The Petra Zone

This is sort of a random topic, but I've seen a few other mentions of homeschooling on some of the more (ahem!) political topics.

I was homeschooled my entire life, from Junior kindergarten all the way through grade 12, including one college course. We used mainly A.C.E., although I took Saxon Math in grade 5 and Bob Jones English in grade 8. Before I get fired on, no, I did not agree with everything that was taught. But the good thing about A.C.E., is that I was taught to think for myself and make my own decisions based on facts and evidence presented. (I especially disagreed with their opinion on Christian rock music, but after all, they're not the first ones with that opinion either.) What I loved most was having my mother as my teacher; it fostered a very close bond between us, although we had our share of mother-daughter arguments as well. I feel it allowed me a lot more personal attention than one would get in a classroom with several other students and one teacher. I've heard people say that homeschooling causes a child to be a recluse and/or antisocial; actually the opposite is true. Homeschoolers learn more about social interaction, healthy respect for authority, compassion for ther peers, etc. I grew up calling adults "Sir," or "Ma'am," and learning what chivalry is about, which is unfortunately a practically lost art in today's society. I also studied the Bible from an early age, starting with Bible Studies in elementary grades, to New Testament Survey and Life of Christ in middle school, to the college course I took in high school, Bible and Science. Memory verses and Bible studies were incorporated into every subject however, from history and literature to etymology nd math, music, english, etc.

Anyone else homeschool their child or children? Was anyone else homeschooled? Pros? Cons? Comments?

Public schooled here, but I grew up with a lot of homeschoolers. My only issue with home schoolers are when someone get a superiority complex over it. The other problem I have is the number of children taken out of public school to be "home schooled" simply because their parents do not want to get reported by teachers for child abuse. Those parents don't usually do any schooling at home but they use the home school label to stay out of prison. Most of the home schoolers I know are solid families with just a couple zealots that make me nervous.

That's a good point, rexreed. I remember Social services coming to our door once because someone in the neighborhood reported that I was never out running around with the other youth. My mother said she had a hard time understanding that, since the youth that they referred to were a bunch of hooligans anyways... I think, too, that it's a good idea as long as it's with a homeschool system that's registered with the government, so the documentation can be produced to prove that the child is getting an adequate education at home.

I was in an ACE Christian School for most of my education, and like anything else it had its cons, but in the long run I see it made me more self confidant, more self reliable, & it gave me better organizational skills because yes I had to do it, not anyone else. I worked at my own pace and it made me responsible for my own actions.
I've got no experience in the homeschooling field but I see that it has its advantages & disadvantages, but the one thing a parent is comfortable with is that their kids will be taught right, be taught what a parent wants, and also enstill in their child the self confidance that I believe is lacking in today's public education. I feel the students today are just numbers for the teachers/school districts and not an actual human being. We've considered homeschooling but just felt like we were better off in the public education.

I think homeschooling is great in some cases. There are kids in my Sunday school class who are home schooled, by brilliant, biblically deep, well educated parents. The kids are actually networked to others via distance learning, and meet in groups for events. These kids do not have some of the same issues and temptations as those in public schools. These boys have bible knowledge that blows my mind. Bible memorization is part of their education. On the other hand, back in Oklahoma, I was exposed (against my will) to socially retarded, hicks at a restaurant, who were homeschooling. I looked at the hand writing of the kids and the adults, listened to their red-kneck slang infested speech, and could not tell a difference. I was sad for those kids. In either case, the parents replicate what they are. Smart and Godly begets smart and Godly, and stupid begets stupid.

The Christian schools are often the dumping ground and last resort for troubled kids to be "fixed" and/or removed from bad situations in public schools. I witnessed this first hand. All those kids did was bring down the schools GPA and build the right arm muscles of those swinging the paddle. I would almost rather push for home based education over Christian schools.

ACE was cool. We also did PACE. I could blaze through the topics that interested me, and take more time on the stuff that stumped me. I knew a kid that graduated waaaaay early, because he got to do it on his own terms.