What's so great about homeschooling?

[Contarini]

Well, I’ve already been raked over the coals for my initial posts.

But, when I read yours, I can’t but help feel the superior attitude.

But all of her comments were in response to your criticisms. You asked where the educational benefit was. You said that homeschooling cut kids off from real life. You said that it was presumptuous for parents to think they could do better than a decent public school.

Are you familiar with the French proverb: “Cet animal est tres mechant; quand on l’attaque, il se defend”? (“This animal is very vicious; when you attack it, it defends itself.”) That is what I see on this thread. You have it in for homeschooling, and you keep trying to present yourself as the one under attack. You aren’t. No one has criticized your choices, yet you keep posting with this martyr tone. Why?

I’m sensitive about this because I was homeschooled, and even still (18 years after “graduating” from homeschooling–wow, has it really been that long?) I frequently get negative reactions when I mention it. I see people’s faces tighten up and their voices get tense and out come all the usual cliches (in all fairness, some of them were right in my case–my farmily really did isolate me and I was taught to look down on other kids). Homeschoolers are judged and criticized all the time, and they don’t take kindly to being told that simply by doing what they are doing they are somehow being “holier-than-thou.”

In Christ,

Edwin

 

[luvmykids]

1. We love pajamas, too. We also love fireplace fires on those cool, wet days. Kind of like the sprinklers on the first hot day.

.

As far as the pj’s …how is that teaching kids how to deal in the real world? Are they going to be able to wear pajamas to work someday? I also hear a lot of homeschoolers say, “oh we get to sleep in a lot” or that it’s so flexible because they get to start when they want, or get to take a day off when they want, or if the mother gets sick or has a baby, they get to take 3 months off etc…Are these children going to be able to come and go as they please in the real world? I hope the real world is that flexible.

 

[leonie]

Well, sorry, I’ve been gone from the forum for several hours. I was out coaching my Little League team.

I have been thinking about this for several hours, and, for the life of me, I just don’t have anything charitable to say, other than I have certainly learned a lot through this thread.

Well, Paul. I guess maybe I just don’t know any “holier than thou homeschoolers.” That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some, I guess. The folks I hang around with are proud of homeschooling, but don’t see it as a personal badge of holiness.

The homeschoolers I know are confronted all the time with their faults. We worry too much about our choices–both with homeschooling and with how we are doing it.

There’s nothing like kids to keep you humble.

So, you don’t think that there’s a difference between preferring your educational choice and thinking it makes you better?

I can see a distinction: I think homeschooling is a better option, but I don’t think it makes my family better than any other.

I see very clearly my failings as a homeschool mom.

And, boy, those kids! They squabble among each other. My 12 year old daughter seems only to care about her hair and talking on the phone. My 13 year old son seems more like a 2 year old times 6, plus a year of bad hygiene (when did he start hating showers!). My ten year old is either Dr. Jeckle or Mr. Hyde. My seven year old has a distinct ringing whine in her voice. My 5 year old keeps getting out the window when the door is locked. And, my 2 year old is well, two!

With kids like these, how could I help but be humble?

I guess it really bothers me that there is this preconceived idea that I as a homeschooler think I’m holier than anyone else.

Actually, the devout Catholic moms I most admire (not in order): one is a hser who would never spend time on something as ridiculous as a Catholic forum. She has 7 kids, runs our pro-life program, and is the most loving woman I have ever seen. Another is a mom of ten who has her kids in public school. She is the most prayerful, fervent Catholic woman I have ever met. She runs our perpetual adoration chapel. The final one is her sister who has her 6 kids in Catholic School–same common denominators: prayerful, in love with God, devoted to family–images of the Blessed Mother.

 

[leonie]

As far as the pj’s …how is that teaching kids how to deal in the real world? Are they going to be able to wear pajamas to work someday? I also hear a lot of homeschoolers say, “oh we get to sleep in a lot” or that it’s so flexible because they get to start when they want, or get to take a day off when they want, or if the mother gets sick or has a baby, they get to take 3 months off etc…Are these children going to be able to come and go as they please in the real world? I hope the real world is that flexible.

