A question for homeschoolers.

[ricky]

Are you ever worried that your child will be discriminated against in the workforce after they graduate because the were homeschooled? This question is also to those who send their children to private Christian school. 

[By Faith]

I don't think you can Home School college. If they have a degree, or able to pass their G.E.D then it should not be an issue getting a Job before college. There is always discrimination in the World though. Every person I met has an aversion to something, and if that person is in charge of hiring then it will subconsciously effect their Hiring decisions.

 

I always tell the job interviewer that Jesus is My Lord. If the person wants their business filled with believers then the guy that is more qualified than me gets discriminated. If the person hates religion then I get discriminated against. 

 

The correct answer to all this though is the young person should seek and find what direction the Lord wants them to go. Those doors can't be closed, and no amount of discrimination can stop someone following the plan of God.

[Omegaman 3.0]

Are you ever worried that your child will be discriminated against in the workforce after they graduate because the were homeschooled? This question is also to those who send their children to private Christian school. 

 

Having 5 home schooled 'children' in their twenties now, I am going to have to reply with a really complicated answer:

 

NO

 

One thing we did (not that this is that relevant to your question) is notice that as residents in our local school district, our kids were eligible to go to the local community college. So, during their High School years, they attended college. This has the advantage of satisfying educational requirements of our state and it's compulsory attendance and subject laws.

 

For example, you can teach your kids mathematics at home to a pre-algebra level, and then have them take algebra classes at the local college if you want. I lot of people do not feel competent to teach some subjects, this is a way to get past that. In this situation, you get your kids getting college level course work, which not only suits the home schooling requirement in high school, but they are earning college credit at the same time. This also gave them the advantage of getting to go to school without all of the high school shenaniganism. Community college is a better environment and your kids get to socialize with a more mature element, with less distractions and for the most part, being with fellow students who are in school by choice, not by force, that itself I think is helpful

 

While we did not 'graduate' our kids from "Rhema Academy" (the name of our home school - in California at the time, a home school is a private school - since California had no formal legal definition of what a private school was), the did take the California High School Proficiency Examination (CHESPE) to certify their educational equivalency. On documents where there is a blank to fill in - where did you attend high school), they filled in 'Rhema Academy'.

 

With this background, they were able to start college and work toward degrees. Some might think that high school was a fun time, and our kids missed the prom, and school sports teams etc. This is true, but parents need to evaluate if they think those things are important or helpful. My wife and I both went to public school, and we did not regard those aspects of school  as really being helpful

 

A lot of parents wonder about adequate socialization in home schooling. For us, it was my wife that suggested maybe we should home school. I thought she was a bit nuts, it sounded to me like a wacky idea. What worried me the most was this question of social skills. So, I asked my wife: "What about socialization?" My wife was really clever when it came to things like knowing her husband. She simply said: "Why don't you research that?"

 

Research is my natural inclination, so I did look into it. What I concluded is best summarized by the question I asked myself:

 

"Do I really want my kids to get their social skills from people who think too much about sex, music, video games and perhaps drugs, or would you rather have them learn such skills from more mature people, who have gotten past that sort of thing?"

 

Between the ideas of not wanting my kids educated in a school, that I perceived as politically too correct (leftist), focusing too much on subjects that would not be that helpful in actual life, ridiculing ideas about morality, origins of life, and rife with selectively revised history, etc, it was not that hard for me to eventually choose to home educate.

 

We did of course, also make sure that our kids were able to hang with people of their own age, but we were not lumping them together with kids we had no visibility of or knowledge about, locked in rooms for 7 hours a day  under the supervision of adults who do not love them  Our kids hung out with kids from the neighborhood, who we knew and whose parents we knew. They hung out with kids from church. We sought out other home school families, and we and our kids, made friends there. One thing that gave me growing confidence in socialization aspect, was meeting other kids who had been home educated, or were being home educated. Of course, this is anecdotal, but they always stuck me as more polite, better behaved, and even brighter than the kids we know who were in public school (yes, we let our kids have some 'normal' friends). Also anecdotal is this: 

 

While our kids were growing up, we never heard one bad report about them, from anyone. No vandalism, no getting into trouble or anything about doing something they should not be doing, or being somewhere they should not be, or hanging around people who might be bad influences on them. No bullying (either by them or to them) - things like this seemed absent in their lives. 

 

I will confess the worst thing I ever knew about my kids while they were growing up. My kids did not have Nintendos or PlayStations etc. They had some video games, but they were educational in nature, and they had some on a machine this way, for which only educational games were made, and some on the computer. They we allowed some just plain fun games, but they were wholesome and non violent etc. I mention this because it ties in with their worst behavior that I was aware of ( apart maybe from occasionally being mean to each other. 

