Comments on: SONNY SCOTT: Home-schoolers threaten our cultural comfort

By: Carry Heese

Carry Heese — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:56:29 +0000

Entertaining site. My co-workers and I were just discussing this the other day. Also your blog looks great on my old palm treo. Now thats uncommon. Nice work.

By: Twinkle

Twinkle — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:20:50 +0000

I love this article. It’s irrelevant whether all homeschooled families are that well behaved. I am grateful to Sonny Scott for this article. Even the title of this article says a great deal. It puts in words what I knew but did not know how to articulate.

By: Matthew Bowman

Matthew Bowman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:36:14 +0000

I know a lot of homeschool families, and mine used to be one. Many of my classmates at my alma mater were former homeschoolers as well. Generally, though not always, you could tell the difference. While many homeschool families don’t fit this description — which I will point out was obviously whitewashed for the sake of argument, just as the comparison non-homeschool family was similarly painted with a broad brush — the fact is that MOST of the families I know do fit this.

My best friend is the second-oldest of nine, and his family used to be the most well-behaved homeschool family I’d ever met. They weren’t drones yet they did their chores and watched the young ones and were all scary-smart; the scary part wasn’t the fact that they were smart, but that all of them excelled, which I wasn’t used to in my own family which had to deal with more inappropriate influences. (For instance, my sister’s swim team, which encouraged her to act like a ditz in order to fit in.)

The family I board with now is also a homeschooling family, and while they are not the picture of well-behaved kids they DO listen and learn very quickly. The youngest children will throw temper-tantrums like “normal” kids and the older ones (the eldest being fourteen) will neglect their chores until someone breathes down their neck; but they could be that family in the supermarket when they go out.

Now, if a voucher system were in place to support homeschool, even by only partially reimbursing the taxes used for the public school system, I suspect that the whole financial argument would be null and void. Of course, that’s asking the government to part with your well-earned money, which isn’t likely to happen.

By: Elissa

Elissa — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:43:48 +0000

Hmmm. I know a lot of homeschool families, and they do not really fit this calm, perfect description. They seem to have as many ups and downs as my own, non-homeschooled, two-parent low income family. More power to them, though- I don’t think I’d have the patience to stay home all day teaching my children. And there are many things you have to give up to choose this life-style: not only the income of the parent who would have to stay home (which, by the way, I believe is absolutely necessary for some, even those who don’t buy designer clothing and high-tech game systems).

By: Mavis

Mavis — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:50:48 +0000

Wow! Although I know some homeschool families that are very similar to the one you described, those aren’t the only ones there are. Our children are well behaved but they do have their faults.

I do believe that those who object to homeschooling do so because they feel threatened, judged and/or rejected. I’m sorry that they feel this way. Many times the reasons we choose to homeschool have nothing to do with others but only reflect the goals we want for our own children.

I just wish those who object to homeschooling would see our decision as neither “right or wrong” but simply different…similar to choose public or private school.