This is not a bad point.

However, most homeschooled kids have strong initiative. For one thing, hsers encourage their kids to be independent learners. The kids also have more free time to pursue hobbies. Hobbies really allow kids to set their own goals and work towards them.

As kids get older, they have more responsibilities. The majority of hsing teens have jobs. Many take college level coursework on local campuses. They have to balance these: school, work, social interests, volunteer work, classes–much like most teens.

Some people are more lazy or laid back just according to their personality type. It’s possible that homeschooling could reinforce that by its flexible nature. But, it’s also possible that the student could learn to be more self-motivated.

It’s a small sample size that I’ve observed, but the dozen or so hsed adults I know are very hard working–most working their own way through college.

One kid I know had a lot of trouble getting his work done (for the very demanding Seton program). His mom was pulling her hair out. But, recently, he decided on a course of action: he took his GED, applied to the seminary, and will enter this fall. This is a kid who may have done better to have some outside deadlines and structure. But, maybe he would have lost his vocation? No way to know, really.

 

[drawnhome]

As far as the pj’s …how is that teaching kids how to deal in the real world? Are they going to be able to wear pajamas to work someday? I also hear a lot of homeschoolers say, “oh we get to sleep in a lot” or that it’s so flexible because they get to start when they want, or get to take a day off when they want, or if the mother gets sick or has a baby, they get to take 3 months off etc…Are these children going to be able to come and go as they please in the real world? I hope the real world is that flexible.

But this is the real world. There are lots of ways to experience life. I grew up moving every six months. It was a great adventurous way to grow up, but I was certainly not lost when I grew up and had to learn to live in one place. I have great memories of all that I saw and learned across the country. Back then there weren’t the compulsory number of school days, so in essence I was a part-time unschooler. But what a way to learn geography! We’re off on a field trip this morning with the other families, to see a traveling exhibit from the Vatican. God Bless you all.

 

[Renny]

what’s great about homeschooling:
by a 17 year homeschool veteran who has graduated 4 homeschool kids and has 6 more to go:

(to be read aloud, in front of the class, like a ‘what i did on summer vacation’ report)

1. pajamas. can’t say enough about them.
2. having my kids home when my husband is home-- he works odd hours and used to be gone when kids were home and viseversa.
3. knowing what my kids know. learning what my kids love.
4. watching a 5 year old teaching himself to read.
5. watching a 9 year old teaching himself to read.
6. listening to a 12 year explain the difference between a saw-whet owl and a pygmy owl when i didn’t know he knew anything about owls. (see #3) looking it up and seeing he was exactly correct.
7. hearing the hired chemistry tutor exclaim “wow. this Apologia Chemistry text is one of the best texts i’ve ever seen” and also, “he’s doing GREAT!!. he’s so hip to the math already!”
8. seeing our kids enjoy each others company. watching them learn to navigate and negotiate the resources of time, space, privacy etc. seeing them use those same skills in the ‘real world’.
9. watching my social kids knock’em dead in the real world.
10. watching our academic kids knock’em dead in the real world.
11. watching our strugglers begin to find their niche. watching them be at peace with peace. watching them enjoy accomplishment. watching them carry love along with them.
12. believing that, like our family’s nutrition, our education is not the best of the best, rather it is very good, exceptionally good, maybe. and that it is enough because** God doesn’t necessarilly call the qualified, rather HE qualifies the called**.

What’s Not Great About Homeschooling
(written by the same veteran, to be read the same way)

1. the mess
2. having people ask, while you are IN the bowling alley, surrounded by your kids and all their friends, “… uh, yeah, but what do you do for socialization?”
3. homeschoolers who send out lots of email suggesting overthows of government/ local school district/ diocese/ parish/ other homeschoolere/ the world.
4. all the naysayers who not-so-secretly want to see our kids fail. after 17 years of moderate to high success, concluding “yes, but you’re family is different.”
5. being forced to listen to yet another parent explain (?) why they don’t homeschool.

i swear. i didn’t ask.
i doubly swear, i don’t want to overthrow anything more significant than my laundry room. please stop sending me emails.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
This is really good stuff & as a side note in regard to all of the "Is doing work in your pj’s the stuff of the real world?"questions-I know several folks who work from home, in their pj’s when they feel like it! Ren

 

[luvmykids]

This is really good stuff & as a side note in regard to all of the "Is doing work in your pj’s the stuff of the real world?"questions-I know several folks who work from home, in their pj’s when they feel like it! Ren

Those are the blessed few. Reality is, most of us don’t have that option!

