Homeschooling: Your Views, Please

[thereisnospoon]

There was a time in America when new immigrants were expected to learn sufficient English to pass their immigration exam and take their oath of allegiance to the USA in English in order to become U.S. citizens.

That is still the case, so you can calm down.

Is it? Then why do we require DMVs, ballots, official instructions, public education, etc. to be provided in more than one language? Why is so much in government resources devoted to accommodate non-English speakers? Why is the burden now on the taxpayer to see that non-English speakers are accommodated in the public schools?

The laws have not changed, but I know of more than one liberal judge who allowed new immigrants to take their oath of citizenship in their native language. Also a large percentage, maybe 40 to 50% of immigrants eligible to become U.S. citizens have not done so because they didn't get around to learning English. They get almost all the benefits of citizenship without being citizens, so unless voting or obtaining an American passport or such as that is important to them, why bother?

DMVs, ballots, official instructions, public education, etc are not citizenship tests. I don't know that such multilingual forms are "required" but ... why does Canada require public signs to be in both English and French? There's your answer methinks.

I've got food and drug products that are printed in way more than two languages including Russian and Chinese. Obviously one just uses the one that one is literate in; so what if it's inclusive?

Anyway to stay on track your implication was not whether citizenship for a given migrant is a good idea or not; it was that English isn't required for citizenship, but actually it is.

First what goes on in Canada is irrespective of the US.
Actually the French thing applies only to Quebec which for the last ten years or so has a had a "French First" law. That law steeped in French paranoia and arrogance cost business owners tons of money spent on the changing of signage.
The problem in Canada is that every 10 to 15 years there is another very annoying French Separatist movement to have Quebec break away from Canada. THIS is the problem with a multi-language culture.

 

[BULLDOG]

Seriously, many Americans are so sick of listening to Public School Teachers whining about how they're so mistreated and forcing their far Left political agenda on the kids. It's so tired and lame at this point. Homeschooling is a fantastic logical alternative. More & more Americans are considering it. Good for them.

I understand that in the fox bubble, teachers are nothing more than political brainwashers whose main goal is to turn your kids gay, and usher in a new communist government, but like everything else in that bubble, it bears no resemblance to reality.

 

[Foxfyre]

Re the bolded sentence, how so, when we are seeing it up close and personal with hundreds of kids? I'm sure there are exceptions, but I can honestly say I haven't met one yet.

Homeschooling accounts for less than 3%

To make such a claim is mindboggling to me.

What difference does 3% make? A smaller percentage than that identifies as gay/lesbian and nobody seems to thing those numbers are too insignificant to draw conclusions. Three percent of millions is a lot of kids. And with 400 AWANA kids meeting regularly at our church where I help with the youth programs, I have a lot of opportunity to know these kids up close and personal. And pretty much without exception they all appear to be extremely well adjusted, confident, properly socialized young people. On average, more so than a lot of the kids who attend public school and we have a lot of those in our church too.

The following numbers look pretty straight forward compared to what little research I've done on this:
Number of Homeschoolers by State 2013-2014 A2Z Homeschooling
You can find the approximate number of homeschooled kids in your state in the following table. Linked numbers are from state documents. (If the PDF report looks scrambled, try another browser.)

State	Total # Kids Ages 5-17	2013-2014 Homeschoolers (Estimate)
Alabama	821,893	22,963
Alaska	133,183	3,721
Arizona	1,194,870	33,383
Arkansas	518,534	14,487
California	6,757,361	188,792
Colorado	907,381	25,351
Connecticut	600,823	16,786
Delaware	150,182	3145
D.C.	72,055	2,013
Florida	2,966,229	77,054
Georgia	1,829,100	51,103
Hawaii	216,010	6,035
Idaho	313,903	8,770
Illinois	2,250,223	62,868
Indiana	1,171,881	37,346
Iowa	529,220	14,786
Kansas	522,583	14,600
Kentucky	741,328	20,712
Louisiana	807,109	22,550
Maine	198,984	5,559
Maryland	985,884	27,544
Massachusetts	1,043,265	29,147
Michigan	1,693,398	47,311
Minnesota	934,835	16,516
Mississippi	542,368	15,153
Missouri	1,027,570	28,709
Montana	162,565	4,542
Nebraska	333,487	9,317
Nevada	486,521	13,593
New Hampshire	209,178	5,844
New Jersey	1,504,074	42,022
New Mexico	371,217	10,371
New York	3,107,831	86,829
North Carolina	1,683,632	98,172
North Dakota	111,910	3,127
Ohio	1,971,833	55,090
Oklahoma	681,563	19,042
Oregon	632,982	17,685
Pennsylvania	2,021,159	56,469
Puerto Rico	633,378	17,696
Rhode Island	161,591	4,515
South Carolina	792,221	22,134
South Dakota	146,849	4,103
Tennessee	1,096,974	30,648
Texas	5,118,771	143,012
Utah	640,277	17,889
Vermont	93,531	2,613
Virginia	1,359,275	30,027
Washington	1,154,410	32,253
West Virginia	280,610	6,712
Wisconsin	970,043	19,394
Wyoming	97,912	2,736
Total	54,753,967	1,552,236

