re: #15. i went to public school, and if i may say, eff the prom. i didn’t go to mine, and i have never regretted that decision for a minute. life-defining moments can happen in school or outside of school…and prom doesn’t have to be one of them.
you and J have both helped dispel a lot of assumptions i once had about homeschooling. this post helped, too…and it was funny
I know a few teachers in public school, and frankly… it scares the bejeebies out of me to think that they, or someone like them, could possibly be teaching my kid one day.
I wasn’t home-schooled but went to a really good private religious school. Most of the home-schoolers I ran across were socially inept people who really never fit in. That being said their parents were the fringe religious nuts even to us. I find that most of the ’socialization’ that happens or doesn’t happen is up to the kids and parents NOT if they are home schooled.
With that being said I have talked with my wife about home-schooling as most public schools fail our kids not with grades but with the quality of eduction ESPECIALLY under no child left behind.
My family is lucky enough to live in one of the best school districts in the state in quality. Most classrooms have less than 20 kids and great teachers. But I still find there are missing pieces that I want to add to my children’s education. If push came to shove I would probably home school my kids if not for the local school. But it would be VERY DIFFICULT as I work from home and my wife is partially disabled. Sending the kids to school gives us a BREAK (yeah I sound like a lazy parent). So hats off and cups up to parents who home school more power to you.
Hmm… I have said at least half of this list! Color me schooled. Point taken, well taken. Just one thing - what ARE we supposed to say? I mean you’ve pretty much covered everything. Just smile and nod? Is that appropriate?
I have a homeschooling ‘problem’ that comes from a different angle…
Even as a not-quite-yet-a-dad, I’m already thinking about my child-to-be and his education. Homeschooling is very much an option that’s on the table. So should I choose to homeschool my child when the time comes - or even use a private school for that matter - I should not have to continue to pay school taxes. In fact, I’m quite miffed that both my wife and I have already paid school taxes for better than 20 years yet we have no children and really have no voice whatsoever in what happens in the public schools.
(If I did have a voice, you can be dang sure that football wouldn’t be the lifeblood of our local ‘education’ system - but can you imagine how fast the rednecks would run me out of town on a rail if I made that opinion known at some PTA meeting?)
If the people who’re currently using the resources of public schools had to shoulder all - or even a significant portion - of the tax load, there’d be a lot more parents actively involved in the education of their children and a much greater demand for quality teachers, facilities, and curriculums.
Plain & simple, as a homeowner, I encur charges when I draw from the pool of electrity available to my community. Ditto for sewage, water, & gas utilities. Why should schools as a public utility be any different?
Thanks for all the great comments. It’s fun to see so many different perspectives.
@ Lela - I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking questions of homeschoolers such as “what are your reasons for homeschooling, if you don’t mind my asking” or “what are the pros and cons for your family? or “what do your kids like and not like?”. the problem is that too often these questions are framed by a negative bias or assumption–although often the person asking isn’t aware that’s what they’re doing. If you don’t really have any questions for the person, I don’t think you should feel obligated to come up with a lengthy response–most homeschoolers would probably be relieved to get less of a “reaction”. You shouldn’t feel obligated to say something profound about the philosophy of their choice–often a lighthearted comment like “oh, so you’re the family that gets to use the childrens’ museum in the middle of the day” or “so your kids brought their school with them”, etc., is best all around.
@ Rob - One complaint we homeschoolers get is that we aren’t “supporting the public school system”. This is particularlly grating since essentially we contribute to the pool without taking from it. Personally, I don’t really have a problem contributing to a public education system–although I often wish my money were being put to better use. As a homeschooler though, it does seem unfair that I get no benefit from public educational resources. Of course, this situation might be a bit of a catch-22 in that some homeschoolers fear that if we demand more in the way of tax credits for homeschooling, etc., the powers that be will in turn make more demands and exert more control over us.
i don’t have any plans to homeschool, but i don’t knock anyone who does. hey, i don’t blame you for being a bit scrappy for having to defend the choices you make for your child(ren). i love your list.
I used to get question like yours every so often on a radio show I hosted, mainly from older callers complaining that they didn’t have kids in the school system, so how come they had to pay school taxes?
I responded by asking them if I could then have my two decades’ worth of Social Security tax payments back, plus my share of the taxes I pay toward Medicare, plus what I pay in state and local taxes that goes toward Medicaid nursing home care (which in New York was running around $7200/month at the time).
See the problem is, when your screwed up home “schooled” kid gets out in public and gets tossed in the can for 8-10, the rest of society pays for your “deep personal decision.” Sure you don’t need a degree in catering to make a subpar meal and chances are your lack of degree in education will make for a subpar education too. If that’s your ass backwards logic, then you’re clearly going to fail at teaching your kid. Thanks for burdening society with your crotchfruit.
My wife was homeschooled, along with her 6 other siblings. Here in Florida there are very many people homeschooling their children.
The stories all seem to be the same — kids who are homeschooled are ‘robbed’ of the basics. I suppose your focus on ’socializing’ and being ’social’ where made during the post ad nauseum as this must be the most common ‘complaint’ about homeschooling. This isn’t the only ‘basic’ life skill you potentially take from them. The bigger issue is the mental handicap you place on your child when they aren’t exposed to things like ‘working science labs’ or ‘opposing view points’.
In an ideal world, homeschooling should be illegal. In fact, the only people I’ve ever met who support it are the parents who are doing it. Trust me, when the kids grow up they will feel so left out of life. When they go to take their first biology class at college they will be confused by the lab equipment or when they are presented with an idea or thought that is well known to the rest of the population they will begin to place that blame on their parents.
You have to pay school taxes if you choose to send your child to private school too.
If you do choose to homeschool remember that you have rights as a school tax payer. They may vary by district but in my district home-schooled children have access to school labs, library, sports programs etc..
It’s great to know that you don’t care for you children enough to allow them to obtain a professional degree. Many colleges rule out people who are under the age of 20 who have a GED instead of a diploma.
Also, if your child wants to go to college in some states, you better be ready to show your certifications as a teacher, else they will not be going to school where they want.
If you can provide an environment where your children will be able to function well within your home, and don’t care how they function out in the real world, then by all means, homeschool your children. Just don’t complain when the opportunities you see others getting are not offered to your children
I agree with Rob — why am I paying for public schools with my property taxes? I don’t even HAVE kids so I’ve been paying for something I have never used at all AND have no say in how my money is taken or used.
I’m told I am “contributing to the public good.” Really? You mean I am supposed to feel proud when I see those countless little retards from the public schools who are 16 and can’t even add, read or spell? For the hundreds of thousands of dollars I’ve paid in property taxes in 30 years you’d think we would have a lot fewer idiots graduating from the public schools.
I call BS on #11 “I didn’t have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family…”
But you did have to watch somebody cook, read instructions on how to cook, be practically exposed to cooking for a number of years before you could “successfully cook dinner for my family”.
Discounting the learning process and the complexity of that process tells me that this person is most likely not imparting all of the information to their children that they could or might need to.
Teaching isn’t as simple as offering information (and putting aside the simplistic example, nor is cooking for your family as simple as putting the food in front of them). It is contextualizing the information in theory and praxis; gearing toward not only age appropriate language and concepts, but to that child’s learning capacities and processes.
Do you need a degree for that? No. But you do need some awareness of developmental stages and abilities, an effective method of imparting the information and of individual learning modalities.
I know several teachers that HOMESCHOOL !!! because they see the public school system in the U.S for what it is… they only ‘work’ as teachers because they need the money..
and for ‘working lab equipment’.. MOST high schools in the U.S don’t have good science labs. Our high school chemsitry class that my daughter ACED didn’t do ONE single experiment.. We did a few at HOME after I ordered equipment over the internet..
Now that she is in college, she asked how come we didn’t home school her, because she would be better prepaird.. every homeschool kid in every class she has, is in the top 10% of that class she is in.. she has void NEVER to send her kids (when she has them) to a U.S public school no matter what..
Imagine saying, “I’m obese, because I’m a victim of being fed by my parents, whereas the public schools at least offered my nutritionally-correct food.”
No one is a victim of ‘home schooling.’ They’re victims of parents who can’t homeschooling or a victim of failing to take advantage of the opportunity their parents offered them.
Get over your blasted “I’m a victim!” boo-hoo mentality, you lazy pile of slop. You’re only a victim of your own choices. If your parents truly blew it in schooling you, the fact that you’re on this blog proves you can read and write - the fundamental tools of learning anything.
I suppose every single kid in public or even private schools has perfect teachers, right? Yeah, just tell me who to make the check out to so I can buy that line of crap.
I was ‘public-schooled’ until high school, private schooled through high school.
If parents want to RAISE THEIR OWN KIDS and train them, then get the %$#@! out of their way.
Perpective is gained through life experiences. This is nothing more than a contrivled liberal rant regurgetated from Mommy and Daddy. Formulate your own insight and opinions.
Meh. I know this rant isn’t directed at me so I have no issue to take with it. But don’t selectively cull the complaints with homeschooling from idiots. There are plently of homeschooling idiots too… That being said, I hope you’re not sneaking in the same kind of resentment into your kids’ education that you are in this letter. This shit happens with chiropractors all the time. They always talk about “letting my child learn on his own terms” and then eventually can’t avoid ending up with super-stubborn 18 years olds who resent anything that even remotely resembles a REAL mental challenge. Believe it or not, some of us had awesome teachers in secondary public school whose sum of experience and mentorship could never be matched by ANY two well-meaning parents. My physics teachers gave me confidence in my scientific aptitude that my mom simply couldn’t because she didn’t KNOW mechanics…. And if you’re saying that you personally have the ability to teach every high school AP class at the level, clarity, and depth that an AVERAGE public high school teaches it, then you are a marvel, a vast minority, and certainly not ‘indicative’ of homeschoolers. So don’t be so surprised when you get called religious nuts and your kids called socially inept because that’s the lowest common denominator that people see. And of course, power to you and thank you for being so invested in your kids’ minds. And get real.
