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Homeschooling hits record numbers

(reason.com)
193 points bilsbie | 11 comments | 21 Nov 25 00:31 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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hereme888 ◴[21 Nov 25 20:09 UTC] No.46008395[source]▶
The biggest misunderstanding I hear year-over-year is homeschoolers are "not exposed to the real world". Isolation exists for some, but my extensive interaction with homeschoolers is they are immersed in healthy communities, hand-picked by parents to keep away problem children. Who would plant a flower next to a sick or hostile one? Parents of healthy children should give 0 s*ts of societal/political pressure against this concept. Your kids are a bad influence for whatever reason? Not my problem to fix.

Homeschoolers are some of the most resilient and well-behaved people I know.

Modern academic life is only well suited to a small percent of the population. Those children who are truly happy and excelling in that setting.

So much time and resources, to produce what exactly? A piece of paper and fancy picture to stare at? Forced mass education was a good idea for developing societies, but personalized education has been possible for at least a decade now, at a fraction of the cost. And to add insult to injury, there's an increasing torrent of deranged ideologies teachers and professors share with students.

Here's a famous song on the topic for those who know how to "chew the meat from the cud": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xe6nLVXEC0&list=RD8xe6nLVXE...

* It's fascinating to watch the points on my comment go up and down a ton. Very controversial issue. I believe it highlights pressure from social and political structures in society, and/or personal experiences. They vary so much.

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meheleventyone ◴[21 Nov 25 20:18 UTC] No.46008510[source]▶
I mean you’re literally explaining how your home schooled kids are separated from the real world.
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hereme888 ◴[21 Nov 25 20:26 UTC] No.46008580[source]▶
Define "real world".
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meheleventyone ◴[21 Nov 25 20:27 UTC] No.46008590[source]▶
The one that exists with problem children and opinions you don’t like.

As a parent I get the impulse to remove my children from any potential harm but the real world has sharp edges. They need to be confident in that world not just smothered.

And really as the person who used the term it’s really up to you to define what you mean.

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1. seneca ◴[21 Nov 25 20:34 UTC] No.46008661[source]▶
> The one that exists with problem children and opinions you don’t like.

That's just not true though. Your job isn't going to force you to interact with people who disrupt the environment constantly. Those people are fired and removed from the group.

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2. meheleventyone ◴[21 Nov 25 20:39 UTC] No.46008719[source]▶
My job isn’t the totality of my life and you have very strange ideas about how quickly disruptive people actually get fired. You get plenty of unfiltered interaction in life. If anything I’d say the sort of thing you describe sounds more like an insular cult. Although even there you get misanthropic people, abuse and so on.
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3. AnimalMuppet ◴[21 Nov 25 20:40 UTC] No.46008731[source]▶
In functional workplaces, yes. In dysfunctional ones, sometimes you have to leave.

In the military, say, you don't get that option.

In your neighborhood, you can move, but that's a fairly difficult and expensive step. When someone moves in whose kids want to be gang members, or who wants to verbally abuse people out jogging, or whatever other antisocial behavior, you have to deal with it, at least for a while.

So you can't completely avoid the brokenness of the real world. (Note well: I am not saying that throwing a six year old into the deep end is the best way to prepare kids for this.)

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4. hereme888 ◴[21 Nov 25 20:41 UTC] No.46008740[source]▶
Exactly. Adults don't tolerate the same B.S. children are forced into.
5. seneca ◴[21 Nov 25 20:45 UTC] No.46008767[source]▶
> My job isn’t the totality of my life and you have very strange ideas about how quickly disruptive people actually get fired. You get plenty of unfiltered interaction in life.

In what environment are you, as an adult, forced to interact with everyone who happens to show up? The only instances I can think of are other government-run institutions like the military or prison, and I don't think anyone would argue those are standard modes of "real life".

> If anything I’d say the sort of thing you describe sounds more like an insular cult.

Name calling isn't an argument.

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6. seneca ◴[21 Nov 25 20:49 UTC] No.46008814[source]▶
> In functional workplaces, yes. In dysfunctional ones, sometimes you have to leave.

Agreed! And that is exactly what home-schooling families are doing. Choosing to leave a dysfunctional environment.

> In the military, say, you don't get that option.

Yep, and other government institutions, like prison. I don't think those are what anyone would call a typical life environment though.

> In your neighborhood, you can move, but that's a fairly difficult and expensive step. When someone moves in whose kids want to be gang members, or who wants to verbally abuse people out jogging, or whatever other antisocial behavior, you have to deal with it, at least for a while.

That's another dysfunctional environment, and also what the police are for.

> So you can't completely avoid the brokenness of the real world. (Note well: I am not saying that throwing a six year old into the deep end is the best way to prepare kids for this.)

You're right, you can't. The world has a lot of dysfunctional environments, and I agree that people need to learn how to deal with them. Knowingly forcing your child to be in one of those environments full-time for many years seems like a pretty horrible way to teach them that though, bordering on abusive.

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7. meheleventyone ◴[21 Nov 25 20:49 UTC] No.46008819{3}[source]▶
Anywhere you happen to be in public essentially.

I also didn’t call you names just stated that your description sounded cult like.

If your environment is so controlled to not have a good mix of people in it then that sounds even more cult like!

8. FireBeyond ◴[21 Nov 25 21:02 UTC] No.46008960{3}[source]▶
> In what environment are you, as an adult, forced to interact with everyone who happens to show up?

I was a paramedic. Every single day.

9. BrenBarn ◴[21 Nov 25 21:08 UTC] No.46009008{3}[source]▶
> In what environment are you, as an adult, forced to interact with everyone who happens to show up?

Have you heard of customer service?

10. ◴[21 Nov 25 21:19 UTC] No.46009105[source]▶
11. array_key_first ◴[21 Nov 25 22:48 UTC] No.46009954{3}[source]▶
Public school is not dysfunctional, per se.

And, to be clear, EVERY workplace will have people you don't like. Every. Single. One. No exceptions.

Kids needs to be taught resiliency and healthy mindsets, to a degree. They need to learn to live and let go, to learn their value isn't derived from what people think of them, to learn that embarrassment is self inflicted.

You just can't do that if you're only around people who don't challenge you. If you're in a nice, cushy, social bubble, you will develop self esteem and confidence issues.