 

[rayne89]

As far as the pj’s …how is that teaching kids how to deal in the real world? Are they going to be able to wear pajamas to work someday? I also hear a lot of homeschoolers say, “oh we get to sleep in a lot” or that it’s so flexible because they get to start when they want, or get to take a day off when they want, or if the mother gets sick or has a baby, they get to take 3 months off etc…Are these children going to be able to come and go as they please in the real world? I hope the real world is that flexible.

A legitimate question. We have it engrained in us that we need the school system to raise a normal healthy child. As Paul pointed out the public school system is the “norm” in this country. Does that mean children outside the “norm” will not function normally?

For one children do mature as they get older. By the time my daughter is 16 we plan to have her taking some classes at the local junior college while finishing up high school. Most likely she will have a job. She sees her father go to work everyday, that he can’t take time off whenever he wants. And she sees me go to work on the days I’m scheduled. Normally I sleep in until 9 but on the days I work I have to be up 6. She knows the adult world has many responsibilities.

My daughter started taking elective classes once a week through one our homeschool groups this year. She has get up early to be there, she takes 5 different classes, has lunch and short recess & homework. My daughter has not been in a school setting since nursery school. She had no problems adapting. People really are very adaptable. How many people move here from foreign countries, totally different cultures and adapt fine? One of our parish priests grew up in a tribe in Africa and yet now he lives a totally different life -imagine that. Considerably quite different than growing up homeschooled in this country.

I run into this all this time. How can a child learn social skills? How can they learn to deal with people different than them? How they going to be able to adjust to college life? Etc. The first two my daughter has already learned. The longer you do this the more you realize the school system is not required in order to make these things happen. Kids come through the system all the time with poor social skills, there are plenty that don’t get a long with others and many kids struggle adjusting to college. The sense of entitlement has never been greater than it is now in this country and the majority of these people went through the school system.

Hey I went to public school and sleep late (until 9) unless I have to work and generally don’t get dressed in street clothes until I’m ready to leave the house. Guess that whole public school training didn’t work on me.

 

[bear06]

As far as the pj’s …how is that teaching kids how to deal in the real world? Are they going to be able to wear pajamas to work someday? I also hear a lot of homeschoolers say, “oh we get to sleep in a lot” or that it’s so flexible because they get to start when they want, or get to take a day off when they want, or if the mother gets sick or has a baby, they get to take 3 months off etc…Are these children going to be able to come and go as they please in the real world? I hope the real world is that flexible.

I have the advantage here of knowing several post graduate homeschoolers. Not one is a loafer. They all manage to get up, get dressed, hold down jobs, etc.

My kids are usually up late reading (history to boot) so I don’t mind if they don’t get up at 6:30.

What if I asked how a child was going to make it in the world when their parents buy them their clothes, drive them where they need to go, wake them up in the morning, give them food and clothing, get to take 3 months off in the summer, etc., etc., etc.? No, we don’t expect our children to shoulder the burden of adulthood at this point. You don’t do it and neither do I. How is getting up early, getting dressed and revolving our lives around a school’s time table the main way of preparing our kids for the “real world”. I think learning to work as a team has its merits.

