Homeschool vs Formal School

Miscellaneous General
1

I’m getting married next year intend to have kids in the next two years or so and am seriously considering homeschooling; however my fiancee isn’t too keen to put it midly. My main reason for considering is that even the private schools ape the government schools so consequently kids aren’t taught to think. Unsuprisingly my fiancee’s main criticism is that they’ll end up as social retards. So if anyone can link me articles, debates etc or just chip in on the relative merits of either institutional system it’d be much appreciated.

What would be of great interest would be if anyone has done a historical analysis on the social interactions of children in particular before mass schooling (pre- 1850 or so)

Btw I’m over in the UK.

Edit- I don’t think homeschooling necessarily produces social retards. The most pursuasive form of the argument though is that in the days before mass schooling a diverse socialisation was possible however with mass schooling a lot of peers are out of reach and firms are not used to having young observers.

Gathering the good forum posts
2

If you are in the fascist police state of UK, I suggest avoid sending your kid to school.

Surely you know that school will ultimately involves hours of indoctrination in “multiculturalism” and religious devotion to the state’s fine solutions to the fictional fantasy problem of “global warming and climate change”.

If you are a white family, they will choke his neck down with white guilt and make him feel bad for all the endless wrongdoings of his ancestors, until he feels that he is essentially a bad person for being white, and can not find repentance unless he subscribes to the state’s pro-minority policies, so that he can one day grow up to become an employer who will deliberately employ minorities as a part of his firm’s “diversity policy”.

Your son will grow up to know less of mathematics, history, Shakespeare, and the sciences, and will know more about enivoronmental issues and the need for global governance.

3

Perhaps I exaggerate, so take me with a grain of salt.

4

Have you considered a Montesorri school?

5

I cannot properly comment on homeschooling. I was schooled as such for 2 years, but there were other reasons for why it was unpleasent.

In general, however, I must stress the importance of social interaction of humans in general. We are social creatures. Speaking and interacting with like minded individuals is one of the greatest joys we can encounter. And, simply put, being able to vent and bounce ideas off other minds is quite helpful. There are homeschooling groups that may provide such groups that the child may go to when they schedule activities.

Basically, just make sure your child has opportunities to make some friends and talk with people his age.

6

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/homeschooling-arch.html

That is the homeschooling archives on lewrockwell.com. There is a lot of useful information there. Homeschooling is actually superior to formal schooling in regard to the social life of your child. While children in formal school will interact almost exclusively with those their own age, homeschooled children can interact with the whole range of age groups.

Here is the article on the child’s social life: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/zysk1.html

7

First, don’t write off British private schooling too readily. Speaking from my own experience, my private school (primary and secondary) education were very into the ‘classical education’ (Latin, maths, sciences, philosophy, religious studies, languages, English literature/drama…). Both schools emphasised the individual and trumpeted the ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude –– not slavish reliance on handouts, government or anyone. They certainly had no interest in churning out ‘lever-pullers’, I’ll say…

Then again, it depends on the schools you look at, and perhaps curriculums have changed since the early nineties when I was at that stage myself.

Fees might be an issue, especially since so many private schools are going bankrupt as a consequence of the ‘education bubble’ that rode on the back of the housing one…

Second, I have a cousin who is now twenty one. He was homeschooled by his mother and anyone she could hire for tuition (and so on). He took the standard exams at local colleges to get the piece of paper the government demands and even went on to university. He was in a dizzying amount of clubs (probably dropped a few by now), plays musical instruments and is a football (soccer) fanatic. He’s also been in employment since being fourteen or fifteen, I recall.

It’s highly unlikely your child will be socially inept, unless you never let him out of the house until he’s eighteen, I suppose. Would you really do that?

There isn’t quite so much stigma attached to homeschooling in the UK anymore, but it requires much more dedication and commitment from the parents, in no uncertain terms. If you’re honestly prepared for it I’d advocate homeschooling and, failing that, a private day school (if you find a suitable one).

8

I’m a social retard, going to school didn’t fix that. If you are a nerd aka smarter than a greater ape, you will be a social retard because you will be outcast. If your kid isn’t a nerd he won’t be a social retard no matter how hard you try to make him one, he’ll play sports etc. School teaches socialism not socialization.

9

Being home schooled doesn’t mean being locked inside your home all the time. There are plenty of opportunities for a home schooled child to interact with other kids. There private sports leagues, and organizations for other activities that bring kids together.

10

As far as I can tell the kids who come out of public school are the social retards.

Kids who were raised around adults of multiple ages, and who enjoyed socialization under adult supervision, are much better equipped to deal with real life social situations.

11

Yeah, you’d be surprised at how many Emos are in public schools. [:D] Plus, there’s an enormous amount of battery, sexual assault, theft, drug use, and other crimes that go on in school, especially public school.

12

Consider one of the Waldorf schools as a compromise. The Waldorf philosphy is to let kids learn at their own pace more or less to avoid stunting their own imaginatiion and creativity. Our first son (5 years old) goes to one.

We initially planned to homeschool our boys but the sheer exhaustion at the end of each day was more than my wife could handle.

13

Healthy social development isn’t exclusive to state institutions, in fact it’s non-existent within them. Histrionics there are common, and they stem from petty quarrels by emotional basket cases and bigots. Nothing good can come out vegetating in a musty classroom for thirteen years surrounded by people with borderline personality disorder. They are an environment of immaturity, period.

