Poll: How many of you were homeschooled?

[Mithras]

I personally am the product of 11 years of homeschooling. I was curious if anybody else out there was/is homeschooled as well. Wether or not you were/are homeschooled, I would like your opinion on the subject.

 

[Viper GTS]

Me.

Homeschooled first grade.

Public schooled second through fifth grade.

Homeschooled from age 12 to 14.

Started college full time @ 14.

Got my AS @ 15.

18 now, & most definitely a product of homeschooling.

Viper GTS

 

[skywhr]

wheres the poll?

i was taught in public school

 

[MegalodoN]

I went through a combination of public and private schools throughout my academic days, but I was never home schooled per se.

I don't think it's a good idea to be honest. It seems like, at least for a younger kid, it's necessary to be around your peers to some extent so that you can develop your social skills among other things.....that's just my 2cents though....

--M

 

[SmiZ]

I agree MegalodoN, there's a lot to be learned at school that won't come out of a book. I went to private school til 5th grade, then public from 6th thru 12th. There were many times I wished I could go at my own pace because middle and high school were pretty boring for the most part, but I wouldn't trade in my experiences for anything.

 

[Raspewtin]

I think homeschooling is not good for most people. I think the social aspects of school are very important, and after 3rd grade easily more important than the education. I don't doubt that homeschooling can result in better education. If social activity is managed very well, homeschooling is okay IMO, but I still it's better for kids to attend school in a classroom with other students. The exception for me is those children who have severe asthma/allergies during certian periods and miss too much school. Certain months these kids need to be homeschooled, but during the non-allergic months, they should be back in school IMO. My 2 cents. BTW I attended public grade school, and private high school.

 

[perry]

Public schools the entire time (including college), and I, arguably, turned out alright.

 

[Optimus]

Me for about 3 years before high school.

 

[ArkAoss]

home schooled for senior year of highschool, stupidest thing i ever did.... well nearly stupidest

 

[Azraele]

Public school here.

I think the quality of education depends on the educator. Personally, my high school was terrible. But one thing public school has over home schooling is that kids learn to socalize.

 

[ArkAoss]

oh an another thing... the book was/is a heck of alot better. I'm talking about the "princess bride".

 

[SpongeBob]

I went through private school through 8th grade, public high school, and am in a private college. I think homeschooling is good only for people who are outgoing socially and have innate social skills, however i think most people including myself learned social skills through their school life.

 

[Jumpem]

I was(from 9th grade on), because my parents were quite religious. The problem is that it almost completelt stopped my growth, both mentally and socially. My mother pretty-much only had a high school education, so she couldn't really teach me anything. She always said read the books they will show you what to do. Well it didn't work. At college I was very behind in math and sciences. I'm a CS major and had to start at basic algebra at the time. I had to take five math classes just to get where I needed to be. And University Physics I & II was a nightmare since I'd never even taken any physics or chemistry classes before. On the social side, they wanted to keep me sheltered from all of the "bad" things that are out there. Unfortunately, it caused me to become quite shy and keep to myself. I have a few close friends, but've always just been the quiet one. There's this one cute girl at work I've talked to a few times that I'd like to go do something with, but I'm too pathetically shy to do anything about it. The only positives are to try and keep a child away from "evil/bad" things, but they cannot be sheltered forever. They will be exposed to all of it eventually so it does not really matter. The list of negatives far outweighs the single positive element. There is the lack of real education and social interaction. Both of those are far more important than attempting to keep a child away from what they can easily experience on the tv/net, magazines, parties, etc.

Dear Mother
Dear Father
What Is this Hell You Have Put Me Through
Believer
Deceiver
Day in Day out Live My Life Through You
Pushed onto Me What's Wrong or Right
Hidden from this Thing That They Call Life
Dear Mother
Dear Father
Every Thought I'd Think You'd Disapprove
Curator
Dictator
Always Cencoring My Every Move
Children Are Seen Bur Are Not Heard
Tear out Everything Inspired

Innocence
Torn from Me Without Your Shelter
Barred Reality
I'm Living Blindly

Dear Mother
Dear Father
Time Has Frozen Still What's Left to Be
Hear Nothing
Say Nothing
Cannot Face the Fact I Think for Me
No Guarantee,it's Life as Is
But Damn You for Not Giving Me My Chance
Dear Mother
Dear Father
You've Clipped My Wings Before I Learned to Fly
Unspoiled
Unspoken
I've Outgrown That Fvcking Lullaby
Same Thing I've Always Heard from You
Do as I Say Not as I Do

Innocence
Torn from Me Without Your Shelter
Barred Reality
I'm Living Blindly
I'm in Hell Without You
Cannot Cope Without You Two
Shocked at the World That I See
Innocent Victim Please Rescue Me

Dear Mother
Dear Father
Hidden in Your World You've Made for Me
I'm Seething
I'm Bleeding
Ripping Wounds in Me That Never Heal
Undying Spite I Feel for You
Living out this Hell You Always Knew.