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

 

[paulitician]

Seriously, many Americans are so sick of listening to Public School Teachers whining about how they're so mistreated and forcing their far Left political agenda on the kids. It's so tired and lame at this point. Homeschooling is a fantastic logical alternative. More & more Americans are considering it. Good for them.

I understand that in the fox bubble, teachers are nothing more than political brainwashers whose main goal is to turn your kids gay, and usher in a new communist government, but like everything else in that bubble, it bears no resemblance to reality.

Actually, it pretty much does. You, a fellow Communist/Progressive actually summed it up very well. So thanks for that. There's nothing wrong with alternatives. Government-run Schooling really isn't all that.

 

[Sarah G]

In conclusion, Government-run Schooling ain't all that. In fact in many cases, it's a downright nightmare. Parents need alternatives. Homeschooling is a fantastic alternative. Period, end of story. Case closed.

Sure, that might work for you and your lockstep teapartiers but not for anyone with a brain..

I for one, if I were to have kids, would home school.

And I have a brain. 2 BS degrees, and an MBA graduated with a 3.9 average over all 3.

I have no faith in public school whatsoever.

The latest studies are showing Homeschooled children are actually being better-prepared for College. It is a viable alternative to Government-run Schooling. More & more Americans will begin to consider it.

It's been well known for years that home schooled kids outperform their public school counterparts.

People who oppose home schooling are just control freaks as it really is none of their Effing business

Is that one of your homeschooled, scientific, studies giving you that highly intelligent and brilliant conclusion? Let me ask you this, if you rwns know everything about everything, why are your politicians always so stupid?

 

[paulitician]

Homeschooling accounts for less than 3%

To make such a claim is mindboggling to me.

What difference does 3% make? A smaller percentage than that identifies as gay/lesbian and nobody seems to thing those numbers are too insignificant to draw conclusions. Three percent of millions is a lot of kids. And with 400 AWANA kids meeting regularly at our church where I help with the youth programs, I have a lot of opportunity to know these kids up close and personal. And pretty much without exception they all appear to be extremely well adjusted, confident, properly socialized young people. On average, more so than a lot of the kids who attend public school and we have a lot of those in our church too.

The following numbers look pretty straight forward compared to what little research I've done on this:
Number of Homeschoolers by State 2013-2014 A2Z Homeschooling
You can find the approximate number of homeschooled kids in your state in the following table. Linked numbers are from state documents. (If the PDF report looks scrambled, try another browser.)

State	Total # Kids Ages 5-17	2013-2014 Homeschoolers (Estimate)
Alabama	821,893	22,963
Alaska	133,183	3,721
Arizona	1,194,870	33,383
Arkansas	518,534	14,487
California	6,757,361	188,792
Colorado	907,381	25,351
Connecticut	600,823	16,786
Delaware	150,182	3145
D.C.	72,055	2,013
Florida	2,966,229	77,054
Georgia	1,829,100	51,103
Hawaii	216,010	6,035
Idaho	313,903	8,770
Illinois	2,250,223	62,868
Indiana	1,171,881	37,346
Iowa	529,220	14,786
Kansas	522,583	14,600
Kentucky	741,328	20,712
Louisiana	807,109	22,550
Maine	198,984	5,559
Maryland	985,884	27,544
Massachusetts	1,043,265	29,147
Michigan	1,693,398	47,311
Minnesota	934,835	16,516
Mississippi	542,368	15,153
Missouri	1,027,570	28,709
Montana	162,565	4,542
Nebraska	333,487	9,317
Nevada	486,521	13,593
New Hampshire	209,178	5,844
New Jersey	1,504,074	42,022
New Mexico	371,217	10,371
New York	3,107,831	86,829
North Carolina	1,683,632	98,172
North Dakota	111,910	3,127
Ohio	1,971,833	55,090
Oklahoma	681,563	19,042
Oregon	632,982	17,685
Pennsylvania	2,021,159	56,469
Puerto Rico	633,378	17,696
Rhode Island	161,591	4,515
South Carolina	792,221	22,134
South Dakota	146,849	4,103
Tennessee	1,096,974	30,648
Texas	5,118,771	143,012
Utah	640,277	17,889
Vermont	93,531	2,613
Virginia	1,359,275	30,027
Washington	1,154,410	32,253
West Virginia	280,610	6,712
Wisconsin	970,043	19,394
Wyoming	97,912	2,736
Total	54,753,967	1,552,236