While some of my childhood friends where from school, most of my friends who I still talk to was meet through out-of-school means, a class is a bunch of kids with the only thing in common being their age (generally). I can see quite a few advantages of being home schooled as long as the kid still gets to play with friends and do sports/hobbies with social activity.
Very insightful reading, hope it turns out all right.
(Any spelling mistakes, poor grammar is not due to bad public school, but the fact that I’m Danish and English isn’t my primary language).
charles — you are certainly the exception to the rule. Kudos to you. Your comment about ‘most’ high school students not having a working lab is ridiculous. We had a working lab for every grade level…4 grade levels = 4 labs. Most states require that too. You must live in a state that does not.
Think, maybe there is a cure for cancer waiting inside the head of a kid who will learn how to express it because you insisted on, and got, lab budget increases.
We ALL benefit from good schools. Going private or homeschool just abandons others who need our help.
I don’t home-school (our son is only 1 year old), but I respect those who do. My wife is a public school teacher, and the No Child Left Behind debacle has created many more problems for children than homeschooling ever will. How can a child learn about science or social studies when so much emphasis is placed only on “teaching to the tests”? It’s great that math and language skills are taught, but it’s not great when other aspects such as music, science, art, history are minimized, or in extreme cases, eliminated altogether.
For those who feel home-schooled children don’t learn the basics, ask your child how much they know about budgeting and personal finance. I don’t recall having a class on that anytime, yet from an adult perspective I would rather have my children know about that than what a frog’s liver looks like! Also, please don’t forget that the idea of a public school system is relatively new; our race has survived for thousands of years by being taught at home.
Wow. The person who wrote this article is not only perceptive and hilarious, but also managed to anticipate ALL of the replies to the piece WITHIN THE PIECE ITSELF.
Oh, Hannah. I laugh because it’s true! It’s evident!
This was an interesting read. The first thing to pop into my head is that bad news travells twice as far as good news. In other words you always hear about bad homeschooling but not good homeschooling situations. With that said, I find it impossible to equate a good education taught by someone who never completed college. I know this isn’t the norm, but in the manny instances I have seen the parents weren’t college educated. You are correct a lot of what you learn in grade/high school is trivial. However, what you learn in college isn’t.
Today though schools are becoming more and more difficult places for people to learn. A lot of it has to do with “No Child Left Behind”. As a parent if you feel you can give your child a better education and your not just being self riteous about your views, maybe homeschooling is right for your family.
You make the common mistake of assuming that the “product” one purchases with one’s school taxes is an education for one’s own progeny. In fact, the real product is an educated populace.
A baseline level of education is vital to a living, functioning representative republic. The higher the level of education in an area, the better standard of living the residents of that area enjoy. That’s why all residents are expected to help fund it, not just those whose children are currently attending.
Also, Rob, you certainly do have a voice in what happens in your schools. Or are you of the opinion that “having a voice” = “getting my way”? Try to remember that every other taxpaying redneck in town has just as much say as you do.
As far as the home-school discussion goes, I’m all for it. My beloved and I homeschool all three of our children. We also send them each day to the local public school system. It’s not either-or, people, you can do both! And your kids will probably be better for it.
Finally, to the author of this rant, all I can say is, “Lighten up, Francis!”
@ Dave and Chad,
I disagree with most of your points. I was homeschooled for most of my life. I went to public school as a sophmore, hated how slow I was forced to go, and asked to be taught at home again. I graduated (SAT’s and all) at 16, went to the University of Texas at 17, and am very successful in the publishing industry. I’m 24, own my own home, and have no “socialization” issues. In fact, I’m usually the “life of the party.” I was homeschooled for religious reasons, and while I’m not religious, I appreciate the fact that I could learn at my own pace. I’ve never had any problem with the fact that I don’t have a “normal” diploma. Also, stop assuming that homeschoolers have to get GED’s. We don’t, and most do fine without it. You’re assumptions about college entrance procedures are absurd; I was accepted into the honors program my freshman year. If a parent is homeschooling, they are generally with it enough to have records of their child’s education. Also, your “BS call” is ridiculous. Most homeschool parents “watch somebody teach” (their own school experience), “read instructions on teaching” (during the often tumultuous decision-making process), and are “exposed to teaching” (again, their own school experience).
I agree with the earlier post concerning public education, and the contribution of professional mentors. I trust my mom not to burn the toast, or overcook a casserole, but to teach me science in the way that someone educated can, not so much.
What! You mean that a single person cannot provide the depth of knowledge in a variety of fields, as well as a variety of viewpoints on different issues? That’s just crazy talk.
And I was homeschooled, graduated summa cum laude from undergrad, was chosen to give the commencement speech, earned awards from my major departments and the honors college, and got a full ride scholarship plus stipend to law school.
A child’s success during homeschooling and afterwards is *TOTALLY* dependent on the parents and how well they are taught. If the parents do a piss-poor job, then it’s no surprise the kid fails at life. If the parents actually bother to teach their kids (*how* to learn, not just the facts for the test), then those kids will take those skills to every arena they ever enter - and succeed.
You’re right. I found that being a ‘nerd’ in public school allowed me to stand out and feel pride amongst my peers, not a detached feeling of superiority like so many homeschoolers must. The poster earlier hit the nail on the head: when your precious snowflake gets thrown into a 9-5 job, they will more than likely lose their mind.
I would be willing to bet that the homeschooled child knows how to spell ’scarring’. Then again, I know how to spell it and I was educated in a public school when children were paddled for being bad. How I long for those days.
24. Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won’t get because they don’t go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.
Good on you for sheltering them. Nothing prepares your little snowflake for the real world like not having the opportunity to have bad days or meet new people.
All I know was that even the least social “nerds” at my school had a group of 6-8 friends that fluctuated membership that they socialized with and learned socialization skills with and from. Unless mommy needs to learn that she is not a brood mare, this won’t happen at homeschooling, and even if it did, the fact that the over populating brood mare is the one trying to teach disqualifies her.
Going shopping with mommy to the vegan/organic food store (evidence of GREAT decision making skills there… HA!) is not socialization. It does NOT compare with spending 12 years, 9 months a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day with a revolving group of 15-30 people selected from a pool of 1200 in the school.
heh damn, “crotchfruit”, I wonder what % of these comments are coming straight from fark given all the fark terms.
To think you need a teaching degree to teach some of the most basic stuff on the planet is asinine. Regardless, there’s surely some kind of standardized testing or whatnot that they could use to verify their kids are on track for their age.
Wow. I was homeschooled growing up, I loved it. The title of your post is very descriptive, that was the most bitter list I’ve ever read. I’m incredibly grateful that my experiences weren’t nearly as bad as yours apparently have been. For while I too got the 20 questions from psers and their parents, I didn’t feel like the entire world was out to get me.
It did take me a while to fit in with “normal” society once I moved out of my parent’s house. I wasn’t nearly socialized enough. The trade-off of finishing high school two years early to take two years of college before my technical graduation more than made up for that in my mind. That and acing the SATs. That and getting the offer of any college I wanted. (I didn’t, much to my parent’s dismay.)
Public school is free, years of therapy are very expensive.
One of the things you learn through socialization is to be able to respond appropriately to healthy criticism. Perhaps after your children are through being imprinted with whatever unpleasant character traits compel one to write such a defensive rant, they’ll be able to differentiate between acceptable social behavior and whatever monstrosity of shame passes for polite conversation in your home.
Your assumption that students would take the GED is interesting; I can’t imagine why a college-bound student would do that, and doing so might indeed raise questions in an admissions office.
For your information:
Universities don’t care whether an applicant has or will ever receive a high school diploma. Neither do the organizations and universities that offered my daughter (who does not have a high-school diploma) merit-based scholarships. She had offers from universities in several states, and my “certifications as a teacher” (I have none) were never requested. She is at the university of her choice enjoying exceptional privileges, because the abilities she had acquired - as evidenced in the transcript I wrote, in the recommendations others wrote, in the test scores she earned, and in the essays she wrote - commanded attention.
And as for “under 20″ - I’ve never heard of that either. My daughter began her matriculation at 18 or 17, depending on whether you count the pre-admission summer program she won. I know successful adults who entered university at earlier ages (with no high school diploma, of course).
- Developing and maintaining a friendship.
- Exposure to the creativity of your peers (for example in art class, you can do the art at home, but seeing how a similiar thing can be done so many ways will open your eyes!)
- Opposing viewpoints
- Rectifying a disagreement
- Dealing with difficult peers and authority figures
- Sharing, delegating, working as a team, leadership.. yes you can learn this at home, but in a class of 30 students you learn appropriate times to assert yourself and when you should give.
- Building your own self confidence and self awareness among a group.
- Maintaining a schedule.
- How to stand up for what you think.
One can only hope you’re passing on your bittnerness and hollow sense of self-superiority on to your child (ren), so they can grow up to be as miserable as you are, then blame you for said misery.
In my opinion, paying school taxes — even if you never have kids or if you homeschool — is simply a good pragmatic gesture in your own best interest.
Public schools, even at their worst (that is, minimum-security prisons), provide some opportunity and education to kids who otherwise wouldn’t get it. And that makes your community better.
