Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Implications of odd homeschooling comment?
Old 07-19-2010, 06:19 AM   #1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Implications of odd homeschooling comment?

We had a pleasant trip this weekend, but I heard a puzzling comment and was wondering if someone more in the know could decode it. DD (age 6) and I were at a preserved/recreated historical site (with easily the nicest natl park rangers I have ever met) and watching a blacksmith demonstration. Since we were the only ones there, he was chatting with us in very friendly fashion. After speaking with DD for a while, he turned to me and said,"she is very bright, do you homeschool her?". Ummm, no, she goes to public school, but thanks for the compliment.

Any clue what the implication of the homeschool comment was? It was not in any way motivated by any negative sentiment, as the blacksmith was as friendly as everyone else (never had a natl park ranger tell me to go ahead and dunk my beagles in the creek if the heat was too much for them). This was not far from Lancaster County in what I think of as a more conservative area of PA, so perhaps there is something in the milleau I am missing? Genuinely curious and not intended as political in any way.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 07-19-2010, 06:34 AM   #2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Rustic23's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Lake Livingston, Tx
Posts: 4,203
I have never given this much thought, but, I am going to assume the blacksmith was trying to say that when you find really bright kids at a younger age he believed them to be home schooled. It could say more about the area. Does it make since? My guess the answer is, it depends. Based on the results of spelling bees around here, home schoolers rule. It could also be that home schoolers start earlier and therefore bright younger kids might be seen as home schooled. Anyway, interesting topic.
__________________
If it is after 5:00 when I post I reserve the right to disavow anything I posted.
Rustic23 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 06:45 AM   #3
Moderator Emeritus
Bestwifeever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
Maybe the blacksmith's kids are homeschooled. Or he just had a class of kids come in (do they have year-round school in Lancaster, or maybe a summer program?) who were rowdy and inattentive as any group of kids might tend to be.

Funny comment no matter what. It sounds like a compliment, at least.
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Bestwifeever is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 07:06 AM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
FIRE'd@51's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,433
Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345 View Post
This was not far from Lancaster County in what I think of as a more conservative area of PA, so perhaps there is something in the milleau I am missing?
Lancaster County is home to a large Amish population, who pretty much don't rely on the government or big business for much of anything. Perhaps that was the source of his comment.
__________________
I'd rather be governed by the first one hundred names in the telephone book than the Harvard faculty - William F. Buckley
FIRE'd@51 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 07:41 AM   #5
Administrator
MichaelB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,586
I also suspect home schooling is big in that area - rural plus lots of Amish - and the smithy was paying you and your DD a compliment.

At age 6 there is a big difference between home schooled compared with public schooled children. Public schooling focuses much more on human interaction and social relationships, while home schooling is much more focused on reading and numbers. A home schooled child is also more likely to learn how to ask questions and then have them answered.

I'm not aware of any evidence that shows one method to be superior than the other by college age.
MichaelB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 08:36 AM   #6
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
A genuine compliment to your daughter and a sad commentary on what he is accustomed to seeing with kids from the public school system all rolled into one. You got a two-fer.

