Extreme Homeschooling: No Tests, No Books, No Classes, No Curriculums

[Predicto]

Where's Skinsfan51 when you need him.

He would find a way to claim that this story was all part of an athiest plot to stamp out Christian homeschooling.

[Destino]

This is a form of abuse and neglect IMO.

[Corcaigh]

Where's Skinsfan51 when you need him.

He was trampled by a triceratops ... vindicating his point of view.

[Mark The Homer]

Seems like a totally foolproof plan to me. Teenagers are good at prioritizing.

[RedskinFeathers]

Agreed. It's kind of like the Catholic School Girl thing.

Ahem. Most of us turn out perfectly fine, thanks

Anyway, this is absurd. This poor children are going to have a rough time behaving as real adults when the time comes.

[renaissance]

The question I have for homeschoolers is how do you teach your kids calculus and physics when the time comes. I can't believe that every house wife out there can magically pick up a math book and start teaching derivatives, integrals, and kepler's laws of motion.

I'm pretty sure you don't need to know calculus and physics to graduate high school/get your GED. (though they are pretty typical classes for most high schoolers going on to college)

Also there are many home school kids that actually take "classes" with other home schoolers. They will get together for the more advanced or specialized classes (for example, I had a friend that would meet with other home schoolers for orchestra/music class). Those classes can be taught by someone who is more specialized and may even have a strong teaching background. There are also "home school" programs where kids take classes online so it's not really up to the parents to teach calculus and the like.

But yea, in general I'd question the qualifications of most home school parents, even if they do have to meet certain standards or certifications. Then again, I question the qualifications of many traditional teachers.

[Sniffler]

This is a form of abuse and neglect IMO.

absolutely... I couldn't agree more. These parents are setting their kids up for failure.

[Henry]

For the record, I didn't post this because I have a problem with homeschooling in general (which I don't.)

I just thought it was wacky. That is all.

[jpillian]

The question I have for homeschoolers is how do you teach your kids calculus and physics when the time comes. I can't believe that every house wife out there can magically pick up a math book and start teaching derivatives, integrals, and kepler's laws of motion.

As in all things, I think it depends. One solution that has been mentioned already was the co-op approach (where an adult that knows the topic teaches a group of homeschooled students). Another approach is to have the kids take some of these classes at a local college/community college.

I think one of the tremendous advantages of homeschooling is that it can get a student into learning on their own using the resources available to them at an earlier age. I think that's often a difficult skill for many students to pick up after having knowledge spoon-fed to them for 13-years. I know I had a tough time with that aspect of post-secondary education.

Of course, if the parents that are supervising the program suck and have no discipline, the whole thing can be an unmitigated disaster as well.