I just wrote an article that turned 5 pages long!

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art45409.asp

Unfortunately I wasn't able to include every stereotype my friends and I could think of in the article. If I had the article would have taken up most of the homeschooling site <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In this article I dealt with what we felt were the top 8 stereotypes:

1.Homeschooled students aren't properly socialized.
2.Homeschooling parents are fundamentalist religious zealots.
3.Homeschooling is reactionary and losing steam.
4.Homeschooling is expensive.
5.One parent must stay-at-home.
6.Parents need teacher certification to properly educate their children.
7.�Special needs� kids need school services.
8.Homeschooled children cannot attend university or college.

I would love to open the lines of communication and learn how you feel about the above stereotypes (please specify if you are or aren't a homeschooler) and if you have encountered any stereotypes that weren't listed.

Thanks!
meg

Other stereotypes I'm hearing lately:

1. Homeschooled students aren't as well-prepared as students in traditional schools.
2. Poor and/or minority families can't possibly have the resources/abilities to homeschool. (That's enough to make you want to throw something at the commentor.)
3. Homeschooled students don't have access to the resources needed to successfully complete high school curricula (labs for sciences, etc.).

Well, my *personal* replies to those are:

1. For what? Raising their hand and asking to go to the bathroom?

2. We homeschooled multiple kids on an income of $7.50/hr, way under the povery level. We couldn't afford dance classes but I don't think the kids suffered, they probably learned a lot more math in those years.

3. Many, many states have laws requiring schools to allow homeschooled students access to school labs, sports, instruments and music lessons, etc.

You can also form a homeschool group and buy supplies together.

You can also have your child of age for the advanced sciences and math dual-enrolled in a community college (many states encourage this and at the end of 2 years in CC your child can go straight to a state university as a junior without having to take the ACT or SAT!)

Who says a $50 microscope is any worse than an old and abused $300 microscope the school has? besides, it's not as if schools are actually spending that much money on the sciences these days anyhow!

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
meg

Enough to drive you batty, isn't it?

YES!

Something I encountered growing up was-

Kids can only learn something if it is taught by a teacher in a classroom setting.


Some I am getting now:

You HAVE to plan out what your child will learn for the year.
~I didn't plan lessons for my son to learn to walk but he still managed quite well.

Homeschoolers are closeted away at home and haven't seem the world.
~ My son at age two has seen more of the world then almost all public schooled kids ten years older.
~ Besides alot of homeschoolers have trouble finding time to stay home. To busy going out and experincing the world. Why read about something that is only 20 miles away?

Yep. They're all "closeted, closed-off, introverts, with poor social skills and poor training."

Gee. Wonder why homeschooled students tend to perform better on college admissions tests and manage to actually graduate college in four years...

Meg,
You must remember that The NEA National Education Association is one of the biggest and most powerful unions in this country. Of course they're going to say negative things about homeschooling! As a former teacher, I was a witness to the power of the NEA.

I have always felt that parents should be able to school their children in any way they strongly felt was best for the child.That included vouchers.When I was at a meeting where the local union was trying to discourage vouchers, I disagreed. The reaction was unreal! I was yelled at during the meeting, ostracized in the school building for months after, and told by the local president that "it's people like you who want to ruin it for all of us. Do you want us to be unemployed?"

I had the privilege of being schooled through elementary school in a small group of 5 children in England. It was very individual. My experience was excellent.

Your ratio was much more similar to a homeschooling teacher/student ratio. If I could do that for my kids I wouldn't have hoemschooled in the first place..probably, maybe...who knows!

Meg

The fact that my son IS special needs is why I'm home-schooling in the first place!

I'm shocked that people feel that homeschooling is losing steam, however. I know in this area, more and more seem to be picking it up. We even have a couple of private schools that offer *part-time* classes to augment those that do homeschooling. (Just found that out w/in the last couple of weeks). So it doesn't seem like it is losing steam at all, more like it is gearing up!

But I will admit to thinking that one parent had to be a "stay-at-home". How else? I guess I better go read the article. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Meg-
speaking of ratio-

Why do public schools feel that one teacher to thirty students is educationally sound? That is absurd!

I believe in small,(very small), group teaching, vouchers, and homeschooling.

There is also a new trend that I read about-private tutoring.Many two high income professional families are "into" it.

I saw too much when I was a high school teacher. Education was the last on the list when money was being spent. Administrative salaries and sports ate up a large part of the budget.