Let me guess; she was inquisitive, respectftul, paying attention and genuinely interested in learning about the subject matter at hand- as oposed to unruly, spoiled, bored, totally distracted by texting/playing a computer game...
Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 09:17 AM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Thanks for the comments. I am far out of the loop onthe whole homeschooling idea. Mostly associate it with people who cannot stand the idea of their kids being taught about evolution, etc., but clearly that is a stereotype rather than likely reality. Personally, I cannot imagine homeschooling this kid. She thrives on the social interaction too much and devours information so fast it needs to come on a conveyor belt. Don't think I could keep up.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 10:59 AM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Palma de Mallorca
Posts: 1,419
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westernskies View Post
Let me guess; she was inquisitive, respectftul, paying attention and genuinely interested in learning about the subject matter at hand- as oposed to unruly, spoiled, bored, totally distracted by texting/playing a computer game...
I guess she is. And she goes to a public school. Which would mean...
BigNick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 11:09 AM   #9
Administrator
MichaelB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,586
Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345 View Post
Thanks for the comments. I am far out of the loop onthe whole homeschooling idea. Mostly associate it with people who cannot stand the idea of their kids being taught about evolution, etc., but clearly that is a stereotype rather than likely reality. Personally, I cannot imagine homeschooling this kid. She thrives on the social interaction too much and devours information so fast it needs to come on a conveyor belt. Don't think I could keep up.
Hi Brewer. Lots of homeschooling takes place in rural and lower density areas where schools are not close by or adequately funded. It also does not mean parent taught - it might be a small group of families with a qualified adult teaching that’s also a parent . I have a good friend with home schooled children - through grade school - because they wanted to control the curriculum content and sequence. I’m sure for some there is religious or cultural motivation, but it still needs to meet state standards and the children have a hard time with college acceptance if they don’t do well on standardized tests. That said, effective homeschooling demands a highly qualified adult leader.
MichaelB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 11:41 AM   #10
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 143
My granddaughters mentioned when they were at my house last week that they might be homeschooled. Also in the same conversation my oldest (age 11) said she'd like to go to Harvard. She certainly is bright enough, although I doubt she'll have the economic means to attain that. Anyway, I about had a heart attack when she said that the plan was that her dad (my son) would teach them a couple hours in the morning when he gets off work (he works nights as a cop), then they would help another adult babysit their new twin brothers while their dad sleeps and their stepmom works, and then there would be some other learning opportunities at other times during the week (I'm assuming evenings and weekends). I mentioned to my son that I hope he'll keep the girls in public schools and I was sure we both had their best interests in mind.
Any other suggestions?
bhoferp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:26 PM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
youbet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,151
The owners of one of the fishing camps we stay at annually home school their 4 kids. My DW (retired public school special ed teacher) has been extremely impressed with the kids based on conversations with them.

It was interesting to watch DW's opinion change over the years. She was an outspoken anti-home schooling person before the first encounter with this family, but changed as we got to know them and watched the kids grow up.

Brewer, I think it's safe to assume your daughter was being complimented by the question regarding her schooling. Home schooled kids, according to my DW, at that age are often very well spoken, polite, curious and confident when communicating with adults. They look at every encounter as an opportunity to ask questions and learn.

Given the chance for a do-over, I'd still choose to not home school my family. But having gotten to know these folks and having an open mind about acceptable, reasonable life styles in our society, I support the home schoolers right to do so and think most are doing a fine job.
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
youbet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:32 PM   #12
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigNick View Post
I guess she is. And she goes to a public school. Which would mean...
And I went to a public school, too!
Which would mean...
Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:35 PM   #13
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Sarah in SC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westernskies View Post
A genuine compliment to your daughter and a sad commentary on what he is accustomed to seeing with kids from the public school system all rolled into one. You got a two-fer.

Let me guess; she was inquisitive, respectftul, paying attention and genuinely interested in learning about the subject matter at hand- as oposed to unruly, spoiled, bored, totally distracted by texting/playing a computer game...

This is my take exactly. Homeschooled kids here win all the prizes open to students like spelling bees and the like. It was an extreme compliment. If I had kids, homeschooling would be the ultimate sacrifice to ensure they were properly educated, something that rarely happens in our public schools.

Kudos to you, Brewer. There are far worse things to be mistaken for than a homeschooling parent.
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way

Sarah in SC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:40 PM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet View Post
I support the home schoolers right to do so and think most are doing a fine job.
Lest ye be misled, I don't disagree. So long as they meet state standards, good on them. IMO, there would appear to be tradeoffs in doing this are not necessarily best for us, but I suppose if I were in an area with abominable schools and could not move I would seriously consider homeschooling myself.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:41 PM   #15
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC View Post
Kudos to you, Brewer. There are far worse things to be mistaken for than a homeschooling parent.
Perhaps:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post959328

Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:42 PM   #16
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
jIMOh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: west bloomfield MI
Posts: 2,223
Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345 View Post
We had a pleasant trip this weekend, but I heard a puzzling comment and was wondering if someone more in the know could decode it. DD (age 6) and I were at a preserved/recreated historical site (with easily the nicest natl park rangers I have ever met) and watching a blacksmith demonstration. Since we were the only ones there, he was chatting with us in very friendly fashion. After speaking with DD for a while, he turned to me and said,"she is very bright, do you homeschool her?". Ummm, no, she goes to public school, but thanks for the compliment.

