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Thread: Any other home-educating families out there?

  1. #51

    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    My wife and I are educators and organizers... and we are deaply commited to accessible and quality public education.

    I know that in HS, I had a wonderful educational experience, since I was in all the "advanced" classes and was a great athlete and generally well liked by both teachers and peers.

    However, the practice of public schooling, with its dominant authoritarianism (except for the most exceptional), its coersive pedagogy, and banking education, and focus on testing instead of learning to love learning, really puts me ill at ease with public schools. My wife is actually a "Field Instructor" that teaches teachers here at the University of Michigan. She gets to see first hand how teaching is done by teachers and principals and how teachers learn to teach. She does this in what is generally considered one of the best school districts in the entire United States.

    It is terribly disheartening.

    As a person who is committed to public schools, I am having a hard time holding on to that idealism in the face of the reality of the public schools.

    I'm not sure what we will do. We will look into alternative school systems... but we can hardly afford that. We will look into home schooling too.

    Either way, the public and institutional problems of education need to be solved with public schools in mind. While a private or home schooling might work for us in the short term, it certainly won't work for the whole of society in the long term.

    Right now, we aren't sure what we will do.

    Perhaps we'll start our own school with fellow teachers in SE Michigan. A vegan school that allows students to learn compassion, experience the world, and make meaning in their lives... and to love learning and to do the best that they can do. Anyone interested in enrolling their kids?
    context is everything

  2. #52

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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    My little one is a bit too young to start homeschooling, but here is a beautiful vegan family who does homeschooling

    www.TheGardenDiet.com

  3. #53
    Lee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Did anyone see in the news that homeschooling has been banned in the State of California?

    http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25469

    There are probably other links also. I am very sorry to see this.

  4. #54
    AR Activist Roxy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Wow. That doesn't sound good.

  5. #55
    Making changes Est's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    The HSLDA have started a petition to depublish this case so that it can't be used as a precedent in future cases.

    I went to sign it, but the petition's had such an overwhelming response (250,000 signatures in 10 days) that they've closed it!

    In many ways, this kind of thing makes me glad I don't have kids. Just the thought of having to fight these kind of battles is exhausting, never mind the reality. It seems that anything to do with independence and individualism is being crushed.

    *Est waves her rolling pin and mutters*

  6. #56
    Angel of the North's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Does anyone know where you can buy any vegan food in or near Berwick on Tweed where the gathering is happening in May as people have been asking me, but I don't know the local shops around there. I think people would need mostly fresh stuff like fruit and veg (preferably organic) as they could bring their non-perishable stuff with them.

  7. #57
    littlewinker
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    ohhh my days home education is not good for kids socially, trust me i missed yeeeaaars of school and i wish so so much i hadn't. i feel like my childhood and my chance to develop normally has been taken away from me. in my last year of primary school i went back to school and i had one year to try to catch up with learning basic social things when everyone else had the whole of pimary school.

    my parents do have mental problems especially my dad and that didn't make anything easier for me as the social stuff i learnt from them was going against my insticnts, but trust me i'm absolutely sure home schooling has played a big part in my social development problem.

    obviously everyone is different but generally i really would advise against home schooling

  8. #58
    littlewinker
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    oh yeah and i've been to state schools and a private school (as i got a scholarship) and home schooled and states schools are horrible corrupt places but the only way you can develop normally socially from my experience

  9. #59
    cobweb
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    that is most interesting, littlewinker, i have lost 2 home schooling friends because of this issue. Schools are imperfect but i personally learnt a lot about survival from school. Thanks for posting that, hope you learn to socialise your own way.

  10. #60
    Sluggie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    There's nothing normal about the social structure of schools though. Where else do you spend all your time with 30 other people exactly the same age as you? If you tried to design a situation to encourage bullying and gang mentality, you couldn't do it better.

    At my son's home ed group, there are kids from birth to about 17 as well as the parents, which gives a much broader and more natural social group. My son has a very diverse set of friends, and since we started home educating, his social and language skills have improved out of sight.

    At school, he had no friends. He was totally isolated, and the only social interaction he had was fighting.

