Home schooling is quite popular it is undertaken by hundreds of thousands of families and it is overseen by the state. Parents go for it to help their children avoid alcohol, drugs, bullying, violence and too early sex at the state schools.
If the families arrange something for the social life of the homeschooled children it should be fine. I never heard of the WTS disapproving of it one way or other they don't really care about education.
Does The Watchtower Society encourage Home Schooling?
by journey-on 16 Replies latest jw friends
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greendawn
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Younglove1999
don't get me started on home schooling-
I don't think JW's (for the most part) utlitize it to get a better education than the public school system. It's merely a way to shelter their kids from "bad association" I did it in high school and it was so easy, I learned nothing of value and had to catch up when I did some college courses a few years later.
I remember being asked by parents who were considering it about my experience and I told them to be very sure they had a good program because a lot of programs are designed to basically be fancy "GED" programs and there was very little learned. I got deer in the headlight looks of course. "but sister younglove, who cares about a deeper education?As long as little one can read and write and do arithmetic, she'll be fine and can spend more time in the ministry-Jehovah will help her find a job" *bangs head against the wall*
I know a family who home schools their 4 kids. They have NEVER talked to "worldy" kids except for maybe at the ice cream stand or at the store- if anything. Their oldest is 13 and has "JW social skills" but is going to have a TOUGH time if she ever gets out of the grasp of her family. I'm seriously worried about her- I hope to god she doesn't get married off to some MTS graduate at the age of 18.
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OnTheWayOut
I am with Younglove on this.
Even as a JW, I thought, "You are going to keep your precious one at home to protect them
from the world, then release them to the work force at 18? Wouldn't it be better to let them
see the dog-eat-dog world growing up and get used to it?"There is so much value in stimulating the mind. Education is not just for income. I pity the fools.
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journey-on
Now if the WTBTS with all their $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ would have contributed, that would have been awesome.
LINDA
This is what I was thinking about when I started this thread. While the Watchtower Society still has huge sums of money and assets, you would think they would
invest in schools for JWs. Instead of spending all that loot on...on....on...uh...wait a minute...a...a...a..um. What exactly do they spend their multi-millions on. Building
Kingdom Halls? No, the locals pay for those. It doesn't seem to me there's all that much that requires millions and millions in expenditures. They should have been
investing in their youth during their heyday. Maybe now they wouldn't be losing so many of them to THE WORLD.
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flipper
JOURNEY ON- Good thread! After my jdub exwife and I divorced in 1998, she arbitrarily decided to put the kids, 13, 11 and 10 at the time in home schooling. I disagreed but she was very controlling with the kids, and even in their 20's still tries to be. Anyway I agree with the posters who say it does damage their ability to show social skills in the work world or dealing with people who are non witnesses. Even though my son was "forced " by his mom to home school, he got a job at a major grocery store and learned how to work at 16 years of age. He was and is a good student and is now out of the org. in his second year at a university, doin' great. My older daughter, also very bright , but still a witness graduated home school too, but was a self starter, very motivated. She married a witness boy, and cleans houses. My younger daughter in home schooling was somewhat mentally lazy, not a self starter, and really should have been in regular school. At 18, she still can't keep a job, is aggressive with non witness workmates, and has quit even a dental assistants job she trained for, because she pisses people off, no social skills or coping with other personalities. If she had gone to regular school I think it would have prepared her better for dealing with non witness people.
Like Blondie said, my ex wanted to keep the kids in home schooling to protect and isolate them from the great moral dangers of the century. You know, drugs, sex, rockn'roll. All the stuff most teenagers want to do. Anyway, I chose to insulate my kids as opposed to isolate them, because I felt they needed a little exposure to what the real world is like dealing with non witness people. But, they never experienced with drugs, sex ( maybe), and they like rockn'roll. So they got enough normal world exposure from me, to offset their jw mom's influence. My daughters are stuck in the witnesses with just a high school education, my son is progressing towards his bachelor's degree and out of the cult. So I feel home schooling does not help as much as it hurts
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WTWizard
Home schooling is not encouraged per se. They do list it as an option, and then they tell you that the parents' time is for field circus, thereby discouraging it as forcibly as their other policies encourage it.
If you don't home school, you are exposing your children to too much worldly infouence. There are text books with "dirty" words, especially in the higher grades. They teach evolution (which is the generally accepted theory at present). They hold holiday parties and teach children to celebrate the holidays. They have activities after school that could keep children away from field circus (like sports and entertainment). So, you are horrible rotten parents for putting your children through this if you do not home school. Not to mention the constant harassment of the children to go to college starting about the 10th grade.
If you do home school, on the other hand, you are shirking your theocraptic duty. If you spend 6 hours a day with your children home schooling them, that is 6 hours that you could have been "saving lives" in the territory and you are a mass murderer because all those people are going to die because you took (=stole) that time from field circus to home school your children. Plus you are teaching your children that it is OK to stay at home all day when there are lives to be "saved". Making you the most evil people on the planet.
Here is one issue that they will get you on either way. Regardless of what is actually said in the direct articles, they will not hesitate to pull out other articles on the subject or subjects that can be tied in and make parents feel they are doing the wrong thing. You home school, you are stealing from Jehovah and murdering those you would have "saved". You send them to real school, and you are exposing them to needless worldly influence. Either way, it makes you horrible parents. Damned either way.
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yknot
I live in an area with a very high percentage of homeschoolers(k-8th). Most agree that high schoolers needs to be with a daily peer group for optimal socialization. I do private (Pre-Pre K) and homeschool (3rd/4th). I am currently following a classical approach to the bascis and "local" science (Ag extention program), LOVE IT! My daughter is usually finished with the basics within an hour or two(with breaks). The rest of the day is spent exploring local species, lake activites, park parties (playgroup), "homeschoolers united" field trips (at least 50-100 kids!), art classes, crafts, dance, choir, community theatre, volunteering, occasionally assisting with little bro's class and playing in the backyard with the pups. We do whatever feels right! No FS as we are still banned (such a pity...lol)
That said every year I check the ISD for current curriculums. Seems like all the public schools in my region are in the process or have completely converted to C-Scope which is very TEKS/TAKS orientated (nothing like teaching(((aachhoooo cheating))) to the test vs broad learning).
As for the local JWs, there is only 1SAHM other then me, all the rest have to work. She wings her school program as we are only required to teach 5 subjects (Reading, Writing, Spelling, Arithmetic, and "good citizenship"). I know of some JWs who chose to enroll in the New System School.
I am not sure of the public schools in your area but mine has statutes in the student hand book that are taken from our states penal code. School is meant for learning not for preparing kids for the prison system, this caused the mass homeshooling movement. Local private schools only cover (pre-pre K-2nd) and we have a "university model" school for 3rd-12th (MWF and TTH) but it relies heavily on homeschooling (Abeka and Bob Jones).