the story. I am not sure sure what to do with her.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

We have to pay for all that curriculum somehow.

 

:lol:

 

We never do get around to actually defining 'basic skills,' do we?

[Jean in Newcastle]

We have to pay for all that curriculum somehow.

 

:lol:

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Fowl do it as well. One of my chickens showed a weakness, and two other hens pecked one of her eyes out.

 

Just felt like telling the story. I am not sure sure what to do with her.

 

:(

 

Well, in my barnyard the other mother hens might have clucked about her a bit but they would have also helped her chickies to the corn.

[LibraryLover]

We have to pay for all that curriculum somehow.

 

 

Am I the only one who has wondered if getting a 900 number would be lucrative. I mean, how long can each call last?

[momma2three]

We have to pay for all that curriculum somehow.

 

At the WTM, we take classical education seriously. And, well, it is the oldest profession! :lol:

[intp4yhwh]

If they own successful businesses, unless they are meth dealers, they must have some basic math skills.

 

Well, the one I was thinking of in particular builds aluminum trailers (to haul cars), and designs them himself. Doesn't even know his multiplication tables, but sure is handy with a calculator.

 

That said, obviously it wouldn't work for everyone, and its for sure not my ideal, either. (Just to clarify, he's not mine.)

 

:) You do know you haven't stumbled into a nest of unschoolers, right? ;)

 

Am I that obvious? ;)

Seriously though, although our family style is a mix of un-, eclectic, and more, I've nothing against the Classical style, and think it works great for lots of people.

[LibraryLover]

 

Seriously though, although our family style is a mix of un-, eclectic, and more, I've nothing against the Classical style, and think it works great for lots of people.

 

We are a mix as well, although we have classical resources in the mix. I was/am chill, and was especially with my littles.

[*Inna*]

We have to pay for all that curriculum somehow.

*snort*

[joannqn]

You could always come to Washington and mention ALEs to a group of homeschoolers. You can either bring it up at the first meeting to see how hostile the group will be or keep it a closely guarded secret and hope no one finds out. What you do kind of depends how thick your skin is.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Honestly, I was not calling anyone a hooker. I really meant for it to say home schoolers.

 

It's okay Danestress, you should have seen my fetus text the other day. ::waving wand::

 

You are forgiven.

[Bang!Zoom!]

You could always come to Washington and mention ALEs to a group of homeschoolers. You can either bring it up at the first meeting to see how hostile the group will be or keep it a closely guarded secret and hope no one finds out. What you do kind of depends how thick your skin is.

 

They are called ALE's for a reason ya know Joanne...lol...

[kalanamak]

You could always come to Washington and mention ALEs to a group of homeschoolers. You can either bring it up at the first meeting to see how hostile the group will be or keep it a closely guarded secret and hope no one finds out. What you do kind of depends how thick your skin is.

 

Hey, I thought we were pretty civil last summer.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Ya'll would of died laughing, I listened in on an accreditation meeting yesterday, oh my the nice-eties were flying...

[joannqn]

Hey, I thought we were pretty civil last summer.

 

 

I didn't say everyone was hostile. You just have to be prepared for hostility if you mention that you use one.

[Dmmetler]

FWIW, I'm not talking about neglect-I'm talking about the I'm better than you are stuff that makes me feel like the unpopular kid in JR high-that isn't even consistent except that I always feel like I'm wearing he wrong clothes or something and that anything I do is wrong.

[awisha.]

What are ALEs??

[Jean in Newcastle]

FWIW, I'm not talking about neglect-I'm talking about the I'm better than you are stuff that makes me feel like the unpopular kid in JR high-that isn't even consistent except that I always feel like I'm wearing he wrong clothes or something and that anything I do is wrong.

 

I know. I was saying that unless it is a situation of neglect, I think that people should mind their own business.

[Bang!Zoom!]

What are ALEs??

 

Legalise: Alternative Learning Education abbreviated.

 

Reality, depends on who you talk to and what day, what sort of shoes on their feet and the type of shampoo and toothpaste they used 4 days before.

 

It's the wild, wild west all over again.