Again, from coaching, I can tell you that the team mentality in our little world is seriously lacking. It’s ever man for himself. I think you’d be mistaken if you think that our way of life teaches the children that the world revolves around them. I find it just the opposite. Our kids in our home and outside are team players. They work well with others. I don’t see this as prevalent in the “real world” of children with whom I have day to day dealings…

 

[luvmykids]

What if I asked how a child was going to make it in the world when their parents buy them their clothes, drive them where they need to go, wake them up in the morning, give them food and clothing, get to take 3 months off in the summer, etc., etc., etc.? No, we don’t expect our children to shoulder the burden of adulthood at this point. You don’t do it and neither do I. How is getting up early, getting dressed and revolving our lives around a school’s time table the main way of preparing our kids for the “real world”. I think learning to work as a team has its merits.

Again, from coaching, I can tell you that the team mentality in our little world is seriously lacking. It’s ever man for himself. I think you’d be mistaken if you think that our way of life teaches the children that the world revolves around them. I find it just the opposite. Our kids in our home and outside are team players. They work well with others. I don’t see this as prevalent in the “real world” of children with whom I have day to day dealings…

I don’t really think I said that sending our children to school every day is our main way of preparing our children for the real world. I also don’t really know what you mean, by YOUR way of life. I just asked how allowing the children to lounge around in their pj’s and take time off or sleep in when they want to is going to prepare them for the real world. I only asked, because it was mentioned as part of the benefits of homeschooling…

 

[luvmykids]

A legitimate question. We have it engrained in us that we need the school system to raise a normal healthy child. As Paul pointed out the public school system is the “norm” in this country. Does that mean children outside the “norm” will not function normally?

For one children do mature as they get older. By the time my daughter is 16 we plan to have her taking some classes at the local junior college while finishing up high school. Most likely she will have a job. She sees her father go to work everyday, that he can’t take time off whenever he wants. And she sees me go to work on the days I’m scheduled. Normally I sleep in until 9 but on the days I work I have to be up 6. She knows the adult world has many responsibilities.

My daughter started taking elective classes once a week through one our homeschool groups this year. She has get up early to be there, she takes 5 different classes, has lunch and short recess & homework. My daughter has not been in a school setting since nursery school. She had no problems adapting. People really are very adaptable. How many people move here from foreign countries, totally different cultures and adapt fine? One of our parish priests grew up in a tribe in Africa and yet now he lives a totally different life -imagine that. Considerably quite different than growing up homeschooled in this country.

I run into this all this time. How can a child learn social skills? How can they learn to deal with people different than them? How they going to be able to adjust to college life? Etc. The first two my daughter has already learned. The longer you do this the more you realize the school system is not required in order to make these things happen. Kids come through the system all the time with poor social skills, there are plenty that don’t get a long with others and many kids struggle adjusting to college. The sense of entitlement has never been greater than it is now in this country and the majority of these people went through the school system.

Hey I went to public school and sleep late (until 9) unless I have to work and generally don’t get dressed in street clothes until I’m ready to leave the house. Guess that whole public school training didn’t work on me.

I see all your points, I just think that when hs’rs make comments about children in the school systems, and how their children score higher, are better adjusted, on and on…it is somehow making people feel as if the implication is that homeschooling is the answer for everything, and if you can’t do it, you are at a disadvantage and so are your children. I think that is unfortunate, because first of all, a lot of these studies that score homeschoolers above others, don’t take into account that most homeschoolers are the type of parents who care very much about the well being of their children and are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to make this a priority, while there are a lot, if not a majority, of these children who go to school and their parents do not take this same interest in the lives of their children. They somehow believe that it’s the school’s job to raise them. Time and time again it has been proven that more than anything, regardless of where your kids are schooled, the most important thing is a child’s home life and the love their parents give to each other and to the children, and the involvement of the parents in their daily lives. Even just eating dinner together on a daily basis has been shown to decrease the risk of risky behavior in children while increasing their grades. Beyond that it’s a mute point.

