Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
You are right … but you see home schooling does more than that … I shakes up modern life completely … I like that idea … It demands more from the parents for the children and less from them for work/career … home education is a life style … in it we don’t have to undo the damage of schools … now this is not saying that school’s intent is harmful … but some of the things they do are … like recess/break time …
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
No … I didn’t say that …
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
I really think this thread should not become one of those arguments about home education … If OP … Sister Peppermint you have any more questions then I’ll be happy to present our experiences …
As you can see one of the biggest hurdles is to overcome peer pressure both from friends and family … they don’t understand and do not want to understand your reasons for it … This takes a lot of guts to do … getting up and walking against the tide …
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
psyah, your wife hareem has been missing. Hope she is fine, ask her to come to GS sometime and to update us about her. are u guys still in the middle east ?
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Behold: the two absolutely worst arguments against homeschooling | The Matt Walsh Blog
Good read
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Peace SaadiaB
Yes, we’re still here … for the time being … My wife may not come back again … it takes up too much of her sensible grey matter and the kids are her most important project - I’m only the guy that supports … I will however pass on the thoughts and May Allah (SWT) keep you in His Shade … Ameen.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Totally agree. That is why it’s important to point all your posts/arguments are based on **your **perception only, and are not hard and fast facts or the norm by any means. I’ve always been in total awe of Hareem’s commitment to and accomplishments in home schooling,and have told her that repeatedly, however, it’s irresponsible to portray your situation as the one true way of educating a child. We all have different experiences and ideals, and everybody does the best that they can. No one way is better than the other, it’s all about preference and experiences. Just because you feel a certain way, doesn’t give you the right to brush off **all **traditional/public schooling as flawed or inferior.
Damage of schools…“matrix”…peer pressure…messed up adults and kids…pidgeon holing…you use some pretty strong words and honestly, it’s very off putting.
OP…I hope you figure out the best course of action for your kids and family and are successful at it. The beauty of this day and age that we live in is the plethora of options available when it comes to our children.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
I agree with the shaking up part bhai.
We do need to move away from the norm if we are going to ensure our children have a brighter future.
And I also agree that home education should be a lifestyle…it’s how we implement the lifestyle that matters.
I don’t think that anyone here wants to argue against anything. What suits one family may never suit another. As parents we are responsible for making the best possible choices for our children for they are an amanat entrusted to us by the Almighty. May He guide us all to make the decisions that are best, ameen.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Yes it is my perception … My perception tells me to use those strong words … that link I gave to Matt Walsh’s blog … well he uses stronger words than I.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Peppermint- even if they were the easiest kids in the world, I would still send them to school. Like pysah said, hareem needed to the teacher all the time and I cant be either a teacher or a mom all the time. The roles get mushed up atleast in my family dynamic and it just isnt for me. However, there are women who do a wonderful job of balancing it all and kudos to them. The school my kids will be attending is great and I am excited for them. I dont understand how or why though schools education can be limiting. I would think that the schools have more resources and offer more teaching techniques than a one single parent in charge of teaching. When I was aiding as a teacher’s assistant to kindergartners, I remember the teacher brought out this huge model of eye that the kids had a wonderful time exploring. It was a very hands on learning experience for them and they bounced off ideas, talking and learning about it whereas when I was doing a lesson on an eye recently, I was limited to some extent and Yes I can take them to children’s museum but museums are weekend trips for us due to distance. Also, in the initial years of schooling, children are encouraged to learn with their hands and eyes so the whole a child is glued to a seat during school is not really true. The eye model is just an small example but Public Schools here are equipped with different learning mediums that are not just books for teaching purposes. Every teacher has a different teaching style, some good and some not but that itself is a learning experience for kids because it teaches them how to deal with different types of teachers and how to balance yourself so you make the most of a lesson as a student. I had bad teachers but i figured out a way to learn the stuff she was teaching to pass that class. As a parent you can always expand on your child’s mind by introducing them to plenty of things they may or may not be learning at school. The best way is to know what your child is learning and expand on it by taking a trip to a local museum or do a fun project so they can learn even more about it. If a child is going to a school, it certainly does not relieve parents of their duties as a teacher in their child’s life and we as parents can still contribute to what and how they learn.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
In humility I echo your du’a … ameen
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Why do you think it wouldn’t be?
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
quite.. now it’s all making sense.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
This debate is already quite long to actually need more participation. 
However, my two cents:
The idea of homeschooling has always had an appeal for me and I’m always keen on reading up on this subject. However I have always felt it is up to parents to decide whether or not to homeschool their child, according to their specific needs. Every child is an individual. I have mashaAllah four kids and all four have their own unique personalities.
I keep checking different homeschooling resources but only as a supplementary material to help my children learn. I’ve had the privilege to have some excellent people be the teachers of my children. I am in Pakistan currently and the concept of teacher’s professional training is really not that good in practical terms here but I am glad that our exposure and experiences positively contribute to the educational needs of our children.
I have never dared taking up the challenge of homeschooling my children, while I personally know some ladies who are homeschooling their children both in Pakistan and abroad. In my personal opinion, which could be wrong of course, I cannot homeschool simply because it’s a job, I do not have qualification for. That being said, I do not leave the matter of education of my kids ENTIRELY up to school because I know my children better and understand them. I try helping them and I support them and alhamdulillah my kids have been great achievers thus far, not in terms of grades, but as persons.