They have to save their sports programs at all costs. Cut the music, art, etc. But, gosh darn it, save that football/basketball!

On the class size thing, what gets me is they'll tell me "Oh, it's okay to have 30 kids in the class because we have a classroom aid." Uhuh.

My big thing about the public schools is how on earth can they even think that every child is at the same level and needs the same level of instruction.

I just don't get it and no one has been able to explain it to me.

I guess I am just a bit to dense <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Teach to the lowest common denominator. That's why America's schools are dumbing down instead of achieving. My brother and I suffered in school because we were bored stiff - we learned things too quickly and weren't challenged. I found my daughter and my son having the same problem. By the time I figured out I could homeschool (I'm guilty of stereotyping on that score too) it was too late for my son, but it's working really well for my daughter. I'll never forget the first math test I gave her to assess where she was. She handed me the paper and said, "that was really hard". I apologized and said I thought that was the level of stuff she was supposed to be learning in school. She said, "no, don't apologize, mom. I really had to think about what I was doing and it felt really good!"

I almost keeled over. I hadn't realized the extent of boredom and "no thinking sailing" she'd already been doing in public school.

That classroom aide bit is just plain baloney! When I had one she didn't do much; it was the same as being by myself. Largest class I ever had? 42!!!!! no aides, just me, and I was told that our state, (it was New Jersey), had no "class size limit." <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

And sports? Oh, yes, the school had the best sports program in the state!! Music barely existed and art? thay cut that quickly. I mean, gee, we don't want our students to have culture now, do we?

Public schools are a disgrace. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Boredom is rampant, because you are so right,education is dumbed down. <img src="/images/graemlins/wall.gif" alt="" />

I just love the last Dept. of Ed. sanctioned study that compared private schools and public schools. After negatively adjusting private school data to make up for supposed differences in student populations (the private school my son attended for first had more minority/low income students than the public school serving our area... so do a lot of private schools--other than the elites--so their adjustments are completely suspect), they concluded that the education students received at private schools was not better than that provided at public schools.

Not.

Supposedly, there are "insufficient numbers" of homeschoolers to merit a comparison at this time.

Bah.

I've been homeschooling since 1984 and the most common remark I heard that I now no longer hear(the times they are a-changing) is that homeschooling was for 'them there' hippies! Yes I'm a hippie with an education degree. Be afraid, be very afraid. I was subjected to the dictatorship referred to as the NEA and it's local sister the TEA. Which is most likely the reason I left the university to teach my kids.

1. If I never hear the word, 'socialization' again I would die a happy woman. My dh has told me that if I was ever on the Actor's Studio[on Bravo] and he asked me what is the word that you most hate..that would be it. I have 5 kids..so needs stinking socialization? My first 3 were before internet and hsing groups and we lived in the country(hence the hippie reference) so peers weren't exactly in abundance. But we were involved with our religion's activities, we frequented parks and festivals where they made 'friends du jour' and eventually civilization made its way to us and a spattering of kids made their way to our farm. My first 3 are now grown and still laugh over the notion of socialization. It's like the line about not noticing you were poor growing up. The same ilk applied to them. We missed out on socialization? When did this happen?

2.I'm not even Christian so that pretty much cans that theory. Although I must say it is difficult for non-Christians in some areas of the country to find materials and, more in particular, physical hsing groups that are not Christian in nature. We did live in my husband's hometown where the majority of the homeschoolers were more religious than most and would cut their children off from others due to religious bias. But you're going to have that anywhere and not as a whole.

3. Oh...kay...whatever. Texas' own state website dictates differently but whatever floats your boat kiddo!

4.Well, in all fairness, it can be and then again... It all depends how you go at it. In another group that I belong in, a first year hser just spent $600 on her 2nd grader! I don't think I've ever spent that much when mine were in high school! Unfortunately some newcomers feel that removing their children from ps they have to simulate ps at home. Thus they go a little crazy at the conferences and with the catalogs. I, myself, could buy almost everything in some of those catalogs but you live and you learn.

5. It helps but it's not required. I worked full time until about 2 years ago. I would work days and my dh worked nights and we shared responsibilites. Now that he is an OTR truck driver, it was needed for me to 'retire' and become that SAHM.

