I don't know any JW's who have homeschooled, but I do know lots of non-JW's who do. IMO, the people who homeschool their children are either 1) overprotective to the "nth" degree or 2) extremely controlling. How in the heck do these people (the ones that I know personally) think they can homeschool their kids when they BARELY have a high school diploma? One couple I know of even is homeschooling their kids through COLLEGE!! Give me a break! These kids are going to be SO ill-equipped to deal with life it isn't even funny!
Homeschooling?
by mkr32208 43 Replies latest jw friends
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GentlyFeral
When I began homeschooling my son, I was trying to keep him from being assaulted daily.
Most of the congregation was against it ? some people had the idea that the "kookiness" of it would Bring Reproach On Jehovah©. The most intelligent warning I got was from another homeschooling family: "Homeschooling is a lot of fun. If you get carried away with it, it could pull you right out of the truth."
Once my son recovered from the daily stress of enduring or avoiding assault, we stayed in it for the intellectual curiosity and because we liked being together all day.
As we were beginning our second year, my daughter, then in kindergarten, asked to join us because it looked like so much fun.
undercover,
My parents tried homeschooling. They did a trial run during the summer break to see if it would work. It was a total disaster. We were the worst students. How can you expect kids on summer break to sit still and learn math when they could hear all the neighborhood kids running around, playing?
Yeah, that's absolutely the wrong time to do it. My kids liked to study when it was quiet outside ? in middle childhood, at 10 am before getting out of bed; in their teen years at midnight or later. I still kvell about my daughter lazing around in bed with a math book, and my son up till 4 am reading a prose translation of Ulysses.
LDH,
The goal most parents have is mind is isolation and mind control. ... Here in CA, most of the homeschooled kids are either Juvenile Delinquents (no choice--kicked out)or children of 'christians' who don't want to expose their kid to the world.
To make homeschooling work over the long term, you need two things: a stable, happy home life and severe intellectual curiosity. If getting your mind blown by True Facts is your idea of a good time, you'll be all right.
I loved having complete control over the curriculum, and then turning it over to my children.*
I'm pretty happy with the way my son's education turned out. He has no formal credentials of any kind but is having an adventurous life in a community that loves him. I'm pretty sure he'll never starve or be reduced to quiet desperation.
I'm less satisfied ? so far ? with the way homeschooling my daughter has turned out. However, over the past several years, not sitting in classrooms all day has given her time to develop her own community ? and now they are drawing together to help her find her own way. She just got a big box of C++ textbooks from a friend in another state, and I've been hearing rumors of a "Bring BebopCow ? to Canada" fund...
*Sample from son's 10th grade studies ? History: Who were the ninjas, anyway? PE: Martial arts ? ninjitsu excercises as illustrated in book from public library. Voc Ed: Work at comic shop, learning to take inventory on computer. Art: copy panels from Superman comic book, freehand. Meanwhile my daughter was (at 7) asking in simple language about how to control variables in physics experiments and how to reduce fractions. Oh, and "Why isn't Vietnamese writing all crosses and lines?" Later (at 12) she spent six solid weeks reading enough haiku to have favorite Japanese poets.
?One of her online nicks. I love my family.
GentlyFeral
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LDH
GF,
Was your son being physically assaulted because of being JW? You seem like one of few qualified to home school--good job! My 14 year old is absolutely fascinated with Japanese culture. She got a kitana for Christmas, many mangas, etc. She also independently studies Japanese (the language) and is a really good artist.
Lisa
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GentlyFeral
LDH, maybe our daughters should communicate - if they haven't already without knowing it. My daughter's 21 now, though.
No, my son wasn't assaulted for being a JW - the fact that he was smarter than everyone else and small for his age was enough reason to "punish" him, apparently.
GentlyFeral