Jordan Peterson on Homeschooling

Psychology Professor Dr. Jordan B. Peterson explores reasons for homeschooling, but also the possibly overwhelming challenges that come along with it.

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[charlesdahmital]

Never let your schooling get in the way of your education.
-Mark Twain

[TsmithJustin]

I was homeschooled k-12. Hated it as a kid, appreciate it eternally as an adult.

[viviennecampbell]

I am eternally grateful for my mother for homeschooling me. She had 6 kids and homeschooled all of us and encouraged us to go to college. When I was a teen, I would sometimes cry when my friends who went to public school would tell me the things that happened to them at school. The things that they experienced were appalling. I escaped that terrible damage because my mother loved me enough to homeschool me. My mom has been scorned and called "over protective" which angers me. So loving me enough to remove me from situations like bullying, drugs, and porn is "over protective?" I can't thank her enough for saving me from the public schools and a damaged childhood. God bless you mom.

[nrse]

"If you send your kids to Caesar for their education, don't be surprised when they come back as Romans." -Voddie Baucham.

[AlliHahn]

I was homeschooled from the 8th grade on. I begged my parents to homeschool me. And it was honestly the best decision of my life (this far). I got a good taste of what public school is like, I got social skills, and then I got out. I ended up graduating 2 years early and I had my AA by the time I was 18. AND because of homeschool, I worked almost full time for a lot of my teen years, which gave me real world experience, and a good savings for starting a successful adult life. My best friend did the same thing, and neither one of us regret it for a second. The pros far outweigh the cons.

[imbackkillu]

Is no one going to mention how caring and thoughtful that mother was?

[gemmacasanova]

I'm fifteen, been homeschooled all my life, and not for one second have I considered attending public school. The kids I know who do are overloaded with homework and stressed out all the time, there's an incredible amount of pressure from teachers and peers. Meanwhile I learn at my own pace, studying what I know to be important. Kids need to be kids. People worry that I don't socialise enough, but it's better to have a couple of decent friends and your head screwed on right than to have plenty of friends and your priorities in all the wrong places. I know too many people whose lives have been messed up because of bad influence from school. I'd rather be safe and sound at home with my parents and siblings.

Edit 2023:

I still get many responses to this comment years later. Some people are very positive and others negative. I am about to be eighteen and have worked in education for the past two years, first as a volunteer and now an employee - if I were a public school kid, I would still be in year 12 rather than making money and gaining valuable experience. The school I work at has a better reputation than others around yet I still could not picture sending my own kids there and hope to quit education and move on in the near future, as the education standards do not align with my own values. The children are bored and learn very little every day. They are told not to question teachers. They have only a small percentage of the freedom I had at their age and the longer I see this happening, the more I realise school - at least the way school is run generally - is an unnatural and stifling institution. Children deserve better than this. Homeschooling has only shaped me positively. I was able to develop my hobbies to the point that I believe they may lead me to real professions one day, and it wouldn't have been possible in the school environment. I may seem young and biased, but I am not totally inexperienced and I know my own mind.

[leviticuscornwall]

I always felt bad for homeschooled kids when I was growing up, now I feel bad for myself and all my former classmates

[larrycobb]

Public school caused much trauma and pain in my life. I am totally 100% in agreement with anyone’s choice to homeschool their children.

[akabga]

I was homeschooled. It is what made my childhood wonderful, imaginative, creative, carefree, and joyful. I was free to learn, play and grow on my terms. Public school robs people of their childhood, their sense of personhood through free thought, an emotionally stable future, and lifelong curiosity.

[fhowland]

I’ve noticed homeschooled kids are generally more intellectually curious, and think of learning not as a chore, confined to some prison-like building, but rather as a lifelong pursuit with its own intrinsic rewards and motivations.

[timbangers]

Homeschooling my kids at the moment. Wife practically decided she would quit her career and do the heavy lifting herself and told me to focus on paying the bills and keep the roof over our heads intact. Friends would tell us that when they talk to our kids they feel like talking to adults.

[Chidsuey]

A common paradox often not confronted:

Person: Homeschooling kids don't learn how to properly socialize.

Every School Teacher At Some Point: Settle down. You're not here to socialize.

[youngpatrick]

I always found homeschooled kids to be more genuine and warm to be around. They didn’t care about self image; perhaps because they were never forced to adapt one, and that is a good thing. At first I saw them as aloof, but now I envy them. They maintained an innocence that for many of us was robbed through public school by means of social hierarchy bullshit.

[hometeachable]

One of the things that amazes me about home education is that despite neither my husband or I having a university education, all of our seven children have turned out to be well educated, employable adults. They are also great at socialising and are very confident- probably because they could chose who they wanted to hang around with. We have been so blessed. I’d recommend home education to anyone, as long as you are fully committed.

[nedakco]

I developed social anxiety, depression, OCD, and low self esteem from public school. Started homeschooling mayself at 15 and I’m much more educated and more mentally healthy now

[unacceptablesisterpeter]

I hated public school. I was bullied so badly in 8th grade that I was 24 before I could talk about it. All this talk about homeschoolers not being socialized...I had no social skills. My peers were having sex at 13. In high school, drugs were prevelant and sold by the guidence counselor; the hallways belonged to different social groups (jocks, preps, skids, grundge...) and you didn't walk where you didn't belong. I started smoking at 14 because I needed to fit in somewhere and ended up on the smoking hill with all the rejects who couldn't find a hallway that would accept them. I would have sold my teeth for homeschooling.

[r.blakehole]

I was a Home school teacher for some eleven years for subjects the parents of my local homeschooling group did not feel capable of teaching. I can say without reservation that the home schooling students I met were far more socially mature and academically advanced than any government schooled kid I ever met. The reason for this is simple (once I figured it out). From whom do kids learn to be successful adults? From adults obviously. Who spends more time with adults, Home Schooled kids or Government schooled kids? This is not quantum physics.

[shellyjensen]

I’m a public school teacher, but my kids are homeschooled. I also grew up doing both off and on, so I have quite a bit of experience with both, and I can confidently say that there’s no reason most people can’t teach their own children. What makes public school teachers unique is that we can teach 30 children at once. Teaching a large group takes training and experience, but most people can teach one on one very successfully.

[johntonge]

When I was 13 (1963) I told my guidance counsellor that school was a stupid concept. I told him that mornings should be spent outside doing physical activities regardless of the weather, and the afternoons dedicated to math, science and engineering. He agreed with me and told me to take responsibility for my own education.