Homeschooling and raw kids

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Permalink Reply by jason on November 9, 2009 at 11:32pm

Dumbing us Down - The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling - John Taylor Gatto is the reason I will homeschool in the future when I have children.

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Permalink Reply by Jef on November 9, 2009 at 11:42pm

There are many reasons I"m homeschooling. I haven't read the book Jason recommends, but if I have an idea what its about, that is one of my reasons.
#2.......School kids are indoors generally if they ride a bus, for at least 8 hours a day, in the PRIME of the day (oh, maybe a 20 minute recess IF its nice out) Even when they get home they have homework, and during the school year it gets dark early, so there isn't a big window to be outside in the light.
My children generally are outside half the day, or at least a couple hours, even when it is 10 degrees out.

#3 .....The food they give kids in school.....
#4 .....The movies they show kids in school (this depends on the teacher)
#5........My DD was in school for 2 years, and came home with a bunch of attitudes
#6........My 3 children get along like a charm. They are each others buddies. When children are in school and separated, I believe they drift apart, and don't enjoy as close a relationship. I could see this happening when my oldest was in school for 2nd and 3rd grades.

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Permalink Reply by Jef on November 9, 2009 at 11:50pm

Sorry, I can't finish my posts, its really weird, it won't scroll down. Maybe i'm supposed to write less!
#7......When kids are in school, they don't have enough time for other enriching things, like:
----------------learning housework, cooking, working with dad, etc.
.................music lessons, etc.
.................whatever their talent is.
Ok, if they spent all evening doing that stuff, then they MIGHT have time, but then they'd lose their outdoor time. There is just not enough time for LIFE from 3-8 pm.. in my opinion.
Opposing eating habits?
My kids are not raw, but they eat healthier than any kids I know (except some on here! ) I can't really say "how raw" they are, but they eat tons of fruit, and any vegetable I make for them. They will easily grab fruit, carrots (even out of the garden), pick peas out of the garden, if they are hungry... I guess that's all they can find, most times. ( I am not all raw at this time either)

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Permalink Reply by Nicole on November 10, 2009 at 1:08am

Thanks Jef, thats how my kids eat as well. I have the same problem trying to scroll down also. May I ask if you live in a rural or urban area?
We live in Sydney, Australia and are responsible for providing the lunches and there is alot of outside time here (hot climate) but I am concerned about the quality of education of the public school system as well as bullying and one size fits all style of teaching.

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Permalink Reply by Lau on November 15, 2009 at 6:05pm

I'm unschooling my 4yo DS because we had some problems with the school.

He is not raw and not even vegetarian. He doesn't eat nor fish, nor eggs and dairy products, except for ocasional yogourt. The only meat he eats is chicken. He loves soy milk but above all he loves APPLES xD

A great lesson I've learnt from him is that we, adults, are OVERFED. He eats what he wants and when he wants and he es healthier than most people I know (and not vaccinated, btw).

Oh, and Gatto is a must read.

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Permalink Reply by Lau on November 16, 2009 at 7:55am

My son interacts perfectly with all kind of people: young, adult, schooled, homeschooled, known, unknown, etc.

He is not all day at home and he is not always with me. He takes karate and basketball lessons and he loves playing in the park with other children. Do you really think social interaction is learned and practiced at school??

About the raw issue I can not tell you because my son is not raw. He just eats what and when he wants and he is learning that in some situations he should eat what is offered to him, but this is something he's starting to figure out all by himself.

In my opinion, the losers are the kids I know who wait for parents permission before answering questions such as "what's your name" or "how are you" or who expect their parents to answer for them, because that's what's been happening since the day they were born. My son simply can't understand why one should ask for permission to pee or to drink water, and that is exactly what schooled kids are being taught.

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Permalink Reply by Wrenn on November 16, 2009 at 8:23am

The last few spelling bees have had homeschoolers. Many prestigious universities are admitting homeschoolers. Homeschoolers make some of the finest military men (and women!). So maybe they might be big losers in terms of losing out on the deliterious behaviors of today's kids BUT they'll be WINNERS in the future. Think long term. Who cares about social pariah-hood anyway. I rather my kid be a loner than hang out with some of the trash in my nabe. Sounds harsh BUT do you want some drug addled kid ruining your good kid? Not. Bad company ruins good manners. It's NEVER the other way around with kids in school. I lived in a ghetto urban area and now I live in the country and kids are all the same. Something has to change with schools. I feel sorry for kids today.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole on November 16, 2009 at 5:29pm

The biggest problem I have with the school system is that it doesn't encourage individuality. I understand the importance for a certain amount of structure but here downunder everyone teacher (in the public system and I can't afford private or steiner etc) only teaches the basic cirrculum. My problem is that my eldest son is very intelligent (much more than his dad and I at the same age) and I feel that his education needs cannot be met.
I don't want him wasting any strengths and skills he has while he is taught work that we already mastered at home the year or two before. 'We don't push this work on him, rather he has been seeking it out since he was 4yrs (he is now 7). So I think should I buck the system or let him go with the flow? I just went with the flow most of my life and I regret that now.
Lisa Marie, I understand your conerns as I may of had similar ones before I had my own children and had to deal with some of these issues. Every child is different and is suited to different environments but I think that the public school system does not support academically gifted kids and its no point trying to stuff a square into a circle

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Permalink Reply by Finnegan Kelley on November 16, 2009 at 9:11am

Easy, teach them to be elitist. That way, when they surpass their peers they'll fit right in with all the other baby geniuses and rich kids and you won't need to worry about them making friends.

I also call bullshit on the whole "homeschooled kids don't know how to socialise" stigma. The only homeschooled kids that acted like the stereotype belonged to super-religious families or had super-coddling mothers. Don't keep them inside and they'll do fine, kids meet the majority of their friends in sports and clubs anyway, so let them find something they're interested in and sign them up. Problem solved.

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Permalink Reply by Finnegan Kelley on November 16, 2009 at 9:03am

I was homeschooled all throughout highschool. Except it was less like I was being homeschooled, and more like I was teaching myself the curriculum. I "attended" Penn Foster, which is an accredited online highschool programme and you're awarded with a diploma instead of a GED, which is awesome if you want to go to a decent University.

Best thing to do for kids, in my opinion. Teaches self-discipline, self-motivation, self-reliance. I only wish I had started younger :) I would suggest to parents looking to homeschool their kids to let them, for the most part, do it themselves. A few of my cousins were very closely homeschooled by their mother and they turned out... Less than stellar. You want your kids to learn to think independently and draw their own conclusions about things, not for them to become little replicas of yourself.

Oh, and I don't care how religious you are, never ever follow a programme that adheres to any particular belief system. For one, your kid will never survive adulthood, and second, they'll probably resent you when they find out that they have to retake a good deal of their early education just get accepted into a community college. Look at all the course material before you buy it because these Christian bastards especially can be sneaky. I wasted a full year on a programme that didn't specify it was tied to Christianity, but snuck in the whole "either palaeontologists planted dinosaur bones to trick us, or God planted them to test us" theory.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole on November 16, 2009 at 5:17pm

Right on Finn, well said

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Permalink Reply by Vampirella on November 16, 2009 at 1:24pm

Jealous

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