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View Full Version : How does online high school (homeschool) sound to you all?



gymophett
February 9th, 2010, 07:40 AM
I am starting Monday..
How does it sound?
Bad choice?
Laziness?

(It's compatible with Linux BTW) :D

handy
February 9th, 2010, 08:25 AM
My wife is a private music teacher, who specializes in strings, & does some other instruments as well.

Anyway, over the years she has had quite a number of home schooled students, & they have ALL gone on to university & done really well.

They have not missed out on learning socialization skills as one may think that they might. Some have gone on to be teachers, some have gone through the musical conservatorium & got teaching jobs & some are currently overseas as part of orchestras from other countries.

Others have left the music scene as their private enjoyment & again become teachers involved in other subjects & there is even a farmer in there...

So, from the little window I have been looking out of at the results of home schooling for some decades, all I can say is that I wish I had of been home schooled myself.

Icehuck
February 9th, 2010, 08:34 AM
I never met a person who was home schooled and not socially challenged.

LightB
February 9th, 2010, 08:35 AM
You're lucky as hell. Public schools are there just as part time prisons and for some stupid lord of the rings of "coolness". It's not for anyone who cares about learning anything.

Странник
February 9th, 2010, 08:47 AM
Where I live I think that it's iliegal and I don't really know much about homeschooling, I will check it out

matthew.ball
February 9th, 2010, 08:52 AM
You're lucky as hell. Public schools are there just as part time prisons and for some stupid lord of the rings of "coolness". It's not for anyone who cares about learning anything.
This isn't so accurate.

I loved going to a public school, and I know my brother feels the same way - we were given the freedom to learn what we wanted.

Perhaps American/Australian education is really different - something tells me it won't be though.

NightwishFan
February 9th, 2010, 09:22 AM
I was home schooled for a few years. I found it to be a bit too easy to get work done. I started to use Ubuntu after I left school.

My advice is this.. Do extra work when you have free time. It will help you keep deadlines later. Also keep care of any borrowed equipment, it would be rude to misplace it.

Have fun! -NWF

murderslastcrow
February 9th, 2010, 10:22 AM
Hmmm. Well, I went to public school, and I did very well, and not many people consider me unintelligent or shallow-minded. But I must admit that I did take advanced courses, and throughout all of high school I felt like I wasn't being challenged at all. Gym was simple, too.

I didn't really suffer from the whole nerd syndrome mentioned in a previously linked article, though. I certainly do care much more about my knowledge and wisdom than the number of people thinking about me, that's for certain. I know people who are popular, and when you're an adult, it can be detrimental to living a peaceful lifestyle. You can't satisfy everyone.

Anyway, back to the main topic, I wish I had done home-schooling, online school, etc. I was motivated enough to do so, just unaware of the options. I hated to sit through class while the kids all 'hung out' instead of studying or trying to learn. It was discouraging to see so many people with such well developed brains putting nothing in them.

So really, if you have the drive, I'd say do it.

alexfish
February 9th, 2010, 11:08 AM
I am starting Monday..
How does it sound? :(
Bad choice?:biggrin:
Laziness? look in the mirror

(It's compatible with Linux BTW) :D

what ever the system is , what is , is what is

however Self Education in any form is a good idea

If you have an aptitude and an interest then develop it to the best of your ability

Happy days

wWales
February 9th, 2010, 11:19 AM
i think the problem with a school from home today is the lack of materials, if the public schools and universities dont release their material free and open source youre stuck with whatever other people are giving away for free like (insert religious book here) or commercials....

or what other students have stolen from their university libraries and uploaded as torrents :guitar:

Sand & Mercury
February 9th, 2010, 11:28 AM
I never met a person who was home schooled and not socially challenged.

w0rd.

Dayofswords
February 9th, 2010, 11:32 AM
it sounds odd

but i cant see it not working, just make to you have at least DSL for such a thing

Yes
February 9th, 2010, 12:44 PM
I know plenty of non-socially challenged home schooled people. I also know homeschooled kids tend to do quite well later in life.

That being said, I'd much prefer being in my public school.