My husband and I 100% intend to homeschool any future children but I’ll still happily pay my school taxes — it’s better than living in a community where many kids aren’t educated at all and thus their only options are learning a trade (if we’re lucky) but more likely becoming a criminal / loser / or general drain on society.
You have a lot of nerve to NOT place your offspring in the public schools where the bureaucrats, politicians and sundry educational elitists can indoctrinate, propagandize and generally brainwash your spawn to think and act as America’s elite class wants them to.
Look at the elite class. They send THEIR progeny to public schools……..
Uhhhhhh. Wait. Forget the above.
Keep on home schooling unless you can afford to send your kids to those $30,000-plus yearly private schools the elite class sends their kids to so as to avoid the brainwashing of the public school system.
Sheeeesh… and to think, I was a public school teacher…. well, at least until I left for various reasons, one being my moral disgust at being part of a loathsome system that caters to bureaucrats, politicans and America’s elite class with little regard to actually educating kids.
Remember….. America IS in the throes of class warfare and the enemy of the common folks (the vast majority of Americans) uses the educational system to indoctrinate the masses into accepting the status quo.
Modern-day patriots do what they can to prevent that brainwashing and home schooling is one viable method for some.
Boycott brainwashing!!!!!! Cast the public schools aside, if you can.
If you can’t, take the time to counter the at-school indoctrination by at-home after-school instruction of your own.
Exactly. This woman’s rant is little more than a vitriolic affirmation that her experience is the lowest common denominator upon which her child’s education will be built.
I am a certified teacher. After teaching for six years, I can tell you that what I learned in my college “education” classes, that I actually used in the classroom amounts to what I could tell you over a really good cup of coffee. All teachers, have to learn the hard way, by doing it!
I can also tell you that after teaching in charter and private schools, I won’t let my future offspring come within 500 feet of a school. I couldn’t possibly scar them as much as sending them to school would.
Who said anything about PUBLIC schools? School is school public or private. If her child’s education was that important to her she could get a job to pay for it instead of being an unpaid teacher at home.
Most of the group of our homeschoolers out here in the Bay Area are seriously courted by larger schools like Stanford, Harcard, MIT, Vassar, etc. Not only thought but many are already at all these colleges a year or so sooner then the public school kids. And don’t assume that just because kids are homeschooled that they can’t get a normal high school diploma either.
You should also have read the above article more and realized that home schooled doesn’t mean only schooled at home either. Your thoughts on this subject are incorrect and you might want to save your commentary for something you have actual experience in.
You can’t have it both ways. Keep bemoaning the ‘class warfare’ in our nation, while using the same rhetoric that is used by class warriors in your post, and you look hypocritical.
Ogie, I’d like to think this list is not as serious as it sounds. I know many other people who homeschool their kids who are more then happy to talk to people about the subject and don’t get offended. We do all laugh at some of the similar comments, especially the socialization ones though, especially knowing how much more social our kids really are.
Homeschooling isn’t much different then public schooling in that we also have some kids who are geniuses and others who are total dumba$$es.
Thank you Vijay for showing the sort of ignorance and misplaced hostility that inspires this sort of rant in the first place.
(1) Please give me one link that has a serious study saying that homeschooled kids get incarcerated at a higher rate than non-homeschooled. Oh wait, perhaps it isn’t so.
(2) Here’s a surprise Vijay - just as paid teachers have a whole industry devoted to helping them with curricula and text books and online support, so do homeschoolers. A high school education is plenty for teaching a grade school kid. Those that homeschool thru high school have a whole world of help with the stuff the parent is no expert on - from online courses to texts to local college courses.
My son did both public and home school and I definitely feel that was a plus. I am amazed though how incredibly ignorant people are about home schooling… guess that is because of all that great public schooling.
He can also beat up your kids Dr Zaeus..and if you don’t have any kids yet I am sure he will wait. :p
I never say anything to home-schoolers…for the reasons you ennumerated. Sensitive.
Teacher’s note:
When you write instructions for your children, you use shorter sentences.
Bulky and awkward construction.
In our area its all about the proficiency test. Being told pretty much their whole time in school, you have to pass this test. Practice for the test, study for the test, have to pass the test. Even for myself as a parent hearing about this test over and over every year gets very old. I am currently doing the research to be able to homeschool my children as I think what they will learn more than just, pass the test.
I have two co-workers that were home schooled and they do not show any of the ill effects mentioned above. Pretty much every point that was made in the above post was rectified by enrolling in a regional debate team. They were both in regional debate cubs and went to many debates while being home schooled, that sort of kills everything posted above. They are fine co-workers, and I would be happy to work with 20 more people that were home schooled.
Why the violent threats? I’ve been civil on this thread, but if you insist, I’ll let you know when my wife gets pregnant so he can come punch the fetus.
“25. Here’s a thought: If you can’t say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!”
That is the lamest point to be found in that bitter, frustrated rant. There are legitimate criticisms for various methods of homeschooling, and to be unwilling to tolerate the utterance of those criticisms is to impose an enormous mental block. Don’t be unreasonable, lady.
nice to see someone make a good point obbop. funny how the public masses scream for everyone to be raised in their system of absolute tolerance, yet they rally and rail against anything that dares to disagree. good enough for the unwashed, i guess.
I don’t do any of the things ranted about. I have, however, encountered a lot of smug superiority from the homeschool crowd.
My son has autism. I’ve lost count of the number of Holier-than-Thou homeschool Mother Teresas who look down upon me for not homeschooling my son. I’ve seen some of these parents’ work educational work product, and it doesn’t awe me enough to follow their unsought recommendations about how to raise and educate my child.
Being more concise than the rant’s author, I confine myself to “did I ask you? Fuck off.”
The elite send their kids to $30,000 annual tuition private schools because they *can*, and because they relish the exclusivity of the institution. Not because they think the kids get a better education there.
Which is not to say that some of those high-octane schools don’t provide a superior education. I’m sure some of them do.
But if you think that a public school education isn’t going to provide the tools one needs to make a pretty good living for oneself and one’s family, the six figures on my paycheck (to the *left* of the decimal point, thankyouverymuch) beg to differ.
It’s funny, but of all of the arguments about the lack of socialization the average homeschool kid gets, it’s the people that are against homeschooling that are being aggressively antisocial (on average). I think the original author of this post is “bitter” (her own words) because in no other situation do people feel they can blatantly, and crassly, give their views to a parent on how they are raising their children incorrectly. She’s only making the point that people who flagrantly oppose the way she raises her children should keep their mouths shut. Some people seem to have forgotten that public schools have churned out their share of antisocial, criminal minds. This is an assumption on my part (how horrible of me, I know), but I wonder if there are really *any* homeschoolers with felony convictions on their records? You certainly think (given the public outcry right here) that if there were, it would be spewed all over the national news…
Wow. The author of this JUST MIGHT be a bit of a control freak. She seems unable to handle a conversation about homeschooling without it falling clearly into her “pet peeve” zone.
I also enjoyed the hypocrisy of being completely unable to cope with any commentary about homeschooling, while at the same time clearly leveling harsh criticism at public education.
I’m sure her kids will perform beautifully in life with her as their primary example of critical thought.
Spelt is a proper use, if not more archaic of the word “Spelled”, mostly used by the British.
Thus, Spelt is just as correct as Spelled. Spelt is the name of a grain as well, which is delicious when served with Basil, Chicken and a light sprinkling of Lemon Zest.
This is from a person who was homeschooled, and plans on homeschooling his children… Take it with the weight you believe it deserves.
Love your blanket statements here. I was home schooled. I walked into a college level chemistry class when I was 15, and walked out at the end of the semester with an A. Next semester, a B. I outperformed every single pser in that class. I will forever thank my parents for not putting me into ps and turning me into a typical 25 year old bitch. I have a huge advantage over my peer because I was home schooled. The biggest concerns in my life aren’t my clothes and whether or not I have designer bags and sunglasses.
Yes, I love us homeschooling fathers. Of course, the stay-at-home Dad thing is kind of a once in a lifetime thing.
I was home-schooled (I am “You’re all Idiots” above concerning the spelt debacle) and amazingly enough I work out of my home… We’re going off the grid next year, but close enough to an urban environment that my children can enjoy anything they want…
The only thing my children are going to be scared of, is an unsustainable future and maybe Dick Cheney. (I know I’m afraid of him.)
“If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you’re allowed to ask how we’ll teach these subjects to our kids.”
I remember calculus up to and including u-substitution for integrals, so how are you going to teach calculus and chemistry to your kids?
In logic “or” is inclusive unless you specify “but not both” or use “xor” for the exclusive or. All of this I learned from public education. Public elementary, middle, and high school, and a public four-year college which I went to for only three years due to my public high school’s good Advanced Placement program, and I am now going to a graduate school that is part of the largest public university system.
I cannot believe that you question your personal responsibility for the education of the citizens of your counrty! Stay out of the library and the parks (that includes swimming and fishing)and if you want to vote be sure to bring the exact fee. OMG let someone else educate your precious snowflake.
Personally, I am all for as many people home schooling their children as humanly possible! Please, by all means, continue, share and enjoy.
Of course, the reason behind such an opinion? Quite simply I have a young daughter who is not only in this “factory system” known as public schools, and excelling. The way I see it is, the more people who choose to “home school” means that much less competition my daughter will face when applying to quality colleges and universities, and fewer legitimate applicants for jobs once she reaches working age.
Comparing “cooking” to “educating a child” is a bit like comparing “using legos” and “open heart surgery”. A baboon can add ingredients to a cooking pot, or put two plastic bricks together. But a fool who chooses to be a teacher for their child in this day and age only produces one thing: Another fool.