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

Great points. Thanks. Yeah, it's an old outdated argument against Homeschooling. There is no evidence supporting the idea Public-Schooled children are far more 'socially adjusted' than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue the opposite at this point.

 

[BULLDOG]

Homeschooling accounts for less than 3%

To make such a claim is mindboggling to me.

What difference does 3% make? A smaller percentage than that identifies as gay/lesbian and nobody seems to thing those numbers are too insignificant to draw conclusions. Three percent of millions is a lot of kids. And with 400 AWANA kids meeting regularly at our church where I help with the youth programs, I have a lot of opportunity to know these kids up close and personal. And pretty much without exception they all appear to be extremely well adjusted, confident, properly socialized young people. On average, more so than a lot of the kids who attend public school and we have a lot of those in our church too.

The following numbers look pretty straight forward compared to what little research I've done on this:
Number of Homeschoolers by State 2013-2014 A2Z Homeschooling
You can find the approximate number of homeschooled kids in your state in the following table. Linked numbers are from state documents. (If the PDF report looks scrambled, try another browser.)

State	Total # Kids Ages 5-17	2013-2014 Homeschoolers (Estimate)
Alabama	821,893	22,963
Alaska	133,183	3,721
Arizona	1,194,870	33,383
Arkansas	518,534	14,487
California	6,757,361	188,792
Colorado	907,381	25,351
Connecticut	600,823	16,786
Delaware	150,182	3145
D.C.	72,055	2,013
Florida	2,966,229	77,054
Georgia	1,829,100	51,103
Hawaii	216,010	6,035
Idaho	313,903	8,770
Illinois	2,250,223	62,868
Indiana	1,171,881	37,346
Iowa	529,220	14,786
Kansas	522,583	14,600
Kentucky	741,328	20,712
Louisiana	807,109	22,550
Maine	198,984	5,559
Maryland	985,884	27,544
Massachusetts	1,043,265	29,147
Michigan	1,693,398	47,311
Minnesota	934,835	16,516
Mississippi	542,368	15,153
Missouri	1,027,570	28,709
Montana	162,565	4,542
Nebraska	333,487	9,317
Nevada	486,521	13,593
New Hampshire	209,178	5,844
New Jersey	1,504,074	42,022
New Mexico	371,217	10,371
New York	3,107,831	86,829
North Carolina	1,683,632	98,172
North Dakota	111,910	3,127
Ohio	1,971,833	55,090
Oklahoma	681,563	19,042
Oregon	632,982	17,685
Pennsylvania	2,021,159	56,469
Puerto Rico	633,378	17,696
Rhode Island	161,591	4,515
South Carolina	792,221	22,134
South Dakota	146,849	4,103
Tennessee	1,096,974	30,648
Texas	5,118,771	143,012
Utah	640,277	17,889
Vermont	93,531	2,613
Virginia	1,359,275	30,027
Washington	1,154,410	32,253
West Virginia	280,610	6,712
Wisconsin	970,043	19,394
Wyoming	97,912	2,736
Total	54,753,967	1,552,236

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

 

[paulitician]

What difference does 3% make? A smaller percentage than that identifies as gay/lesbian and nobody seems to thing those numbers are too insignificant to draw conclusions. Three percent of millions is a lot of kids. And with 400 AWANA kids meeting regularly at our church where I help with the youth programs, I have a lot of opportunity to know these kids up close and personal. And pretty much without exception they all appear to be extremely well adjusted, confident, properly socialized young people. On average, more so than a lot of the kids who attend public school and we have a lot of those in our church too.

