Homeschool World Forum

This is a bit late but altough I am public-schooled, all of any future children I have will be homeschooled.

Why?

Articles 3, 5, 12 and 19. ((It's called bullying - It is degrading treatment, parts of all those are violated via bullying in even the best schools.))

Ignoring the D.I.S.C theory, two thirds of so called 'normal' people may be educated fine (Visual and audial learners) but school misses those tactile learners except on a few very rare occasions.

You can tell me what you like but I am not going to send any children I have in the future to school. ((Not until they ask, anyway.)) Sure, the world can be a cruel, hutful and unfeeling place, sure they have to learn life lesson's sometimes but five is too little, IMHO.

I want them to have a childhood, one that doesn't end the september after they're five.

A lot of people homeschool because their kids are too smart and aren't being satisfied by school, but even more homeschool because their kids are labeled as having mental problems and just aren't learning at all, and the majority homeschool for other reasons entirely. I doubt homeschoolers are smarter overall, they just have parents that care about them a lot, and strong family ties and hard work do correlate to success in school and the business world.

Also, the first few years are most important, and homeschooled children get an excellent foundation in reading, writing, and math. Doing a lot of mental math and writing builds the sort of brain patterns that are useful in IQ tests, so I'd debate that education can significantly raise your IQ, and since homeschoolers have a better education, they're going to appear smarter regardless of what their potential was to start off with.

I was replying to Against Homeschooling's old post back on p. 2 or 3 of this thread. "Because my kids are smart" is not my main reason for homeschooling. It just happens that my kids are smart--I was responding to AH saying that homeschool parents are always claiming to have smart kids but there's no proof that the kids really are smart. I wanted to let AH know that there's at least one family of homeschoolers that really does have smart kids.

I wouldn't say that education can significantly raise one's IQ. I don't think I was admitted to the gifted program because I had been "educated so well" for my first 10 1/2 years of public schooling. I think I was born with a certain ability and it was enhanced by the way my parents raised me.

I think public school could have worked better for me than it did in the sense that if public school were as great as some people think, it should have helped me overcome my native shyness and develop some social skills and some friendships.

Ramona

Not one's actual IQ, no, since by definition that's a measure of how intrinsically intelligent one is. However, if you're trying to compare public schoolers and homeschoolers on the basis of intelligence, then subjective IQ becomes very important, as in the case of IQ tests. Are homeschoolers, on average, intrinsically smarter, and that's why they end up with a better education? Or is the education boosting their IQ? Or is there no noticeable difference in IQ between the two groups? I wish I had figures on that. Also, how do you compare IQ between visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic-tactile learners? Children who appear stupid in a classroom environment may actually be quite brilliant when homeschooled using a different method.

Heh. When I say "I debate that ..." it means I'm not 100% sure, but I'm sure enough so I'd much rather be on that side of any debate on the subject. Yes, I do think education raises IQ, primarily in the early years when your brain is busy laying down patterns, and if it does happen to raise IQ, then that figures heavily in the debate over whether homeschoolers are just smarter on average.

Good luck finding a study that proves it either way, however

and here's the rest of the conversation..

okay AH,
First off, I am sorry that your personality type did not lend itself to having
a positive homeskoolin experience.

(side note.. I spelz howsoever I want, cause I don't teach grammer... that's my wife's department)

That being said.. we homeschool our youngun's, who are rather interesting,
for several reasons.

a) they are both Spectrum kids

b) we desire for them to actually learn the subject matter

c) my son got so fed up with the bullys that he offered to take matters
into his own hands.

d) They get more subjects done this way, including a bodacious music concentration.

It goes on from there..

Now keep in mind, my daughter is like me.. only a few friends, but she is
happy that way.
My son, OTOH , I need a spreadsheet to keep up with his social activity.

I finally just bought some 2-way radios so I can just call him and find
out where he is when needed.
He has friends from a couple years younger than him, to the sixties+ crowd.

So again, I am sorry you had a bad thyme of it, but you are by no means
indicative of what I see as the norm in homeschooling.

ttyl
mark