Many people who are unfamiliar with homeschooling picture it as a bunch of religious fanatics socially isolating their kids from culture and diversity in order to brainwash their kids. However, the facts bear witness to the fact that the opposite is true. Here are some facts culled from the excellent Homeschooling entry at wikipedia.
In general, people who are against home schooling are ignorant of it’s history in America, it’s proven benefits, it’s proven superiority over public schooling, and that the classic criticisms leveled against it, primarily those of social and religious extremism, omissions of critical subjects (like evolution), and poor socialization, have been shown by many studies to be nearly entirely false. In fact, as it turns out, homeschoolers are better educated, more emotionally stable and mature, more socially adjusted, and more academically balanced than students who emerge from our faithless, Darwinist, underperforming public schools.
The Downsides of Public Schooling
- Damaging emotional development: "where possible, children should be withheld from formal schooling until at least ages eight – ten.".
Their reason was that children, "are not mature enough for formal
school programs until their senses, coordination, neurological
development and cognition are ready." - Other negative emotional pressures of formal schooling: the outcome of forcing children into formal schooling is a sequence of
"1) uncertainty as the child leaves the family nest early for a less
secure environment, 2) puzzlement at the new pressures and restrictions
of the classroom, 3) frustration because unready learning tools —
senses, cognition, brain hemispheres, coordination — cannot handle the
regimentation of formal lessons and the pressures they bring, 4)
hyperactivity growing out of nerves and jitter, from frustration, 5)
failure which quite naturally flows from the four experiences above,
and 6) delinquency which is failure’s twin and apparently for the same
reason." - Damaging social development: Aside from academic performance, early formal schooling also destroys
"positive sociability", encourages peer dependence, and discourages
self worth, optimism, respect for parents, and trust in peers. This
situation is particularly acute for boys because of their delay in
maturity.
Homeschool Benefits
- How to develop genius: A Smithsonian Report on the development of genius, indicating a
requirement for "1) much time spent with warm, responsive parents and
other adults, 2) very little time spent with peers, and 3) a great deal
of free exploration under parental guidance. - Academic performance: the average homeschooled student outperforms their public school peers
by 30 to 37 percentile points across all subjects. The study also
indicates that public school performance gaps between minorities and
genders are virtually non-existent among homeschooled students. - What children need for learning and healthy mental/emotional development: Their analysis suggested that children need "more of home and less of
formal school" "more free exploration with…parents, and fewer limits
of classroom and books," and "more old fashioned chores – children
working with parents – and less attention to rivalry sports and
amusements." - Healthier self concept: Dr. John Taylor later found, using the Piers-Harris Children’s
Self-Concept Scale, "while half of the conventionally schooled children
scored at or below the 50th percentile (in self-concept), only 10.3% of
the home-schooling children did so." - Better socialization: Regarding socialization, it appears that very few home-schooling
children are socially deprived. Critics who speak out against home
schooling on the basis of social deprivation are actually addressing an
area which favors home schoolers. Apparently, the research data
indicates that it is the conventionally schooled child who is actually
deprived." - Graduates are more socially involved than public school children: Homeschool graduates are active and involved in their communities. 71%
participate in an ongoing community service activity, like coaching a
sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or
neighborhood association, compared with 37% of U.S. adults of similar
ages from a traditional education background. - Graduates are more active in civics: Homeschool graduates are more involved in civic affairs and vote in
much higher percentages than their peers. 76% of those surveyed between
the ages of 18 and 24 voted within the last five years, compared with
only 29% of the corresponding U.S. populace. The numbers are even
greater in older age groups, with voting levels not falling below 95%,
compared with a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace. - Graduates report being happier and more excited about life: 58.9% report that they are "very happy" with life, compared with 27.6%
for the general U.S. population. 73.2% find life "exciting", compared
with 47.3%
Now, imagine if I went out to the homeschooling sites and mined even more information. However, I understand that it takes time to change people’s minds, esp. when mired in years of brainwashing regarding the superiority of public education. But education is changing public opinion:
Gallup polls of American voters have shown a significant change in
attitude in the last twenty years, from 73% opposed to home education
in 1985 to 54% opposed in 2001.
The public school system also needs reform. But, at least the public school system does not "ghetto-ize" children with religion from an early age.
