Oh I just have to share....

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

Walt, I'm also more comfortable around people older or younger than me, than people my own age. I don't think it's possible to blame home schooling alone for socially inept people. I know of plenty who went to public schools. It's a combination of many things.

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

But does home schooling prepare you for a job??

You know, having to get up at a certain time, shower, get dressed,eat, brush your teeth and hair, get to school on time, being there for X amount of hours and doing what your told by a superior. School is not just for learning, it also prepares you to be at a job for a certain period of time.

Home school or any other school will always boil down to the same equation that the rest of life boils down to. You get out what you put in. Walt seems to be a pretty bright dude who is going to a great school and will eventually land himself a good job doing something he wants to do. Why? Becuase he clearly works his ass off and achieves goals that he sets for himself.

If Walt were in any other learning situation, I think that the outcome would be the same. It's not about where or how you learn in my opinion it's making the commitment to learn and work at it.

I think working jobs prepares one for being a part of the workforce, not sitting in art class or band practice. Mom can't write you a note excusing you from your work at the office. Like everything else, it is holding people accountable and sticking to a plan. It seems by all accounts that Walts parents did just that.

I freaking loved every second of high school. I was the senior class president and (honest to god) homecoming king. It was a riot and times I wouldn't change for anything. I just think that there is no "right way" to teach someone, assuming that they want to learn.

That being said, doing burnouts in the parking lot on the last day of senior year is not a memory I would trade for the world. :D

Brian

[Bamfster]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

Both sides have valid points and yes the key to success is the parents/teaching staff as well as the student. But I have to agree with Alex (What did I just say?), kids need more of the social environment that goes along with the high school experience. If that aspect is covered in the home school "curriculum", then I think the results are about the same, although the H/S kid may do a touch better academically.

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

yeah , just beating up my siblings would be boring
I had over 1000 people to practice moves on

[DanStokes]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

First of all let me say that Walt is a REALLY great kid and whatever he and his folks are doing is working just fine.

On the other hand, I was married to a teacher for 17 years and I saw the public school environment from the inside out. Teachers (at least those who are worth a damn) WORK! The classroom hours are just the start. I suspect that Walt's folks are the exception, but most parents just aren't going to work that hard - or can't, given the other obligations of life. I'm sure there are many paths to get to the destination of a happy and productive life, but for most a public school education with some parental involvement is probably the most likely to lead to productive adults.

Some famous educator (wish I could remember who) said that everything of value that he learned in college was learned after midnight in the dorm. What he was talking about was learning how to get along with others, brainstorm, and similar skills that actually make one a success in life. I hope Walt and other home-schooled kids learn to value those "after midnight" experiences and realize that that setting is actually of GREAT importance.

My $0.02
Dan

[Loren]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

My choice is to public-school my kids, although wading through a sea of sign carrying protesting crybaby teachers bemoaning the fact that the district doesn't have enough money to pay them as they feel is proper does not help reinforce that choice. I know they work (Mom was a teacher) but they get lots of great benefits too, that people in the general work population do not.

I went to private schools. A huge waste of money, sorry Mom & Dad. Our local public schools are still better than my private ones were.

A friend home-schools her daughter, she has a situation (working at home) where that is advantageous and she believes she can do the best possible job. The kid is also involved in outside activities including sports through the local high school, and gets socializing that way.

One thing for sure, a parent gets the right to make those choices for their kids. As long as they are being held to some-type minimum community standard (I make an exception for the morons in Eagle's thread) that is...

...their business and no one else's.

[dieselgeek]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

I attended public, parochial, AND private school during my K-12 education.

I think that home schooled kids might excel in some areas, but will *always* lack the jumpstart in social, without-mommy-and-daddy situations that are most common in life after the school years are over.

For example, my parochial gradeschool *required* me to take a music program. My parents never thought of this on their own, they kept trying "sports" which I sucked at. I can tell you with 100% confidence that studying music helped put me ahead of the rest of the pack - it taught me how to "perform" under pressure and in front of groups, a very important thing if you want to excel at leadership.

My public high school required me to take a foreign language. I took 4 years of Latin, back then I did it because the Latin teacher was a great guy (and the guy who gave me the checkout for my private pilot's license!) - back then I didn't care about the stats that clearly showed Latin students at the top of standardized testing...

If the homeschooling parents are REALLY qualified to give these kinds of opportunities (plant the seeds) and provide continuing growth (nourishment for the seeds that take hold and grow), then fine - the homeschooled kid got the same opportunities and hopefully, goes on to live a normal life. I find it doubtful that any one set of parents can do this, however.

I have a cousin who home-schooled her three boys. They do well on standardized tests, but they are glaringly, socially retarded. They have problems getting along with their peers (people of same age, i.e. people they'll have to work and socialize with as they grow older). They're basically spoiled brats who throw a fit if they don't get their way.

But, as Brian pointed out, I agree that education is only a portion of what makes a child a good adult. I think it helps if you come from "good people" and in Walt's case, this seems to be how it happened.

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

homeschooling is great , if the 'rents are focused and lucid .........

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Oh I just have to share....

in my excuse for a town , the population is 'transitioning ' into a mirror image of quinto , ecuador