Can education take place outside school?

[junika3]

I was just wondering, can a person get a complete, good all-round education outside school?

I think school is essential. You get people skills, moral values and extra curricular activities.

But then again, it IS important to get individual attention, and to be street-smart...

Please post with your honest opinions...

can a person get a complete, good all-round education outside school?
probably not
unless ur parents are teachers in everysubject! *lighting strike*

[FGG]

Maybe, if the person that teaches at home (parents or tutor) is qualyfied for the job. Both my parents are teachers (English/History my mom + Math/Physics my dad= curse) but I still think schools are a more practical way of giving education. I mean, how likely is it to get the same things? not that much.

[xyrax]

Originally Posted by junika3

I was just wondering, can a person get a complete, good all-round education outside school?

I think school is essential. You get people skills, moral values and ECAs.

But then again, it IS important to get individual attention, and to be street-smart...

Please post with your honest opinions...

I think we first need to define a "complete, good all-round education." In terms of school subjects, I think you can get a good education in these things outside of school. People skills does not count as a school subject, and you're right you may not get as good social skills--though you may still. Moral values??? Why couldn't moral values be taught outside of school? In fact, I think most of my moral values were taught to me outside of school. I'm not even sure if you could count that as teaching even... more like osmosis... anyway... what are ECAs?

[MiMi_Marquez]

I think you can learn a big variety of things outside of a school. I also think there's a big difference between being "intelligent" and being "street smart". I think people usually learn "intelligent" things...like math, science, y'know- subjects- in institutionalized environments. And while stuff like this is very important, there's also another side to being "smart" and that involves learning life skills- dealing with people, not being naive, and learning how to deal with adult situations, etc- basically common sense. There are a lot of people out there that are very intelligent with college degrees and good grades that don't know beans about the world and dealing with people. Then there are street smart people that don't know how to read, stuff like that.

So I guess to get back on topic and answer the question, I think that yes, learning can take place outside of school. A person has to be dedicated to learn anything anywhere, but I think if you work hard and are dedicated, you can basically learn anything. I think that you can learn people skills in school but sometimes it also takes jobs and stuff like that to teach you more about people.

Wow I ramble

[clarinetgirl]

I think school is important, but it's not the only thing kids should be doing. You could probably learn most of the stuff you learn in school somewhere else, especially if your parents are teachers, but it would be harder. At the same time, it's important to do other things besides school. Kids who go to school and then come straight home every day don't get much outside experience, and as a result aren't "street smart." Ironically, some kids I know have parents who don't let their kids get out much, because they think the kids aren't "street smart" and they'll get hurt, and as a result the kids never get "street smart."

[Uriel]

Yes it can. In the future with school's loosing funds, school violence and kids having problems with learning disabilities I think parents are going to have to home school their kids if they want them to learn anything.

[clarinetgirl]

Originally Posted by Uriel

Yes it can. In the future with school's loosing funds, school violence and kids having problems with learning disabilities I think parents are going to have to home school their kids if they want them to learn anything.

Not necessarily, especially if the parents aren't very educated. And for some kids, homeschooling just wouldn't work. I'm very close to my mom, who is a stay at home mom, but if we spend all day together for several days in a row, we drive each other nuts. So I really would have trouble with homeschooling, otherwise I probably would be homeschooled because I'd be learning more. So I do partly agree with you, but not completely.

[junika3]

Originally Posted by Uriel

Yes it can. In the future with school's loosing funds, school violence and kids having problems with learning disabilities I think parents are going to have to home school their kids if they want them to learn anything.

You've got a point, but then, won't learning how to deal with these things make a child stronger (mentally), and thus help her/him later in life?

And with a tutor, you learn only what your tutor knows. At school, you'll learn odd bits of wisdom from hundreds of other students and teachers.

And I think school makes you more open to different races, people, backgrounds, cultures and religions. So won't this make you more broad-minded?

[mystic_22]

I honestly feel that you need to go to school. Cause education is not only science and maths it's about getting along with the world and you can't do that without school.

[junika3]

Originally Posted by mystic_22

I honestly feel that you need to go to school. Cause education is not only science and maths it's about getting along with the world and you can't do that without school.

I TOTALLY AGREE WIH YOU. Its about sooooo much more...I mean education is almost completely who you are...would you admit to be only science and mathematics?

[mystic_22]

Originally Posted by junika3

I TOTALLY AGREE WIH YOU. Its about sooooo much more...I mean education is almost completely who you are...would you admit to be only science and mathematics?

And think about this at home everything is done for you. Settled and ecided. You don't make your own decisions. It's all made. In school you decide and rule over your life. You choose your friends,your classess,your likes,whether you want to bunk or not. And if you don't amke these decisions do you think you will make the correct decisions later on. The right job,right career,right choices?????/

[mystic_22]

Originally Posted by junika3

I TOTALLY AGREE WIH YOU. Its about sooooo much more...I mean education is almost completely who you are...would you admit to be only science and mathematics?

