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At the Old Virginia Blog’, southern writer Richard G. Williams , Jr. has a few things to say to those who criticize the Christian homeschooler’s, comments like the following, for example:
"The real tragedy is to see the children who are the product of homeschooling. Yes, there is evidence to suggest that *some homeschooled kids out perform their public school peers, but I’ve taught a number of these kids over the past eight years and it isn’t pretty. Most of the kids I’ve taught with this background find it very difficult to adjust to a school community. Many haven’t spent enough time learning how to interact with their peers, but the biggest disappointment is to watch them in the classroom. The kids I’ve taught are very obedient and well-behaved, but try to get them to question what they read or what the teacher says and you will end up pulling your hair out. They were never taught to formulate their own ideas or to see school as an opportunity to develop their own views about things. It’s very sad. I’ve seen up close what happens to kids who are taught to see US History as “God’s plan”. In a previous comment someone said that it reminds them of child abuse and I couldn’t agree more." ~ Kevin Levin (Emphasis mine).
And this baseless comment from a reader . . .
"If you think about it, Kevin, what you saw in these kids is inevitable. Many parents who insist on home-schooling their kids have a set of beliefs which they don’t *want* their kids to question or dispute, and that is what they see school as being for: The simple transmission of information. So the kids get a double-whammy: Not only are they taught ridiculous junk, but they are taught that none of it should be questioned."
Read the entire article here.
I was never home-schooled, and don’t know anyone who was home-schooled. By all accounts, I am not at all qualified to weigh in on this topic.
I’ll do it anyway. Logically, it seems to me that home-schooled kids are missing out on the important social aspect of school communities.
But some of those articles arguing against home-schooling bring up some ridiculous points. Students are taught “ridiculous junk” at ANY school, and there are few students who ever question what their teachers tell them. Indeed, from my experience, teachers would get angry when they were challenged (until I got to college, at least).
I hate over-generalization. Home-schooling probably works differently depending on, well, the home. If you have decent, open-minded parents that challenge their children and teach them how to think for themselves, I’m sure they produce wonderful minds. If you have moronic parents that prattle on about nonsense and don’t bother to mention that there is no “right way” of thinking about things, you’ll get something less-than-wonderful.
I would like this man to cite some evidence for his claims, more than his experience which is not going to represent the vast majority of homeschoolers. Truth is, in my house, my kids are taught to think critically when taught. If homeschoolers aren’t taught this, they can be duped by any huckster whether dressed in sheeps clothing or touting scientific theories as fact. Truth be told, most American children have not been taught to be very careful with information they are given and this is why our nation is in the fix it’s in right now. I am going to bet that homeschool kids may not openly question, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking critically. Also, there are times for questioning (outloud) and times for getting the job done without question…
Well, I don’t think there’s any question that many homeschooled kids are being subjected to “lessons” based on faith masquerading as science – certainly not all.
But here’s my question: Do you seriously dispute the notion that many fundamentalists who home-school are closed-minded, poorly educated or down-right bigoted? Is it not therefore foreseeable that the products of that sort of environment will grow up the same?
As for me and mine, my reasons for homeschooling (which we start this year, to much trepidation and excitement in equal measure) have nothing to do with religion. I can and do teach my child our faith quite easily outside the context of “school” — wherever that may physically be. It has everything to do with her needs, her learning style, and the competing needs and interests of a teacher with a gaggle of kids, not all of whom learn best the same way as my child does.
In short, I want her mind to be more open, not more closed. I also want her to think critically, to know how to learn, and how to express herself competently, articulately, and persuasively.
But as for “socialization” — I’m quite happy to get her out of that mess. I have seen absolutely NO good come from the cruelty that naturally (apparently) evolves whenever you have three or more youngsters of the same age in one setting. The boys tease and bully; the girls bully and exclude; my child with her tender heart who hates seeing ANYONE bullied or excluded gets torn up.
She doesn’t need to change. The environment does.
I have homes schooled two Children that I had tested with there peers each year and they came in the 96-99 % on the standardized tests.
I think it can be abusive or neglectful depending on the motive and the child. It also can be the best gift you can give your child. There is good in bad on each side.
If you believe in total depravity, homeschooling HAS to be a mixed bag. There must, of necessity, be parents who use homeschooling as way to pursue their own idols (power, control, pride, malice). Christian families can troop into church with all the little well-scrubbed, well-behaved children lined up to prop up the inner Pharisee of the parents. It’s a blasphemous, abusive, horror–but it’s not peculiar to homeschooling. Our hearts are a very factory of idols that seek meaning and control every place but God…
The challenge is to recognize our OWN heart’s capacity for evil without pointing the finger of blame at other people’s choices. The question is NOT whether other people have wicked reasons for teaching their kids at home, any more than whether other people have wicked reasons for wanting their child to become a doctor. The question is whether God is calling YOU to teach your child at home. If He is, then you need to do that, even if other people do it wrong.
Good points! – JT
For years “homeschooling” from within the church, has caused other Christians to raise their eyebrows or to even make comments that are very uncharacteristic of a Christian. It seems to be a very emotionally charged debate with Christian and non-Christian proponents on both sides of it. In all honesty I am like the first responder, was not homeschooled myself and now have 2 children in college and one in high school. When we first moved to this area, we were willing to make the choice that I would homeschool our children if the public school system did not meet our high standards of education. As Christians, we never expected them to meet the needs of our children spiritually. That was our job and we took it very seriously. I was delighted to find that it was a very conservative and traditional school system here, and has met and exceeded our expectations as far as our children’s education. We taught our children how to debate the science issues and in that they have been salt and light to other kids and are not afraid to debate these topics. They knew that if it was required, we would go to bat for them with a teacher any time it was needed. We never had to do that.
That being said, I also spent many years in the classroom as a volunteer, and have even worked for the district in the area of special education and know the school system from the inside out.
I can tell you that many things have changed over the years and if I was going to make a decision today on whether to homeschool or put my children in public education, I would choose homeschooling. “No child left behind” is a disgrace to what once used to work and public education is rapidly going downhill with no end to the slide in sight.
No matter what you decide, you have a God-given responsibility to raise your children. It is not the government’s job to do that for you.
I’ll amen that, and a ‘truly, truly’ to boot.