Nerd King
February 9th, 2010, 01:06 PM
Homeschool works in regards a better pupil/teacher ratio (trust me it's a big big difference, even 15 kids in a class compared to 30 is an absolute breeze and you get more done in a more efficient way). The downside is loss of social contact though this can be made up with clubs after school hours. One of the other downsides is that you don't interact with a range of people. School lets you meet all types of people, good and bad, and you learn from that. Homeschool loses you that side of education.

NCLI
February 9th, 2010, 01:37 PM
But I do have evidence besides personal anecdotes. Do you?

http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html

You won't read that whole thing.

Thanks for posting that link, reading these essays just got me through 3 extremely boring lessons.

pwnst*r
February 9th, 2010, 01:56 PM
See, that is the kind of learnin you can expect in public schools. It's full of people like him.

...and that's what home schooling does for your grammar?

NightwishFan
February 9th, 2010, 01:58 PM
That article is foolish.. There are alpha, beta, and then everyone else is unpopular. Popularity seems like a disgusting thing to seek looking back. It tends to lean towards discrimination and hate.

scouser73
February 9th, 2010, 02:02 PM
I am starting Monday..
How does it sound?
Bad choice?
Laziness?

(It's compatible with Linux BTW) :D

Sounds really bad to me...oh I know why, it's because I left school 21 years ago lol.

XubuRoxMySox
February 9th, 2010, 02:09 PM
Home school would be awesome!!

And it doesn't mean you can't socialize or develop social skills, it only means that you and your parents have a lot more control over who you socialize with; so it's not so random and there's a lot less peer pressure to get into trouble.

It's not "lazy" either. You can get the same amount of work done in a lot less time without having others slow you down. You can advance as far as you are able because there's no "common denominator" that you have to adapt to, in order to accommodate slower kids (or unmotivated ones). There's none of the "one-size-fits-all" conformity to make you fit a certain mold - or, you and your parents can decide (instead of the State or your peers) which "mold" - if any - you should fit. Home schooling frees you from the "cookie cutter" nonsense.

Well, maybe it is a little lazy if you consider that you can do a lot of schoolwork in your pajamas, you don't have to spend big bucks on fashionable school clothes. And where I live, you can even play team sports at whatever public school you're zoned for.

I think you'll love it!

And by the way, what did you find that is compatible with Linux? Switched-on Schoolhouse requires Windows...

-Robin

Cabs21
February 9th, 2010, 04:40 PM
I was called anti-social during my WoW addiction despite the fact i was an officer organizing raids with members of my community being from all over the world bringing cultural differences and various strenghts that we somehow managed to combine to take down Ragnaros :D now i feel i could be the boss of any company but i dont want money i still want mana


Thats a game, also has nothing to do with Home schooling.

I think home schooling can be good for mental growth but only if you want to grow. No matter how much you are pushed to do well you will only develop as much as you are willing to. I went to a U.S. public school and liked to learn. If I was interested in something we were talking about in class then I would learn more about it and not be held back by my peers. Public schools expose kids to a small society that they are apart of. They learn to function along with other members in the society. They also learn the skills for later in life. Most of the information I learned in high school was useless. That is not the point of school. Its not to learn facts its to understand how to learn so you can function in society, mainly in the work place. My boss doesn't care that I know a bunch of info about WWII but he does care that I can research a topic and write a report about it and tell him the facts. That is what School is about. Not facts but the process of learning.

Kdar
February 9th, 2010, 05:14 PM
I finish my 2 last year of High School by Home Schooling. I didn't really like the local school where I lived at that time (we moved in there) and I also wanted to finish it much sooner.

Sadly it wasn't online, I had to send my exams by mail.

On my last year, I even started to attend some classes in University while doing my last semester of home school.

samalex
February 9th, 2010, 05:35 PM
I know lots of people who have been home schooled, but I didn't know there was such a thing as home schooling online unless it's augmented by the parents.

My wife and I both went to public school, but now that she works in a private school we really see the differences between Public vs Private. Our plan is for our kids to attend a Montessori school which gives the kids freedom to learn at their own pace. It has the self-paced advantages of home schooling but the interaction of public school.

