I just thought I’d share this rather interesting article from Deutsche Welle on homeschooling in Germany. I always have like Deutsche Welle, and I think they did a nice job on the article…just keep in mind they are Germans and are approaching the subject from a German worldview. Which is evidenced by this statement by Andreas Schleicher, an education expert with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development:
“Homeschooling is a tough issue,” he said. “On one hand, parents have a legitimate interest in wanting diverse educational options. But on the other side, the government is interested in ensuring quality standards are maintained. Certainly, Germany needs to consider more flexibility.”
So the citizens and the state have competing interests in the lives of children, do they? And the state is more interested in quality while the parents just want diversity? Something sounds a little backwards in that to me. I might be incorrect in this, but it seems to me that the parents in Germany are the ones pressuring the state to improve education (yes, they have the same debates we do about a failing school system). The parents want solutions to the bullying, incompetent teachers, meaningless school work and a system which is at least perceived to not be preparing students adequately for the 21st century. It is the parents, not the state, that has maintained interest in the quality of education with some opting to challenge the law and/or move out of the country in order to apply their standards to their children.
But alas, the approximate 200 families to whom authorities have turned a blind eye and the 40 families battling homeschooling related cases in the courts now fall well outside of what is considered the norm in Germany. After all, it is all about socialization.
In my opinion, it is not a very good idea to introduce homeschooling. This is basically denying the children their right to intermingle for a general personality development. Homeschooling would make them stereotypes. The German government should instead introduce a broad curriculum in the schools including the subjects involving religion. Those interested will then have the choice to opt what suits their needs. – Peer Zada
Has homeschooling made your child a stereotype? What does that even mean? The funny thing is, in groups I have been in with multiple homeschooled kids, there are invariably those who “fit the stereotype.” But they got along just fine with those who didn’t and no one seemed to notice that technically that kid probably didn’t belong in the “yes, you can speak to him” crowd. I’ve seen the same kids in groups of public schooled children and their peers know full well they don’t belong. The children themselves know it and tend to cower in a corner. What did public school do for them?
Related Tags: homeschooling, homeschool, socialization, parenting
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My wife and I working extensively with youth (5th - 12th) in our former church for over ten years - we got to the point that we could quickly pick homeschooled kids out of the crowd because they were typically the kids that knew how to learn (or were even interested in it). Homeschooling our own children has only strengthened that theory.
An easy litmus test for us (living in the DC area) is hosting the obligatory tours of the Smithsonian museums when relatives and friends visit. Our kids and their homeschooled friends typically attack the museum like hyenas on raw meat; fanning out, talking with the docents, and making connections between the exhibits and books they have read. On the other hand, their private and public schooled relatives and friends, almost always with bad attitudes firmly cemented in place, stay disconnected, only begrudgingly noticing what their parents translate to them, or looking for a multi-media-enabled exhibit to talk to them.
I laugh when I read things like the Zada quote from your post “The German government should instead introduce a broad curriculum in the schools including the subjects involving religion. Those interested will then have the choice to opt what suits their needs.” - What good does a “broad curriculum” do for gangs of kids who hold little to no interest in it? What I have seen is that the best students in a public school setting are those with involved parents, who supplement their children’s education at home and work closely with the school to mine the educational opportunities that they offer.
Claiming that school is necessary in order to “intermingle for general personality development” is precisely the opposite of what home and school are best able to provide! Homeschooled children with a diverse after-school life learn how to work and how to play… children who attend public school for the social benefits are only inoculated against learning.
The key phrase in the quote is “Those interested…” - Notice that the state doesn’t claim any responsibility for getting children to be interested? As they see it, their role is to provide a “broad curriculum”. To me, that diverse curriculum is nothing but surreal wallpaper for school kids to walk by as they attend to the real reason they’re there - to “get socialized” with their friends.
Thanks, Ross. And I agree. I don’t like to challenge what people claim to be there personal experience and this isn’t really related directly to this article, but I have read in a lot of places recently where people have criticized homeschooling based on their assessment of “every homeschooler [they] know has difficulty…” I find that odd. Given that homechoolers account for only about 2% of the population, it seems logical that one would normally have to know about 100 families to know 2 who homeschool. I knew exactly one homeschool family before I started homeschooling and their children were adorable…true testimonies of their parents efforts. All 10 of them. I’ve known others in the past, but not all that well. Now I know quite a few. And outside the thoughts of knowing some of them wouldn’t survive well in public school due to certain characteristics, they are all well-behaved, charming children who get along well with others both in the homeschool group and the larger group of children in our church, most of home are not homeschooled.
My wife and I have been homeschooling about 10 years and have gotten the “socialization” question countless times. I finally came up with a good response and posted it as “Homeschool Hostages” in my blog “Necessary Therapy”. I would be grateful if you checked it out & if you like it, recommend the site to others.