 

[monicatholic]

pajamas does not necessarilly equal lounging. it’s simply our option to skip style and go for the comfortable.

just now, there are six kids at home. all in pajamas. at the moment ‘lounging’ is taking the form of algebra upstairs, one kid teaching another alphabet in the kitchen and the two girls doing physical therapy with our ten month old special needs baby on the floor in the front room.

and i am sitting here with a cup of coffee.

you would not find me such in october or january-- but our school year is almost done, way ahead of schedule. i’m the only one who’s lounging.

we have three (nearly 4) highschool homeschool graduates.

our style homeschooling has produced (? is that the right word?) a fellow who was a marine and currently is a guard in a max. securiy federal prison. he and his wife have horses and dogs and are praying for a baby. no sloucher there.

our oldest daughter works fourteen hour days in a combination of school and parish work/ secretary, housekeeper, shopper and all around busy woman. she lives in a discernment house and has lots of responsibility there.

our next oldest son is our reason for prayer. many trials, but God is not done with him. getting up in the morning is the least of our worries for him.

next kid is graduating highschool, accepted into several schools. plays in band daily, plays in several other musical ensembles, runs track daily, alter serves and has a lot of family responsibility.

here’s my happy point: our older kids have all expressed gratitude that by the time they were 18, they weren’t burned out on the rat race of it all. as a family who has chosen to live in this world, not necessarilly of it, we’ve made unusual choices. some of our older and adult kids still march to a different beat, some are happilly intigrated in a more mainstream lifestyle.

there are many ways to achieve this ‘option’. our style of homeschooling is just one of the ways.

 

[bear06]

I don’t really think I said that sending our children to school every day is our main way of preparing our children for the real world. I also don’t really know what you mean, by YOUR way of life. I just asked how allowing the children to lounge around in their pj’s and take time off or sleep in when they want to is going to prepare them for the real world. I only asked, because it was mentioned as part of the benefits of homeschooling…

Uh, I don’t think any of us said that letting our kids do school in PJs was our way of preparing them for life. We just see it as a perk from time to time. Believe it or not, we don’t make every action we take in life a way to prepare them for the burdens of adulthood. If we did, we’d never go to Disneyland!

I find this whole part of the conversation kind of ironic since homeschoolers are often accused of trying to raise litttle adults but then when we choose to do something contra to the “real world” it would seem that some don’t think we’re preparing our kids well enough (not necessarily you luvmykids - it’s just a common theme).

 

[bear06]

I see all your points, I just think that when hs’rs make comments about children in the school systems, and how their children score higher, are better adjusted, on and on…it is somehow making people feel as if the implication is that homeschooling is the answer for everything, and if you can’t do it, you are at a disadvantage and so are your children. I think that is unfortunate, because first of all, a lot of these studies that score homeschoolers above others, don’t take into account that most homeschoolers are the type of parents who care very much about the well being of their children and are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to make this a priority, while there are a lot, if not a majority, of these children who go to school and their parents do not take this same interest in the lives of their children. They somehow believe that it’s the school’s job to raise them. Time and time again it has been proven that more than anything, regardless of where your kids are schooled, the most important thing is a child’s home life and the love their parents give to each other and to the children, and the involvement of the parents in their daily lives. Even just eating dinner together on a daily basis has been shown to decrease the risk of risky behavior in children while increasing their grades. Beyond that it’s a mute point.

You’re missing the point. Whatever you feel that God wants you to do is what you are supposed to do. Besides that, I think most of us have said that homeschooling is not for everyone. That said, we who homeschool see some major advantages. It doesn’t mean that your kids can’t turn out perfect and it doesn’t mean that ours will. It’s just been proven to be a fact that the majority of homeschoolers do get a better education, more of them retain the Faith (which should be everyone’s primary goal), have less trouble in the morality realm, etc. Again, I’d like to say that this doesn’t mean that all children who go to school will lose the Faith, etc. We just don’t see ourselves as having the uphill battle of liberal teachers and peers who’s parents don’t pay as much attention to their kids as you do yours. For every one of you, there’s 10 of “them”. I don’t want my kids to see disrespect, divorce, sex as the norm. They’ll be facing it soon enough and I’d much rather they be taught about all of this by us not their teachers and peers. I have the ability to take this course of action so I do.