The following numbers look pretty straight forward compared to what little research I've done on this:
Number of Homeschoolers by State 2013-2014 A2Z Homeschooling
You can find the approximate number of homeschooled kids in your state in the following table. Linked numbers are from state documents. (If the PDF report looks scrambled, try another browser.)

State	Total # Kids Ages 5-17	2013-2014 Homeschoolers (Estimate)
Alabama	821,893	22,963
Alaska	133,183	3,721
Arizona	1,194,870	33,383
Arkansas	518,534	14,487
California	6,757,361	188,792
Colorado	907,381	25,351
Connecticut	600,823	16,786
Delaware	150,182	3145
D.C.	72,055	2,013
Florida	2,966,229	77,054
Georgia	1,829,100	51,103
Hawaii	216,010	6,035
Idaho	313,903	8,770
Illinois	2,250,223	62,868
Indiana	1,171,881	37,346
Iowa	529,220	14,786
Kansas	522,583	14,600
Kentucky	741,328	20,712
Louisiana	807,109	22,550
Maine	198,984	5,559
Maryland	985,884	27,544
Massachusetts	1,043,265	29,147
Michigan	1,693,398	47,311
Minnesota	934,835	16,516
Mississippi	542,368	15,153
Missouri	1,027,570	28,709
Montana	162,565	4,542
Nebraska	333,487	9,317
Nevada	486,521	13,593
New Hampshire	209,178	5,844
New Jersey	1,504,074	42,022
New Mexico	371,217	10,371
New York	3,107,831	86,829
North Carolina	1,683,632	98,172
North Dakota	111,910	3,127
Ohio	1,971,833	55,090
Oklahoma	681,563	19,042
Oregon	632,982	17,685
Pennsylvania	2,021,159	56,469
Puerto Rico	633,378	17,696
Rhode Island	161,591	4,515
South Carolina	792,221	22,134
South Dakota	146,849	4,103
Tennessee	1,096,974	30,648
Texas	5,118,771	143,012
Utah	640,277	17,889
Vermont	93,531	2,613
Virginia	1,359,275	30,027
Washington	1,154,410	32,253
West Virginia	280,610	6,712
Wisconsin	970,043	19,394
Wyoming	97,912	2,736
Total	54,753,967	1,552,236

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

Well, i tend to believe most Public-Schooled children are not in an ideal learning environment. There is absolutely no evidence showing they're in any better a learning environment than Homeschooled children. So i guess we just see things differently. But that's ok. Just as long as Parents have alternatives. I always side with Freedom & Liberty in the end.

 

[Sarah G]

What difference does 3% make? A smaller percentage than that identifies as gay/lesbian and nobody seems to thing those numbers are too insignificant to draw conclusions. Three percent of millions is a lot of kids. And with 400 AWANA kids meeting regularly at our church where I help with the youth programs, I have a lot of opportunity to know these kids up close and personal. And pretty much without exception they all appear to be extremely well adjusted, confident, properly socialized young people. On average, more so than a lot of the kids who attend public school and we have a lot of those in our church too.

The following numbers look pretty straight forward compared to what little research I've done on this:
Number of Homeschoolers by State 2013-2014 A2Z Homeschooling
You can find the approximate number of homeschooled kids in your state in the following table. Linked numbers are from state documents. (If the PDF report looks scrambled, try another browser.)

State	Total # Kids Ages 5-17	2013-2014 Homeschoolers (Estimate)
Alabama	821,893	22,963
Alaska	133,183	3,721
Arizona	1,194,870	33,383
Arkansas	518,534	14,487
California	6,757,361	188,792
Colorado	907,381	25,351
Connecticut	600,823	16,786
Delaware	150,182	3145
D.C.	72,055	2,013
Florida	2,966,229	77,054
Georgia	1,829,100	51,103
Hawaii	216,010	6,035
Idaho	313,903	8,770
Illinois	2,250,223	62,868
Indiana	1,171,881	37,346
Iowa	529,220	14,786
Kansas	522,583	14,600
Kentucky	741,328	20,712
Louisiana	807,109	22,550
Maine	198,984	5,559
Maryland	985,884	27,544
Massachusetts	1,043,265	29,147
Michigan	1,693,398	47,311
Minnesota	934,835	16,516
Mississippi	542,368	15,153
Missouri	1,027,570	28,709
Montana	162,565	4,542
Nebraska	333,487	9,317
Nevada	486,521	13,593
New Hampshire	209,178	5,844
New Jersey	1,504,074	42,022
New Mexico	371,217	10,371
New York	3,107,831	86,829
North Carolina	1,683,632	98,172
North Dakota	111,910	3,127
Ohio	1,971,833	55,090
Oklahoma	681,563	19,042
Oregon	632,982	17,685
Pennsylvania	2,021,159	56,469
Puerto Rico	633,378	17,696
Rhode Island	161,591	4,515
South Carolina	792,221	22,134
South Dakota	146,849	4,103
Tennessee	1,096,974	30,648
Texas	5,118,771	143,012
Utah	640,277	17,889
Vermont	93,531	2,613
Virginia	1,359,275	30,027
Washington	1,154,410	32,253
West Virginia	280,610	6,712
Wisconsin	970,043	19,394
Wyoming	97,912	2,736
Total	54,753,967	1,552,236