Just my two cents --

Sam

garethsimpsonuk
February 9th, 2010, 07:26 PM
as long as you have the people to teach you to national or above national average in the critical core subjects such as english, science, maths and 'life skills' you will be fine. however my guess is that you will be taught by a 'jack of all trades' and not a 'master of each'. public schooling gives you the advantage of being taught by range of staff who are SME's and have been taught how to teach by an organisation that has developed it's method of delivery over the last 50 years or more. in a public school you are in receipt of education that has been developed by a nation and has been tweaked over the years to improve its effectivenes.

on the other hand, if you can learn the core subjects quicker than the average (and i expect you can if you are on here, we linux users are usually above the average joe in terms of capability ;-))you can then use the extra time to tailor your learning to your needs. 'slip streaming' your education and allowing you to specialise very early on. are you going into IT? how about getting a commercial certification under your belt? this will give you a headstart over your competitiors when going for a job interview.

on the other hand it's not all about skills. I once knew somebody who was very intelligent and knew his stuff. his problem was that he never talked and was always miserable!! he was awkward to be around and would never have gave the right impression in an interview. I don't know if this guy was self taught but he seriously lacked social skills which held him back. That's my 2 cents!

blur xc
February 9th, 2010, 07:35 PM
There a plenty of socially challenged kids in public schools.

I was public schooled, and in addition to having problems at home I was bored off my ***** waiting for the slow kids in class. The only reason graduated is because my dad told me he would throw me out on the street when I turned 18 if I didn't. In today's public school system, kids show up to class drunk, have sex in the bathrooms, do drugs- etc., and I don't want my kids exposed to that. I fail to see how that's socially beneficial. They don't need street smarts- unless I'm preparing them to end up on the street. I'm working hard to make sure they don't...

My wife and I (mostly my wife) homeschool our kids. We do it through a program in a private school. None of the materials are free or hand me downs, and they are very expensive. Every august we shell out close to a $1000 for their workbooks. Plus, we pay legal insurance and tuition for the private school. It's expensive, but still cheaper than full time enrollment in a private school. If I earned enough money, I would send them there full time.

Also, working through a private school, they are entitled to take some elective classes there. They are young, so for now they take music, arts and crafts, and my oldest (9), takes piano lessons. They also arrange field trips for the kids- many field trips...

For socialization- all our kids old enough play soccer, both seasons of the year. My daughter (5) takes beginning ballet and tap, and they all take Jun Fan Gung Fu.

They have a full schedule and have plenty of friends...

BM

gymophett
February 9th, 2010, 07:47 PM
No no no no no. I'm not socially challenged at all.
Even though I will be home-schooled, I have tons and tons of friends that I will be spending my free-time with.

MasterNetra
February 9th, 2010, 07:50 PM
I never met a person who was home schooled and not socially challenged.

+1-ish, Was home schooled for high school, still learning social behavior that I would of picked up in a normal high school. Finish college a few months ago and left it being less socially challenged. ^.^


No no no no no. I'm not socially challenged at all.
Even though I will be home-schooled, I have tons and tons of friends that I will be spending my free-time with.

That maybe but still, by not going you lose out on possibly making even more friends, or perhaps even losing some who might be too busy to hang with ya outside of school. Additionally if your single or become single at some point, highschool can be a good place to find someone/someone else. My two cents.

pookiebear
February 9th, 2010, 08:01 PM
One thing my high school in the 80's had was a computer lab. Something I never could have afforded at the time. I was lucky that I got chose to the be the lab class which was only made up of 6 students. That 1 class in pascal 3 (DOS) programming was harder than all the computer science classes I had in college. But the rest of the school was pretty aweful. I should have just taken the GED at 15 and skipped it. I don't care about the social part, to me that is a negative. You could take a couple of body language, and sales workshops to learn all the social skills you need over a couple of weekends.