 

[luvmykids]

Uh, I don’t think any of us said that letting our kids do school in PJs was our way of preparing them for life. :

And once again, I never accused you of such, I was just stating some of my concerns about the option of homeschooling. The whole concept of getting too lazy, children possible slacking, or not having time to teach is a legitimate concern.

We just see it as a perk from time to time. Believe it or not, we don’t make every action we take in life a way to prepare them for the burdens of adulthood. :

I do believe it, cause neither do I. I just can’t believe how defensive and sarcastic the tone seems to get!

I find this whole part of the conversation kind of ironic since homeschoolers are often accused of trying to raise litttle adults but then when we choose to do something contra to the “real world” it would seem that some don’t think we’re preparing our kids well enough (not necessarily you luvmykids - it’s just a common theme).

I don’t think expecting your children to get dressed and cleaned up on a daily basis is expecting them to act like little adults. It’s a matter of practicing your normal activities of daily living. Now, whether or not it is a common occurance I do not know, so forgive me if I am being presumptious and I certainly did not mean for the “pj thing” to become the big deal that it has become, it was just a simple statement with no intent to accuse or put down anyone behind it!

 

[Em_in_FL]

I’m finding this thread very interesting… but totally want to stay out of any harsh feelings…

I think there are just a lot of interesting parenting techniques exposed here… not good/bad/better/worse… just different styles.

One interesting point…
I’d personally like to send my children to PUBLIC high school no matter what (we’re financially undecided between Catholic and public elementary/middle schools right now)…

My reasons are because I WANT to expose my children to those very same elements that (it seems) HS’ers are trying to AVOID.

Why? Because in my personal experience growing up, my faith THRIVED under pressure!

I just find the differences very interesting.
Maybe it has to do with the way we, ourselves, were raised… and in what situations our own faith thrived…

Hmmm… just pondering these differences is interesting…

 

[bear06]

And once again, I never accused you of such, I was just stating some of my concerns about the option of homeschooling. The whole concept of getting too lazy, children possible slacking, or not having time to teach is a legitimate concern.

Sigh! Really, what’s the point? I thought you were just asking, not stating concerns. I think we’ve explained to you. I’m still not sure how you can say that school teaches them not to be slackers and lazy anymore than homeschooling does. I think this whole “real world” argument kind of insinuates either #1 we’re not living in it and #2 we’re not preparing our kids for it. Well, the proof is in the pudding and my pudding won’t be done for a few more years.

I do believe it, cause neither do I. I just can’t believe how defensive and sarcastic the tone seems to get!

Yes, sarcasm is my friend. I don’t know about defensive though. You’re going to have to ask yourself what the whole point of the pj question really was?

I don’t think expecting your children to get dressed and cleaned up on a daily basis is expecting them to act like little adults. It’s a matter of practicing your normal activities of daily living. Now, whether or not it is a common occurance I do not know, so forgive me if I am being presumptious and I certainly did not mean for the “pj thing” to become the big deal that it has become, it was just a simple statement with no intent to accuse or put down anyone behind it!

Wait a minute. I thought it was to express concern. I don’t think there’s anything wrong for a child to be expected to get dressed nor do I think this is trying to make them little adults. I also don’t think there’s anything wrong for them to do their schoolwork in their pjs. My point in this last paragraph is that we are often accused of making our kids too repsonsible like little adults and I think the whole pj part is kind of ironic. Basically we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

Here’s a fun fact for you. My kids have to go to school when they’re sick (of course not deathly ill so don’t shoot but they can usually manage to read). Now that’s the “real world” for you!

 

[luvmykids]

You’re missing the point. .

No, I think you have.

Whatever you feel that God wants you to do is what you are supposed to do. .

I completely agree with that myself.

Besides that, I think most of us have said that homeschooling is not for everyone. .

Taken from post #121 “And sorry, but I feel that everyone should consider home schooling”. And why is that?

That said, we who homeschool see some major advantages. It doesn’t mean that your kids can’t turn out perfect and it doesn’t mean that ours will. .

I can guarantee you that none of your kids will turn out perfect, just as none of mine will.

