Reply #136: I am gonna support you on this, even though I might get flamed. [View All]

[murielm99]

I know that some people here home school their kids for good reasons. I am sure there are many successful home schoolers and home schooled students. I applaud them. If any of my children had had serious problems in school that could not be dealt with any other way, I might have done the same.

Let me stress that my experiences have been with only home schooled students from fundie homes.

I became involved in our area's community college GED testing program. Many home schooled people come there to take the test. Many of them fail miserably. They need extensive tutoring, in basics, like addition and subtraction. Fortunately, our community college has a learning center that offers a great deal of free, one-on-one tutoring.

Many of these students take the GED courses the college offers. Some of them take the lower division classes the college offers as well. I can pick them out every time. They are always socially backward and unsure of themselves. They have no study skills.

When I have tutored these student, I always find that they are from fundie homes.

I have no experience with the types of students who are home schooled for other reasons.

I believe in public education. My three children did very well in public school. And while my experiences are strictly anecdotal, and I have no numbers, I know what I have seen. I wish that home school parents would stop being so defensive. Those of us who work in public education know that you are not all educating your children at home because you fear the Godless outside world.