Reply #15: Step over to DU's homeschool forum. . .

[mzteris]

Or - do you remember AVA of DU fame? She was homeschooled. Now she's at NYU.

Would you like to meet my son?

I personally have found homeschooled children to be bright, dull, dumb, introverted, extroverted, Religious wacko and not. Learning disability of some sort and not.

They run the gamut just like any group of kids.

Sometimes the REASON a person homeschools is because their kid "doesn't fit in" with the "public world". They are NOT "different because they hs", they hs because they're "different".

Many ARE Learning differenced in some way - many we know are gifted and challenged. This combination is very difficult for traditional schools to deal with.

Many are just "out-of-the-box" thinkers - so far out, they'll debate whether or not it's actually a box what exactly does "in" or "out" mean???

Kids who are natural learners. Self-directed learners. Global learners. Top down learners. Whole to part learners - these kids wither up and DIE in a classroom of NT kids.

As for socialization - the kids you meet who are a tad "odd" - would be "odd" - and probably even MORE ODD - if they were in a regular school.

Are there some religious fundamentalist whacko's out there? Well, they'd still be just as whacked. They'd be sending them to a private religious school of their design anyways - and THAT might suck in some unsuspecting types for them to brainwash in their "school".

I personally know autistic children, kids on the aspie spectrum ranging from mild to VERY, kids who are dyslexia, dysgraphic, hearing impaired, speech impaired, physically impaired - these are the kids who are like blood in the water to the sharks you find in most schools.



I'm on some groups - (I don't go there much anymore because mine no longer hs's; he was fortunate to find an alternative highschool full of kids who are "quirky"!) - there are two - one is for gifted learning disabled kids who homeschool, one is for gifted learningn disable kids who attend regular schools.

Itis amazing the differences in those two groups - they're sponseored by the same organization so you get the same overal demographics.... - the school groups - have constant posts about IEP's and meds and routines and homework and programs and discipline and BULLYING!!! lots and lots about bullying - by other students, by the teachers, by the admin - about the constant problems with trying to get their kids to fit in and also be successful in the classroom.

The hs group - not so much. there are posts about curricula and testing and some "socialization" type questions - especially for the newbies. You have posts about doctors and gifted schools and accommodations. It's just so much EASIER so much BETTER for these kids. They learn. They grow up without the constant bullying and push to "conform" to some non-existent AVERAGE they would never ever reach. They love learning and that is encouraged and supported - in a way that makes sense to them. They grow up HAPPIER.

Look - most homeschoolers are NOT sitting at home isolated from the world. They have co-ops and playu groups and group classses and clubs and outtings and workshops. They socialize with a very wide group of kids - the ages are not +/- 1 year, the older ones help the younger ones. You treated as equals. No one gives a rat's f'ing ASS what you're wearing, or reading, or listening to. You're allowed to just be YOU. Even if that YOU changes from week to week. You're allowed to BE A KID for far longer. HS kids still play make-believe up until puberty sets in. School kids - you're ridiculed for "make-believe" by what - 4th grade? 3rd grade?

You interact with the REAL world. You don't raise your hand to go to the bathroom. You work at something until you understand it. You don't have to have "grade" to know if you KNOW something. You aren't COMPETING at something that shouldn't BE a competition.

I could keep writing for hours.

Should some kids NOT be hs'ed? Absolutely. But I can guarantee you that there are thousands of children who would benefit from a good hs'ing environment.

damn keyboard!!