[gambiting]

I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed, except for kids with disabilities which stop them from leaving home.

It just seems to me that Americans fear radical islam, while extremely radical Christianity grows right under their noses. I agree that free state-run secular schools are the way to go for modern society.

[new299]

> I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed, except for kids with disabilities which stop them from leaving home.

That doesn't really seem like a well reasoned argument. Can you provide any data to backup that statement?

Let's try some quick googling. This article looks pretty good:

http://www.educationandbehavior.com/what-does-research-say-a...

Two interesting quotes from a paper they cite:

"For instance, one nationwide study analyzed data from 1,952 homeschooled students across the country and found that the students, on average, scored at the eightieth percentile or higher in every test category"

"Several studies found no significant difference in the social skills of homeschooled and non-homeschooled students. Other studies found that homeschooled children score significantly higher on social development rating scales/questionnaires."

[vacri]

So I went hunting from that link, since scoring so highly simply doesn't pass the sniff test. The reference is an academic paper full of weasel words ('many studies show' type stuff), and that particular commentary (1,952 students bit) came from a book by Brian D. Ray, a not exactly neutral proponent given he is the president of the National Home Education Research Institute. I didn't find a relevant excerpt from the book, but I have found an infographic[1] based on it and other articles.

Turns out that it doesn't matter how poor or uneducated the parents, the students still perform in the top 20%, including maths and science (the latter being particularly suspect given the strong showing of fundamentalist religion in the homeschooling world).

Going back to the reference paper and pulling another reference[2], it clearly states in the abstract that while they found significantly higher rates of performance in the home-schooled kids, they also had a significantly more educated parents and significantly higher family income... and also clearly state that since their experiment wasn't controlled, you shouldn't read too much into it.

These numbers in that link are cooked. They're nonsense. That link is using weasel words, apples-to-oranges comparisons, and pulling info from non-neutral parties. Is home schooling better or worse? Well, it depends; it is better for some, and there are certainly some myths. But that link is cooked.

[1]https://www.nheri.org/HERR.pdf

[2]http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/543

[new299]

Thanks, looking over the references myself I'd tend to agree. The Widener Law Review paper itself looks pretty biased.

I'd like to find a more recent, less biased review if anyone knows of one.

[gambiting]

The statement literally said "I believe that [...]".

How can I provide data to back up that statement?

I never reasoned that home schooling doesn't provide results, or that home schooled students do worse. I'm sure that with dedicated enough parents, it will provide results, and the students will do better or at least just as well!

I still think that it shouldn't be allowed. I'm not sure how I can provide sources on that.

[Inconel]

I'm not nearly knowledgable enough about this subject to have a well informed opinion and my only exposure to homeschooled kids have turned out to be very well adjusted adults. Despite my own anecdotal experience, I'm certainly open to any data showing the overall negative effects that homeschooling may have on the societal level, but if you strongly believe it shouldn't be allowed, and yet this belief isn't based on any solid reasoning or evidence, isn't that somewhat similar to the kind of unfounded beliefs on display in the article?

[new299]

Sorry, I should have said "could you provide data which shows your believe is valid/would make the world better?"

Stating "I believe X" without any basis in reality doesn't seem like a useful contribution to any discussion really...

[_petronius]

Fun fact: here in Germany, home schooling is illegal. I'm with you -- I think this is probably for the best. After all, how do you get kids to learn to socialize and integrate with society at large (regardless of their background), if they don't attend school and get out from under their parents?

But this is also the only basis on which Germans can typically sucessfully claim asylum in the US, and have successfully in the past: the idea that they are fleeing "religious or political persecution" for not being allowed to keep their kids at home and teach them in an isolated environment.

[bambax]

I don't know much about Germany but if what you say is true, it's great for the country: they are able to successfully expatriate the crazies out -- hey, the crazies expatriate themselves, willfully! That's pure magic.

[DougN7]

It would be very interesting to go back to the 1940's and see what was being taught in the German schools.

I'm in favor of public education - my three kids went to great public schools. But there is no perfect answer that works in all situations, all times and all places.

[guard-of-terra]

> socialize

You mean, learn what it is to be ridiculed, assaulted and mocked? Awesome development indeed! How could I ever live without it!? I hope this happens to your kid.

[shshhdhs]

There is nothing wrong with homeschooling. You're taking it out of proportion. I had difficulties with bullies for a few years, and my parents took me out of school to home school me. I benefited from this reset-- learned a lot about myself during that time (this is when I self-learned about tech & hacking).

Homeschooling is a much safer environment to learn. State-run schools have drugs, violence, and often teachers who don't want to teach anymore.

[natewalck]

I love how on HN you can make a statement like this with zero evidence and it doesn't get downvoted. If someone were to do the same for a tightly held HN friendly view, you would be crucified.

Show me the numbers. What percent of homeschoolers are radical Christiana? Every home schooler I personally know is atheist/agnostic, well educated and want to make sure their kids get a solid education. (Because the public school system isn't delivering). If we are going on personal experience or assumptions, then my view is equally valid, if not more so as I have 5 data points :)

[guard-of-terra]

> I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed

Maybe we should just give kids to bullies to use as slaves? Probably auction them.

(School was unarguably the worst period of my life, period. Bonus points for being blamed for that even later on, when affluent and successful)

(Nobody ever blames bullies for being ones. They were "just kids". Now you - you do get blamed for having been bullied)

[gambiting]

It's like saying that someone broke your arm at school,so maybe we should break arms of every kid at school. This would never happen with home schooling!

My point is - these two are unrelated. I say home schooling shouldn't be allowed, you say you were bullied at school. So is your point that everyone should be home schooled?

I mean....bullies are usually bullies because they have shit parents who don't care about their kids. Do you think that home schooling is the answer here?

[guard-of-terra]

My point is: You should be able to shield your kids from that shit. You should be able to take them home.

I don't care about bullies, and the fun thing is: most kids are bullies when push comes to shove.

[new299]

With respect, the problem is that you are both using gut reactions and anecdotal personal experience in order to determine the correct government policy.

You could approach it from a civil liberties angle. But if you're really interested in what would be best for the population overall, perhaps try and cite some data? It took me 5 minutes of Google searching to find some interesting results...

[guard-of-terra]

> for the population overall

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ones_Who_Walk_Away_from_Om...

It was definitely good for them to hold that child in the basement! As a population overall.

Why would I care about "civil liberties" if they come at cost of ruining my life? And I know I'm not in any way an exception. I won't be around enjoying them, right? Do I look like a person who enjoys anything right now?

[new299]

I think I wasn't clear on my meaning of "civil liberties".

My meaning was this you can argue the following: That home schooling is a kind of basic human right. That there are some rights that a parent has to determine how their child is brought up.

I'm not making that argument. But I would be interested in hearing it. And hearing a justification for it.

Sounds like the Ursula K. Le Guin story is exploring individual versus group wellbeing. Thanks for posting it, I'll try and read it sometime.

On a personal note: I do know that school can be a horrible place. It can also be a huge time wasting exercise. I intensely disliked it. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience there, schooling can be particularly distressing because it's an experience forced upon you at a young age. I hope you are able to work through your problems.

A few weeks ago, at a local school (in Japan), a teacher beat a child in an after school class with a Kendo stick. The child was in hospital for a month. Very bad things happen at schools...

But... these are all single data points. And I honestly want to understand the wider picture.

[thescribe]

Would you be willing to elaborate on why the state should run schools? I am probably as extreme the other way as it is possible to be, but I'd like to understand where you are coming from.