Home school

Globetrotter

My son told me the other day that he and his sister are just about the only kids at the KH their age that go to public/private schools. Almost all the other kids are home-schooled. I was rather shocked. I'm not knocking home schooling. I guess if the parents are pretty bright, and they make sure the children have good social interaction to develop social skills, it's OK.

So I have several questions regarding this...

- Is this common among JW, and what do you think about it?

- If it is common, is there overt pressure to do so?

- Did anyone on this board homeschool their children whilst being a witness?

- Was anyone here homeschooled as a result of witness upbringing? If so, (and if you will share) do you feel you received less, or more, of an educatoin than your contemporaries?

Of course the obvious concerns are how much more control this allows the society, more indoctrination, little or no chance for leading a normal life, tunnelvision, etc.

asleif_dufansdottir

It used to be really frowned on (those kids should be out there standing up for the truth in public, you know!), but I think many JWs figured out that there were lots of kids who were leading double lives, and seeing the other kids and thinking how nice it would be to be 'normal!' I think it's becoming more and more popular now. I know very few JW kids, but the ones I do know are home-schooled.

Which is actually kind of funny..."Christendom's" holidays are celebrated wayyy less in public schools than they used to be, and now, after all those flag salute lawsuits, the JWs are home-schooling their kids?

I'm like you, though...I wonder about the quality of their education, and think it's just a cover to drag the kids out in service more. Poor things.

maybesbabies

Well Globetrotter, my little brother, who just turned 18, has been homeschooled for quite some time by my JW father. I don't know about the educational aspect, but I can tell you that he is socially lacking, and is terrified of the outside world. He's basically been kept inside for the majority of his life now, and does not really know how to communicate or interact with other people. I do know that he didn't make the requirements for highschool graduation, so I do believe that his education has been some what lacking.

Euphemism

Re overt pressure... I haven't seen any cases of JW families being pressured to home-school. My family was almost always the only home-schooling one in the congregation (and in our case, it was more due to health rather than religion). However, I have heard of some congregations--especially in rural areas where most wives were stay-at-home moms--where there was a lot of pressure.

Globetrotter

My wife has a brother who left the truth years ago because of the hypocracy. His wife says at home and schools their daughter. I'm appalled. She has the social graces of a pig, the education of a gnat, and the sense god gave a styrofoam cup. Their daughter is turning our the same way. All she can talk about is the wicked system of things. It's a travesty to do that to a child.

Mysterious

I know a family who did so. One of their kids was always homeschooled and another was after being ill for half a year and getting to far behind. One graduated about 4 years late and another about 5 years late.

There wasn't really a lot of pressure here to homeschool, there was pressure to be like witness kids at other schools. If it was "stand and sing" for the anthem one school they stood and didn't sing and another they sat. Many internal battles over that one. But it was all a case of making a stand..

dustyb

i know a lot of JW kids that were homeschooled and they're not the brighest kids in my congregation. my g/f was also homeschooled, but she's a bit smarter than the average bear.

joannadandy

Hey Globe...the homeschool JW thing has always bugged me, here is just one thread where I have commented about it...

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/18/30128/1.ashx

onintwo

Public school serves more purposes than simply putting an education in front of a child. As has been pointed out several times on this thread, adolescents need the social interactions with their peers to properly form their sense of being.

When I was raising my own three, some sisters got together and formed OCHETO. Stood for Our Children Have Expanded Theocratic Opportunities. (read, more time for field service.) I never understood what teaching credentials these gals had. None of them had ever achieved anything academic-wise beyond H.S. I guess dedication and persistence to 'just do it' would be the banner under which they plodded forth. I didn't allow my three to go to their little school, and it sort of self-destructed after the first year.

I agree with a previous poster, it IS a travesty for some of these kids to get such a one-sided, mind controlling education.

Onintwo

truman

I home-schooled my two sons. They are in their mid 20's now. We were al JWs when we did it, but this was in the 80's and we were among the first.

I did it, not because of any particular JW reason, in fact, some would say things about the schools being the territory for kids, as if to say that we were neglecting that natural avenue for kids to witness.

No, the reason for me was that I have a fairly low opinion of the educational system, and I wanted to be the person who had the major influence on my children's learning and development. I had them, and I wanted to teach them. I loved doing it. It worked well for us.

By the time they got to high school, the local school district had instituted a home study program that would allow them to come in once a week for lessons, and do their work at home. They got a state issued diploma.

Both my sons are very bright people, and though they did not attend college, as JWs were taught when they grew up, they are both well above the average competancy level that somes out of the public educational system.

One of them was so bright, that when he got old enough to leave home, he also left the WTS. I was heartbroken at the time, but it was the catalyst that got me out as well. Now if the other one would only exercise the thinking abilities I tried to instill under the fog of JWism.

Home school

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