You’re obviously not reading any of the comments, and have no idea what homeschoolers do in the real world. Also, saying your daughter is excelling in the public school system (which is what I think your fragment is trying to say), isn’t really saying much. I find it interesting that the people who use the word fool always seem to accentuate the foolowing point: A fool opens his mouth and proves himself a fool.
- Exposure to the creativity of your peers (for example in art class, you can do the art at home, but seeing how a similiar thing can be done so many ways will open your eyes!) –> like the kid who likes to stick ketchuppy french fries in his nose
- Opposing viewpoints –> like the kid who thinks your lunch money belongs in his pocket, not yours
- Rectifying a disagreement –> like the kid who duct-tapes your rectum cause you looked at him funny
- Dealing with difficult peers and authority figures - like the teacher who makes you bite down on a chalkboard eraser for most of his class
- Sharing, delegating, working as a team, leadership.. yes you can learn this at home, but in a class of 30 students you learn appropriate times to assert yourself and when you should give. –> or gives the self-important loudest mouth a podium
- Building your own self confidence and self awareness among a group.–> like the geek who wears lime green shirt and lime green pants to school and gets beat up for it
I just want you all to know that I am the smartest person on this crappy floating rock of a planet that we call earth.
I was both homeschooled and went to public school. I am a genius. No one will ever be smarter than me or my offspring. I can spell too. …Not that spelling is important anyways.
IF YUO CAN RAED TIHS, TEHN YOU WLIL UDNESRAND JSUT HOW PIONTLESS SEPLLING RAELLY IS. TOO BAD I AM NOT YUOR CHLIDS EGNLSIH PORFSESOR.
Oh yeah, and next thing you will learn is that public television is going to allow partial nudity on regular broadcasting. Better lock your kids in a closet before they learn what a boob is. Remember, we have to keep our kids in the dark for safety. We can’t let them know there is a real world out there.
1. Don’t asume that I know nothing about homeschooling. Maybe I know a lot of homeschooled kids and their parents. And maybe I’ve learned from them that whatever their reasons for homeschooling, homeschool-parents are the most smug, holier-than-thou, self-righteous, conceited, arrogant set of fools on the planet, sacrificing their children for their own pride and cowardice. Why not try to come to terms with the society you live in?
Obbop — my “anti-conformity, question authority, don’t believe anyone” mentality came directly from the influences of three fantastic teachers I had in Social Studies and English.
i make fun of people like you every time i accidentally turn on Fox News.
i appreciate that this homeschooling person must get a lot of flack for making her kid a freak, but some of her complaints were just rude. First of all, there is a college degree for teaching, and most teachers I know worked hard to get it. So, for you to just assume that you’re better at teaching than a trained professional is not only rude, but presumptious. And, maybe you don’t remember calculus because you’re a dumbass. Or maybe you just didn’t listen in class. These arguments that are supposed to be proving why you are just as qualified as a teacher are incredibly flimsy and not even rooted in any type of scientific thought. I guess you don’t remember philosophy or psychology either (so by all means, please teach it to your kids)! And lastly, your prom comment (among others that talk about your kid having a social life) only instills in me the belief that you don’t want your kid going to school because you were a socially inept moron. It’s not just sanctioned practices, lessons, etc. that provide a child with social opportunities. It’s just talking to other kids between classes, discussing plans for that night or weekend, and buying drugs that happens in the halls. How one can begrudge their kids of this rite of passage is beyond me.
Oh, and most public schools suck because of lack of funds and idiotic policies — not the teaching staff. Instead of wasting money (because someone has to be paid to go assess your teachings) and having an attitude, why don’t you get involved in your kid’s school and try to make some changes that benefit everyone? Instead of raising what I’m sure is carbon-copy of you and your own elitist attitudes.
I am a teacher and do the best I can for those kids (considering what we aren’t allowed to do and say). When I have my own children, you know where I’ll be…at home, with them, teaching them to the best of my ability.
Get off your soap-box and stop trying to tell others that your way is obviously the best, even if you’re doing it passively. Honestly, how nice for you that you don’t need to work to support your kids. I’ll continue to violate all of your rules, in fact, I’ll take it as a guide now, because there were some things there I hadn’t thought of.
Your lack of sense of community disturbs and frightens me, home schooling might have been ok when people lived on the frontier with no access to scholastic opportunities, but I’m sick of the holier than thou attitude that all home schooling parents seem to posses. Go ahead and home-school your kid, just shut up about it.
I homeschooled my daughter from grades 3 through 12. She passed her SATs with flying colors and the lowest her GPA has been in three years of college is 3.7. She’s made the Dean’s list every year so far and has won 4 scholarships. When she graduates next year, she plans to work in her chosen field while continuing on to get her Master’s.
For homeschoolers who are planning college, she applied to several universities and was accepted at every single one without any problems at all.
My wife was homeschooled and she is intelligent, articulate, witty, and better adjusted socially than probably 80% of the public schooled miscreants that come galloping through my university English classes feeling entitled to excellent grades because “I was an A student in high school!” Ditto for my two brothers-in-law.
My wife and I intend to homeschool our children…neither of us really cares what idiots think about public schools as a “rite of passage” or whatever other nonsense they come up with. When I teach the products of public schools, far more often than not I am painfully aware that I am casting pearls before swine.
It’s so refreshing to see unbiased information from a totally impartial source. Your daughter sounds smart, and could probably have contributed to a public school classroom. Instead, your selfish shortsightedness has robbed her peers of a good influence, and contributed to the overall decline of public education. You sound very proud of yourself, but making your own bumper stickers to trumpet this pride must have been tough (I think that the schools give them out for free).
I love the name calling. These ‘miscreants’, ‘idiots’, and ’swine’ must be proud to pay your salary, only to be condescended to instead of taught. By the way, is teaching still the only gig for an English major?
“My beloved and I”? Seriously, “My beloved and I”. You have to admit, it’s kind of funny how you “nut jobs” can almost fool the rest of us into thinking you are normal. Right up until the point you refer to your spouse (a.k.a life partner, etc.) as “My beloved” I was with you, and then, “My beloved”. Dead giveaway that you are a total moron. What a shame. Good point though, try to keep the “voices” at bay and good luck. Please give my best to your “beloved”. Sincerely, A sane person.
You are an ignorant toolbag. Our two sons were home-schooled all the way. They have been able converse with an adult and look them in the eye while doing it since they could speak. They both tested well above average on their SATs. They are both in college. They are both fully scholar-shipped. Colleges are well aware that most home-schooled students are better adjusted and better trained, thus they recruit them with vigor. You want to put your daughter in a place where 90% of they boys want to turn her into a slut, go right ahead. Put her in public school. Oh yes, I remember those days…
re: #15. i went to public school, and if i may say, eff the prom. i didn’t go to mine, and i have never regretted that decision for a minute. life-defining moments can happen in school or outside of school…and prom doesn’t have to be one of them.
you and J have both helped dispel a lot of assumptions i once had about homeschooling. this post helped, too…and it was funny
I know a few teachers in public school, and frankly… it scares the bejeebies out of me to think that they, or someone like them, could possibly be teaching my kid one day.
Ya gotta do what’s right for you and your family.
I wasn’t home-schooled but went to a really good private religious school. Most of the home-schoolers I ran across were socially inept people who really never fit in. That being said their parents were the fringe religious nuts even to us. I find that most of the ’socialization’ that happens or doesn’t happen is up to the kids and parents NOT if they are home schooled.
With that being said I have talked with my wife about home-schooling as most public schools fail our kids not with grades but with the quality of eduction ESPECIALLY under no child left behind.
My family is lucky enough to live in one of the best school districts in the state in quality. Most classrooms have less than 20 kids and great teachers. But I still find there are missing pieces that I want to add to my children’s education. If push came to shove I would probably home school my kids if not for the local school. But it would be VERY DIFFICULT as I work from home and my wife is partially disabled. Sending the kids to school gives us a BREAK (yeah I sound like a lazy parent). So hats off and cups up to parents who home school more power to you.
This had me in hysterics! I can’t believe how accurate the responses were to the thoughts I’ve had when confronted by a well-meaning parent.
Can I clip this into my blog and give the credit back here? I’d love to see this get spread all over the blogosphere!
I admire homeschooling moms! You are doing a great thing for your kids. Looking back I wish I would have homeschooled! You go girl! Sue
Hmm… I have said at least half of this list! Color me schooled. Point taken, well taken. Just one thing - what ARE we supposed to say? I mean you’ve pretty much covered everything. Just smile and nod? Is that appropriate?
I have a homeschooling ‘problem’ that comes from a different angle…
Even as a not-quite-yet-a-dad, I’m already thinking about my child-to-be and his education. Homeschooling is very much an option that’s on the table. So should I choose to homeschool my child when the time comes - or even use a private school for that matter - I should not have to continue to pay school taxes. In fact, I’m quite miffed that both my wife and I have already paid school taxes for better than 20 years yet we have no children and really have no voice whatsoever in what happens in the public schools.
(If I did have a voice, you can be dang sure that football wouldn’t be the lifeblood of our local ‘education’ system - but can you imagine how fast the rednecks would run me out of town on a rail if I made that opinion known at some PTA meeting?)
If the people who’re currently using the resources of public schools had to shoulder all - or even a significant portion - of the tax load, there’d be a lot more parents actively involved in the education of their children and a much greater demand for quality teachers, facilities, and curriculums.
Plain & simple, as a homeowner, I encur charges when I draw from the pool of electrity available to my community. Ditto for sewage, water, & gas utilities. Why should schools as a public utility be any different?
Thanks for all the great comments. It’s fun to see so many different perspectives.
