Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: erwos
I did. But what the hell is your point? It still sucked and was unpleasant, and some of the reasons for that taunting were things I could never change anyways. Honestly, from the way you write, you sound like one of those people who were part of the problem. You just know you're better than the rest of us, eh?
I know I am smarter than most...my grammar/spelling is due to posting here while actually trying to accomplish real work. Sorry I don't have the free time you do.
Originally posted by: erwos
Most teachers don't have the skillsets, either. They just have pieces of paper.
I wouldn't say MOST, but yeah a degree is more or less just a piece of paper today since schools have been dumbed down so much and failing anyone is looked down upon.
I will stand behind MOST parents are only capable of teaching their children to slightly below their skillset at it's height. Most will not be able to pass along chemistry, physics, calculus (hell even trig)....forget most science and math entirely. You are left with reading and writing and a very layman's approach to history.
Originally posted by: erwos
How would you even know? I mean, consider this: pretty much every celebrity with a serious acting career as a child was home-schooled to some extent. Would you call all those people unsuccessful or not famous?
You are confusing A LOT. Most child actors get TUTORED while away on a film...almost all attend high schools and colleges. Beverly Hills High is a popular actor high school that caters to actor/students.
Originally posted by: erwos
That's pretty questionable. What exactly are these important social skills that you could never possibly learn from being home-schooled?
Networking...it's what truly makes or breaks you in the REAL WORLD. If you know no one you will not have a very good career unless $50-60k is your thing or you are going for a job (physician) that warrants a high rate of pay in and of itself.
Originally posted by: erwos
Whatever. They'll just do them in college, along with most of their "properly socialized" public school peers.
Pretty big waste of college time and now being grouped into a bunch of underacheivers.
You should do some research on this outside of data provided by home school ministries / groups.
Let me provide a little insight into the life of pretty much all homeschoolers.
Groups: 1-3 days a week, attend a homeschool group. This may include classes where a parent with expertise in a particular subject tutors you, or they pay to bring in an outside tutor for certain things.
Classes: I took community college, other kids do independent study through the high school and spend time in class. Others are involved in 4H, FFA, or other leadership/study programs.
Sports: If you're doing independent study you can participate in high school sports. There are also a lot of non-school sports opportunities out there.
Non-Academics: Wince if you must, but plenty of homeschoolers are active in their church youth groups, volunteer work, or other non-academic activities.
School in its' current form didn't exist until the last hundred years or so. Humankind got along just fine without their formalized, age-segregated socialization that is now standard. Just because someone has alternative forms of socialization doesn't mean their mal-adapted or antisocial.
As far as networking for work, that arises more from college than high school, even when it does actually apply. Most work networking happens through... working. And I speak as somebody employed at a Fortune 500 .com, working as a project manager for (barely) six figures.
My homeschool education provided a shortcut through the portions of high school that are time wasters, allowed me to skim the cream of the crop in classes and teachers, and blast my way through college in two years with only 10k in debt. I've got a great group of friends from high school who I'm still VERY close with, have the option for going back for my Masters if I ever want it, and am succeeding in my job.
Public school is great for most kids; most parents don't have the time, desire or ability to commit like a homeschooling parent needs to. For the parents who can do it though, and the kids who don't want to be pressed into a societal mold, homeschooling is the way to go.