 

Okay, so what was this hideous behavior? Our kids got no allowances. This was to teach them that they had no entitlement to free money, that money, and the things it can buy, are earned. The had their own bank accounts, and they had their own money they saved at home, This money came from gifts (birthdays, Christmas, etc) of it came from money they earned, working for neighbors or for gramma and grandpa, or it came from doing extra chores, etc. The boys were aware of gaming machines, and were envious of their friends who had them. So, the boys took some of their money (mind you this is their own money that they earned) and walked to the local Target store, where they bought a gaming machine, and a small TV. The sneaked it into the house, and hid it inside their closet. This way, all they had to do, was open the closet doors, and they could play the game from their bed. Well, their plan had a small flaw - their sisters.

 

Their sisters found out about it. So, what happened was that the boys and the girls, entered into an unholy alliance, and conspired to keep this secret. The boys got to keep their secret from mom and dad, and the girls got to use the game too. Eventually though, Mom discovered this conspiracy. I do not remember how we punished them, but one thing they did, was have to carry the system back to Target, and get a refund.

 

Anyway, that is the most evil thing I was aware of in their childhood. I guess I am saying, that all of these efforts, may have had some impact on their characters.

 

One might think that all of these things might not prepare them for real life, where these sorts of things will be encountered. That might be true, and in theory, it is. However, they did not in the least, have difficulty integrating into secular, adult society. If anything, they are confident young men and women who other people seem to like.

 

There is also the question of physical education. The way we handled that, was to join the local YMCA. That got them access to all sorts of ways to exercise. There, they met other kids to, and we met their families. There has always been some sense of supervision of our kid's friendships. At the YMCA, our kids also volunteered. These sorts of things, taught them to acquire skills, and to learn how to work - show up on time, follow directions from a 'boss', and those sort of things. It also became something to add to their resumes before they had 'real' jobs.

 

I could go one, I have already gone way past your simple question Ricky. I just though that maybe, others out there had some questions that might come up in their minds, if they were considering home education.

 

There are some good resources out there, and many ways to do home educating, One can to it totally solo, or get involved in a charter school, or join a home school cooperative. In our community, we were able to get together with other home school families, and have a book sale, so that the costs of books was reduced, by sharing those expenses through reuse and trading and the like. Amazon without shipping costs, and specializing in home school educational materials.

 

HSLDA can help people stay up to date with the legal state of home schooling in their local area, and there are sites that rate and review various curriculum and techniques.

 

Before deciding to home school, I was also curious to know what the educational outcome of the effort might be. At that time (the 90s), the statistics indicated that on average, a child in a private school, was likely to be two years more educationally advanced that his.her public school counterpart (at age 18). A home schooled student was typically four years ahead - achieving 2nd year college equivalency after sophmore year of high school in placement exams.

 

Home schooling is probably not for everyone. Situations vary. For us, one of the decisions we made, was that my wife would quit her job, in order that she could stay home form work to be with the kids. I admit, that The economics of providing for a family of seven, on the income of one worker's (non-union at that) hourly wage in one of the more expensive areas in the country, was a challenge. It meant things like never buying a car that did not have at least 125,000 miles on the odometer. No cable TV, few out of town trips, buying only used furniture, things like that. If one cannot accept such a life style, then homeschooling might be inappropriate.

 

However, some people do not feel that they are themselves educated enough to teach. Don't let that intimidate you. Testing of home schooled kids, shows almost zero correlation in the performance of the student, with the educational level of their parents. Almost makes you wonder why their is even such a thing as a teaching credential. The use of the curriculum, is what provides the information needed to educate, not how much the teacher knows. Part of the reason I decided to go with home schooling, was looking back on my own learning, I realized that most of what I learned, I did not learn if school, I learned because my mom spent time motivating me, and helping me with homework, etc. I realized that in a real sense, I was home educated. Dr. Ben Carson (current presidential candidate) had a few things to say about how much is illiterate mother, did to make him the well educated person he became (do a google search for "Ben Carson National Prayer Breakfast" and watch that video).

 

I think part of the reason why home education works, is that it is natural, perhaps God's design, that kids desire to learn things from their parents, and the home can be a place of better focus, more order, than a sometimes chaotic classroom some schools have. Also, it sometimes surprises people, that with a little planning, you can cover all subjects, sometimes in as little as 2 hours a day. People learn better I think, when learning is not boring, and the shorter it is, the less boring it will seem. If school seems like a chore, then enthusiasm for it wants. I can remember a time, when I covered math, history, geography, biology, and economics, in one, 1 hour class (plus a little drive time). there were actually a few more subject integrated, but you get the idea. The kids had fun, and I had fun, and they barely knew they were in school! Sometime, things that you already do at home, are educational. Bake a cake with your kids - home economics. Make a Pinewood Derby Car - Physics and Woodshop. Grow vegetables in the backyard - Agricultural Technology and Nutritional Studies. Be creative, things like photography are real subjects, if you are learning. Have kids right a review of a TV program they like. Have them watch something on the History Channel, and sicussit with them - maybe you could discuss Slavery in America this way - opportunities are everywhere, if you look for them.

