by stuckinarut2 40 Replies latest jw experiences
One has to also put into question what kind of schooling are these children getting by their mothers etc. by virtue of their own training and expertise in education. ???
I know of one JW mother who is home schooling her two children on her own but she herself doesn't have an education teaching diploma or I don't think even grade 12 level herself.
I have to echo Finfelstein here. In Australia it take four years to graduate with a Bachelor of Education. How on earth can any one say that a stay-at-home parent can offer the same quality of teaching than that.
All the ones I know who are being home schooled here have become emotionally and socially stunted in their development.
It really is a form of abuse to do that to ones children!
Home schooling=no schooling.
I've dated 2 JW girls in the past that were home schooled. They both looked down on "worldly" people more than most JW's did. They also were very defensive about the fact they were homeschooled and always tried to prove to me they were clever even though i never asked them.
My sister is planning to take her 3 kids out of school right now. Her reasoning is "because armageddon is just around the corner and they'll never leave school anyway" - now, where did i hear that before? Oh, yeah, when we were in school 25 YEARS AGO!
Home schooling for JW kids varies depending on how well educated their parents are and also how socialized they are. My siblings and I just went to regular public schools when we were JWs back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. There was not the pressure at that time to homeschool little JWs. In fact (at least in my family), doing well in school was assume and unpleasant discipline could be expected if we came home with anything under a B grade. We were not restricted in any way as far as school friends, but if we wanted to go to someone's home to study or play, Mom would have to check them out first. We were not allowed to go to homes where people smoked or parents drank liquor during the day.
Every one of the JW kids who did not go to public school seemed odd. They were odd even when I'd go to their home to play or go out in "service." Only two of my JW peers did especially well (one went off to college and became an English professor and writer of some note - never claimed his JW heritage). The other also went to college and became a businessman and then a politician - never referring to his JW upbringing when running for election. He died rather young. Both fellows came from very strong JW families. Both went to public schools.
The very few that I knew at the time who were being home-schooled were odd, shy, and really not very active in JW activities like door-to-door service or Theocratic Ministry School. When invited to their house to "play"---- well, I'll just say that they weren't a lot of fun. Wanna play catch with the baseball or football? (Nah.) Wanna watch cartoons on the TV. (Nah, not allowed to watch TV.) Wanna go bowling? (Nah. Don't know how - mom won't let me.)
The sad thing was that none of them that were still JWs when I knew them ever went to college. The JW girls all married JW boys or moved away after high school graduation. Sad, because in those days almost anyone with good grades could get some kind of scholarship. And if not, college was very cheap. In my state, a year at Junior College was $50 tuition and about $25 for books. If your grades were quite high and you had taken a few college prep courses, you could go to a state university for less than $300 per semester.
But the JWs had it right about one thing: Most of the JW kids I knew who went to college eventually moved away and left the JW cult far behind.
JV
Of the homeschooled kids I know , who are now adults, all of the ones ( non JW ) I personally know graduated with honors, attended college, ( two attended a demanding prestigious high school ). have fantastic professions. Each one has been highly educated, intelligent, well adjusted. The parents took home schooling as it is supposed to be. It's not about isolation. it's about giving them MORE than the hours in a classroom desk with ditto sheets could provide. It's about socializing the children more effectively than one teacher with 30 kids, Two eyes can not properly watch, and take time to correct every child. More adults with the children and there is more supervision, more chances for teaching moments in socializing. They were able to participate in many more social classes, like sports, and the arts. These parents saw the opportunity, advantage and value in homeschooling.
However, I know of two adults who were home schooled JWs. Those two adults both have a horrible work ethic, the mom basically left them to educate themselves. handed them the class books then did her own thing many days. ( out preaching or working at her job ) She saw no real value in the education, so that translated to her kids). Granted, a non JW parent could also screw up homeschooling, and likely do. But my own experience where many in my community home school. It is the JW Kids/adults who are both now 30+ and still struggle. The girl still lives at home, the other married a couple years ago and his spouse is the breadwinner! He went to a trade school eventually in his later 20's but could never " find a job". HVAC repair, how can you mess THAT up (unless you refuse to work the required hours, or just never learned how to study the material and really learn)?
So on my soapbox, I want to be clear. Homeschooling IMO, done by parents who value education, IS superior to a traditional classroom 5 days a week.
So on my soapbox, I want to be clear. Homeschooling IMO, done by parents who value education, IS superior to a traditional classroom 5 days a week.
From a purely academic point of view perhaps, but school teaches so much more than that. There's all the intangibles; how to behave in a group, how to socialise, how to play team games, how to react to authority, how to smoke behind the bike sheds. The list goes on.
I would have hated to be stuck at home day in day out learning off the same people, espeically if they happened to be my parents. That would be more than a bit weird. . And as much as you wish it, it's impractical for parents to know every subject to a high school standard. That's why schools have different teachers for different subject.
And as much as you wish it, it's impractical for parents to know every subject to a high school standard. That's why schools have different teachers for different subject
Good point Landy , but from the JWS cult perspective, education is mostly redundant and bad associations can be created in these social environments, a secular school is a worldly school full of worldly people, adults and children.
When one the GB heads of the JWS says that pursing higher education is like playing Russian Roulette with a gun to your head, people listen and you know he's got to be right .
Some parents may even think about their once JW relative who sought out a higher level of education in secular college and they dropped out of the JW cult.
When one the GB heads of the JWS says that pursing higher education is like playing Russian Roulette with a gun to your head, people listen and you know he's got to be right .
Some parents may even think about their once JW relative who sought out a higher level of education in secular college and they dropped out of the JW cult.
I know - having an education can be a dangerous thing. Especially as by the time you've worked once round the Ministry School scorecard (Repetition for emphasis anyone?) that's easily the equivalent to a university degree!