@ Lela - I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking questions of homeschoolers such as “what are your reasons for homeschooling, if you don’t mind my asking” or “what are the pros and cons for your family? or “what do your kids like and not like?”. the problem is that too often these questions are framed by a negative bias or assumption–although often the person asking isn’t aware that’s what they’re doing. If you don’t really have any questions for the person, I don’t think you should feel obligated to come up with a lengthy response–most homeschoolers would probably be relieved to get less of a “reaction”. You shouldn’t feel obligated to say something profound about the philosophy of their choice–often a lighthearted comment like “oh, so you’re the family that gets to use the childrens’ museum in the middle of the day” or “so your kids brought their school with them”, etc., is best all around.
@ Rob - One complaint we homeschoolers get is that we aren’t “supporting the public school system”. This is particularlly grating since essentially we contribute to the pool without taking from it. Personally, I don’t really have a problem contributing to a public education system–although I often wish my money were being put to better use. As a homeschooler though, it does seem unfair that I get no benefit from public educational resources. Of course, this situation might be a bit of a catch-22 in that some homeschoolers fear that if we demand more in the way of tax credits for homeschooling, etc., the powers that be will in turn make more demands and exert more control over us.
i don’t have any plans to homeschool, but i don’t knock anyone who does. hey, i don’t blame you for being a bit scrappy for having to defend the choices you make for your child(ren). i love your list.
Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe :)) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!
#11 You are an idiot if you think that the certification is not needed.Then again I’m sure you think you knoweverything already.DA
I agree you are a dumba$$…and last please go back in your home and shutup!!!!!
I used to get question like yours every so often on a radio show I hosted, mainly from older callers complaining that they didn’t have kids in the school system, so how come they had to pay school taxes?
I responded by asking them if I could then have my two decades’ worth of Social Security tax payments back, plus my share of the taxes I pay toward Medicare, plus what I pay in state and local taxes that goes toward Medicaid nursing home care (which in New York was running around $7200/month at the time).
This quieted down the callers rather quickly.
As a victim of home schooling - I wish your kid luck.
See the problem is, when your screwed up home “schooled” kid gets out in public and gets tossed in the can for 8-10, the rest of society pays for your “deep personal decision.” Sure you don’t need a degree in catering to make a subpar meal and chances are your lack of degree in education will make for a subpar education too. If that’s your ass backwards logic, then you’re clearly going to fail at teaching your kid. Thanks for burdening society with your crotchfruit.
Fuck you and your fucking use of the word blogosphere.
My wife was homeschooled, along with her 6 other siblings. Here in Florida there are very many people homeschooling their children.
The stories all seem to be the same — kids who are homeschooled are ‘robbed’ of the basics. I suppose your focus on ’socializing’ and being ’social’ where made during the post ad nauseum as this must be the most common ‘complaint’ about homeschooling. This isn’t the only ‘basic’ life skill you potentially take from them. The bigger issue is the mental handicap you place on your child when they aren’t exposed to things like ‘working science labs’ or ‘opposing view points’.
In an ideal world, homeschooling should be illegal. In fact, the only people I’ve ever met who support it are the parents who are doing it. Trust me, when the kids grow up they will feel so left out of life. When they go to take their first biology class at college they will be confused by the lab equipment or when they are presented with an idea or thought that is well known to the rest of the population they will begin to place that blame on their parents.
You have to pay school taxes if you choose to send your child to private school too.
If you do choose to homeschool remember that you have rights as a school tax payer. They may vary by district but in my district home-schooled children have access to school labs, library, sports programs etc..
It’s a tossup. There are some really dumb teachers, and some really dumb parents. Not my problem either way anymore.
It’s great to know that you don’t care for you children enough to allow them to obtain a professional degree. Many colleges rule out people who are under the age of 20 who have a GED instead of a diploma.
Also, if your child wants to go to college in some states, you better be ready to show your certifications as a teacher, else they will not be going to school where they want.
If you can provide an environment where your children will be able to function well within your home, and don’t care how they function out in the real world, then by all means, homeschool your children. Just don’t complain when the opportunities you see others getting are not offered to your children
I agree with Rob — why am I paying for public schools with my property taxes? I don’t even HAVE kids so I’ve been paying for something I have never used at all AND have no say in how my money is taken or used.
I’m told I am “contributing to the public good.” Really? You mean I am supposed to feel proud when I see those countless little retards from the public schools who are 16 and can’t even add, read or spell? For the hundreds of thousands of dollars I’ve paid in property taxes in 30 years you’d think we would have a lot fewer idiots graduating from the public schools.
Good job America.
I call BS on #11 “I didn’t have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family…”
But you did have to watch somebody cook, read instructions on how to cook, be practically exposed to cooking for a number of years before you could “successfully cook dinner for my family”.
Discounting the learning process and the complexity of that process tells me that this person is most likely not imparting all of the information to their children that they could or might need to.
Teaching isn’t as simple as offering information (and putting aside the simplistic example, nor is cooking for your family as simple as putting the food in front of them). It is contextualizing the information in theory and praxis; gearing toward not only age appropriate language and concepts, but to that child’s learning capacities and processes.
Do you need a degree for that? No. But you do need some awareness of developmental stages and abilities, an effective method of imparting the information and of individual learning modalities.
So basically if you home school your kids we shouldn’t talk to you period? Because it seems like even compliments make it seem like insults.
I know several teachers that HOMESCHOOL !!! because they see the public school system in the U.S for what it is… they only ‘work’ as teachers because they need the money..
and for ‘working lab equipment’.. MOST high schools in the U.S don’t have good science labs. Our high school chemsitry class that my daughter ACED didn’t do ONE single experiment.. We did a few at HOME after I ordered equipment over the internet..
Now that she is in college, she asked how come we didn’t home school her, because she would be better prepaird.. every homeschool kid in every class she has, is in the top 10% of that class she is in.. she has void NEVER to send her kids (when she has them) to a U.S public school no matter what..
Dear “David”, et. al…
Imagine saying, “I’m obese, because I’m a victim of being fed by my parents, whereas the public schools at least offered my nutritionally-correct food.”
No one is a victim of ‘home schooling.’ They’re victims of parents who can’t homeschooling or a victim of failing to take advantage of the opportunity their parents offered them.
Get over your blasted “I’m a victim!” boo-hoo mentality, you lazy pile of slop. You’re only a victim of your own choices. If your parents truly blew it in schooling you, the fact that you’re on this blog proves you can read and write - the fundamental tools of learning anything.
I suppose every single kid in public or even private schools has perfect teachers, right? Yeah, just tell me who to make the check out to so I can buy that line of crap.
I was ‘public-schooled’ until high school, private schooled through high school.
If parents want to RAISE THEIR OWN KIDS and train them, then get the %$#@! out of their way.
Jeez, Drew! Anal retentive much? BLOGOSPHERE! BLOGOSPHERE! BLOGOSPHERE! BLOGOSPHERE! BLOGOSPHERE!
Fark you and your broken links too!
Perpective is gained through life experiences. This is nothing more than a contrivled liberal rant regurgetated from Mommy and Daddy. Formulate your own insight and opinions.
Meh. I know this rant isn’t directed at me so I have no issue to take with it. But don’t selectively cull the complaints with homeschooling from idiots. There are plently of homeschooling idiots too… That being said, I hope you’re not sneaking in the same kind of resentment into your kids’ education that you are in this letter. This shit happens with chiropractors all the time. They always talk about “letting my child learn on his own terms” and then eventually can’t avoid ending up with super-stubborn 18 years olds who resent anything that even remotely resembles a REAL mental challenge. Believe it or not, some of us had awesome teachers in secondary public school whose sum of experience and mentorship could never be matched by ANY two well-meaning parents. My physics teachers gave me confidence in my scientific aptitude that my mom simply couldn’t because she didn’t KNOW mechanics…. And if you’re saying that you personally have the ability to teach every high school AP class at the level, clarity, and depth that an AVERAGE public high school teaches it, then you are a marvel, a vast minority, and certainly not ‘indicative’ of homeschoolers. So don’t be so surprised when you get called religious nuts and your kids called socially inept because that’s the lowest common denominator that people see. And of course, power to you and thank you for being so invested in your kids’ minds. And get real.
While some of my childhood friends where from school, most of my friends who I still talk to was meet through out-of-school means, a class is a bunch of kids with the only thing in common being their age (generally). I can see quite a few advantages of being home schooled as long as the kid still gets to play with friends and do sports/hobbies with social activity.
Very insightful reading, hope it turns out all right.
(Any spelling mistakes, poor grammar is not due to bad public school, but the fact that I’m Danish and English isn’t my primary language).
A coworker homeschools.
We hear all about how good thwy do, how much they learn.
I asked about biology labs, couldn’t imagine a lab rat dissection at thekithen table.
Sure enough, we use software for that.
Came time for college.
Finally found a school that would let the little tike in without remedial classes and extensive testing.
6 months later, he’s gathering carts at Wal-Mart.
3 years later, same same.
Yep, homeschooling worked for him.
charles — you are certainly the exception to the rule. Kudos to you. Your comment about ‘most’ high school students not having a working lab is ridiculous. We had a working lab for every grade level…4 grade levels = 4 labs. Most states require that too. You must live in a state that does not.
Your child is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, and loud?
I’d say you have bigger problems than homeschooling.
You want something from your taxes?
Use the schools.
And advocate for better schools.
Think, maybe there is a cure for cancer waiting inside the head of a kid who will learn how to express it because you insisted on, and got, lab budget increases.
We ALL benefit from good schools. Going private or homeschool just abandons others who need our help.