It’s just been proven to be a fact that the majority of homeschoolers do get a better education, more of them retain the Faith (which should be everyone’s primary goal), have less trouble in the morality realm, etc. Again, I’d like to say that this doesn’t mean that all children who go to school will lose the Faith, etc. We just don’t see ourselves as having the uphill battle of liberal teachers and peers who’s parents don’t pay as much attention to their kids as you do yours. .

Back to my point about you missing the point…I’m well aware of these studies…my point is that if these studies are taking children who attend school outside the home, what school are they going to and what is their family life like? Are their parents involved in their life? Do their parents care?

For every one of you, there’s 10 of “them”. I don’t want my kids to see disrespect, divorce, sex as the norm. They’ll be facing it soon enough and I’d much rather they be taught about all of this by us not their teachers and peers. I have the ability to take this course of action so I do.

They won’t see it as something acceptable if you teach them it’s not acceptable. Children can still be taught about all this within a loving household. Sometimes the best way to learn about things and how to deal with them, is within the context itself. My children will come home with a question about something and I am there to explain to them if it is wrong, and why, and how to deal with it if necessary. This is were the majority of parents fail. They spend no time on their children what so ever and expect that the school is going to do it all.

 

[bear06]

I’m finding this thread very interesting… but totally want to stay out of any harsh feelings…

I think there are just a lot of interesting parenting techniques exposed here… not good/bad/better/worse… just different styles.

One interesting point…
I’d personally like to send my children to PUBLIC high school no matter what (we’re financially undecided between Catholic and public elementary/middle schools right now)…

My reasons are because I WANT to expose my children to those very same elements that (it seems) HS’ers are trying to AVOID.

Why? Because in my personal experience growing up, my faith THRIVED under pressure!

I just find the differences very interesting.
Maybe it has to do with the way we, ourselves, were raised… and in what situations our own faith thrived…

Hmmm… just pondering these differences is interesting…

This is intersting but not surprising. Mine didn’t. I didn’t lose it thanks to my parents but it was a closer call than I’d like for my children. I was somewhat shy and didn’t want to wear my Faith on my sleeve. The joke is that I went to 12 years of Catholic school. Eveyone is different though. Activism is what brought me out of my Catholic shell but then it also immersed me in a crowd of like-minded people. My kids are already little Catholic activists. They love picketing which is something I would have never done at their age. Their big circle of faith based friends is a nice support group for them.

 

[maryjk]

As far as the pj’s …how is that teaching kids how to deal in the real world? Are they going to be able to wear pajamas to work someday? I also hear a lot of homeschoolers say, “oh we get to sleep in a lot” or that it’s so flexible because they get to start when they want, or get to take a day off when they want, or if the mother gets sick or has a baby, they get to take 3 months off etc…Are these children going to be able to come and go as they please in the real world? I hope the real world is that flexible.

Sorry away for awhile, I was teaching science. I haven’t read all that has been written since I was away, but I want to take this point by point.

As I sit here, ready to go to Mass, my son is getting ready. He had shorts on and need to change into dress pants since he is serving today. My husband is working from home today. Glancing over at him, he is wearing what I call sleep pants, a white undershirt and a sweat jacket. PJ’s seem to be the uniform of the day.

I didn’t say that we never get dressed. I said that on cool, wet days, nothing beats PJ’s and a fire.

How does it prepare for the real world? I don’t know. Not everything I do for my child prepares him for the “real world.” Some things we do just for fun.

But since you brought it up. How do prep rallies prepare for the real world? How does kids getting out of classes so they can cheer a team prepare them for the real world? I have worked out side the home for a number of years. I can’t remember any time that knowing how to cheer helped me. And let’s take cheering. Being a cheerleader, traveling all over, many days during class time, how does that prepare for the real world? I can’t think of one time that knowing how to do the splits would have helped me do my job. Or any number of things that happen in public school. Not everything there is done to prepare your child for the real world. Some things are just fun. They are children, not little adults.

And I have never seen a home school Mom take three months off when she has a baby. Maybe 2 weeks. And then they work through the summer or Christmas break or whatever to get on track.