College and home schooling statisctics

by land walker 16 Replies latest social family

• 

  lisaBObeesa

  When e.g. one hears about some witness kid not allowed to play with non-witness kids
  most witnesses here find that rather extreme).

  Thats how it was for me growing up a JW. And for all my friends. Any JW child that was allowed to play with non-witness friends was considered a possible bad association and their parents were considered weak. I am 33 years old now, to give you some frame of reference as to when I was raised. I am talking about the 70's and 80's here.

  Now, I could play with a kid I met outside from around the block sometimes...but I couldn't go to their house or anything. And they couldn't come into my house. And I couldn't play with them very often. Just once in a while, and only for a short time. Because they were worldly.

  Id definitely say that the majority of witness parents are less one-sided than previous
  generations of witnesses.

  Well, thats good!

  -LisaBObeesa
• 

  InquiryMan

  What I replied, goes for myself (being a child decades ago) and also my children.
  I was most restrictive myself, not being imposed this by my parents!
  Most witnesses do, however, choose whether to pursue Jw-friendships or non-jw friendsships in their late teens.

  But, of course, there are various options chosen though.

  I remember, though, at the assembly, where a teenage girl was interviews and it seemed that she avoiced non-witnesses (apart from preaching) totally in off-school hours, and I found it rather extreme, and so did those we spoke to as well.
• 

  cruzanheart

  I am vigorously against home schooling unless the schools in the area are dangerous to the child. I know a few people who were home schooled and they were so totally unprepared for the real world that they couldn't handle a job anywhere. I tell my children that what they are learning now about bullies, bad teachers, good kids, and the one that picks his nose and eats it is that these are the same people they're going to be working with when they grow up and they aren't going to change much. I tell them work stories that are very similar to what they're going through (of course, I work for lawyers who are about as mature as elementary school kids anyway), so let's learn how to deal with them now. That way when the bottom pincher from 2nd grade turns into the sexually harassing boss, my Jennie will know that you (1) tell his teacher/supervisor, or, alternatively (2) kick him in the badoobees. Hard. You can't learn that at home.

  Nina
• 

  DJ

  Well, ouch! I homeschool my kids. They love it and we have a blast. They are both 2 grades above the norm. They love to read and do so w/o having to be coaxed. Instead of some boring History or Science class, they becoma enthralled with the experiments and dive into re-anacting historical events. I have one on one time with them to do math which eliminates confusion. They are active in 'wordly' sports, take music lessons and art classes. They have plenty of social interaction. They get to learn about what they are interested in. For instance if my daughter shows interest in oceanography then....we fill her up and she gets more interesred and she learns more simply because she is interested herself! I don't push boring useless lessons down her throat. Heck, when we are grocercy shopping, in between my kids jumping the colored floor blocks.....they help me calculate what is the best purchase. This teaches comparison shopping , weights, measures, basic math skills....and so on. They are involved in a 23 kid Co-op for homeschooled kids who meet weekly and the parents engage them in what ever direction they seem interested in. This is key to succesful teaching. They love Co-op. The fathers are involved and some dad's teach science, gym, etc. Mom's may chip in and teach them how to sew and cook, etc. They go on tons of field trips and the kids get involved in sevice for the elderly and needy and other sick children.I am so tired of hearing people inform me that homeschooled kids are socially lacking. It is an ignorant sterotype and totally untrue. I have been doing this for 7years and I have seen plenty of parents who choose to stay home and be involved in their kid's education. These kids aer not being left out of anything, they are fulfilled, happy and thriving like weeds. Learning how to cope in the real world is not only done by sitting in a classroom all day. It can be done by being out in the real world and interacting with many different ages of people. Please don't judge homeschoolers from the narrow viewpoint of of your experiences w/ JW homeschoolers. They are not the same!
• 

  SixofNine

  DJ, my daughter is homeschooled too. I think it's a better way (at least compared to public school). Obviously some disagree.
• 

  nilfun

  I remember watching a T.V. program years ago
  that showcased a homeschooling family. The children
  were in college and came across as very
  well educated.
  One of the things the kids did while
  homeschooling was build a solar energy system for their home(!)
  Very cool.
  
  Even though I had a very negative homeschooling experience,
  I don't believe that there is anything wrong with homeschooling.
  I guess it really depends on how well equipped the parents are.
  Some parents can make the homeschooling experience richly rewarding,
  like the previous posters. My hat's off to you, exposing your
  children to "worldy" sports, music lessons, art, etc. is absolutely
  fantastic.
  That their education is not only well rounded but also
  self directed sounds like a wonderful experience.
  
  Those parents who are motivated purely by their own
  self-interest to homeschool their children
  (to keep their children socially isolated, as was my case)
  and only do it to reinforce their own twisted belief system
  are cheating their children out of something that can
  never be recovered.
• 

  Yerusalyim