Any clue what the implication of the homeschool comment was? It was not in any way motivated by any negative sentiment, as the blacksmith was as friendly as everyone else (never had a natl park ranger tell me to go ahead and dunk my beagles in the creek if the heat was too much for them). This was not far from Lancaster County in what I think of as a more conservative area of PA, so perhaps there is something in the milleau I am missing? Genuinely curious and not intended as political in any way.
Political rant... LOL... this is a symptom of how we perceive (as a country) our public education system. The perception is we don't want a country of idiots, so we teach to some basic level, but 90% of the people which are above that basic level (or so the perception is) must have gone to a school which is private or home schooled.

No child left behind means everyone achieves a basic level. This just creates an environment of mediocrity (IMO). If the program were named "it takes only 1 genius to change a generation" and the programs were designed for the smarter kids to thrive and be challenged, then I think the whole perception of public education would change.

Genius is not learned or established in schools- the biggest genius of our generation might be Bill Gates- and he dropped out of college to follow his passion and $$. Thomas Edison would be an example of 1 genius which changed a generation. If you are reading this on something which is electric and plugged into a wall, you can trace that back to the invention of the light bulb.

So my rant here is in rural areas especially, education comes from places outside the public classroom.
__________________
Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. One person's stupidity is another person's job security.
jIMOh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 12:47 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhoferp View Post
Any other suggestions?
Keep your own counsel?

When you want your son and his wife making your decisions consider making his?

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 01:25 PM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
samclem's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345 View Post
Personally, I cannot imagine homeschooling this kid. She thrives on the social interaction too much and devours information so fast it needs to come on a conveyor belt. Don't think I could keep up.
While homeschoolers have a hard time matching the quantity of peer-to-peer interaction that "regular school" kids get, many don't see this as a problem at all. After all, kids learn a lot from watching and interacting, and they are bound to learn more successful strategies by imitating behaviors modeled by successful, responsible adults than from their peers (do we all remember how gradeschool kids treat each other?). Homeshoolers often get the kids together from several families in order to give the kids some them together, but you can bet the disruptive, mean, etc ones are soon excluded.
Regarding the volume of info--a lot on homechooling families have no trouble keeping the spigot turned on as much as the kids can handle. When one studies the amount of time devoted in a typical classroom to actually teaching material and skills, it's a very low percentage of the day. The especially bright kids pay a price while the rest of the class gets more instructions.

I'm sure some people homeschool for the "wrong" reasons, but there's are a lot of potential upsides to it. It takes a lot of dedication, and I doubt that most people can do it successfully without a significant re-prioritization of their lives. (For the record--I'm a public school product, and our daughter attended public and then private schools).
samclem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 01:41 PM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
I realize anecdotal evidence is just that, but my experience with two families' four home schooled kids isn't that favorable. While they were obviously very bright and probably got an above average education, it appeared to me once they got into the real world they would be eaten alive. No street smarts whatsoever.
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2010, 01:55 PM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem View Post
While homeschoolers have a hard time matching the quantity of peer-to-peer interaction that "regular school" kids get, many don't see this as a problem at all. After all, kids learn a lot from watching and interacting, and they are bound to learn more successful strategies by imitating behaviors modeled by successful, responsible adults than from their peers (do we all remember how gradeschool kids treat each other?). Homeshoolers often get the kids together from several families in order to give the kids some them together, but you can bet the disruptive, mean, etc ones are soon excluded.
I guess my worry would be that in real life the mean kids are not removed, unfortunately. Remember what most offices are like?
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Homeschooling Arif Other topics 5 07-03-2007 08:16 PM
Homeschooling LeatherneckPA FIRE and Money 10 12-22-2006 05:06 PM
MOVED: tax implications Nords Forum Admin 0 09-14-2005 07:05 PM
tax implications kobydog FIRE and Money 1 09-14-2005 07:03 PM
Implications of SWR GDH FIRE and Money 13 10-26-2004 06:53 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:23 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.