 

Anyway, I will end it here, clearly I am a home school advocate, and that should be enough to pique the interest of those curious about some aspects of home schooling.

[ricky]

Thanks Omega for your very detailed answer.

[The_Patriot21]

I was homeschooled, got my college at a non accredited institute, and didnt even graduate that, and I saw no discrimination in my line of work.

[missmuffet]

Omega your wife was able to stay home and homeschool your children?

[alien224]

My children were not discriminaled against. My oldest daughter is a pharmicist. My son is dasabled and served on our State board of Education as a bord member for Exceptional Children and worked with legislators to develop our state's bullying laws.

The only place my children were mistreated or discriminated against was in the public school system. Which is why they were removed from that environment.

.

[ricky]

Thanks for the feedback, we have no children yet, but but my wife and I have been talking about educational options should we ever have any (probably via adoption if it ever happens). Discrimination was one of my concerns about it, I have other concerns too but this is my main one but it seems my question was definitively answered. 

[B3L13v3R]

Hi saved_ricky!

Hey, worked well for us and our son.

Comes recommended, particularly in this day and age.

 

Like Omega, we gave up a lot of “things.”

But what do things matter in comparison to instilling godly values and raising a godly/moral child? Particularly in this age of “Common Core” and so called LGBT sinful “values” that are now being mandatorily taught in our mid school and high school system in our area, and many areas throughout the U.S.

HSLDA is a good source of information too concerning homeschooling laws in your state.

 

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

[Omegaman 3.0]

Omega your wife was able to stay home and homeschool your children?

 

Yes bopeep,

Our situation may have been a bit unusual. She had a 40/week job, working for a newspaper. There was a position open, which was 25 hours per week, but had full time benefits - full medical mainly. As it turned out, that 25 hour a week job, had things that needed to be done, but they did not always need 25 hours, but she basically got paid for all 25 anyway - sort of a part time / salaried position. It was a cut in pay, but, her pay was enough for us to take her wage, and hire a housekeeper to work 40 hours a week in our home. So, while we had to pay our normal bills out of my earnings, she was trading 25 hours of work out of the home, to receive 40 hours of work inside the home. Some of those 40 hours we got from our housekeeper, were actually used in  help with the babies (we had triplets at that time).

So, hours that now she did not have to spend on house work etc, were available for other things, We kept that arrangement for a number of years, then, when our triplets were old enough to begin schooling, my wife could spend the 2 to 3 hours a day, that usually required on their education.

In our state there is this weird law, that does not require any certain numbers of hours for the kids to be taught, but it does specify the subjects which must be taught, and it stated that the teaching must be between certain hours of the day.

What this means then, is that I was able to teach them some things, that are more suitable to my abilities and knowledge etc, but my teaching was at night, when I was off from work. Or sometimes on weekends etc. This helped make our kids more rounded, but did not technically count as home schooling, since the hours were not correct. So here, if parents both work in the daytime, they basically are not allowed to homeschool.

After we had triplets we had twins a few years later. That might sound like a lot, to have on our plate at first glance, but . . . we had 5 students, but only 2 grade levels. As the triplets got a bit older, they were able to be assigned work, and they could get out the books, and do their homework on their own, with a minimal of supervision, and in fact, we even had them doing some of the teaching of the twins.

We had independent testing done of the kids, to make sure we were reaching acceptable scholastic goals, and kept records of all these thing, in case the 'law' ever decided to investigate our home schooling. 

Home schooling was not illegal but it was not all that clear some years, what was acceptable. Interpretation was up to the state superintendent, to declare what he thought was legal, but, enforcement was up to local school districts. We made sure that our kids always outperformed  local public school standards, so they could not declare us unfit to teach, without in the same breath declaring the public schools unfit.

Anyway , it all worked out, no issues and at a certain point in all of that, we let our housekeeper / nanny go, and my wife quit her 25 hour a week job, and she stayed home as a full time mom/homemaker/wife.

 

You asked a simple question, but a simple answer of yes or no, was a bit more difficult, since it was not a constant thing over the years. In the later years, my wife and my kids were working at the YMCA, so that changes the answer some also. Does this answer your question, of just make it more confusing?

 

We learned to accept from God, what God provided, but also learned to be adaptable, and how to work with less material things, and be content with a more humble lifestyle, that many of our friends.