Homeschool Research

[Research]

Hi there.
I am an NYU journalism student, and I came across this forum while doing research for my final paper on homeschooling. I've been interviewing various pro-homeschool people and am hoping to get the opinions of an anti-homeschooler as yourself. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about why you are anti-homeschooling and have decided to make this forum?

[Survivor]

Sorry about the slow response.

Absolutely, that is what this is all about. If you want I can get you some contact information, or I can create an email account where we can correspond. I will be checking back frequently for your response.

Survivor

[Research]

Wow, I am so sorry for the slow response myself. I kept checking back for several days but didn't see anything, so I figured that your forum was inactive. Good thing I checked randomly right now!

I could definitely still use your help, as for most (or all) of my research has been pro-homeschooling (from homeschool parents)--my professor really wants me to find someone who opposes it. It REALLY helps that you are a former homeschooler.

Is there an email address I can send you questions to?

Once again, thanks and I apologize for the delayed response!

[Research]

I wanted to add, if it's easier for you, I can also just post the questions here. Whatever is the most convenient for you, let me know and I can accommodate.

[Survivor]

If you are good with it, I would rather you post them here, only because I would love to see some legitimate questions, and my responses for all to see. I have created the email [e-mail] for questions as well. Whichever way you want to go is fine.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Survivor

[Research]

1. What was the duration of your life in which you were homeschooled?

2. Why did you or your parents decide that you were going to be homeschooled? (E.g. religious reasons, dissatisfaction with public and private schools, etc.)

3. Who homeschooled you?

4. What style of homeschooling was used? (E.g. "unschooling," classroom-style with other homeschool children, etc.)

5. From the content of this site, it seems like you had a poor homeschooling experience. Can you explain why?

6. What were the worst aspects of homeschooling?

7. Do you think that homeschooling negatively affected your social and emotional development as a child?

8. Do you think that homeschooling in general is not for everyone?

9. Because you refer to yourself as a "survivor," I am assuming that you are no longer homeschooled--what do you do now and how did you find your transition from homeschooling to regular school or college?

I think that's it for now. Thank you so much for your help. I'll also email you from my school email for some personal information if that's okay.
Thank you!

[Survivor]

1. 4th and 5th grade and then 7th through 12th.

2. Religion certainly was a factor, but I think the reason it went to homeschooling was due to lack of funds to pay for a private school. Due to the amount of brothers and sisters I have I also believe it was due to a lack of time. Unlike what most homeschooling families want you to believe, getting your kids ready to go to school, and all the activities that go along with that take a ton of time. My parents easily put less time into "homeschooling" than they ever would of if I was in a public, or parochial school.

3. For what little schooling was actually done, my mother was a teacher. Homeschoolers often call daily activities "schooling." In others words, cleaning your room is "home ec," going grocery shopping is math and business, and changing diapers is learning to be a parent. Notice that people who go to normal schools do all these things too, they just don't get the convenience of having their children do most of the work.

4. When we started out we actually had a classroom and did some legitimate work. We also had people from the local school districts checking up on us to verify we were actually doing schooling. This has now been changed and the government doesn't have the right to check anymore. Isn't it amazing that after this went into effect that homeschool families showed up by the hundreds, and they fight tooth and nail so that there is no oversight. If there was 90% of the families currently doing homeschooling wouldn't do it. They wouldn't meet half the standards.

5. The main trouble I had was that I was smart enough to know I was being used by my parents to make money for them. Home based businesses etc. The social aspect was really hard too. When I finally made it into the real world, I was lost. I didn't know how to talk to people, relate to the opposite sex, or know what it was like to have a schedule that needed to be followed. Also, and call me cocky, but I always knew I was good at school work and really wanted to go to college. I was totally unprepared, in almost all areas of my life.

6. Loneliness. I just wanted to be around some kids my own age, and unless you have a twin, there is no chance of having someone your own age around. Dating is really difficult as well. This ties into the loneliness thing, but it is near impossible.

7. I would literally sit and cry at night, just wishing I could go to any social functions. I would sneak friends into the house, just because I wanted friends so bad. I still harbor alot of resentment, to my parents, as well as to home schoolers everywhere. They are so self righteous, because they know what they are doing is off, but laziness will drive you to do alot of dumb stuff. I assume and hope you have been able to sit down and talk with homeschooled children, and you will see they are always defending themselves. If you believe in it so much, you should be proud of what you do, not always having to defend yourself even when not asked. Listen closely though and you can tell really quick what kids are getting fed up with it, they say nothing. They know that if they say anything bad, they will be in big trouble from the propaganda spewing home school "co-ops."

