[Pem]

Can someone please explain to me why someone would choose to home school their children? How would a parent have a hope of teaching their children to a high standard unless they were teachers themselves?I guess what I'm really asking is how do parents ensure that they maintain a level of quality in their teaching, if they are not necessarily professionally trained to do so.

[Mup P]

It's a bit of a paradox. Often times, the children lack the required social skills to thrive in public schools. The parents compound the problem by pulling them out of public school and teaching them at home.As for qualifications to teach... pretty much anybody who is somewhat familiar with the subject matter can teach it effectively. The lesson plans and assignments are pre-prepared, and anybody can grade a paper if they have the answer key.[edit] The anecdotes that people give for why they homeschooled their children prove the point I'm making. Knowing Latin or Chinese isn't going to help a kid socialize with other kids unless they are either a Roman citizen (not likely) or part of the roughly 1/6 of the world that actually does speak Chinese. If little Johnny gets beat up at school, maybe its because he is a spaz. The social order of the playground is a training ground that cannot be duplicated by mommy and daddy at home.Any child can be an academic overacheiver if their mommy is grading their papers. This is the same across the board - the slow kids who can't grasp the simplest of concepts, the normal kids who can't control their behavior, or the advanced children who, above all other groups, need to learn social skills.Parents who homeschool their children have convinced themselves that what they are doing is right and that they have not compromised their child's education. The truth is that they have robbed them of the reward of triumph over their difficulties.

[futurecadet10]

there are studies that show that home school children and teens actually are more well rounded and have higher GPAs than public school students.

[Emily W]

It seems to me the way values are now that parents feel they can teach their children better than going to school. Not to mention the fact of over crowding in the schools, how much time can a teacher actually spend one on one with the students. I am a little mixed on homeschooling, My mom taught my younger brothers at home, and that seemed to work out fine, But i have a niece that is home schooled and I feel she would do a lot better off if she went to a public school.

[thuja]

I home-school because we live in a rural area and private school is both a long way away and expensive. I pick and choose from many available curriculum, and teach all four at the same time. We do individual math and language arts, but science and history and art, etc we all do together, with different levels of expectation for quality of work based on age. I have no desire to send my children to a public school because I feel that the government already has too much control over our lives. I do not own a television for the same reason. In our little tiny town, they ask you to sign in twice to drop off a lunch, forgotten homework, or homeschooling paperwork. As if you are a criminal, it seems. I feel that this sends a message to my children that they need to be protected from their parents by a govt. figure. It is the beginning of brainwashing. We are continually being told that all these rules are for our own safety, and we give up our privacy, and our freedoms too easily. Ben Franklin had it right when he said that "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.". If there is a FEMA declared emergency, they can take your kids to an undisclosed location for up to 3 weeks, of course, this is for their own safety. The kids are taught to obey mindlessly, to move when a bell rings, to be good little sheeple. Some people may feel that they can counter this at home, but for us, the respectful, kind, calm children became foul mouthed little monsters after first grade. My son came home after "healthy" snack time at kindergarten (Little Debbie snacks) buzzing and crabby. I was guessing that next they would tell me he needed Ritalin or something to calm him down after his junk food induced mania. This just didn't work for our family. The kids seemed to get along fine with the other kids, in fact, we still have most of the same friends, and play sports and chess club and other activities, but just not that all day servitude. They also took the same grade level state standardized tests as their former classmates, and did very well.I realize that I may sound a little crazy to some, but honestly, I am the very average American, a farmer, a small business owner, a mom, and yes, I went to public school part of that time.I wish the anti homeschooler could meet some of the kids that are supposedly unable to deal with facing problems. Most of these kids are being taught to think "outside of the box" and will be our future problem solvers and leaders.