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Notes -
I apologize in advance because what I'm about to say isn't what you asked for but I think it's important to comment.
Independent of how good of an idea homeschooling was in the past, I think it is going to become a much worse idea in the future.
One of the joys of my job is that I get to see every single slice of the population and something I've noticed is that young people are nervous wrecks theses days (especially post-COVID)...this is known - but also that a lot of home schooled kids are a lot worse.
I suspect this is due to decreasing opportunities for independence and socialization and regular school is one of the last bastions of that. This trend will likely continue to worsen as people spend more time online and less time touching grass.
I'm sure the research will catch up at some point, as it has with social media and COVID pauses, but at that point some people's lives will still be fucked.
There are plenty of reasons to avoid traditional school (safety, poor quality, woke bullshit) but the benefit is probably worth it and if you are going to home school you'll need to dig out chances for your kid(s) to socialize adequately.
Yes, this is key. We're hoping to have them out of the house doing something with other kids their age at least 3-4 times per week, plus playdates, playing in the park, etc. One of the two is very outgoing, so we're already thinking about how we're going to handle this and looking for homeschooling groups and activities that are not tied to schools. We very much want to avoid the "house arrest" model of homeschooling.
Sounds like you've thought a bunch about this!
Were you home schooled? Personally I feel like I'd have missed out on all of the activities and dumb stuff of school if I skipped it, but that doesn't mean that is the "only right way."
key thing is being involved other ways - church, neighborhood two huge ones that are admittedly probably harder than they used to be. Once you hit high school might be worth starting to get more involved - taking some AP classes, dual enrollment at local college, and highly highly recommend music and athletic extra curriculars.
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I wasn't, but I think I might have liked it. Probably like a lot of people on here, I enjoyed reading almost anything as a kid, from children's fiction to reference books and encyclopedias, and I always wished I had more time for that (well, that and PC gaming). I also used to write and draw for fun, but my enthusiasm fizzled by the time I finished middle school. I think I would kept them up had I learned how to properly draw or had a chance to write about the things I was interested in (history, fantasy, adventure) instead of analyzing e e cummings poetry or whatever.
I'm still a bit worried about their ability to make and maintain friendships without school, though. Friendships happen when you have forced repeated contact and shared experiences, and I've heard that some homeschooling circles have a constant flow of people coming in and out (but I guess some schools do too). We will have a good family friendly neighborhood and a nearby church, so that might help. Sports will probably be important for this as well.
Yeah this will help a lot.
So many people are maladjusted now and have no or few friends and I cannot imagine how much harder it is for the young. Like it's hard enough to find a GF for functional wealthy adults now.
A freshmen in high school? Yikes. And home schooling might be much, much worse.
However it seems very clear you are actively thinking about what you are doing and what the plan is and aware of limitations - fantastic prognostic indicator.
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Homeschoolers IME(and I know a lot of homeschoolers) go one way or another. There are plenty of homeschoolers who are ready to be functional adults, not nervous at all, mentally healthy and well rounded... at 16. There are also homeschoolers who are the opposite of that at 25. There is much less in between.
Do not go it alone when homeschooling. Do not delay normal developmental milestones, even if you think there's a good reason for it. If you are homeschooling a boy, he needs to be working for a non-family member and in sports the whole time(girls can usually handle most of the things these accomplish for themselves if allowed to). Shelter a level less than you think you need to.
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This was always the case. If you're going to homeschool, you have to make sure you socialize your kids in other ways. When I was growing up, my parents did that through groups with other homeschoolers, through church, and through other youth activities (scouts, 4-H, etc). I don't think that it's worse than before or anything, I think that this was just something you always had to do if you were going to homeschool your kids.
I agree it was always important but my fear is that it is going to be increasingly harder to do. :/
I see... I misunderstood your comment.
I don't know how clear I was - what I see oncoming is an increase in anxiety disorders (for instance) and that will likely be way worse for homeschooled for non-home schooled (but both will be bad).
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