I am not odd after all!
Edit: As I was interacting with a reader in the comments about this, I realized just how much I disagreed with the tone of the infographic I'd originally posted.
So, even though I appreciated some of the information shared in it (Homeschooling doesn't usually make people socially inept. Yay!), I've decided to remove it. I don't want to have a negative conversation about homeschooling...I want to keep it positive. My apologies for posting it without thinking about it longer.
Original Post:
Someone sent me this infographic, and I thought I'd share it with you since you all ask me a lot of homeschooling questions.
For the record, the tone of the infographic is more combative than I'd prefer (really, do we need to talk about taking down people who are educated differently than us??), but since it offers some statistics that answer questions I'm frequently asked, I thought it might be worth sharing.
I offer it up not to denigrate public schools (because with an involved parent, I think it's quite possible to get a good education in public school), but rather to say, "Hey, homeschooling works too."
I am so glad you posted this! I think so many people have an unfounded opinion of homeschooling based on perhaps one or two kids they met that were homeschooled (and that they were aware of)!
When examining statistics from public schools I hope people realize that there is a huge range of students involved. Information as such will include a growing amount of students who have difficulty meeting benchmark scores for reasons other that substandard education. For example, in Oregon, English Language Learners account for a large population and while they struggle in a traditional classrooms they are still held to the same benchmarks. This is the same for special education students as well as students who simply don't learn well in a traditional setting. The information in this infographic is not credibly referenced and one actually insinuates that high school students are "dumb as a rock". As an educator I find it sad that home schooling families often find in necessary to highly criticize the public school system.
As I said, I didn't appreciate the tone of the infographic myself. When I talk about homeschooling, I try to present it positively without being negative about the public school system.
The point I'm always trying to make is that homeschooling, on average, produces students that are at least competitive with their public-schooled peers. And I typically am trying to make that point because someone has called that into question. 🙂
Thank you.
While I'm running my mouth 😉 I'll just share that when people talk to me about homeschooling, it often seems like they're comparing the best possible public school experience to the worst possible homeschooling experience.
I think that's unfair, and so I don't want to compare the best possible homeschool experience with the worst possible public school experience. I honestly believe that a public-schooled student with involved parents and with no extra difficulties (English as a second language, for example) will perform similarly to a homeschooled student.
And by the same token, a homeschooled student with neglectful parents isn't going to outperform a peer in the same situation.
Parental involvement is key to your child's education regardless of their method of schooling. I have a child in public school and one homeschooling. The one in public school is graduating at the top of her class. She has had some not so great teachers along the way and some absolutely wonderful ones, but the factor that has always been there is parental involvement and encouragement. If I felt like something was missing, we added to it. We always talk to our kids, carry learning out of the classroom and keep up with what they are learning. Teachers can not be responsible for all of a child's learning.
The one homeschooling has been in public school grades k-2 and may go back for grades 9-12. We are not against public school, but this is what is working for us right now. We felt like we were already supplementing her education, why not be in charge of her education. It works for us and we love it.
You can always have parents that are not involved in homeschooling too.
It's quite possible that some homeschoolers criticize the public school system because they have had a bad experience. Not all public school systems are the same. Just because one person has a good public school system, it doesn't mean everyone does and vice versa. People should respect other people's schooling choices and realize there are socially inept people everywhere.
Homeschooling is always going to be questioned by others. People question what they do not understand.
Bless your heart, Kristen. I appreciate the fact that you provide us with homeschooling info and articles. I have a child who is extremely shy. She is in public school and is in the second grade. I have been trying to talk to her father about homeschooling her since she started school. He is not here to see the crying in the morning and the crying in the evening when she is tired from being gone all day and still has 2 hours of homework to do. I feel like I am doing a lot of the teaching any way. We live in a very small town, so homeschooling is not very widely done or even considered really. I have enjoyed watching you and your children through your blog and appreciate all the info you give! Don't let people who get so caught up in every little thing they disagree with bother you or change the way you do things. If someone doesn't like something posted here, then they don't have to give it any more thought or time. They should just move on. We are all adults and can make our own decisions on what we let affect us and what we do not.