8. I think that it is for a few. 1. Those who live in a high crime, or high risk area, where it is a safety issue with no alternatives. 2. If someone is being raised on a family ranch where they KNOW they are taking over the family business, and really have no need for formal schooling other than the basics. Aside from that no. The religious argument is bogus. The Bible clearly states that we are to be "salt and light" in a dark world. Christians are to be active in circles of non-Christian influence. The idea of creating an environment where your children are never around the evils of the world is completely unBiblical.

9. Honestly, I ran away, went to college, and now have 2 children in public school. I am very active in my church, and am very thankful that things worked out the way they did. Running away was the best thing I ever did. I am certainly not homeschooled. I got my GED and have graduated with honors from college. I worked twice as hard as anyone else, but I wanted to prove I could do it. Thank God for the hard head he gave me. I feel bad for the oppressed kids out there who have no drive and are homeschooled, and quite frankly have no chance to make it good in this world.
I hope this helped, and feel free to ask for any clarifications. I did not go back and proof read my answers.

Survivor

[Research]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful. I will be in touch with you if I have any further questions.

[Research]

Hi there,
I hope all is well. I've been working on my paper, and it's been coming along. My final copy is actually due this week, and I was hoping you could expand and/or clarify on a few things. I hope you don't mind. If any of these are personal, please feel free to email me at the address that you corresponded to. Once again, thank you so much for your time and help. My professor had criticized that my earlier draft sounded too much like a PR piece for homeschooling because I didn't have enough anti-homeschooling views, so your contributions are especially important to my final piece.
1) How old were you when you ran away? How did you obtain your GED afterwards?
2) What college did you go to? If you wish not to disclose this, could you please describe the college in a general way? (e.g. "a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire")
3) Where do you currently reside? Once again, you do not have to be specific. You could say, for example, "a suburb in Chicago" or "a small town in Ohio."
4) Similarly, where did you grow up? (Once again, you can just give a general description. "A small town in Kansas.")

[Research]

I just came up with a few additional questions since I last posted earlier today.
1) What kind of curriculum did you follow, if any? Can you describe a typical day of homeschooling? (E.g. 2-3 hours on academic curriculum, followed by free time, etc.)
2) Did you join any homeschool support groups or co-ops so that you could meet other homeschoolers?
3) Were you involved with any extracurricular activities outside the home? (E.g. any sports teams, enrichment classes, reading clubs, etc.)
4) It seems like homeschooling makes it harder for homeschoolers to meet peers and form friendships. How did you meet your friends?
5) What did you mean by your response to #5 about your parent's home-based business and doing housework? Did they make you spend more time on doing chores around the house rather than actual academic work?
6) You mentioned you have resentment towards your parents and homeschooling in general; do you speak with your parents about your poor experience with homeschooling?

Once again, I appreciate your responses. And if for any reason you do not wish to disclose certain information, please feel free not to answer those question(s) or in depth. You can also email me.

Thank you.

[Survivor]

Answers to the new questions. The first set of questions are ones I will answer through email.
The next set I will answer here.

1.We did have a curriculum at the start. Honestly, I don't remember the name of them. As with most homeschoolers I have met, the parents do start out with some intention of doing actual schooling. Almost invariably, though, it turns into a "self taught" situation, where there are a pile of books that that someone may look at for 30 minutes a day. I would say that we started out doing about 2-3 hours of school work a day. By the end, it was right around 0 minutes a day. No "zero" was not a typo.

2. We were never involved in an actual organized homeschool group, but we were closely associated with about 6 other families who also homeschooled.

3. When we started homeschooling we were taking music lessons, and did some sports. Again, as time went on, this faded. We were never encouraged to do other things, and as we quit pushing to do extra curricular activities, they disappeared forever. Also as the children piled up, there wasn't enough money to do other things.

4. Our friends became just those other homeschool kids that our family associated with. We were told that we should not associate with those who had different beliefs than us. Our parents made it very uncomfortable for any of the neighborhood friends to come over, so they just quit coming.

5. Yes, Yes, Yes. The older children (myself being one of them) did the laundry, dishes, lawn work etc. etc. We didn't have home based businesses at the starting, but as my parents saw the opportunity to use us they did. I won't go into specifics on the businesses, but there were many tried. Anything to try to use us for their benefit. As I had stated before, this was "business class."

6. The resentment stays. I was one of the few homeschoolers who actually had the guts to tell my parents what I thought about it. That is one of the reasons I left home, and I made that very clear. I wouldn't say we "talked about it" but my opinions of the situation are known.