Considering the juvenile delinquency that is rampant in the UK, that is the last place I would consider school for anything.

“There is considerable evidence linking compulsory attendance laws with the growing problem of juvenile delinquency, particularly m frustrated older children Thus, Stinchcombe found that rebellious and delinquent behavior is “largely a reaction to the school itself”, and the British Crowther Committee found that when in 1947 the minimum school-leaving age was raised by the government from fourteen to fifteen, there was an immediate and sharp increase in the delinquencies committed by the newly incarcerated fourteen-year-olds.”

14

I’m being home schooled right now. 2 years ago I was in public school. I learn 10x as much now, and have found to enjoy learning (where as in school I didn’t). Though, I was in a public school.Not private.

And to the social retard thing, I hear that argument a lot. I don’t notice any difference between my social life in home schooling and public/private school. Still go out with friends and have a social life. It’s up to how you’re children actually are. I don’t believe home schooling really affects how one behaves socially.

I guess it’s somewhat up to how you’re children are. I was to easily distracted in school by to many things and could never really care about learning. Though as I’ve found through friends, even when they get good grades, they don’t really want to independently learn, which I’ve found, is 10x better for me.

15

Daily packing your kid off to an immersive formal school is tantamount to an abdication of parenthood.

16

If I could add another benefit to homeschooling that is not often mentioned: the education benefit to the parents. If you take responsibility for your own child’s education, the result will be that everything you learned through the school years will be presented to you again, as you teach your child. I was speaking with another member of our homeschooling association, and he was talking about the periodic table of elements, and having to re-learn them. I am teaching history to my daughter, and am learning some things (about the Pilgrims and other early settlers) I either didn’t learn the first time around, or have forgotten along the way–and I’m a history major!

17

I’m far from old enough for kids now

But if I ever do have children I was considering half and half i.e. sending them to a “normal” school for half a day, and teaching them myself (or having a partner teach them) for the other half.

This way they can socialise with kids their age, and won’t be completely “left out”, but will also actually learn something.

18

I’ll attempt to answer everyone in turn. But first my comment about social retardation wasn’t to mean an endorsement of the statement that homeshcooling produces social retards but that it is an accurate description of my fiancee’s position; I actually have great sympathy to the porposition that schooling is a totally artifical environment which harms the childs development.

Prateek Sanjay,

It’s true that Britain is an police state who’s schools spouts politically correct doctrines which is only getting worse. I have to thank my mother, a standard conservative type, for encouraging independent reading and my interest in political issues. One of my main reasons for my interest in heterodox schooling methods is that I generally loathed school even though I did pretty well at it.

DarkCataylst,

I’ve heard of the Montesorri school but know little about them.

Alex,

I’m with you on the importance of social interaction. And to Twisted I’m a bona fide geek and I don’t think I’m socailly retarded; all it requires is broad areas interest and to understand how people work.

Daniel,

I know Home education doesn’t keep children inside all day schools do!!!

Charles Anthony,

Thanks for the heads up on the Waldorf schools; I’d never come across them before.

Capital Pumper,

Thanks for the link to For A New Liberty chapter.

Cavalier,

I didn’t know about the LRC homeschool article; nice find. Also the effect on parents is also a great point; it’ll give me an excuse to learn even more stuff. And on a related point it’s interesting that most children actually want to learn about the world whilst most adults just want to get their leg over and it’s the adults who tell the children what they must learn.

Amadeus,

Out of interest how many years were you in public school for contra home ed?

Andrew,

Over the years the private sector has become a mere extension of state schooling which can be seen by most private schools still doing the standardised national tests. Now it well be there are still some out there but unless I get a better job in the next few years, I graduated last year with an economics degree, most private schools will be more than I can afford.

Lilburne,

I read that article a while back and thoroughly agreed with it. I had the disturbing experience recently when I was walking to the train station around 8:40am and all I saw were parents of all colours and creeds pushing children into cars to be carted of to school with seemingly no thought whatsoever about what they were doing; it was a pure reflex action. It’s the closest thing to seeing real zombies.

So I now have a reading list:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/homeschooling-arch.html

The main work by Montesorri- any idea which one is considered to be it?

Education works by Rudolf Steiner- same as above.

The Case for Classical Christian Education by Doug Wilson

Democracy and Education by John Dewey (I’m trying to make my reading as broad as possible)

Are there any other major educational schools of thought I missed out and should read up on?

19

I was simply giving you ammo for use against your wife. Or else why does she think that home schooling breed social retards?

20

As a former homeschooled student and future homeschooling parent, I can tell you that homeschooling your kids will be the single most important, significant and amazing thing that you and your wife will ever do. They are your kids; teach them yourselves. It is not hard. Simple, really.

And as far as them not being “socialized” in the public school system… brother, you don’t want them “socialized!” At least not like that. True socialization means friendships and and relationship that spans generational lines. And they will never get that in school. In fact, school is anti-social both in its organization and atmosphere (“No talking! Sit down!”). Your kids will have friends (church, neighborhood, sports teams, etc.) the biggest difference will be that they are not involuntarily imprisoned with the other kids (violent inmates) on a daily basis.

I’d recommend any of the John Taylor Gatto books and “When You Rise Up” by R.C. Sproul Jr. if you are Christians. And Ron Paul wrote an outstanding article in Homeschooling Today magazine a little while back. HIs main point was that homeschooling your children is the number one way to fight statism and change the world. Good stuff.