[StartingOver]

I do have an issue with people who take public school funding, or use virtual public schools funded by public school systems....... then call themselves homeschoolers. You can not be both. I am a pioneer, and will always fight for the right to spend my money, to educate my children, in my own way, with no interference from the public school system.

[kalanamak]

I know. I was saying that unless it is a situation of neglect, I think that people should mind their own business.

 

A-Yup.

 

To the OP, just mutter to yourself the wise words my mother used to give me: consider the source.

[Geo]

I don't understand why this rebuttal is used. No matter how many students fail out of ps, the schools aren't going to go away. They are just here. Unlike homeschooling, there is nothing in the law that specifically states "Public schools will only continue to operate under these conditions...". However, because homeschooling has been fought for, and court cases won in order for homeschooling for be legal, all of that can be overturned. Comparing the successes of homeschooling and ps, in this one instance, is like comparing apples and oranges.

 

When I was being homeschooled in the early 80's in California, my mom had to fill out pounds of paperwork, have the fire department over to her house so they could verify an emergency plan was in place and there were enough exits/safety features, etc. Essentially operating an actual B&M school, just out of her home. If it can start out like that, it can go back to that, or worse. (Until the early/mid-90's, I wasn't allowed to tell anyone I was homeschooled; my mom also kept me indoors until after school hours for fear of the questioning/consequences of it not being entirely legal yet).

 

So, yeah, I do think that the actions of individual homeschoolers reflect on the community in general and I do care about how it is being presented. But as far as nit-picking everyone's choice in curriculum, I have to remind myself that there are as many different ways to homeschool as there are homeschooling families.

 

Precisely. Public schools are here NOT because they do the job better, but because government has a stake in it. Read John Taylor Gatto. If good, quality education is really the motive of government, then PS would be in question. Hence, my accusation that it's motives are not altruistic...but power-based.

 

We're different in our views. You see apples as so different from oranges that one is incomparable to the other. I say they are similar in that they're both fruit, which naturally lends them to comparison.

 

In some other languages the term for orange derives from apple, suggesting not only that a direct comparison between the two is possible, but that it is implicitly present in their names.

 

Choose an apple, or an orange (hey, demand organic for crying out loud)...but don't mess with whether others eat properly as one ought. We ALL screwed up when we let the government believe they have the ultimate right to dictate how we educate our kids.

 

 

I'm a libertarian (minarchist variety)...and proud of it. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism

Edited May 18, 2012 by Geo

[kalanamak]

I do have an issue with people who take public school funding, or use virtual public schools funded by public school systems....... then call themselves homeschoolers. You can not be both. I am a pioneer, and will always fight for the right to spend my money, to educate my children, in my own way, with no interference from the public school system.

 

:lol: uh, sorry: :001_huh:. Is this an example of Poe's Law?

[klmama]

FWIW, I'm not talking about neglect-I'm talking about the I'm better than you are stuff that makes me feel like the unpopular kid in JR high-that isn't even consistent except that I always feel like I'm wearing he wrong clothes or something and that anything I do is wrong.

 

 

:iagree: Like my "friend" who used to unschool her dc and clearly looked down on me for having high expectations and trying to stick to a schedule. When she finally realized how behind her dc were she went completely the other way, joined Classical Conversations, and now clearly looks down on me for not doing things her way again (never mind how much my dc know and do). I finally realized it's just her, and I don't take it personally anymore.

[kitten18]

I do have an issue with people who take public school funding, or use virtual public schools funded by public school systems....... then call themselves homeschoolers. You can not be both. I am a pioneer, and will always fight for the right to spend my money, to educate my children, in my own way, with no interference from the public school system.

Well, of course you are right. There is only ONE way to homeschool.

I'm afraid to roll my eyes. They might keep rolling, and rolling, and roll right out of my head!

[Bang!Zoom!]

I do have an issue with people who take public school funding, or use virtual public schools funded by public school systems....... then call themselves homeschoolers. You can not be both. I am a pioneer, and will always fight for the right to spend my money, to educate my children, in my own way, with no interference from the public school system.

 

:cheers2:

 

I'm an ALE parent. We like the beer icon 'round here.