I'm not sure what you mean by ghettoize. I mean, if the film Jesus Camp is your idea of home schooling, I understand. However, it seems that homeschooled kids are not socially isolated, and are better adjusted than kids thrown into the waters of public schools. I plan to make sure my kids are prepared to navigate the "real" world by protecting them when they are vulnerable, and releasing them into the world in a manner that maintains their confidence, integrity, and personal autonomy. It's called responsible parenting.
Throwing them into the "real" world ill-prepared for the pressures may seem egalitarian and open-minded to you, but to me, it's like throwing them into traffic while claiming how you are just being a realist.
And in a sense, putting kids into schools where they experience gangs, violence, fighting, and drugs, is really "ghettoizing" them. I am preparing my kids to be leaders, not victims of the industrial education complex.
A friend of mine, who graduated from MIT, home schools his children because of their learning disabilities. For him and his wife, it's more affordable to home school and provide the special attention his children actually need.
In contrast, homeschooling for Evangelicals is nothing more than an excuse to make bible study and right wing ideology the core curriculum of a child's education. It's like a Muslim madrassa. You are teaching your children to be religious fundamentalists, not leaders. .. Just like Islam.
It's called responsible parenting.
It's called brain washing. As the homeschooling trend continues to grow, the United States falls more and more behind other countries in science education.
In contrast, homeschooling for Evangelicals is nothing more than an excuse to make bible study and right wing ideology the core curriculum of a child's education.
Again, I am suggesting that your caricature is not based on fact, but on a pejorative stereotype, one that the facts do not bear out.
And regarding science, as I've mentioned, home schoolers do better on standardized tests, including science, than your secular schools. So the problem is not with fundamentalists at all, but with the schools.
home schoolers do better on standardized tests, including science, than your secular schools
Seeker,
I would say that trumpeting superior performance in standardized tests is a very dubious standard to be measuring things on.
Part of the problem with the education system in the United States is the over-reliance on standardized test to measure educational performance. The reality in the move towards standardized testing (particularly with the No Child Left Behind Act) is that schools and educators are forced to teach based upon what is going to be tested…resulting in wrote memorization rather than children that learn, can think for themselves, and build upon what they are taught.
Go ahead an cite national standardized test scores if you want, but again it is very dubious indeed.
Silver
Go ahead an cite national standardized test scores if you want, but again it is very dubious indeed.
Can you propose a better empirical method by which to compare them? Because unless you can come up with a better way of measuring academic performance, we'll have to do with this inexact measurement. Let's put it this way – in all measurable ways, home schooling outpaces public schooling (and private schooling, btw), even when taking into account socio-economic status. That is, poorer kids do better in home schooling than poorer kids in public school.
Even when social skills are measured, home schoolers come out ahead, despite the liberal opining about socialization. The empirical facts to date are, home schooling is in most ways superior to public schooling.
And the books I mentioned in a previous post discuss why this may always be the case due to the industrial design of the mass-production school system. If you will read the wikipedia entry, you will see that the first critics of the public schools, before they even thought of home schooling as the alternative, remarked as much. Public schools are ok, but for those who have the resources and the willingness to sacrifice for their kids, home schooling is a desirable and superior option for schooling one's children.
At least the Borg say, "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." Your daughter won't even know :(
Not if she goes to public school.
Can you propose a better empirical method by which to compare them? Because unless you can come up with a better way of measuring academic performance, we'll have to do with this inexact measurement
I sure can. Tracking a student's achievement and economic opportunities while in school and upon graduation and entering the work force. That is something that can be emperically tracked, measured, and by extension with some degree of certainty their ability to think for themselves and contribute to society in a meaningful way.
Is it as quick and knee jerk as a standardized test in terms of getting results? No. It is more accurate than a standardized test? You bet your rear end.
Even when social skills are measured, home schoolers come out ahead, despite the liberal opining about socialization. The empirical facts to date are, home schooling is in most ways superior to public schooling
Knowing you the way I do, I would put forth the notion that you have only sought empirical data in circles that are close and familiar to you and your bias and not from both conservative and liberal perspectives. That is a pretty flawed way to conduct an analysis.
And the books I mentioned in a previous post discuss why this may always be the case due to the industrial design of the mass-production school system.
Seeker, have you actually read those books? I know I have not, but I dare say that you have not either. So, it is more than likely that you are citing this information from brief summaries and a colored lens that is your personal bias. If you have read these books, then great. Call out some specifics. So far I am unconvinced.
Public schools are ok, but for those who have the resources and the willingness to sacrifice for their kids, home schooling is a desirable and superior option for schooling one's children.