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

Good points but they have their hands over their ears singing la la la la la....

 

[BULLDOG]

Seriously, many Americans are so sick of listening to Public School Teachers whining about how they're so mistreated and forcing their far Left political agenda on the kids. It's so tired and lame at this point. Homeschooling is a fantastic logical alternative. More & more Americans are considering it. Good for them.

I understand that in the fox bubble, teachers are nothing more than political brainwashers whose main goal is to turn your kids gay, and usher in a new communist government, but like everything else in that bubble, it bears no resemblance to reality.

Actually, it pretty much does. You, a fellow Communist/Progressive actually summed it up very well. So thanks for that. There's nothing wrong with alternatives. Government-run Schooling really isn't all that.

Well, at least you admitted you are in the fox bubble, as if anyone was in doubt about that. Since it is only right wingers and militias that are advocating home schooling, you do realize that even republican governors are saying that the GOP is the "Stupid Party " don't you?

 

[paulitician]

Seriously, many Americans are so sick of listening to Public School Teachers whining about how they're so mistreated and forcing their far Left political agenda on the kids. It's so tired and lame at this point. Homeschooling is a fantastic logical alternative. More & more Americans are considering it. Good for them.

I understand that in the fox bubble, teachers are nothing more than political brainwashers whose main goal is to turn your kids gay, and usher in a new communist government, but like everything else in that bubble, it bears no resemblance to reality.

Actually, it pretty much does. You, a fellow Communist/Progressive actually summed it up very well. So thanks for that. There's nothing wrong with alternatives. Government-run Schooling really isn't all that.

Well, at least you admitted you are in the fox bubble, as if anyone was in doubt about that. Since it is only right wingers and militias that are advocating home schooling, you do realize that even republican governors are saying that the GOP is the "Stupid Party " don't you?

Sure, whatever you say. Parents shouldn't be forced to send their children into the Public School quagmire. All the Teachers constantly whining about money and how the Global Warming Boogeyman's gonna get us. It's so old and tired at this point. But hey, you wanna send your child into that mess, than so be it. But others are choosing not to. And that's the way it should be. It's Freedom & Liberty in action.

 

[Foxfyre]

What difference does 3% make? A smaller percentage than that identifies as gay/lesbian and nobody seems to thing those numbers are too insignificant to draw conclusions. Three percent of millions is a lot of kids. And with 400 AWANA kids meeting regularly at our church where I help with the youth programs, I have a lot of opportunity to know these kids up close and personal. And pretty much without exception they all appear to be extremely well adjusted, confident, properly socialized young people. On average, more so than a lot of the kids who attend public school and we have a lot of those in our church too.

The following numbers look pretty straight forward compared to what little research I've done on this:
Number of Homeschoolers by State 2013-2014 A2Z Homeschooling
You can find the approximate number of homeschooled kids in your state in the following table. Linked numbers are from state documents. (If the PDF report looks scrambled, try another browser.)