6.I think the national census on homeschoolers has already debunked this myth. Now there are some parents out there that should not hs and no certification in the world would help. But with the advancement in hs curriculum these days, I wouldn't be surprised if the parent even has to be at home TO hs anymore <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

7.4 out of my 5 children were considered 'special needs'. I have 2(1 adult and 1 tween) with Inattentive ADD and 2(1 adult and 1 teenager) with Asperger's Syndrome. It was my motivation to quit teaching English and teach my own. Besides, if you think schools are bad now, they weren't a walk in the park back in the early 80's believe me! I now homeschool my 13 yr old dd who is Aspergers(11 yr old ADD dd insisted on going to ps but this will be her last year-her choice!) They have never had special services of any kind.

8. My oldest ADDer is in Pre-Law and my older Aspie dd has just graduated from Texas A&M in Vet. Med. The only non-spec. needs kid I have is my son[his sisters call him a freak of nature because there's nothing wrong with him <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />]is in Pre-Med. And by the way, Texas A&M and NYU were thrilled with my kid's transcripts.[Two can speak, read and write 5 different languages and my son knows 7..so chew on that ps supporters]. No problems getting into those colleges. So there naysayers <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I actually had a primary school principal tell me that they were in business not particularly in the business of education. Therefore they could only educate of the easiest most teachable students not the few that could not fit in that mold. Which explains a lot!

The latest I'm hearing is that some schools are cutting PE back to once a week to save money. Once a week. For some kids, PE is the only exercise they get.

Oh, but I forgot, they have to save their football.

Lynn,
You do think like I do! That damn football program!

I know I sound repetitive, but, having been a public school teacher, I see that it opened my eyes to what I never knew happened in schools. I was so disgusted with how students were "educated!"

I would rally for private schools, homeschooling, vouchers and anything else that is geared for real education.

The NEA is way too powerful!! Don't think for one minute that some public schools who are so-called blue ribbon schools haven't had their faculty "coached" by the NEA and local unions into how a teacher can "vary" grading systems. Blue ribbon, top school, top scores? Baloney!

Been there and heard it all!

I know what you mean by homeschooling Stereotypes and how the children would miss out on their socialization.

I home schooled my children one year, due to a move we made for my husbands employment. I went to visit the public schools their and I was terrified.

At that time my youngest son would be entering the sixth grade and my oldest son would be entering the 11th grade. I knew I could teach my sixth grader but I also realized my limitations for my oldest son. So I hired a tutor for my oldest son in physics and did the rest myself.

It wasn't until I started teaching my youngest son who had just finished the year in private school, that I realized how far behind he really was. I was amazed at what he hadn't learned-to busy socializing I guess. The best part was he was an honor student & couldn't do simple fractions.
It took me a year just to catch him up to where I though he should be.

Socializing in school is way over rated these days. I'm not a very religious person but I do like pants that somewhat fit and don't understand the need for purple hair,
and black make-up around the eyes.

If I had it to do over again mine would never enter school. They would be home schooled. I'm trying to keep up
with the basics, because I don't plan on my grandchildren ever going to home school if I have to teach them myself.

When my children re-entered public school the principle made them take a test to see if they would qualify for public school. He thought maybe they were a discipline problem since they had been home schooled for a year, and that they had just played around at home and gotten behind.

I'm not a college graduate but I'm not stupid. The boys begged to go back to public school because it was so much easier. The boys scored extremely high on their test and the principle was very surprised!

It's a lot of work and very time consuming but both my boys
graduated high school and are attending local colleges.

I homeschooled myself through high school before it was even heard of by most around me. During my first few years of jobs after that I heard "oh, so that means you got a GED" and I would explain I had a HS diploma. Now, 20 years later I hear "WOW! You did that on your own and worked too??? When can you start?"

I have to admit, when my husband first mentioned homeschooling our kids, I was absolutely against it. I totally believed in all the stereotypes about homeschooling families and plus I just couldn't conceive of spending all day every day with the kids. Now that they're starting preschool, I've thought about all the negative experiences I had in school with the social cliques and boredom (drugs weren't nearly as big an issue as they are now, which is just another reason for considering homeschooling). We started really looking into it and found so much information and resources that we're now both on board and really excited about homeschooling our twin daughters and later their baby brother!

Homeschooling isn't a cure for society's ills but it's a good start <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

FWIW I wasn't gung ho on homeschooling either. It's been 6 yrs now and even on the yellow school bus days I can't think of a good reason to send them to school.

Meg