Cabs21
February 9th, 2010, 08:21 PM
One thing my high school in the 80's had was a computer lab. Something I never could have afforded at the time. I was lucky that I got chose to the be the lab class which was only made up of 6 students. That 1 class in pascal 3 (DOS) programming was harder than all the computer science classes I had in college. But the rest of the school was pretty aweful. I should have just taken the GED at 15 and skipped it. I don't care about the social part, to me that is a negative. You could take a couple of body language, and sales workshops to learn all the social skills you need over a couple of weekends.

Sorry but you can not learn social skills from a textbook or class. It is an acquired skill that can only be learned through experience. Knowing to shake someones hand when you meet them does not mean you will be able to do it comfortably the first time. You may know how to interact with others but will not be able to do it. You will not have social skills, just a background knowledge.

Ignoring the social aspect of life is to ignore your humanity. Humans are social creatures, that is the way we are. You lose touch with the rest of the human race and society as a whole. It can warp your mind.

MasterNetra
February 9th, 2010, 08:53 PM
...Ignoring the social aspect of life is to ignore your humanity. Humans are social creatures, that is the way we are. You lose touch with the rest of the human race and society as a whole. It can warp your mind.

Last I checked society in general is in a destructive spiral that will end in its own destruction unless it under goes a complete re-construction that removes the destructive elements to it. But hey other then that its great thing to be a part of, no?! :popcorn:

dragos240
February 9th, 2010, 08:57 PM
I would love it. I hate getting up so early in the morning.

garethsimpsonuk
February 9th, 2010, 09:04 PM
You could take a couple of body language, and sales workshops to learn all the social skills you need over a couple of weekends.

I can't believe you think 'life skills' can be taught in a classroom. If anyone uses this strategy to bring up their children they will have quite serious social, mental and educational handicaps.

pwnst*r
February 9th, 2010, 09:04 PM
Last I checked society in general is in a destructive spiral that will end in its own destruction unless it under goes a complete re-construction that removes the destructive elements to it. But hey other then that its great thing to be a part of, no?! :popcorn:

Find some new friends and/or make better decisions on who you chose as friends.

Not hard to do.

Tristam Green
February 9th, 2010, 09:08 PM
Last I checked society in general is in a destructive spiral that will end in its own destruction unless it under goes a complete re-construction that removes the destructive elements to it. But hey other then that its great thing to be a part of, no?! :popcorn:

what the hell is this?

*than also

thatguruguy
February 9th, 2010, 10:15 PM
I don't care about the social part, to me that is a negative. You could take a couple of body language, and sales workshops to learn all the social skills you need over a couple of weekends.

I get that some of you folks were picked on by the mean meanies in high school. However, I disagree that all bullying is bad. It forces the recognition of certain societal norms which will be useful to know later on in life.

blur xc
February 9th, 2010, 10:41 PM
I get that some of you folks were picked on by the mean meanies in high school. However, I disagree that all bullying is bad. It forces the recognition of certain societal norms which will be useful to know later on in life.

Well, I respectfully disagree with your point of view. In no way, that I can reason out in my head, is there anything good that can come of being a bully, or being bullied.

I see no benefit that anyone can gain from learning obscene language or behaviour at any age... If you need to know that to fit into your social group- I'm sorry for you. I choose to, and I choose for my kids to, run with a different group of peers.

BM

thatguruguy
February 10th, 2010, 12:02 AM
Well, then, make sure they never watch television or listen to the radio.

Both of my parents have PhDs and would have been more than capable of home-schooling me. They decided that "regular" school (in fact, public school) was a better option. All three of my sisters skipped their senior year in high school and went straight to college. I went to college on two full-tuition scholarships and ended up attending a top-10 law school. In that regard, going to "regular" schools certainly didn't hold any of us back.

I've been a lawyer most of my adult life, except when I took some time off to be a web designer for a while, and then the CEO of a company that sold home medical equipment. I've had to deal with a wide range of people and I've had to be able to think on my feet, and I think the experience of dealing with peers on a daily basis benefitted me immensely in doing so.

