Comments on: A homeschooled child’s view of school

By: Dana Hanley

Dana Hanley — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:43:02 +0000

Very true. But if you do end up sending your daughter to school later, she will have the advantage of maturity and security in her relationships at home to help her through the transition. I think the whole system would be greatly improved if we didn’t send children off to it quite so young, and if they had shorter days in their younger years.

By: Ripster

Ripster — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:37:42 +0000

My DD attended first grade in a public school. In was NOT a good experience. We had a successful 2nd grade year at home and are looking forward to 3rd grade – however, we know circumstances can change and we may not be homeschooling for the long haul. Whenever I mention the possibility of “regular” school to my daughter she freaks! She sees it as a possible punishment if she were “sent back” to school!

In part, her negative association with public school has made my job easier. She knows she’s got it good now. But I also don’t like the idea that she’s basing her entire negative opinion of school on a bad first year. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE homeschooling and if we are able to do this through high school, we will. I just don’t know what the future holds (Victoria’s situation could easily become our own). I want her to know that she’s capable of going to public school and yet, I also want her to appreciate homeschooling. It’s a tough path to navigate!

By: Queen of Carrots

Queen of Carrots — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:36:44 +0000

I’m curious to see what attitudes my kids display about school–so far I haven’t seen anything except my 4yo’s eagerness to do “school” in any form whatsoever. I think when she asks why we don’t go to public school I’ll answer that it’s because we like learning things together, which is our biggest reason.

I don’t remember having a horrible negative view of school growing up, though my parents gave me a day of “real” school which was enough to convince me it would be unbearably boring. But my baby brother must have picked up something negative. One day (many years ago) he commented on a school bus passing and my older sister asked him if he knew what it was for. “Yes,” he said, “That’s where the children whose parents don’t love them go.”

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:33:48 +0000

I’m afraid I’m very guilty of only seeming to point out the negatives of public schools. I’m trying to be more aware of what I say and how I act or react to ps questions. I hope that none of my children ever have to go to a public school, but none of us knows what tomorrow will bring, and I don’t want ps to be something they fear or have such a strong negative inclination towards.

By: Carnival of Homeschooling: It's Not Just Textbooks! | Janice Campbell

Carnival of Homeschooling: It's Not Just Textbooks! | Janice Campbell — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:19:43 +0000

[...] Dana writes another thought-provoking post– A homeschooled child’s view of school — and it’s posted at one of my favorite blogs, Principled [...]

By: Dana Hanley

Dana Hanley — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:53:30 +0000

Their everyday, not there. I do know the difference, but somehow I keep typing it wrong anyway.

By: Dana Hanley

Dana Hanley — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:52:58 +0000

That’s great, Victoria! Kids are adaptable, and there everyday quickly becomes “normal.” I’m sure you did a fine job preparing them for life, which right now I guess includes public school.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:33:33 +0000

Many of the conversations we had about public schools centered around the fact that when you are teaching 20 kids you simply have to do things differently- it’s easier to be in the same book, on the same page. It takes time to get 20 kids ready for a spelling test, and everything else- so your day is much longer. It’s kind of like McDonalds vs. a small/ non-chain restaurant. We’ have always brought our faith into our homeschool studies, and we have talked about how in a classroom you have to be respectful of all different faiths- you either allow all of them to have a say or none of them.

Our kids have friends in public school, private school and homeschool- so we’ve tried to highlight that they are all choices, just different choices for different people and different situations.

They have managed to pick up some things about school that surprised me- they were all concerned about detention- he he he.

I won’t pretend our conversations didn’t have a bit of a “our way is the best way” flavor to them. I think I felt I had to highlight the benefits (sugar coat) homeschooling to compete with “the grass is always greener” public school. I don’t know. The good news is kids are highly adaptable and after 2 days in public school we are doing just fine. God is faithful and true.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:34:33 +0000

My second child, who has always been homeschooled, talks about how she wouldn’t want to deal with bullies at school. I have no idea where she got that from – books, I guess. So I did have to start explicitly telling her why I think homeschooling is better, because she was only focused on why school can be bad.

By: Principled Discovery » HST Notes, California, the Olympics, homeschoolers at school and the gifted

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:43:58 +0000

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