Wow. So sad to see that you don’t love your children.
I don’t home-school (our son is only 1 year old), but I respect those who do. My wife is a public school teacher, and the No Child Left Behind debacle has created many more problems for children than homeschooling ever will. How can a child learn about science or social studies when so much emphasis is placed only on “teaching to the tests”? It’s great that math and language skills are taught, but it’s not great when other aspects such as music, science, art, history are minimized, or in extreme cases, eliminated altogether.
For those who feel home-schooled children don’t learn the basics, ask your child how much they know about budgeting and personal finance. I don’t recall having a class on that anytime, yet from an adult perspective I would rather have my children know about that than what a frog’s liver looks like! Also, please don’t forget that the idea of a public school system is relatively new; our race has survived for thousands of years by being taught at home.
Wow. The person who wrote this article is not only perceptive and hilarious, but also managed to anticipate ALL of the replies to the piece WITHIN THE PIECE ITSELF.
Oh, Hannah. I laugh because it’s true! It’s evident!
If by “great thing for your kids” you mean scaring them for life…
This was an interesting read. The first thing to pop into my head is that bad news travells twice as far as good news. In other words you always hear about bad homeschooling but not good homeschooling situations. With that said, I find it impossible to equate a good education taught by someone who never completed college. I know this isn’t the norm, but in the manny instances I have seen the parents weren’t college educated. You are correct a lot of what you learn in grade/high school is trivial. However, what you learn in college isn’t.
Today though schools are becoming more and more difficult places for people to learn. A lot of it has to do with “No Child Left Behind”. As a parent if you feel you can give your child a better education and your not just being self riteous about your views, maybe homeschooling is right for your family.
You make the common mistake of assuming that the “product” one purchases with one’s school taxes is an education for one’s own progeny. In fact, the real product is an educated populace.
A baseline level of education is vital to a living, functioning representative republic. The higher the level of education in an area, the better standard of living the residents of that area enjoy. That’s why all residents are expected to help fund it, not just those whose children are currently attending.
Also, Rob, you certainly do have a voice in what happens in your schools. Or are you of the opinion that “having a voice” = “getting my way”? Try to remember that every other taxpaying redneck in town has just as much say as you do.
As far as the home-school discussion goes, I’m all for it. My beloved and I homeschool all three of our children. We also send them each day to the local public school system. It’s not either-or, people, you can do both! And your kids will probably be better for it.
Finally, to the author of this rant, all I can say is, “Lighten up, Francis!”
@ Dave and Chad,
I disagree with most of your points. I was homeschooled for most of my life. I went to public school as a sophmore, hated how slow I was forced to go, and asked to be taught at home again. I graduated (SAT’s and all) at 16, went to the University of Texas at 17, and am very successful in the publishing industry. I’m 24, own my own home, and have no “socialization” issues. In fact, I’m usually the “life of the party.” I was homeschooled for religious reasons, and while I’m not religious, I appreciate the fact that I could learn at my own pace. I’ve never had any problem with the fact that I don’t have a “normal” diploma. Also, stop assuming that homeschoolers have to get GED’s. We don’t, and most do fine without it. You’re assumptions about college entrance procedures are absurd; I was accepted into the honors program my freshman year. If a parent is homeschooling, they are generally with it enough to have records of their child’s education. Also, your “BS call” is ridiculous. Most homeschool parents “watch somebody teach” (their own school experience), “read instructions on teaching” (during the often tumultuous decision-making process), and are “exposed to teaching” (again, their own school experience).
I agree with the earlier post concerning public education, and the contribution of professional mentors. I trust my mom not to burn the toast, or overcook a casserole, but to teach me science in the way that someone educated can, not so much.
All’s I heard was ‘Blah blah blah, I’m a nerd and my kid’s are going to be nerds.’
What! You mean that a single person cannot provide the depth of knowledge in a variety of fields, as well as a variety of viewpoints on different issues? That’s just crazy talk.
You are forgetting nerds are smart, well educated people.
And I was homeschooled, graduated summa cum laude from undergrad, was chosen to give the commencement speech, earned awards from my major departments and the honors college, and got a full ride scholarship plus stipend to law school.
A child’s success during homeschooling and afterwards is *TOTALLY* dependent on the parents and how well they are taught. If the parents do a piss-poor job, then it’s no surprise the kid fails at life. If the parents actually bother to teach their kids (*how* to learn, not just the facts for the test), then those kids will take those skills to every arena they ever enter - and succeed.
You’re right. I found that being a ‘nerd’ in public school allowed me to stand out and feel pride amongst my peers, not a detached feeling of superiority like so many homeschoolers must. The poster earlier hit the nail on the head: when your precious snowflake gets thrown into a 9-5 job, they will more than likely lose their mind.
“…because she would be better prepaird..”
It’s “prepared”
I would be willing to bet that the homeschooled child knows how to spell ’scarring’.
Then again, I know how to spell it and I was educated in a public school when children were paddled for being bad. How I long for those days.
24. Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won’t get because they don’t go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.
Good on you for sheltering them. Nothing prepares your little snowflake for the real world like not having the opportunity to have bad days or meet new people.
uhhh
THIS
I homeschool so I’m getting a kick out of these replies
morans
needs more caturday
All I know was that even the least social “nerds” at my school had a group of 6-8 friends that fluctuated membership that they socialized with and learned socialization skills with and from. Unless mommy needs to learn that she is not a brood mare, this won’t happen at homeschooling, and even if it did, the fact that the over populating brood mare is the one trying to teach disqualifies her.
Going shopping with mommy to the vegan/organic food store (evidence of GREAT decision making skills there… HA!) is not socialization. It does NOT compare with spending 12 years, 9 months a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day with a revolving group of 15-30 people selected from a pool of 1200 in the school.
BAWAHAHAHAHAHA
Not bad. I liked it. Benji good work!
Eh, typos happen.
Amen.
lolz, what, an addition/subtraction certificate?
BAWAHAHAHAHAHA ^2
This post is far from amusing. It is bitter, whiny and defensive. I don’t think it helped your case.
Sorry.
heh damn, “crotchfruit”, I wonder what % of these comments are coming straight from fark given all the fark terms.
To think you need a teaching degree to teach some of the most basic stuff on the planet is asinine. Regardless, there’s surely some kind of standardized testing or whatnot that they could use to verify their kids are on track for their age.
good point - high school labs totally, totally mirror uni labs. lol
She was just trying to pretend she is qualified to teach her own children and just provided 25 reasons why she is not qualified.
She will either not read the replies, or simply delete them.
“…she has void NEVER to send her kids … to a U.S public school…”
She has void, huh? Methinks she’s not the only one.
Wow. I was homeschooled growing up, I loved it. The title of your post is very descriptive, that was the most bitter list I’ve ever read. I’m incredibly grateful that my experiences weren’t nearly as bad as yours apparently have been. For while I too got the 20 questions from psers and their parents, I didn’t feel like the entire world was out to get me.
It did take me a while to fit in with “normal” society once I moved out of my parent’s house. I wasn’t nearly socialized enough. The trade-off of finishing high school two years early to take two years of college before my technical graduation more than made up for that in my mind. That and acing the SATs. That and getting the offer of any college I wanted. (I didn’t, much to my parent’s dismay.)
Public school is free, years of therapy are very expensive.
One of the things you learn through socialization is to be able to respond appropriately to healthy criticism. Perhaps after your children are through being imprinted with whatever unpleasant character traits compel one to write such a defensive rant, they’ll be able to differentiate between acceptable social behavior and whatever monstrosity of shame passes for polite conversation in your home.
the author of the list did not post this
Preening your children so that they can get out of college before you are old enough to legally drink should be considered child abuse.
“(they) are old enough to legally drink…”
-Sorry, I went to public school.
in related news, this comment section is now a copy of the comments from the fark site on this article! Yay for redundensies! Yaysszz!!
Your assumption that students would take the GED is interesting; I can’t imagine why a college-bound student would do that, and doing so might indeed raise questions in an admissions office.
For your information:
Universities don’t care whether an applicant has or will ever receive a high school diploma. Neither do the organizations and universities that offered my daughter (who does not have a high-school diploma) merit-based scholarships. She had offers from universities in several states, and my “certifications as a teacher” (I have none) were never requested. She is at the university of her choice enjoying exceptional privileges, because the abilities she had acquired - as evidenced in the transcript I wrote, in the recommendations others wrote, in the test scores she earned, and in the essays she wrote - commanded attention.
And as for “under 20″ - I’ve never heard of that either. My daughter began her matriculation at 18 or 17, depending on whether you count the pre-admission summer program she won. I know successful adults who entered university at earlier ages (with no high school diploma, of course).
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3343159
for your viewing pleasure, if this comment thread ended too abruptly
Valuable things you learn from Public School
- Developing and maintaining a friendship.
- Exposure to the creativity of your peers (for example in art class, you can do the art at home, but seeing how a similiar thing can be done so many ways will open your eyes!)
- Opposing viewpoints
- Rectifying a disagreement
- Dealing with difficult peers and authority figures
- Sharing, delegating, working as a team, leadership.. yes you can learn this at home, but in a class of 30 students you learn appropriate times to assert yourself and when you should give.
- Building your own self confidence and self awareness among a group.
- Maintaining a schedule.
- How to stand up for what you think.
Don’t knock it, man. This is the first chance I’ve had to Fark from work. Websense blocks the “Message Board/Forum” links on the site.
One can only hope you’re passing on your bittnerness and hollow sense of self-superiority on to your child (ren), so they can grow up to be as miserable as you are, then blame you for said misery.
