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Barbara C.
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 7:17pm | IP Logged
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I think the thing that bugs many homeschoolers about the "pouch-schooling" idea in the movie is that it feeds into the negative stereotypes about homeschoolers. And many homeschoolers feel like they're fighting a constant battle against the culture to overcome ingrained notions that school is the only and best place for children to learn social skills, that children should be separated from their parents as early as possible to make them independent, that children should be constantly pushed and kept busy in organized activities to teach them responsibility, commitment, and organization. The research is showing, though, that these notions are not true.
The stereotype is that people choose to homeschool to limit their child's knowledge and feed their child misinformation without anyone there to correct it. Many people can not see that schools are regularly more guilty of this. There's a lot of people out there who like Willa said choose to homeschool because they see it as an opportunity to expand their child's knowledge and experiences beyond what the schools can offer. And I don't see it as sheltering to want to be the ones to shape my childrens' worldviews and value systems rather than it being shaped by interactions with their peers who are trying to piece it all together themselves.
I have experiences on both sides of the homeschooling spectrum. Besides being on this forum a lot, which is obviously on the conservative side of things, IRL I am part of a secular unschooling group. Most of the families do not attend any sort of religious service regularly. There are certain out-of-the-box things in common: breastfeeding, stay-at-home moms, consideration of vaccines, ventures into homeopathy, organic foods. Not that everyone who homeschools is into all these things but they seem to come up more in conversation than with my non-homeschooling friends and family back home. The non/anti homeschooling people seem to hold up the status quo without giving it much thought beyond "that's the way it's always been and should be".
I think the difference at times is that most homeschoolers at least take the time to question the status quo, and not necessarily in the moody teenager kind of way.
Just my 2 cents.
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Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 7:45pm | IP Logged
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Bucking the stereotype here.
I don't homeschool to protect my kids, though that is one nice side benefit.
I homeschool because we love it, and because I know I can do a better job of educating my kids than public schools can. Or,as my dh is fond of saying--If I went to work, we couldn't afford the quality of education our kids are getting by my staying home.(Did I mention lately how much I love my dh?)
So, yeah, the pouch-schooling stereotype really bugs me.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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cornomama4
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 8:44pm | IP Logged
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Also, you shouldn't be too bugged by the "pouch-schooling" comment considering the source: a scandalously lame attempt by the money-grubbing-scum of the movie industry to seduce unsuspecting parents out of their hard-earned cash in the name of child-friendly entertainment.(IMHO)
But I share the same sentiment when the "pouchschooler" in question (the kangaroo momma) is such a formidible villain, rivaled in cold callousness only by the Queen from Snow White and Nurse Rachet from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Seriously, one thing I find funny is that the out-of-the-box thinking of today actually IS the old-fashioned, conservative attitude. One of my babysitter's (she's 16) dad recently took her out for a special evening of dinner and a symphony concert and during the evening they had "the talk" where he informed her that he is in charge of her chastity and honor until she marries, that God has given him this responsibility, and that any suitors she has will have to go through him and the whole biblically correct process. Then he gave her a special ring to wear until her marriage.
This sounds strange to relate in text, but it was one of the neatest things I'd heard. I wonder how my teen years and life 'till marriage would have been if someone had had a talk like that with me. Point is, that kind of thing IS out-of-the-box in today's society. And this family is totally "normal", the girl is in PS for high school and very well-liked, they even have Guitar-Hero, but so many things are so conservative, like that, like all the boys serve at Mass, etc.
I really got hammered on another list when I tried to be funny and say "I homeschool because I'm a nonconformist. I really like being a nonconformist...all my friends are doing it!" but my point was that there is a trend of people that decide to homeschool because that's the newest cool thing to do. That may just be my myopic perception of things, but so many are deciding to homeschool and I can't help but wonder if the commitment is really there. I mean, it's much more accepted now and there are so many resources available..it's almost too easy to get interested, get started, throw money at it, etc. I think I'm sounding uncharitable...I guess I can't say how "people" think.
I had a counselor ask me recently why I was so passionate about homeschooling my kids. I couldn't come up with a coherent statement at the time, but it lead to a great discussion on our HS group. One thing that really stayed with me was a quote from a priest here that said "You gotta teach 'em to swim before you toss 'em in the sewer." I guess meaning they're going to go out there anyway, why not equip them the best you can beforehand. For me, I hope and pray that homeschooling will help us do this.
cm4
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 2:13am | IP Logged
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I think I understand how you feel. There have been several choices I've made where no one else is doing it, and I try to convince everyone to do it cause its great, but then they start doing it when it becomes "acceptable" and my pride wants me to think its not fair, I should be "special" somehow for choosing it when it wasn't acceptable, and ---hey, why didn't you believe *me* when *I* recommended it, blah blah.
But, I do remind myself that I made the choices because I thought they were better and I should rejoice in seeing people make choices I think are good for them, yk? So, just because others aren't as capable of bucking the system as I am and are more influenced by what is socially acceptable, it doesn't make their good decision less good or valid then my own, yk?
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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insegnante
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 9:12am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| So, just because others aren't as capable of bucking the system as I am and are more influenced by what is socially acceptable, it doesn't make their good decision less good or valid then my own, yk? |
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When it comes to homeschooling I have a hard time seeing myself having been one of the pioneers. Whether I would have done it in the later 90s would likely have depended on the community support I felt. (Although I did first hear of it in the early 90s and it seemed like an alternative if the Catholic schools available were going to be actually destructive to a child's faith, but I wouldn't have tried it without being outright horrified by the school options.)
I've long had sympathy for bucking the system, but I'm not very brave about risking people thinking mistakenly that I'm harming or neglecting my kids, which is what the issue would have been for me with homeschooling back then. I won't put them through something I think is actually harmful because others think the opposite but I am definitely not the most vocally opinionated person when I think, e.g., a doctor is recommending something that is merely unnecessary but not likely to be truly harmful.
I am so, so grateful for those who paved the way for us to have much less difficulty in this regard when it comes to homeschooling!
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 12:39pm | IP Logged
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I was born in 1979, so, its impossible for me to have been a pioneer homeschooler, lol. But, I had close friends who homeschooled then, and I BEGGED my parents to home school me my entire life. I've always thought I would home school except for like a month once when I first became Catholic and thought I might choose Catholic schools (since that wasn't an "option" in my mind before, yk?).
So, I can't say for certain that I would have, but I do a lot of things others would accuse me of neglecting my children about (I don't vax, I co-sleep, I feed my children raw milk and drink it myself even when pregnant, etc...).
I like to think I would have, but it sure is nice to not have to be that person. I am SO grateful, like you are, of the way that has been paved for me. Just a few short years ago, people had to deal with much stricter laws in my state, and all I will have to do when we start officially is send in attendance forms! What a blessing!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: "pouch schooling"/out-of-the-box thoughts