    I'm sorry your experience was negative, but please don't assume that all home ed is the same as yours was.

  11. #61
    cobweb
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Sluggie don't be offended by what i said, i am pro choice on this matter. I can very well see the problems with schools but i personally believe in fighting every step of the way to try and change things for the better .

    the thing i have encountered is a lot of derision from home-edders who seem to think that parents who choose to send their kids to school are lazy and uncaring - not so. I think it all depends on the child and the family situation. If you are an active lively family with good resources, and, even better, other home-edders to link up with, then i think it's fantastic. In that kind of situation i expect i would choose to do it myself. However, if the parents are antisocial buggers (like my husband and i) and the child is social it may be problematical.

    i was always a fiercely independant child, and, though I hated school i learnt a lot there - like when the going gets tough the tough must get tougher, that life is often an irrelevant pile of shit, and how much you are expected to 'fit in' - and how to take absolute pleasure in refusing to do so! . I honestly believe that school strengthened my character.

  12. #62
    Sluggie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    I'm not offended, and I know some people have good experiences of school.

    It's just that "school is the only way to learn socialising" is equivalent to "eating meat is the only way to get protein" in my mind. And I hear it a lot.

  13. #63
    AR Activist Roxy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    I'm glad it's not something I will ever have to think about

  14. #64
    cobweb
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Quote Sluggie View Post
    I'm not offended, and I know some people have good experiences of school.

    It's just that "school is the only way to learn socialising" is equivalent to "eating meat is the only way to get protein" in my mind. And I hear it a lot.

    i bet you do - sounds like you've got it right, though. I think, tbh, i have been thoroughly put off the whole concept by someone i used to know who became very dicatatorial about it .

  15. #65
    littlewinker
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    What I said is true in the most cases tho, thats the thing.

    A lot of kids stop going because of bullying, but usually bullied kids have developed social problems already despite going to school. They're getting picked on because they stand out. Everyone points the finger at bullies, and says they've got problems but it isn't normally true. Nobody would want to hear this but bullies are often totally normal, but not very clever so that they don't think of consequences and other people and stuff.

    Going to school teaches you to mix with people you don't like and teach you to stick up for yourself and learn who to trust and who not, and things like that. You cant learn these things out of school, as you wouldn't mix with people you didn't like, only with friends.

    I know in some cases home schooling's a good idea but very rare cases.

    I haven't read he whole thread but I think I'm the only one on here who's actually experienced all the education systems so I think you shouldn't dismiss what I'm saying as ignorant (like the "vegans can't get protein" comparison), I know you know your own situations but I wouldn't advise anyone to home educate.

    Naturally, people would live in groups of 150, and probably 30 or 40 of them would be kids. Although they would be all different ages.

  16. #66
    cobweb
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    well it does seem equally as 'false' to me, only mixing with other people picked out by your parents (if they home school you) because, as you say, littlewinker, people have to learn how to handle all sorts of other people/situations.
    what's 'real' and what's 'artificial' anyway?. isn't school 'real'?. Is working in an office or a factory 'real'?. how do home educated kids handle going out to work?.
    i really am more open minded than i sound on this subject but i do get cross when i see/hear home edders (not thinking of you sluggie!) professing that theirs is the 'only way' and berating parents who choose school for their kids as being selfish, lazy, and uncaring.
    My husband and i felt so strongly about our son getting the right schooling that we moved to Orkney - the schooling was the thing that initially drew us here. I have home educated my son for a short time and neither of us (my son and i) were very comfortable with it. It's also hard if you are on a tight budget (imo).

    anyway, i don't want to slag off home schoolers on 'their' thread but i am interested in your points on this one, LW .

  17. #67
    littlewinker
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    My dad was always like that, really self righteous and telling me that parents only sent their kids to school because they didn't care about their kids and was a selfish way of fobbing them off to get more time for themselves. I never believed it though .

  18. #68

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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    I suppose an important point would be the parents motivation for home schooling.I'm only speaking from what I've read/heard and seen on TV but it seems for some parents home schooling is about providing their child with an individual learning experience to meet the childs needs and strengths, whilst for others it seems to be about retaining their control over the child and creating mini-me's. I hasten to add that all the parents I've read here come across as the former!

