Is pridefulness a problem among hser's?

[StellarStory]

Exactly so.

*nods muchly*

Kids need structure.

[Pam]

[Theodore]

Every child has the potential to be gifted at something. It's just a matter of finding out what that something is. I think that public schools are too quick to label some students as gifted and others as stupid, based on how well they do on average, rather than how well they do in their area of expertise. You don't have to be good at everything to succeed in life, you only have to be the best at one thing - and being the best is as much hard work as latent ability.

[seekingmyLord]

What you have described, Jan, certainly can happen within ANY family regardless of where the children go to be educated. I was a country bumpkin in a small public school. It was a great school, but I would not have appreciated as much if I did not have something to which I could compare it. While I was still in elementary school, we moved to a small city... The things that children did and said on the playground during recess I then thought were not things any child would do!

Throughout life we all go through adjustments. Some children do go wild if they out of the influence of their strict parents and some go wild just because they suddenly have more choices, but generally most of them were just wild from the start. I had a really wild cousin and none of her siblings were that way at all and they had very good, somewhat strict parents. I think that even if a child seems to go wild later, it was in them to do so and they chose to act on it. Sadly, some go too far and jeopardize their health or their lives. The death of a child in the act of being wild is, at least, a warning for other children with the same thoughts.

Some children also deal with depression all their lives. Being in a public school does not necessarily help or hurt that situation. I know a boy who was in public school and suffered depression, mostly he was just ignored and he took his life at age nine.

I think there are some people who resented being homeschooled but in the end we are responsible for ourselves regardless of our upbringing.

One another note, I am not sure what you mean by this:
"But, I think that homeschooling can work, yet it has many bugs that need to be fixed."

In your opinion, who should be responsible for fixing the bugs within the institution of homeschooling?

[seekingmyLord]

[janw1256]

Hi all,

Yes, I think that homeschoolers should be responsible for fixing the bugs within the system. I think too often homeschoolers think that their way of doing things is perfect and they can become very judgmental toward someone that does things another way. I am responding to the attitudes on this forum as well as to attitudes in the people I knew who homeschooled. I don't think that everyone who homeschools should homeschool and I don't think that public schoolers should be looked upon so negatively by the homeschool group.
Anyway, what was this thread about? I will try to regain focus. It is about pridefulness and I confess that I suffered from lots of pridefulness growing up as a homeschooler. I thought I was better than anyone that went to public school and when they did something wrong, I was judgmental and looked down on them.
I know you will run into prideful people within the public school system, but I am going to make a claim that homeschooling fosters pridefulness. Separating yourself from the community could do that. It was only when I began to know people in public schools and around the community besides neighbor friends that I realized I am just like them and not better than them. Maybe it was an attitude displayed by my mother. Maybe it was an attitude I followed from my church.
So, I think it is important that homeschoolers get to know people in the community and not form a clique. Especially in small towns where only a couple families homeschool, it is even more important that homeschool families hang out with other families.

Jan

[janw1256]

Hello again,

I misread one of the questions on here. As far as who should be responsible, I guess for now homeschoolers b/c there is no other authority in charge of homeschooling. Maybe local churches could set up an accountability group. The lack of accountability for homeschooling is disconcerting. I think there should be requirements that need to be met b/f someone can homeschool. I mean if your parents are drug addicts or alcoholics or suffer from mental disorders, should they really be schooling you? I know there are lots of cooky teachers, but at least you would only have them for one year and at least they are accountable to the school system.

Jan

[StellarStory]

I think setting up an authority to "regulate" home schooling would be strongly fought against by the vast majority of homeschoolers.

It would also probably work about as well as any other oversight program done by any so called authority.

For better or for worse, it must be done by homeschoolers. From what I've seen in the many homeschooling families I know it's mostly for better.

Of course in any group of people you can find those that do some crazy stuff that isn't healthy and who are unwise thinking only their way of doing things is best or works. That's just human nature and life.

[Pam]

[Calleigh]

I think it's important to remember that just because a child is homeschooled that doesn't mean that he or she is perfect. It also doesn't mean that they are freaks of society either. For all of the examples Jan gave regarding homeschoolers who attempted suicide, went wild in school, were controlled by their parents, had health issues that didn't get addressed, etc... I can give just as many from my experiences that I had when I was in school. Public school.

Kids and teenagers are still kids and teenagers, with all of the emotions that go along with it. There are problems with homeschooling; there are problems with public school; there are problems with private schools. We don't live in a perfect world.

So I don't feel prideful about homeschooling. I do what I do because I believe it is what I am supposed to do. If I didn't firmly believe I should be doing this I know I would struggle greatly. (Even more than I already do sometimes!!) But I know that I would struggle no matter what decisions were made. It is just part of life.

Calleigh

[seekingmyLord]

[StellarStory]

[momagator]

[StellarStory]

[ibkellyb]