State	Total # Kids Ages 5-17	2013-2014 Homeschoolers (Estimate)
Alabama	821,893	22,963
Alaska	133,183	3,721
Arizona	1,194,870	33,383
Arkansas	518,534	14,487
California	6,757,361	188,792
Colorado	907,381	25,351
Connecticut	600,823	16,786
Delaware	150,182	3145
D.C.	72,055	2,013
Florida	2,966,229	77,054
Georgia	1,829,100	51,103
Hawaii	216,010	6,035
Idaho	313,903	8,770
Illinois	2,250,223	62,868
Indiana	1,171,881	37,346
Iowa	529,220	14,786
Kansas	522,583	14,600
Kentucky	741,328	20,712
Louisiana	807,109	22,550
Maine	198,984	5,559
Maryland	985,884	27,544
Massachusetts	1,043,265	29,147
Michigan	1,693,398	47,311
Minnesota	934,835	16,516
Mississippi	542,368	15,153
Missouri	1,027,570	28,709
Montana	162,565	4,542
Nebraska	333,487	9,317
Nevada	486,521	13,593
New Hampshire	209,178	5,844
New Jersey	1,504,074	42,022
New Mexico	371,217	10,371
New York	3,107,831	86,829
North Carolina	1,683,632	98,172
North Dakota	111,910	3,127
Ohio	1,971,833	55,090
Oklahoma	681,563	19,042
Oregon	632,982	17,685
Pennsylvania	2,021,159	56,469
Puerto Rico	633,378	17,696
Rhode Island	161,591	4,515
South Carolina	792,221	22,134
South Dakota	146,849	4,103
Tennessee	1,096,974	30,648
Texas	5,118,771	143,012
Utah	640,277	17,889
Vermont	93,531	2,613
Virginia	1,359,275	30,027
Washington	1,154,410	32,253
West Virginia	280,610	6,712
Wisconsin	970,043	19,394
Wyoming	97,912	2,736
Total	54,753,967	1,552,236

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

The homeschooled kids have to pass proficiency tests just like the public schooled kids do and study after study shows that as a group they are outperforming their public school peers on those tests. They take the same SAT and ACT tests as the public schooled kids do. I have no doubt there are some who homeschool who do not have the patience or aptitude to do that competently, but such usually give it up within a reasonably short period.

I believe most parents who homeschool their kids are quite able, willing, and competent to do an effective job of teaching. Those who hit a subject they feel inadequate in will hire a tutor to shepherd the kid through those studies--I myself have tutored homeschooled kids. Those homeschooled kids, on average, consistently outscore the public schooled kids and even most parochial and private school kids on those proficiency tests and on their SATs. Many if not most do choose to go on to college where they do quite well. The vast majority do go on to be productive, competent, happy adults.

The very few kids who do not benefit from homeschooling appear to be in a very small minority. The vast majority who are homeschooled seem to thrive quite nicely and from what the kids tell me, they love being homeschooled.

SUPRISING STUDIES SHOW THAT HOMESCHOOL CHILDREN ARE MUCH SMARTER. THE AUTHORITY SITE

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/h...c-success-and-socialization-of-homeschoolers/

10 Telling Studies Done on Homeschooling - Online College Courses

 

[BULLDOG]

Seriously, many Americans are so sick of listening to Public School Teachers whining about how they're so mistreated and forcing their far Left political agenda on the kids. It's so tired and lame at this point. Homeschooling is a fantastic logical alternative. More & more Americans are considering it. Good for them.

I understand that in the fox bubble, teachers are nothing more than political brainwashers whose main goal is to turn your kids gay, and usher in a new communist government, but like everything else in that bubble, it bears no resemblance to reality.

Actually, it pretty much does. You, a fellow Communist/Progressive actually summed it up very well. So thanks for that. There's nothing wrong with alternatives. Government-run Schooling really isn't all that.

Well, at least you admitted you are in the fox bubble, as if anyone was in doubt about that. Since it is only right wingers and militias that are advocating home schooling, you do realize that even republican governors are saying that the GOP is the "Stupid Party " don't you?

Sure, whatever you say. Parents shouldn't be forced to send their children into the Public School quagmire. All the Teachers constantly whining about money and how the Global Warming Boogeyman's gonna get us. Hey, you wanna send your child into that mess, than so be it. But others are choosing not to. And that's the way it should be. It's Freedom & Liberty in action.

You are certainly free to deny your kids a valid education. I just don't get why a sane person would want to do that.

 

[frigidweirdo]

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

Learning is on many different levels.

Bullies are in school. They're also in the adult world. How well do home schooled kids deal with bullies in the outside world? I don't know. I know that bullying was prevalent in my schools, I had to deal with impact of bullying and in the adult world I'm head strong and don't let people push me around.

Is learning social interaction a good thing even if it's negative? I would say so. Of course no one wants bullying and this should be dealt with effectively, but just general things every day, day in day out which a home school kid might not get.

Also, the sort of education I would want a child to have is probably not going to come from home schooling OR state schools either. It's that bad.

 

[paulitician]

Seriously, many Americans are so sick of listening to Public School Teachers whining about how they're so mistreated and forcing their far Left political agenda on the kids. It's so tired and lame at this point. Homeschooling is a fantastic logical alternative. More & more Americans are considering it. Good for them.