  19. #69

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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    My ten year old daughter will be returning to homeschooling in the fall. She attended traditional school for one year then homeschooled for two years. We then got her into a great charter school (plenty of veggie/vegans there). She is now ready to go to middle school and her teacher (who happens to be a vegan) felt she wasn't ready for the intense workload there (my daughter has a processing disorder). When I brought up homeschooling she was very supportive. I kind of think of homeschooling and veganism as being similar. They are both things that people often have very negative, and inaccurate, opinions about. The homeschool group I belong to is great. We meet once a week to get the kids together, often plan field trips, and many parents get their kids together for specific "classes." In the past we have been involved in a science group and an art group. You don't have to know everything to homeschool. I enjoy learning along with the kids. It does take some preparation and most families I know have one parent who stays home and does the "teaching" and the other parent works. There are so many good resources out there now, that homeschooling is actually very easy. Homeschooling seems to be growing by leaps and bounds where I live. My daughter is excited about returning to homeschooling, as am I.

  20. #70
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    I've homeschooled in the past, and I am considering homeschooling my 13yo next year. I hope I can find a good secular curriculum.

  21. #71

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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    I am going to try Florida Virtual School, which is free for me since I live in Florida. She will take online courses and communicate with a teacher by e-mail and phone. It is for middle and high school only. I have heard mostly good things about it. I chose it because I work from home and was concerned that I would have trouble finding enough time for both work and curriculum preparation. If it doesn't work for us then I will go back to finding our own curriculum, which we did previously.

  22. #72
    gyp5ym00n's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    My daughter is only 2 1/2 but I am highly considering homeschooling when the time comes

  23. #73
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Quote littlewinker View Post
    A lot of kids stop going because of bullying, but usually bullied kids have developed social problems already despite going to school. They're getting picked on because they stand out. Everyone points the finger at bullies, and says they've got problems but it isn't normally true. Nobody would want to hear this but bullies are often totally normal, but not very clever so that they don't think of consequences and other people and stuff.
    I know this post was quite a while ago however I would like to say that a lot of the people who bullied me (while at secondary school), my friends and others while at school have not been 'totally normal' (indeed; many of the female ones have gone on 2 have many abortions due to not using protection/having multiple partners etc because to low self worth, are now drug dealers/addicts, some are in jail etc). It's because they came from families that didn't care about them and so didn't understand how to act towards other people as they were never corrected. The fact that many bullies have lower than average intelligence is woven up in the neglect that their parents had with regards to their child(ren). Very few of the children I went to this school with actually wanted to do something with their lives and made it near impossible for the the teacher to conduct lessons with their disruptive and agressive behaviour.

    I went to a state school when I got bullied but didn't always go in. My parents usually understood up to 2 or 3 school days off a week where they would contact the school as to why I wouldn't attend that day as they (the school) were failing to sort the situation out. I would then be able to study/learn in my own time, on my own without the disruption of others (in a way home educating myself). My parents eventually pulled me out of state school at the end of year 10 after a very bad assult on me and instantly sent me to a private college to obtain my GCSE's and then A-levels. It was the best thing they ever did for me. I believe that home education would have had the same effect but the fact that they sent me to a private college was indeed good. The pupils around me were nothing like the ones I left behind and I didn't get bullied. I was able to learn, to question and to come to my own conclusions on what we were being told about. The atmosphere was amazing.

    I do wish to home educate any children I have as I believe that a child is a sponge with it comes to knowledge. If you allow them to be in an environment that is constantly challenging that child then they will learn at a pace that is benificial for them as an individual; which is what most schools lack the ability to do. They will be able to progress with subjects that are not usual in primary schools when they are young if interested eg. 2 or more extra languages, environmental issues/study, psychology etc. A child is more likely to become their potential when they are given the right tools, the encouragment and guidance. I hope to encourage any children I have into taking any exams they want, when they feel ready regards of if that is considered early, the right time or late by others such as the government!


