A recent AP report on the rise of homeschooling notes that parents believe the public schools are not safe or appropriate places for their kids: WASHINGTON (AP) – Almost 1.1 million students were home-schooled last year, their numbers pushed higher…

A) We stopped inviting home schooled kids to our daughter’s birthdays after she turned 7 having gotten tired of kids who had 0 sharing skills. We also tired of the parents who defended the poor group behavior of their home schooled child.

B) Most of the people whom I know who home school, I would not want teaching my children. So, why would I want them treeaching other children?

C) Home schooling contributes more to a “muti-culturalist” society then public shooling.

U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship, day one. Read the entire interview. It will crack you up, even if you don’t play golf.
An Interview with: Brittany Lincicome(18 years old, home schooled)

RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and gentlemen, Brittany Lincicome, 5-under par, 66, ties the Amateur record set by Carol Semple-Thompson who in 1994 shot a 66 at Indianwood. I believe that was a par-72 course, but we’ll check that for you. But still the number is the same. You started out 1 over par after two holes. And then you just caught fire. Tell us your general impressions of the ground.

http://www.uswomensopen.com/press/interviews/lincicome-thu.html

Worst of all, let’s not forget about the girl whose hair was set afire in a Denver school by by one of her “socialized” peers. For more, cut and paste the following:

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/education/3349955/detail.html

1. Private School
2. Home School

Inconclusive: Public School

First of all, most of my friends growing up were neighborhood kids who weren’t even in the same grade as me, and we went to different schools. Then, most of my friends were from sports leagues I was in like baseball, and then in high school when I got that silly thing called a “job.” Isn’t school a time to learn and not play hook-up?

As far as quality education concerns, I went to public school after having left private school in the second grade. The other kids didnt catch up until I was in the 5th grade. In 6th grade, I went back to private school and I had fallen so far behind I nearly flunked out…

I would never subject my child to public education.

As they get older and further along in their studies, parents who are subject matter experts are taking it upon themselves to offer co-op courses for advanced subjects. There are also commercial curriculum providers such as K12, and community college courses are open to high school students, as well.

By the way, I was educated in Montgomery County public schools, and I know that my high school is nowhere near the quality it was when I was there in the early 80s. Now, it has the reputation of being downright dangerous. Go figure.

I’m going to treat your comments as honest questions rather than some sort of attack on homeschooling because there was nothing in your post which suggested otherwise – at least, to me.

There are lots of options:

1. Homeschool curriculum is written with the realization that the parent teaching might not have a lot of knowledge in the subject. If you can read & follow directions, most parents can get through it and be effective.

2. There are, of course, subjects which a parent won’t feel comfortable teaching.

* The “umbrella school” my kids are in happens to have a college professor affiliated with the school who teaches advanced high school subjects in his disciplines.

In other instances where kids aren’t in a umbrella school or they’re not blessed with college professors affiliated with the school, parents will band together to provide classes in areas where they’re especially qualified. Engineers might teach math, bilingual parents will teach their language, writers/newspaper reporters will teach English, pastors will teach Bible, etc.

Or they might ’subcontract’ work out. Here in Florida, for example, our community colleges are happy to take anyone willing to pay the fees to take classes, so it’s easy to add college coursework to the homeschool student’s curriculum.

The most important thing to remember, though, is this – more likely than not, the person teaching your kids in the public school is an “education” major, which means he or she is really only an expert in one thing – “education theory”. Don’t assume he/she has special training in the subject matter he/she teaches.

What “Home School” means, in this day and age, is that the child’s education is directed by the parents, i.e., the child’s “School” is “Home” – it doesn’t mean the parents teach every class.