I understand that in the fox bubble, teachers are nothing more than political brainwashers whose main goal is to turn your kids gay, and usher in a new communist government, but like everything else in that bubble, it bears no resemblance to reality.

Actually, it pretty much does. You, a fellow Communist/Progressive actually summed it up very well. So thanks for that. There's nothing wrong with alternatives. Government-run Schooling really isn't all that.

Well, at least you admitted you are in the fox bubble, as if anyone was in doubt about that. Since it is only right wingers and militias that are advocating home schooling, you do realize that even republican governors are saying that the GOP is the "Stupid Party " don't you?

Sure, whatever you say. Parents shouldn't be forced to send their children into the Public School quagmire. All the Teachers constantly whining about money and how the Global Warming Boogeyman's gonna get us. Hey, you wanna send your child into that mess, than so be it. But others are choosing not to. And that's the way it should be. It's Freedom & Liberty in action.

You are certainly free to deny your kids a valid education. I just don't get why a sane person would want to do that.

Well, you not getting it probably suggests you're not sane. It's really not all that complicated. You wanna send your child into the Public School quagmire, than so be it. But others are deciding to go a different route. Simple as that. Got it?

 

[BULLDOG]

Apple and oranges

You're discussing the number of homeschooled kids who have these attributes without acknowledging any evidence to the contrary within the HS community, which there are many btw. One of my first posts was that the limited studies on the failures of HS is disturbing.

In the same vein you bundle all the other children as less than. By doing so you must dismiss the evidence that the majority - by a huge margin - of successful young adults, who also have the same admirable attributes, were not homeschooled. And certainly are not "the exception"

I did no such thing. I am a product of the public schools. My kids and most of the children of my other relatives, friends, and neighbors as well as most of the hundred or so regular kids in our church youth group were or are public schooled. And the vast majority of them have been and/or are just fine.

I did not even insinuate that all or most public schooled kids are socially inept or poorly socialized or anything like that. What I did say is in comparing the homeschooled kids with their public schooled counterparts, I find the homeschooled kids, pretty much all of them, to be extremely confident, well socialized, and socially adept while the public schooled kids, on average--not all but on average--tend to be less so. In other words, if I do observe a child who appears to be poorly socialized or less socially adept, that child is far more likely to be from the public schooled group than the homeschooled group.

My argument has been primarily to counter the very erroneous arguments by several on this thread that the homeschooled kids are disadvantaged in that regard. They aren't.

Excellent observation. They're just repeating old outdated arguments. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the argument that Public School children are more socially advanced than Homeschooled children. In fact, one could argue that Public-Schooled children are a real mess these days. So it really is an outdated argument.

The thing is, the homeschooled kids are not as subject to the social cliques, the real social hostility and sometimes cruelty that is too often prevalent among school kids and evident on message boards such as this, the bullying, the inept or disinterested teachers, and they aren't held back by the slowest in the class. None of that stuff is good for kids and it is absolutely not necessary in order to grow up to be a savvy, well adjusted adult.

And because homeschooled kids are also not raised in a cocoon, and do interact with others in many different settings, they are not ignorant or unexposed to the fact everything and everybody isn't always in a good place, that there are dangers and difficulties to overcome, and there are unpleasant, disagreeable people to cope with. But the fact that such is not the normal, every day environment for them I count as a very good thing.

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

The homeschooled kids have to pass proficiency tests just like the public schooled kids do. They take the same SAT and ACT tests as the public schooled kids do. I have no doubt there are some who homeschool who do not have the patience or aptitude to do that competently, but such usually give it up within a reasonably short period.

I believe most parents who homeschool their kids are quite able, willing, and competent to do an effective job of teaching. Those who hit a subject they feel inadequate in will hire a tutor to shepherd the kid through those studies--I myself have tutored homeschooled kids. Those homeschooled kids, on average, consistently outscore the public schooled kids and even most parochial and private school kids on those proficiency tests and on their SATs. Many if not most do choose to go on to college where they do quite well. The vast majority do go on to be productive, competent, happy adults.

The very few kids who do not benefit from homeschooling appear to be in a very small minority. The vast majority who are homeschooled seem to thrive quite nicely and from what the kids tell me, they love being homeschooled.

