What Makes People Think They Are Qualified To Teach Their Own Kids?

[mzteris]

211. hs kids are not kept in a closet

you know. In fact, generally speaking, their socialization has a much BROADER range than the typically schooled kid. They are not sitting in a room with 30 other kids +/1 one year of age with ONE teacher dictating everything to them that they should know.

They interact with the REAL world, with myriad adults and children of varying ages and backgrounds. There are co-ops, learning centers and classes, field trips, museum proctors & guides, and just plain old play groups, and many many opportunities to interact with various social and economic strata, religious backgrounds, and political leanings.

They go with you EVERYWHERE. They go to the grocery - it's a great place to learn about fruits & vegetables and distribution systems. Fractions, cost/per, economics and just math in general. They interact with the stocking clerks, the cashier, the manager on occasion - asking questions. They go to the doctor, the museum, the utility companies, the post office. Interacting with adults who are working or visiting there.

It used to be a joke in our house, my son would come up to ask a question, "Mom, don't make this a whole homeschool thing, I just need to ask a quick question." rofl... The Socratic method CAN take quite a chunk of time.

FWIW - every single thing you "do" can be a "learning experience". Every person you meet an opportunity to learn something you "didn't know". Adults - and children - were to be treated with respect - whether they "deserved it" or not. No bullying allowed or tolerated in the hs community. No stereotyping. No ridiculing. IF it happens (usually by newbs who haven't unlearned "school yard behaviour" yet) it gets stopped in a hurry. You dressed how you wanted. No peer pressure. You listened to the music you liked, not what others said you should like. You read the books you wanted to read, not just the "popular ones".

One of the best things about hs'ing, they stay children longer. They aren't sexualized at 9 or 10. They still play pretend up until they go through puberty. Find a ps kid still playing "pretend" at 10 or 12. It's just not tolerated in the public school system. You're a "baby" or "weird". Just put on those booty shorts and learn the lyrics to the latest misogynistic lewd & crude song. Go along to get along. Follow the crowd. Don't think for yourself. Do what everyone else does or you're a pariah. Then you become a target for bullies and teasing and shunning.

Look, what works for one does not work for another. You have no first hand experience with the hs world so you're really not in a position to comment on what does or does not go on there. I'm not trying to put you down or anything, just trying to explain that your preconceptions are incorrect.