In my opinion, paying school taxes — even if you never have kids or if you homeschool — is simply a good pragmatic gesture in your own best interest.
Public schools, even at their worst (that is, minimum-security prisons), provide some opportunity and education to kids who otherwise wouldn’t get it. And that makes your community better.
My husband and I 100% intend to homeschool any future children but I’ll still happily pay my school taxes — it’s better than living in a community where many kids aren’t educated at all and thus their only options are learning a trade (if we’re lucky) but more likely becoming a criminal / loser / or general drain on society.
I hope you’re listening homeschoolers…
Do you admire us homeschooling dads as well?
and ozymandias2, I swear, my homeschooler isn’t “scared for life” :p
Yes, because all homeschooled kids will end up in the can. Uh-huh, that makes PERFECT sense.
You have a lot of nerve to NOT place your offspring in the public schools where the bureaucrats, politicians and sundry educational elitists can indoctrinate, propagandize and generally brainwash your spawn to think and act as America’s elite class wants them to.
Look at the elite class. They send THEIR progeny to public schools……..
Uhhhhhh. Wait. Forget the above.
Keep on home schooling unless you can afford to send your kids to those $30,000-plus yearly private schools the elite class sends their kids to so as to avoid the brainwashing of the public school system.
Sheeeesh… and to think, I was a public school teacher…. well, at least until I left for various reasons, one being my moral disgust at being part of a loathsome system that caters to bureaucrats, politicans and America’s elite class with little regard to actually educating kids.
Remember….. America IS in the throes of class warfare and the enemy of the common folks (the vast majority of Americans) uses the educational system to indoctrinate the masses into accepting the status quo.
Modern-day patriots do what they can to prevent that brainwashing and home schooling is one viable method for some.
Boycott brainwashing!!!!!! Cast the public schools aside, if you can.
If you can’t, take the time to counter the at-school indoctrination by at-home after-school instruction of your own.
Exactly. This woman’s rant is little more than a vitriolic affirmation that her experience is the lowest common denominator upon which her child’s education will be built.
Wow, the prom was the best. I’ll never forget my first BJ. I think the prom is important.
I am a certified teacher. After teaching for six years, I can tell you that what I learned in my college “education” classes, that I actually used in the classroom amounts to what I could tell you over a really good cup of coffee. All teachers, have to learn the hard way, by doing it!
I can also tell you that after teaching in charter and private schools, I won’t let my future offspring come within 500 feet of a school. I couldn’t possibly scar them as much as sending them to school would.
Who said anything about PUBLIC schools? School is school public or private. If her child’s education was that important to her she could get a job to pay for it instead of being an unpaid teacher at home.
It’s spelt “moron”. As in, people who homeschool and are homeschooled are morons.
Homeschool proms suck.
// That is all.
yipes.. more school after school? poor kids. No wonder they go postal.
Most of the group of our homeschoolers out here in the Bay Area are seriously courted by larger schools like Stanford, Harcard, MIT, Vassar, etc. Not only thought but many are already at all these colleges a year or so sooner then the public school kids. And don’t assume that just because kids are homeschooled that they can’t get a normal high school diploma either.
You should also have read the above article more and realized that home schooled doesn’t mean only schooled at home either. Your thoughts on this subject are incorrect and you might want to save your commentary for something you have actual experience in.
You can’t have it both ways. Keep bemoaning the ‘class warfare’ in our nation, while using the same rhetoric that is used by class warriors in your post, and you look hypocritical.
Ogie, I’d like to think this list is not as serious as it sounds. I know many other people who homeschool their kids who are more then happy to talk to people about the subject and don’t get offended. We do all laugh at some of the similar comments, especially the socialization ones though, especially knowing how much more social our kids really are.
Homeschooling isn’t much different then public schooling in that we also have some kids who are geniuses and others who are total dumba$$es.
Thank you Vijay for showing the sort of ignorance and misplaced hostility that inspires this sort of rant in the first place.
(1) Please give me one link that has a serious study saying that homeschooled kids get incarcerated at a higher rate than non-homeschooled. Oh wait, perhaps it isn’t so.
(2) Here’s a surprise Vijay - just as paid teachers have a whole industry devoted to helping them with curricula and text books and online support, so do homeschoolers. A high school education is plenty for teaching a grade school kid. Those that homeschool thru high school have a whole world of help with the stuff the parent is no expert on - from online courses to texts to local college courses.
How many homeschooled lawyers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None, because their mommy and daddy forgot to tell them how.
My son did both public and home school and I definitely feel that was a plus. I am amazed though how incredibly ignorant people are about home schooling… guess that is because of all that great public schooling.
He can also beat up your kids Dr Zaeus..and if you don’t have any kids yet I am sure he will wait. :p
I never say anything to home-schoolers…for the reasons you ennumerated. Sensitive.
Teacher’s note:
When you write instructions for your children, you use shorter sentences.
Bulky and awkward construction.
Well Jovy, it’s “spelled” not “spelt”, spelt is a name of an ancient grain of wheat. So why don’t you go back to public school.
wow. what an angry rant. sounds like you’re very unsocialized.
/ yes, i know that’s not a word. They taught me that in school.
In our area its all about the proficiency test. Being told pretty much their whole time in school, you have to pass this test. Practice for the test, study for the test, have to pass the test. Even for myself as a parent hearing about this test over and over every year gets very old. I am currently doing the research to be able to homeschool my children as I think what they will learn more than just, pass the test.
I have two co-workers that were home schooled and they do not show any of the ill effects mentioned above. Pretty much every point that was made in the above post was rectified by enrolling in a regional debate team. They were both in regional debate cubs and went to many debates while being home schooled, that sort of kills everything posted above. They are fine co-workers, and I would be happy to work with 20 more people that were home schooled.
Why the violent threats? I’ve been civil on this thread, but if you insist, I’ll let you know when my wife gets pregnant so he can come punch the fetus.
Ok, I’ll do everything you’ve asked. Unfortunately the only recourse I now have is to punch you in the face.
Any homeschoolers who I punch in the face have this douche to thank for limiting my options.
Drew! You rock! Oh, and screw anyone under the age of 60 who still hasn’t gotten the “moran” joke.
…chiropractors?
What?
“25. Here’s a thought: If you can’t say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!”
That is the lamest point to be found in that bitter, frustrated rant. There are legitimate criticisms for various methods of homeschooling, and to be unwilling to tolerate the utterance of those criticisms is to impose an enormous mental block. Don’t be unreasonable, lady.
nice to see someone make a good point obbop. funny how the public masses scream for everyone to be raised in their system of absolute tolerance, yet they rally and rail against anything that dares to disagree. good enough for the unwashed, i guess.
What was your child doing while you were thinking up and posting this drivel?
I don’t do any of the things ranted about. I have, however, encountered a lot of smug superiority from the homeschool crowd.
My son has autism. I’ve lost count of the number of Holier-than-Thou homeschool Mother Teresas who look down upon me for not homeschooling my son. I’ve seen some of these parents’ work educational work product, and it doesn’t awe me enough to follow their unsought recommendations about how to raise and educate my child.
Being more concise than the rant’s author, I confine myself to “did I ask you? Fuck off.”
So what I’m getting from this post is that “the first rule of homeschooling is: don’t talk about homeschooling”.
FAIL.
The elite send their kids to $30,000 annual tuition private schools because they *can*, and because they relish the exclusivity of the institution. Not because they think the kids get a better education there.
Which is not to say that some of those high-octane schools don’t provide a superior education. I’m sure some of them do.
But if you think that a public school education isn’t going to provide the tools one needs to make a pretty good living for oneself and one’s family, the six figures on my paycheck (to the *left* of the decimal point, thankyouverymuch) beg to differ.
Wow… Bitter much?
All of us, parents or not, benefit from an educated populace.
We all help pay for schools for the same reasons that we all pay for roads, police, the military - because it’s the price of civilization.
You can argue that our public schools don’t always accomplish that goal of educating people, but that’s another issue.
Late starter, eh?
It’s funny, but of all of the arguments about the lack of socialization the average homeschool kid gets, it’s the people that are against homeschooling that are being aggressively antisocial (on average). I think the original author of this post is “bitter” (her own words) because in no other situation do people feel they can blatantly, and crassly, give their views to a parent on how they are raising their children incorrectly. She’s only making the point that people who flagrantly oppose the way she raises her children should keep their mouths shut. Some people seem to have forgotten that public schools have churned out their share of antisocial, criminal minds. This is an assumption on my part (how horrible of me, I know), but I wonder if there are really *any* homeschoolers with felony convictions on their records? You certainly think (given the public outcry right here) that if there were, it would be spewed all over the national news…
Wow. The author of this JUST MIGHT be a bit of a control freak. She seems unable to handle a conversation about homeschooling without it falling clearly into her “pet peeve” zone.
I also enjoyed the hypocrisy of being completely unable to cope with any commentary about homeschooling, while at the same time clearly leveling harsh criticism at public education.
I’m sure her kids will perform beautifully in life with her as their primary example of critical thought.
Spelt is a proper use, if not more archaic of the word “Spelled”, mostly used by the British.
Thus, Spelt is just as correct as Spelled. Spelt is the name of a grain as well, which is delicious when served with Basil, Chicken and a light sprinkling of Lemon Zest.
This is from a person who was homeschooled, and plans on homeschooling his children… Take it with the weight you believe it deserves.
Love your blanket statements here. I was home schooled. I walked into a college level chemistry class when I was 15, and walked out at the end of the semester with an A. Next semester, a B. I outperformed every single pser in that class. I will forever thank my parents for not putting me into ps and turning me into a typical 25 year old bitch. I have a huge advantage over my peer because I was home schooled. The biggest concerns in my life aren’t my clothes and whether or not I have designer bags and sunglasses.