I think that if I had been home-schooled I would have been at a significant disadvantage in the professional world. While you can choose who you associate with in your personal life, you don't always get that choice in your professional life. Being sheltered as a kid does you no favors as a grown-up.

pookiebear
February 10th, 2010, 12:02 AM
Definitely wasn't picked on as a kid. I was a monster at 225 lbs and bench pressed over 400lbs, went to college on a academic scholarship. And I did not say "life skills" I said social skills. Don't drink the kool-aid.

But you can skip the body language classes and go to the mall every weekend, and make one new friend each week. Theres your social skills. Depending on what you want to do with your life social skills can be a detriment.

Learning is learning, doesn't matter where you do it as long as you do it. Work ethic can't be taught. Good luck to the OP.

I would love to see the hard numbers of screwed up kids that were homeschooled, compared to the number of well adjusted kids that were homeschooled. I bet the percentage would be exactly the same as the kids that went to public school.

Homeschooling does not equal sheltered in most cases.

Cabs21
February 10th, 2010, 06:26 AM
Definitely wasn't picked on as a kid. I was a monster at 225 lbs and bench pressed over 400lbs, went to college on a academic scholarship. And I did not say "life skills" I said social skills. Don't drink the kool-aid.

But you can skip the body language classes and go to the mall every weekend, and make one new friend each week. Theres your social skills. Depending on what you want to do with your life social skills can be a detriment.

Learning is learning, doesn't matter where you do it as long as you do it. Work ethic can't be taught. Good luck to the OP.

I would love to see the hard numbers of screwed up kids that were homeschooled, compared to the number of well adjusted kids that were homeschooled. I bet the percentage would be exactly the same as the kids that went to public school.

Homeschooling does not equal sheltered in most cases.

+1 (maybe even +2)

q8bkman
February 10th, 2010, 08:38 AM
sounds socail-kill, but on the other hand, studying alone is a great way of getting the info you want without any distractions. I guess it depends on the student

murderslastcrow
February 10th, 2010, 08:46 AM
Yeah, I'd have to agree with the above poster- if you are motivated, you might actually have MORE TIME to hang out with people and develop relationships outside of schooling. So school all those punks saying homeschool is a waste of time, sucka'! :O

gymophett
February 10th, 2010, 09:46 AM
definitely wasn't picked on as a kid. I was a monster at 225 lbs and bench pressed over 400lbs, went to college on a academic scholarship. And i did not say "life skills" i said social skills. Don't drink the kool-aid.

But you can skip the body language classes and go to the mall every weekend, and make one new friend each week. Theres your social skills. Depending on what you want to do with your life social skills can be a detriment.

Learning is learning, doesn't matter where you do it as long as you do it. Work ethic can't be taught. Good luck to the op.

I would love to see the hard numbers of screwed up kids that were homeschooled, compared to the number of well adjusted kids that were homeschooled. I bet the percentage would be exactly the same as the kids that went to public school.

Homeschooling does not equal sheltered in most cases.

+38742097238

audiomick
February 10th, 2010, 01:32 PM
... It's true because I a) researched it myself in a control group, and b) I wrote it on the Internet.
very good...:popcorn:

sudoer541
February 10th, 2010, 07:58 PM
I think regular home schooling causes people to be lacking social skills.
People need to communicate with each other and make friends.
But If you are going to lets says a music school or any other schools should be ok, but dont replace regular school with online school... thats just wrong.

LightB
February 11th, 2010, 10:41 AM
I get that some of you folks were picked on by the mean meanies in high school. However, I disagree that all bullying is bad. It forces the recognition of certain societal norms which will be useful to know later on in life.

No, that's what greasers tell themselves after they graduate and work in a grease pit. The truth is that what you refer to is little more than the exhibition of societal compliance and herd behavior. The only value of it lies in primal times not the future. The nerds in general are the ones who end up being the successful and valuable ones if they manage to ignore the social compliance schemes.

nrs
February 11th, 2010, 10:50 AM
For me, it was a big, big, big, big mistake. It retarded my social development, and I'm only beginning to recover now. I'm not saying it happens to everyone, but it can, and if it does, it's horrible. You need to take steps to avoid it. If it wasn't for girls I honestly wouldn't mind though. ;)