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Khattichic…can you tell us why the first couple was successful with HSing and the second one a failure? (Sorry cant quote your post through phone)
Ok i forgot whoever asked some questions previously just wanted to share my experience with you all…
I did NOT say that I have really bad teachers in my school life…they were brilliant… nor I am against Teachers…I myself have a ten year teaching experience with a degree in the same field other than my graduation n masters degree…
My experience was bad in terms of freedom(IMO)…i had to manage time to take music classes piano lessons play around the park with friends read encyclopedias and story books story of sahabas and khalifas watch my favourite cartoons swimming lessons and the list goes on…(other than homework…assesments etc)
This seems easier to me if I homeschool my son…he will havemore time to do what he wants to and learn whatever he likes(something other than textbooks)…(i’m just sharing my thoughts)
It is definitely the parents responsibility…
As a teacher I do have noticed “time limitations”…which have negative effect on some students(specifically those who need more time to fully grasp the concepts)…I have to deliver the lecture on a particular topic in 30-40 minutes only which is very less IMO…I wish I could have atleast 2hours to discuss/watch audio visual/bring models/show real life examples/assign small tasks in classroom only…so that they will enjoy as well as learn plus never forget what they have learned…
I want say so much more…
Coming back to the topic…
Psyah…I can understand…that it would be hard to make people understand…
How do your kids react to this?
Till what age/grade are you expecting to HS your children?
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
^ Peace Sister Peppermint …
So you are qualified and experienced teacher? Well … that is good … It’s great … I know of at least three other teachers who although teach, home school their own children.
Here is another good account of someone who is not a teacher …
Home Education | Home Education | Alternative Schooling | The Good Schools Guide
Also, to be honest I am finding it difficult to locate any article praising the schooling system and how it might be better than home education … I am really struggling … But anyhow, back to your questions …
Our kids will sometimes probe us about school … and they do see films and programmes of school life … The eldest has been to school twice … For nursery and for the first term of year 4 in a private school. School life really frustrated him … The second one on the other hand he would probably be okay, but he likes his freedom and would be told off too many times and disciplined for his time to be really effective for learning. It is easy at home … the kids just learn and there is no amount of tantrums that stop it, because it is so easy to re-channel their energy towards learning.
The first and third child would not think of going to school … the first knows first hand what it was like for him and the third loves his mum too much to leave her … LOL … The second, he is a bit more independent, but he is also a rebel. He may at first want to go to school but would soon do things that would challenge the expectations set out for him and for some reason all three would seriously challenge the teachers … we’ve kept up a very buoyant atmosphere of questions and giving detailed answers - as a teacher you might admit you cannot always give answers to sideways thought processes - you need to keep the children channeled to your train of thought. Letting children explore their minds is not a practical way of teaching many children at the same time, as you are aware.
As for when we hope to teach our children up until …
Since we are not really following the strictness of year groups … It will be dependent on them … sometimes we think until year 9, or until after A levels … we want them to go to University …
So really it is all be knowing when they are ready to enter society - fully equipped with the emotional, rational and intellectual tools to handle it and stay focused enough to avoid it and reflect on their each and every step of life. When we are not around to help them and keep them safe - we need to be sure that they have our training at hand that keeps them ready to face different situations in life …
Just like a bird knows when it’s chick must become a fledgling … we will know when they are ready for society and if that happens earlier or later we will try to support them as best as we can … We want from them to know - they can trust us, ask us anything, how to evaluate right and wrong and how to detect potential danger.
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Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
this is the reason majority of homeschooling parents in the US give too. they dont want their kids exposed to govt propaganda, minorities both religious and ethnic, the godlessness of classrooms, liberal ideas like gun control and homosexuality.
and another thing - everyone thinks their kids are absolutely brilliant and need to be challenged more/ arent being given the right pedagogic approach to shine etc. good schools have ways to address such things if they are indeed genuine cases. parents aren’t the ones likely to make objective assessments of their kids abilities. a teacher who sees thousands of kids in his or her career knows a thing or two more than most parents.
someone said they needed 2 hour time slots to really teach a kid. good luck getting any kid under 8 to listen to anything for more than 20-25 minutes at a time. no matter how good your content, kids aren’t built to sit and get indoctrinated like that. why would you want to experiment on a kid when there is a system or a group of systems in place?
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Peace Maula Jatt
Welcome to GS … O’ come on … that post was not worth it - if you didn’t want to say something …
Re: Home schooling…pros and cons?
Hey … we are not experimenting - the schools and system who test the kids like lab rats are the ones doing that themselves …
It seems you have a good idea of the reasons given by the home schoolers … your contention is that teachers can do a better a job … does the product of school - facts and figures really reflect that sentiment? What are the statistics of home educated children in suicides, health problems, money problems, grades … how much of the unemployed were schooled and how much were home educated? It is easy to throw these statements around … using some sort of rational thought process … let’s see you back them up now.
If I had to study one child’s behaviour or study 40 or 50 children’s behaviour in one week … are you saying that I would do a better job studying the many than I would for studying just the one? Is this line of argument really all that rational?