Yes, I love us homeschooling fathers. Of course, the stay-at-home Dad thing is kind of a once in a lifetime thing.
I was home-schooled (I am “You’re all Idiots” above concerning the spelt debacle) and amazingly enough I work out of my home… We’re going off the grid next year, but close enough to an urban environment that my children can enjoy anything they want…
The only thing my children are going to be scared of, is an unsustainable future and maybe Dick Cheney. (I know I’m afraid of him.)
“If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you’re allowed to ask how we’ll teach these subjects to our kids.”
I remember calculus up to and including u-substitution for integrals, so how are you going to teach calculus and chemistry to your kids?
In logic “or” is inclusive unless you specify “but not both” or use “xor” for the exclusive or. All of this I learned from public education. Public elementary, middle, and high school, and a public four-year college which I went to for only three years due to my public high school’s good Advanced Placement program, and I am now going to a graduate school that is part of the largest public university system.
The last part shuold have said “…that is part of one of the largest if not the largest public university system in the United States.”
really? why? Or are you just upset because I had a leg up in life over you because I didn’t waste away my college years in a bottle of SoCo?
I cannot believe that you question your personal responsibility for the education of the citizens of your counrty! Stay out of the library and the parks (that includes swimming and fishing)and if you want to vote be sure to bring the exact fee. OMG let someone else educate your precious snowflake.
Personally, I am all for as many people home schooling their children as humanly possible! Please, by all means, continue, share and enjoy.
Of course, the reason behind such an opinion? Quite simply I have a young daughter who is not only in this “factory system” known as public schools, and excelling. The way I see it is, the more people who choose to “home school” means that much less competition my daughter will face when applying to quality colleges and universities, and fewer legitimate applicants for jobs once she reaches working age.
Comparing “cooking” to “educating a child” is a bit like comparing “using legos” and “open heart surgery”. A baboon can add ingredients to a cooking pot, or put two plastic bricks together. But a fool who chooses to be a teacher for their child in this day and age only produces one thing: Another fool.
Iron my shirt! Iron my shirt! Iron my shirt!
You’re obviously not reading any of the comments, and have no idea what homeschoolers do in the real world. Also, saying your daughter is excelling in the public school system (which is what I think your fragment is trying to say), isn’t really saying much. I find it interesting that the people who use the word fool always seem to accentuate the foolowing point: A fool opens his mouth and proves himself a fool.
The only thing public school ever gave me was syphillis and a meth addiction.
- Exposure to the creativity of your peers (for example in art class, you can do the art at home, but seeing how a similiar thing can be done so many ways will open your eyes!) –> like the kid who likes to stick ketchuppy french fries in his nose
- Opposing viewpoints –> like the kid who thinks your lunch money belongs in his pocket, not yours
- Rectifying a disagreement –> like the kid who duct-tapes your rectum cause you looked at him funny
- Dealing with difficult peers and authority figures - like the teacher who makes you bite down on a chalkboard eraser for most of his class
- Sharing, delegating, working as a team, leadership.. yes you can learn this at home, but in a class of 30 students you learn appropriate times to assert yourself and when you should give. –> or gives the self-important loudest mouth a podium
- Building your own self confidence and self awareness among a group.–> like the geek who wears lime green shirt and lime green pants to school and gets beat up for it
and crabs
Geez, Bitter is right!!
Who cares if you homeschool or not. But, OMG, try to get a better attitude.
I just want you all to know that I am the smartest person on this crappy floating rock of a planet that we call earth.
I was both homeschooled and went to public school. I am a genius. No one will ever be smarter than me or my offspring. I can spell too. …Not that spelling is important anyways.
IF YUO CAN RAED TIHS, TEHN YOU WLIL UDNESRAND JSUT HOW PIONTLESS SEPLLING RAELLY IS. TOO BAD I AM NOT YUOR CHLIDS EGNLSIH PORFSESOR.
Oh yeah, and next thing you will learn is that public television is going to allow partial nudity on regular broadcasting. Better lock your kids in a closet before they learn what a boob is. Remember, we have to keep our kids in the dark for safety. We can’t let them know there is a real world out there.
Hey Bitter,
1. Don’t asume that I know nothing about homeschooling. Maybe I know a lot of homeschooled kids and their parents. And maybe I’ve learned from them that whatever their reasons for homeschooling, homeschool-parents are the most smug, holier-than-thou, self-righteous, conceited, arrogant set of fools on the planet, sacrificing their children for their own pride and cowardice. Why not try to come to terms with the society you live in?
Obbop — my “anti-conformity, question authority, don’t believe anyone” mentality came directly from the influences of three fantastic teachers I had in Social Studies and English.
i make fun of people like you every time i accidentally turn on Fox News.
i appreciate that this homeschooling person must get a lot of flack for making her kid a freak, but some of her complaints were just rude. First of all, there is a college degree for teaching, and most teachers I know worked hard to get it. So, for you to just assume that you’re better at teaching than a trained professional is not only rude, but presumptious. And, maybe you don’t remember calculus because you’re a dumbass. Or maybe you just didn’t listen in class. These arguments that are supposed to be proving why you are just as qualified as a teacher are incredibly flimsy and not even rooted in any type of scientific thought. I guess you don’t remember philosophy or psychology either (so by all means, please teach it to your kids)! And lastly, your prom comment (among others that talk about your kid having a social life) only instills in me the belief that you don’t want your kid going to school because you were a socially inept moron. It’s not just sanctioned practices, lessons, etc. that provide a child with social opportunities. It’s just talking to other kids between classes, discussing plans for that night or weekend, and buying drugs that happens in the halls. How one can begrudge their kids of this rite of passage is beyond me.
Oh, and most public schools suck because of lack of funds and idiotic policies — not the teaching staff. Instead of wasting money (because someone has to be paid to go assess your teachings) and having an attitude, why don’t you get involved in your kid’s school and try to make some changes that benefit everyone? Instead of raising what I’m sure is carbon-copy of you and your own elitist attitudes.
oh, and diego garcia — well said!!!!
“But a fool who chooses to be a teacher for their child in this day and age only produces one thing: Another fool.”
*golf clap*
I am a teacher and do the best I can for those kids (considering what we aren’t allowed to do and say). When I have my own children, you know where I’ll be…at home, with them, teaching them to the best of my ability.
Get off your soap-box and stop trying to tell others that your way is obviously the best, even if you’re doing it passively. Honestly, how nice for you that you don’t need to work to support your kids. I’ll continue to violate all of your rules, in fact, I’ll take it as a guide now, because there were some things there I hadn’t thought of.
Your lack of sense of community disturbs and frightens me, home schooling might have been ok when people lived on the frontier with no access to scholastic opportunities, but I’m sick of the holier than thou attitude that all home schooling parents seem to posses. Go ahead and home-school your kid, just shut up about it.
THIS THREAD DELIVERS.
Homeschooling girls creates sluts and awesome porn stars.
Homeschooling boys creates snow plowers, car and airplane mechanics, and pan handlers.
We need sluts and mechanics…keep on keeping on.
I homeschooled my daughter from grades 3 through 12. She passed her SATs with flying colors and the lowest her GPA has been in three years of college is 3.7. She’s made the Dean’s list every year so far and has won 4 scholarships. When she graduates next year, she plans to work in her chosen field while continuing on to get her Master’s.
For homeschoolers who are planning college, she applied to several universities and was accepted at every single one without any problems at all.
My wife was homeschooled and she is intelligent, articulate, witty, and better adjusted socially than probably 80% of the public schooled miscreants that come galloping through my university English classes feeling entitled to excellent grades because “I was an A student in high school!” Ditto for my two brothers-in-law.
My wife and I intend to homeschool our children…neither of us really cares what idiots think about public schools as a “rite of passage” or whatever other nonsense they come up with. When I teach the products of public schools, far more often than not I am painfully aware that I am casting pearls before swine.
It’s so refreshing to see unbiased information from a totally impartial source. Your daughter sounds smart, and could probably have contributed to a public school classroom. Instead, your selfish shortsightedness has robbed her peers of a good influence, and contributed to the overall decline of public education. You sound very proud of yourself, but making your own bumper stickers to trumpet this pride must have been tough (I think that the schools give them out for free).
>
And how exactly are you sure of that?
Hey, if not wanting my kids to be part of the sex-and-drug public school culture makes me elitist, then I plead guilty!
Hey Diego–you’re an idiot. Go back to your cave.
I love the name calling. These ‘miscreants’, ‘idiots’, and ’swine’ must be proud to pay your salary, only to be condescended to instead of taught. By the way, is teaching still the only gig for an English major?
“My beloved and I”? Seriously, “My beloved and I”. You have to admit, it’s kind of funny how you “nut jobs” can almost fool the rest of us into thinking you are normal. Right up until the point you refer to your spouse (a.k.a life partner, etc.) as “My beloved” I was with you, and then, “My beloved”. Dead giveaway that you are a total moron. What a shame. Good point though, try to keep the “voices” at bay and good luck. Please give my best to your “beloved”. Sincerely, A sane person.
Chad,
You are an ignorant toolbag. Our two sons were home-schooled all the way. They have been able converse with an adult and look them in the eye while doing it since they could speak. They both tested well above average on their SATs. They are both in college. They are both fully scholar-shipped. Colleges are well aware that most home-schooled students are better adjusted and better trained, thus they recruit them with vigor. You want to put your daughter in a place where 90% of they boys want to turn her into a slut, go right ahead. Put her in public school. Oh yes, I remember those days…