I enjoyed this post by Jasmine Baucham on homeschooling:
"I Realize You're Just Parroting What You've Been Taught."
I don't always agree with everything Jasmine has to say, but on the whole, her blog is a good read--and I'll admit I'm envious of her ability to crank out well-written posts at an impressive rate!
I spent some time in three educational environments--homeschool, a private Christian school, and public school. My experiences might not fit the stereotypes. Homeschool, at least done the way we did it (no hard deadlines), left me with a tendency to procrastinate, though I'd like to think that I've since improved in that area. :) The private Christian school proved, in the long run, to have a very negative influence, due to a prevailing attitude amongst the students that it wasn't "cool" to be too religious (at least, that's how I took it). And I had a relatively positive experience with public school, perhaps because I was quickly welcomed and befriended by some nice Christian girls, and because several of my teachers were openly professing Christians.
But in the end--and I might step on some toes here--I have to say that generally, I think that homeschooling is the ideal choice for serious Christian families, both academically and spiritually, at least through the elementary years. I do think that there are circumstances where homeschooling is not the best choice, which I would go into further if I had more time. But I'm very thankful that I'm able to homeschool my boys, since I know that homeschooling would not be an option for most single parents. Thanks, Mom and Dad. :)
Interesting Sharon, about your experiences in the three different schooling environments. My experience was similar: With homeschooling, I struggled to stay motivated and would procrastinate; with private school -- especially the Mennonite school -- it was "cool" to be rebellious and break all the rules, and yet still call yourself a Christian; with the public school, the "cool" crowd (i.e, the really wild crowd) was so exclusive and arrogant that I naturally gravitated toward the more decent types.
ReplyDeleteOf course, public school was pretty awful, but overall the Mennonite school was probably more dangerous, because the common belief seemed to be that man really could serve two masters (whereas to be cool at the public school I attended, you pretty much had to abandon all religious convictions).
I was only in two of those spheres, and can really say I was never suited for public school. I am still tormented by all the verbal lashes people have made at me. All because I was odd, uncool, ugly and whatever else. Needless to say, it leaves one feeling like trash. Homeschooling was excellent, though I do wish I had someone that would've spent more time "teaching" me. According to my mom though, I seemed more diligent than the boys...but that was my sister too...so I guess we didn't procrastinate toooo much (lol but it was there of course!). I venture to say that the mom needs to be on top of the routine if the child is not. maybe.
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ReplyDeleteYou should put a link to your Etsy shop on your blog!
Yes, I should have said above that homeschooling is definitely the best of the three educational environments, even if the child doesn't get quite as good an education. That said, however, I think homeschoolers tend to underestimate how well-educated they really are.
ReplyDeleteIf only there were a Free Presbyterian private school nearby...