Homeschooling must be tough, I thought. I could not imagine having enough knowlege to teach. We did not homeschool our daughter - we only had one child - but we did send her to a private school, after it was obvious that public school was not for her. She was in a very large class and just hid in the back, not getting involved at all. I had to work, and my wife was in the process of recovering from a very serious car accident which took years, so she was not able to do it.
Later I was glad that we had sent her to a private school as I met public school teachers, read their letters in newspapers and realized that far from being the superior teachers that I had imagined, most seemed to be very ignorant of even simple tasks like writing a letter, with spelling and grammatical errors that were horrifying, knowing little or nothing about history or geography and only having a rudimentary knowledge of maths and science.
My wife and/or I would have been much better teachers. I would encourage anyone who has had a good education to consider home schooling. If we could go back we certainly would.
I don't homeschool. It's quite uncommon in the UK. In fact I personally don't know of one family that does. For me it's about the quality of the teaching, be that at home, state or private education. As with much of life - you do what you consider to be the best for you and yours - there's no right or wrong way only 'your way'. Comparisons are made through our own experience, it's autobiographical rather than objective. I've enjoyed the homeschooling posts immensely because although my Kids go to state school, they've helped me to consider what I can be doing outside the home to supplement their education and transition to adulthood further.
I also felt the article had a negative tone. I know that isn't something you want to portray with homeschooling. I always really enjoy your blog regardless of topic, but this one did leave a bad taste in my mouth for some reason. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but I guess I wasn't the only one that felt that way. Thanks Kristen!
Of course having an involved, dedicated parent is the ideal situation for all children regardless of where their schooling takes place. I have taught many children of devoted parents who appreciated my positive influence on their children. However, it is possible for a child to receive an excellent public school education while living with a neglectful, selfish, immature, uninvolved and/or drug-addicted parent. I have loved, guided and educated many such young children over the past 25 years as a public school teacher. Who else is going to care for these children and give them some chance for a positive, happy and productive future? These are God's children too, and I try to quietly follow the example of Jesus every day in my classroom. We need the public schools.
I'm glad you pulled the infographic, although for me it was a "so that's how you really feel" moment that un-did some of your painstakingly neutral and upbeat homeschooling posts . . . is the tone of the infographic how you really feel?
My children attend private Christian school and I don't have strong feelings about homeschooling either way, really.
Nope, it's not how I feel! That's why I put a disclaimer on it when I first posted it, and it's why I ended up taking it down (I should have gone with my gut in the first place!).
I know and love lots of people who educate differently than I do, and while I think homeschooling is the best choice for us, I don't think it's the best choice for everyone.
The only thing I stand unapologetically and unequivocally behind is the idea that homeschooling is an educational choice that is just as valid as more traditional options (a stand of mine that is frequently questioned and doubted. 🙂 ) That's what I'm defending, and I don't want to do that by denigrating other people's choices (because I certainly don't like it when people do that to me!)
I'm glad that you're not trying to criticize public schools, even though I know that's not your style! When we have kids, we're planning on sending them to public school. I have absolutely no desire to homeschool, and I seriously doubt we'd be able to afford private school (plus the only ones I know of in the area are Catholic and we're not Catholic!)
However, I have a coworker who spent the majority of her career working in Waldorf schools, and I can't even tell you how many times she criticizes our public school kids at work. They shouldn't be learning math this way, kindergartners shouldn't have homework, and on and on. It's honestly kind of offensive to me, because I don't criticize Waldorf schools, or homeschooling, or any other alternative schooling other than public.
Anyway, all this to say, thanks for being open to the fact that there are other options that work just as well as homeschooling (and that there are other options besides homeschooling!)