From: menon@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Ravi Menon)
Subject: Re: Homeschooling?
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: na,misc
Date: 21 Aug 92 17:17:00 GMT

kgatling@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Keith E Gatling) writes:

>Hey, I don't have kids yet, and I must admit to being a bit biased because
>I enjoyed school and am about to become a teacher, and possibly because of
>some biased things I've heard about homeschooling, but I have a few quetsions.

>    1.  Do you ever worry that your kids won't have normal interactions
>	with other kids...interactions that might show them that a 
>	particular problem they're having isn't that unusual?  For
>	example...my wife is a nurse and had a young patient with
>	leukemia who along with all her siblings was homeschooled.  Her
>	sisters and brothers didn't quite know how to deal with this
>	and the possibility that their sister might die, because they
>	had not been in the company of a wider group of children who
>	might have had the same experience.

what?????  that doesn't make sense.  i will assume that you believe they
had difficulty dealing with her death because they didn't have public 
school friends.  adults...educated in public schools..ie me...have difficulty
dealing with death.  unfortunately, human mortality is difficult to deal with.
a sibling dying is traumatic period.  why blame homeschooling for that
trauma?  if they had a particularly difficult time dealing with it, perhaps
t was because they were a particularly close knit family.  you know there are
maniy public school children who face death and tragedy.  if you think it is
there peers who will help them through it, there will be many sad children 
leaving your classroom.  adults must take responsibility and help the
children through the difficult times.  children aren't so knowledgable you know?
>    2.  Do you worry that your kids might get a too narrow view of
>	things...such as only *your* view, without learning of other
>	points of view and how to deal with people who hold other
>	opinions?   There are people in my family who homeschool because
>	they don't believe that the public school system treats (oh boy,
>	here comes that subject again) religion fairly, and I worry that
>	their kids are going to grow up to be a bunch of religious drones
>	who don't understand that sometimes you *have to* question.

>Hey...like I said, maybe I'm totally off base here, but I do worry about
>the isolation and private indoctrination issues.  But then again, I also
>loved school.


it seems you are narrow minded.  just because i want to teach my child
at home doesn't mean i don't want to expose him to other points of view. it
means i want him to get a good education...something the present public
education system is unable to provide.  it seems narrow minded to believe that
only public schoools offer diversity.  What makes you think that home educated kkids do not have social skills.  There has been no indication of this in
any research that is going on.  Children can have friends  without the restrictive
and biased teacher looking over their shoulder and telling them how to be
friends and what to believe.  Seems you want to have an influence on my
kids.  Well, raise your own and I'll raise mine.


Deantha



>--
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>* Keith E Gatling                                  kgatling@mailbox.syr.edu *
>*          Opinions?  I've got plenty of them.  Just ask my wife!           *
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Newsgroups: misc.kids