And think about this. At home evrything is done for you. Your decsions are made and settled out. But in school you make your decisions. You choose your friends,your likes,whether you want to bunk a class. And if you can't make these decisions now do you think you will make the correct ones later?The right college? right job? right choices????

[ripdd]

at the risk of sounding off on a topic close to my heart i must disagree.
yes i am a homeschooling mum.

i respectfully say that the reasons you give are based on a number of preconceived notions of what happens a/ at school and b/ in a homeschooling household.

speaking for our own situation
my children are exposed to a much broader range of people than in school. they are using a lot more of their own choices and judgements (we are what would in some circles be described as 'unschoolers' but we are not technically unschoolers) than ever in a institutional situation.
as for spending all our time together - we DON"T!
my children have a bunch of their own projects etc on the go and are off doing their thing most of the time. having said that we are all much closer from spending our lives intertwined more.

i dont' discount your experiences or opinions, but couldn't pass without adding our perspective.

cheers all
ripdd

[mystic_22]

Originally Posted by ripdd

at the risk of sounding off on a topic close to my heart i must disagree.
yes i am a homeschooling mum.

i respectfully say that the reasons you give are based on a number of preconceived notions of what happens a/ at school and b/ in a homeschooling household.

speaking for our own situation
my children are exposed to a much broader range of people than in school. they are using a lot more of their own choices and judgements (we are what would in some circles be described as 'unschoolers' but we are not technically unschoolers) than ever in a institutional situation.
as for spending all our time together - we DON"T!
my children have a bunch of their own projects etc on the go and are off doing their thing most of the time. having said that we are all much closer from spending our lives intertwined more.

i dont' discount your experiences or opinions, but couldn't pass without adding our perspective.

cheers all
ripdd

With all due respects, I value your views and I am sure that you have your reasons for saying so but I still frimly believe taht kids need to go to school. You have just said that your kids meet a whole range of different people,and have a number of projects to go but all this is open infront of yu right? You supervise or atleast know all of this. Experiences got in school cannot be got anywhere else however openminded and good homeschooling might be. Firstly the experience of being away from home,talking about teachers,praising them or *****ing about them. Your friends and the stuff you do together in school. Whether it's about bunking classes and going to the cafeteria or bunking a class and playing soccer in the field. They are experiences that make a person out of you. They become legends in your mind 20 years later when you look back and think. The fights that you have in school,your friends standing up for you and the emotional trauma that we all go through, it's a part of your soul and memory. It's a sacred bit of your life that shines out through all your years. And would anyone want their children to be devoid of these memories? School is irreplacable and it is such an important part of life thet anyone who has not experienced school is incomplete.

[Spirit]

I think that kids should go to school. They don't need to go to school, but I think it would be a lot better for them. At least once they reach middle school age. Teaching your kid the alphabet and multiplication are different than trying to teach them Geometry. And once you get to middle school, people can take classes that interest them, not that is just required. I like going to school and seeing different people. I like having different teachers. All of my teachers have taught differently and I've always learned something from all of them that I couldn't learn from the others. I'm not sure quite how to describe it -- but I really think that having your kids home schooled limits their point-of-view even more than the average kid who does go to school. I hope I haven't upset anyone by saying that, but that's what I think.

[ripdd]

totally understand what you are saying, but it's still based on the idea that my kids only learn from me.

cheers all.

btw i'm glad you have such glowing memories of school. personally i don't. but that's not why we h/school.

peace.

[Erinys]

I think a "good, well-rounded education" does not depend on the environment in which that education takes place, but on the person being educated. I don't think school's are a necessary part of a good education, they just work best to impart an education to the largest number of students. There are valuable lessons to be learned in school, vis-a-vis socialization skills - but school is by no means the only place to get these skills.

As for homeschooling, the few people I've met who were home-schooled were by no means well-rounded individuals and did fall into the stereotype of "not able to interact socially with peers". However, I'm not sure that they would have faired all that much better in school. One boy was the typical "nerd" who was/would be picked on mercilessly in school (his parents did try to place him back in school); they have moved to a different state since then, so I don't know how it has worked out.

[MiMi_Marquez]

My earlier post may have been unclear- I do believe that kids should definitely go to school...and I'm not sure I think homeschooling is always the best choice. I'm not saying I disagree with it, but I dunno. I definitely think teenagers should have jobs and responsibilities outside of their schoolwork so that they learn to be more balanced and responsible.

[ripdd]

MiMi_Marquez said

I definitely think teenagers should have jobs and responsibilities outside of their schoolwork so that they learn to be more balanced and responsible.

TOTALLY agree.


(btw don't think h/s is for everyone. also know heaps of kids at school who didn't *get* socialized.)