SUPRISING STUDIES SHOW THAT HOMESCHOOL CHILDREN ARE MUCH SMARTER. THE AUTHORITY SITE

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/h...c-success-and-socialization-of-homeschoolers/

10 Telling Studies Done on Homeschooling - Online College Courses

Home schooled kids in states that do require proficiency tests, ACT, SAT, etc. are certainly better off than the ones that aren't. I don't have a problem with that type system. There is at least an effort to see that the child is getting an education, but sadly, that doesn't apply to all home schooled kids. Here in Texas, all you have to do is notify the school that your kid will be home schooled, a phone call will do, and they no longer exist as far as the school knows. If the parent wants their kid to take proficiency tests, ACT, or any of the other ways we have of monitoring education, it's available, but most don't. How can any parent advocate for that type system, even if it isn't your own kid?

 

[paulitician]

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

Learning is on many different levels.

Bullies are in school. They're also in the adult world. How well do home schooled kids deal with bullies in the outside world? I don't know. I know that bullying was prevalent in my schools, I had to deal with impact of bullying and in the adult world I'm head strong and don't let people push me around.

Is learning social interaction a good thing even if it's negative? I would say so. Of course no one wants bullying and this should be dealt with effectively, but just general things every day, day in day out which a home school kid might not get.

Also, the sort of education I would want a child to have is probably not going to come from home schooling OR state schools either. It's that bad.

The 'Social Interaction' argument against Homeschooling is outdated. You don't need Public Schools to expose your child to social interaction. There are so many other ways of doing that these days. There is absolutely no evidence supporting the idea Public-Schooled children are 'Better Adjusted' than Homechooled children. It's an old myth promoted by those who oppose Homechooling.

 

[paulitician]

Look, some Homeschooling will go bad. Just like some Public-Schooling does. There's successes and failures in both Systems. So the idea that there can only be Government-run Schooling because some Homechooling fails, is just Communist/Progressive Bullshite. There's room for alternatives. And Homeschooling is an excellent one. Parents will decide. That's what Freedom & Liberty are all about.

 

[R.D.]

In conclusion, Government-run Schooling ain't all that. In fact in many cases, it's a downright nightmare. Parents need alternatives. Homeschooling is a fantastic alternative. Period, end of story. Case closed.

Sure, that might work for you and your lockstep teapartiers but not for anyone with a brain..

I for one, if I were to have kids, would home school.

And I have a brain. 2 BS degrees, and an MBA graduated with a 3.9 average over all 3.

I have no faith in public school whatsoever.

The latest studies are showing Homeschooled children are actually being better-prepared for College. It is a viable alternative to Government-run Schooling. More & more Americans will begin to consider it.

It's been well known for years that home schooled kids outperform their public school counterparts.

People who oppose home schooling are just control freaks as it really is none of their Effing business

Is that one of your homeschooled, scientific, studies giving you that highly intelligent and brilliant conclusion? Let me ask you this, if you rwns know everything about everything, why are your politicians always so stupid?

Gee Sarah, nice burn

Home schooling no longer just for the deeply religious - Daily Democrat Online
Correcting Misconceptions About Home Schooling washingtonpost.com
Quiz on Legislative Advocacy Regarding Homeschooling in Virginia VaHomeschoolers
Homeschooling Group - Democratic Underground

 

[BULLDOG]

I know there are some people who home school their kids and provide them with a wonderful education, but that is far from the norm. I tend to believe that not all home schooled children are in such a ideal learning environment. Do you really believe every, or even most parents who chooses to home school are willing to put the time in every day, and have the knowledge and skills required to teach the complex and difficult courses that are needed for the children to have a successful life? With no requirement for monitoring of any kind, or required guidance of skilled educators, you are dooming way too many kids to a less than productive life.

Learning is on many different levels.

Bullies are in school. They're also in the adult world. How well do home schooled kids deal with bullies in the outside world? I don't know. I know that bullying was prevalent in my schools, I had to deal with impact of bullying and in the adult world I'm head strong and don't let people push me around.

Is learning social interaction a good thing even if it's negative? I would say so. Of course no one wants bullying and this should be dealt with effectively, but just general things every day, day in day out which a home school kid might not get.

Also, the sort of education I would want a child to have is probably not going to come from home schooling OR state schools either. It's that bad.

Please don't think I believe public schools are ideal. They obviously are not, and some need to be either closed down or just start fresh keeping nothing but the building. However, assuming every parent who says he wants to home school is going to be able to do that is just as bad or worse than not fixing the schools we have.