 

[StageLeft]

I went to private school and it severely limited my social development...I can only imagine how bad it would have been for homeschooled students - my children will only go to public school.

 

[Viper GTS]

I didn't get anything of value from the public school system. I didn't advance at all, when I entered the public schools in the second grade I tested at a 7th grade reading level. When I left after 5th grade, I tested at exactly the same level.

Social skills? Haha, that's a joke. When I took my first college class at 12, I was in with my peers. The public school system had nothing to offer me academically, nothing to offer me socially, & was nothing but a waste of my time. I've been treated like an adult since I was 14, my peer group is NOT my age group.

Viper GTS

 

[SpongeBob]

I agree Skoorb, public school for my kids too. I went from private school in 8th grade where my class only had about 60 kids, to public school in 9th where there were about 300 kids in my class. There's just so much more culture, and if you are in a good school system, the education you get can be better than a private education.

 

[StageLeft]

Well I was in private in a class of 25-30 from grades 4-12...I didn't feel bad at university, I felt ok around the groups...but there is no doubt whatsoever in mind that at the age of 23 now I'd be able to communicate more effectively with others if I'd have developed my social skills in a public school with more kids and a better social setting. Not only did private schooling cost my parents and incredible amount of money but I never wanted to do it. But, they insisted and forced us...they wasted their money and compromised my social skills.

 

[nefalicious]

I was homeschooled for a few years. It was ok.

 

[Optimus]

Ditto what Viper said - I had no problems socially because of either my home schooled years or my high schooling in a private school.

But it isn't for everyone or every situation - a parent needs to know the child and understand the balance between social skill development and learning. For me it was very sucessful, but like Viper I was never one to fit into my grade - I was always friends with the older grades. (Maybe thats why I never had troubles in High School? Dunno.)

Obviously it wasn't the best for jumpem, and the reasoning of that decision seems to have been somewhat clouded. Home Schooling is an alternate form of education, not a shelter from the "evils" of the world, and not a replacement for social interaction. There is a number of kids that turn out better in public schools, and a a number that would be better home-schooled. The child's temperment, learning ability, home life, social skills, living conditions... too many things to list here. But everything must be taken into account to determine the best path for one's child.

Me? I will likely send my daughter to public school but teach her some things at home after school (religion, reading, and computers, perhaps?) - as well as be very actively involved in helping teach her through her homework. Sports teams (if she wants) and lessons in her interests are also likely (I want too, but I'm never going to force her into a sport or talent she doesn't like). I will always keep an eye on whats happening and if a day comes when she would be better at home, I will make my decision. Doing what is best for your child is the responsibility of every parent!

 

[reitz]

Public shools the whole time for me; I graduated in a class of 555.

It was, IMAO, the best educational experience I could have had. With such a large amount of students, the school was able to offer nearly any class at nearly any pace. The first and second level science classes (Bio, Geology, Chem, and Physics) I took in college were actually easier than what I took in high school, and the writing skills I was taught in ninth grade far exceed what most students learn in college. Also, with so many students, it was impossible for any single person to be left out. I never had a problem making friends, but that is not true for everyone. Even the smelly fat kids who ate paste had people to socialize with.

In the unlikely event that I ever have children, they will go to a public school system much like mine.

 

[Mithras]

The one thing that homeschooling taught me that I believe I could not have learned as well in public or private school, is how to learn without the help of a "teacher". The art of learning how to do something "from the book" has come in very useful in "real life". In fact, after I reached high school, and began to surpass what my parents could teach me mathematically, I learned entirely from books, through trigonometry. I also learned physics from a book. And I find that when I learn something by discovering it for myself, I retain it MUCH better than if I "learn" it from a teacher. In fact, I rarely paid attention through college, and learned most of the material by reading the book, and finding it for myself.

 

[HazeGray]

I went to a Public school!!!!

 

[airfoil]

I went to a Public School and I'm glad I did!

 

[Missus]

I am homemade...

 

[ltk007]

Public school. I wouldn't mind home school, but my parents really don't have the education to teach me that stuff, I think I knew more math than my mom in 6th grade