    Quote littlewinker View Post
    Going to school teaches you to mix with people you don't like and teach you to stick up for yourself and learn who to trust and who not, and things like that. You cant learn these things out of school, as you wouldn't mix with people you didn't like, only with friends.
    Extra curriculum activites are a certain way to socially intergrate a child in a more outside environment that is more alike to that of life after school. I had few friends at school due to circumstances but I was still a socially able person outside of school. Main schools are nothing like the outside world when it comes to it and to make a child believe that it is, if they are going to a main school, is deluding them in my honest opinion. The college I went to came rather close (sp?) to a real world senario with the pupils ages ranging from 14-26 (or more) and any of them could be in your GCSE or A-level classes (a 25 year old was in my GCSE Biology class for example) thanks to the way they conducted the education as flexible to your needs (the college has an even bigger age range as it is now year 7 upwards).

    I find there are few cases where in a main school the potential of a child is fully attained. This is a greivance (sp?) that mains schools need to address. Until they have found out a sutible conclusion I will only ever think about home education and maybe even a private school/college, if I believe them to be of worth, when I have children of my own.
    "I wouldn't eat a chicken if it dropped dead infront of me holding a up a sign that said eat me." - Ricky Williams

  24. #74
    Slowly I Awake's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    We've been homeschooling for 9 years.

    It definitely has to be something that fits with the family's personality. If your children are happier in a traditional school setting, then that's exactly where they should be. If, however, you want to try home education and see how it works within your lifestyle, you should give it a go. With the right components, it can be a very rewarding experience.

    My best advice for anyone considering home education is this: Remain flexible. When something isn't working, go ahead and change direction (and this may include putting a child back in a traditional school setting). When something is working, enjoy your success and don't worry if it's conventional or not.

    If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask or PM me! I'm not an authority by any means, but I'm happy to share my thoughts and experiences.

  25. #75
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    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    Hi
    I'm new to the forum. Glad I found this thread, as I would love to meet some like-minded people. I am a mother of 2 (ages 3 and 6), and we home school. My daughter is doing Grade 1 now. Last year, when it was time for kindergarten, I was unsure about homeschooling. I knew I hated the idea of putting my daughter into the traditional school system, but I was not sure if home schooling would be good for her/us. I was scared, and full of doubts. I did a lot of research. The benefits of home schooling are undeniable. I learned that in my province (BC, Canada), there are many different ways you can do it; ie. different curriculum you can follow. I found what seemed to be the perfect fit for our family; and independent online school called "Self Design" http://www.selfdesign.org/. We work with a learning consultant (whom we report to every week about the things we are doing and the material we are covering.. she in turn reports to the Ministry, so we are sure that we are covering the material we need to cover), and with our consultant, we design a learning plan based on my daughter's individual interests.. based on the things that inspire her, excite her, or fill her with wonder. It's based on the idea that every child is different, and so their learning plan is tailored to them. We had such a wonderful year last year. My daughter is reading at a grade 2 level, and is advanced in so many ways... she exudes happiness, self-confidence, and is so out-going, mature, responsible, and empathic compared to other kids her age... she shines like the precious gem she is, and I know with certainty it is because we honor her individuality and uniqueness, and give her a sense of empowerment by letting her be in charge of her own educational path. I think this Self-Design program is absolutely brilliant, and it's nice to see it is slowly catching on, and more and more families are choosing to educate their children this way. Wouldn't dream of doing it any other way, and plan to continue doing it for as long as possible. I would love to hear from others who are home schooling or interested in it! Looking to expand my circle of friends.. it is not easy meeting like-minded people... especially vegans!

  26. #76

    Default Re: Any other home-educating families out there?

    I was homeschooled for a year and a half when I was ten (so I was homeschool for the final year of primary school and first year of secondary school). I loved it. It's my fondest school memory. My mum taught me, she was a primary school teacher for about 30 years. I've said to my boyfriend that I would love to homeschool our children if we have any.

    I think that you should however enroll them in after-school activities so they have friends their own age. Homeschooling can be isolating if not.

    It also depends on the kid. Some will thrive, while others won't.

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