The sad fact in this world (particularly in the United States) is that those that can afford to do just what you propose are in fact the upper 5% of wealth in this country. So, while you opine that poor children do better with home schooling, the reality is the poor children will never benefit from this since their parents are not in the socioeconomic status to be able to consider doing so. So, if home schooling is widely adopted by the well-off, one can argue that you are in effect creating a situation of educational discrimination due to socioeconomic standing. Period.
Respectfully,
Silver
You're right about that. If she goes to public school at least she will have another perspective instead of an exclusively Christian world view. There, she might learn about evolution properly. It's what all creationists fear since it contradicts their creation mythology. She may be exposed to "worldly" things and ideas. She may be exposed to un-Christian things like teenage boys. That's where your good parenting is supposed to kick in. Without exposure to the real world, you are setting her up for failure. She will be ill equipped to handle the real world if she is sheltered from it. She might learn that it's a bigger world than you would have her know about. In fact, it's a bigger world than her father knows about, who probably has never even been out of the country. Seeker, am I correct that you are not well traveled? At least give your daughter a chance to choose between world views, secular and Christian. Your agnostic parents gave you this choice didn't they? Won't you do the same? For her to actually have a choice, she should know enlightenment values without you foisting your own negative biases towards secularism, evolution, enlightenment, and intellectualism upon her. I'll be taking my daughter to church when she is old enough. Does that surprise you?
I was watching a documentary about "Purity Balls" where the daughter swears abstinence to her father before marriage. It has been found that over 80% of these oaths have been broken because the daughters have found "loopholes." Specifically, they found exactly two loop-HOLES.
I just stumbled upon this. Seeker, as a music fan, I'm sure you have heard of RUSH. Here is what Neil Peart said about this…
Tracking a student's achievement and economic opportunities while in school and upon graduation and entering the work force. That is something that can be empirically tracked, measured, and by extension with some degree of certainty their ability to think for themselves and contribute to society in a meaningful way.
Great, but until such studies are done, I'd say that the overwhelming evidence supports the claims that the overblown fears of anti-Hs lobbyists are unfounded and fearful polemics of those who hold a statist, if not anti-religious world view. They have no basis in fact and all current indicators, including performance on standardized testing, which I think you dismiss too carelessly, and perhaps only because they don't give the results you are expecting or desire, indicate that homeschooling is alive and well, and superior to public schooling.
I would put forth the notion that you have only sought empirical data in circles that are close and familiar to you and your bias and not from both conservative and liberal perspectives.
Not true. Everything in this article comes from wikipedia. Sure, it's not the end all of complete info, but it's not the Home School Legal Defense Fund either. Unless YOU can find other information, I hold that what I presented is unbiased and accurate.
Seeker, have you actually read those books?
No, but I mentioned them because their stated thesis, that industrialized, institutional learning has some really big basic flaws that homeschooling overcomes. On their surface, they seem worth considering.
The sad fact in this world (particularly in the United States) is that those that can afford to do just what you propose are in fact the upper 5% of wealth in this country.
First, this is a typical "Hs is elitist" tactic that has nothing to do with the actual effectiveness of Hs. Rather, it is an argument for the continuation of state-sponsored institutional learning. I am not arguing for the abolition of state learning, only that Hs is better. And the majority of homeschoolers are not the same elite rich that send their kids to private school, but middle class families who sacrifice to have one parent stay at home.
While this model might not work for the poor in non-western countries, that is no reason to discourage it in the US, and actually, the charter school model may work well in poor countries, rather than a bureaucracy-ridden state program – it's like the difference between helping start cottage industries through microloans and trying to start some big program in a government system that is probably too weak to support it.
The real fact, if you want to know, is that Christian missionary schools probably do more to educate the third world populations than their governmental agencies. Again, this is another reason to have less faith in public education.
Again, I am not saying we should dismantle public education, I am merely saying that homeschooling is a viable option for middle class families, that the fears surrounding Hs have no basis in fact, and that Hs kids turn out smarter and more emotionally balanced than public school kids. And I provided the best numbers I had to back that up.
You are not convinced, fine. As I said, if you are waiting for better numbers (like I am regarding global warming ;), that's your choice, but I think your doubt stems not from the data or lack of it, but from a predisposed statist philosophy. But I'm sure you may disagree.
The Creationist Home Schooling Motto:
You will be assimilated into the Christian collective. Resistance is futile.