are there any groups of peace minded secular people who home school there children together in the US ?
551699
There is a lot more diversity in the homeschooling community than you might expect from the mainstream view of it. \n\nI suggest just getting to know felllow homeschoolers in your area, and don't worry too much about the political labels - you all love your kids and want to do what's best for them!\n\nBesides, it's good for your kids to learn to deal with people who have different views. Yay! Diversity. :-)\n\nI'm a liberal (oh horrors!) non-religious, peace lovin' homeschooler, but I'm friends with conservative, Christian, Bush-supportin' homeschoolers, and we manage to get along just fine.  At least when we talk about the kids and not politics.;-)
577323
Yes.  Religious school.  Public school is government schooling and the government should not promote any partricular relgion or class of religions in any way.  By ensuring that schools carriculums remain secular it empowers parents and loved ones to educate their children on spiritual matters without government interference and preserves our freedom.
875795
I consider myself to be a level headed person with rational thought and l have argued this point for years.. Prayer in school is a good thing, the ten commandments in school are a good thing as well.. The only problem l have is when neither of them are in the children's homes..I really don't want my kids educators teaching them how to pray,l feel that if we keep these things in our homes are kids will keep them in their hearts where they belong..
310450
I am not sure I want my kids to be intermingled with ANY religious group AT ALL!!!! They are ALL starting to sound a bit scary to me?
321917
The Southern Poverty Law Center and Tolerance. org are great for that.  They always need all the help they can get, both adult and children's help.  They spread a great message as well.  See the following sites...\nhttp://www.splcenter.org/\nhttp://www.tolerance.org/
1102966
I would suggest contacting someone from this organization to provide you dates of home school educators conventions.\n\n\nhttp://www.homeeddirectory.com/states/Missouri.htm
563885
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.homeschoolviews.com/unit-studies/wyomingflag.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.homeschoolviews.com/resources/usa2.html&h=727&w=511&sz=20&hl=en&start=14&tbnid=wIRgcjkw03ZJsM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwyoming%2Bstate%2Bflag%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2005-05,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN
169546
Home schooling is where the parent teaches the child at home.  Therefore you can't really have a top 10.  However, there are many home schooling academies and co-ops that act a support groups for home schooling families, as well as providing kids with a place to make friends, etc.  Try hslda.org to find a list of these types of groups in your state.
1136052
Well, I'm not familiar with the educational system in Australia, but I  know here in the states, not all private schools are religious in nature. Perhaps you should look for one that is secular in nature.
146358
Research has repeatedly shown that home schooled kids do better on every measure the researchers think up.  As to the "general opinion," as in public opinion, I think sometimes people who send their kids to public school consider home schooled kids to be a bit weird.  "Why do their parents want to keep them home?" they ask.  The answers are as varied as the parents and kids involved.  Most, I think, simply do not trust the public schools.  If they cannot afford a really good private school, but can afford to be home enough to do home schooling (which can include involving grandparents and other relatives, and possibly parents who work different shifts so one is home at a time), that really is their best choice.  Usually the kids get enough socializing with their peers from other contacts in their lives, such as clubs and religious organizations.  I suspect some home schooled kids do get rather shy and unaccustomed to being around others.  I'm not convinced that is a bad thing, if they at least learn good manners.  "Shy" can be translated "reserved," or "quiet," and not necessarily a bad thing at all.
856179
I agree with you.To many much more important things to worry over.\nAlso,home schooling isn't right for everyone but it is for my son.Everyone is entitled to their opinions but no one is entitled to down someones beliefs.
1147731
Start at HSLDA's website (http://www.hslda.org) and look up the laws in your state.  Look for a homeschool support group in your area - you'll be able to talk with people "in the trenches" and find out about their experiences with the local school system, family (especially grandparents), friends, socialization, co-ops...\n\nLook in your library for books about homeschooling - there's lots of different approaches - classical/Charlotte Mason, unschooling, ...  This will help you determine what type of curriculum you will be looking for (if any).\n\nFor now, just read to your baby!  I read to my older son when he was a baby and he's an avid reader now (at 11 years old).
400178
Do you know any people group that is truly at peace?\n\nI love the Hmong people. I wish the US would do something for them, too. Maybe I'm pesimistic, but I just don't see the US making much effort these days to make anyone's lives more peaceful.
1084154
Check out Accelerated Christian Education, or ACE.  Their curriculum is designed for the student to work at their own pace.  I graduated from high school as a homeschooler and loved it.  Actually finished a year early and got a free ride to college!  Definitely check it out.
711517
Yes, I am. And being homeschooled is not that weird. It definetly has it's pros and cons - ups and downs... but hey I am getting an education that is safe. I'm not learning stuff that i shouldn't know. The reason I don't like it is because I LOVE hanging out and talking to people and I just homeschool with my brotther. But I make it up by being in Bible Quizzing, Youth Choir, and am very active in church activities ... so ya.
1187201
I was homeschooled through high school, am now in college (I think I'm the youngest in the whole campus!) and I think I'm plenty street smart.  I mean, I can protect myself and have my share of common sense.  Being homeschooled doesn't mean sheltered from the world.\nMy elder brother, a kindergarten drop-out, was pulled from mainstream school when his seatmate on the bus had a gun pointed at his head.  Granted, we grew up in what even the residents referred to as a ghetto, but still, the fact that me and my broher are both still alive and moral says something.\nYou'd be amazed at how many people have asked my mom to a) teach them how to homeschool or b) homeschool their kids.   A friend of mine was being sexually harrassed, reported it to the principal at her school, and was told to "deal with it".  Does that strike you as healthy?\nI believe that homeschooling is more of a protective than an academic measure, seeing as every homeschooling family I've met has chosen that path for moral or protective reasons first and educational reasons second.\n\nSocialization-- the #1 question.  I'm naturally shy in person (not in writing, as you can see!), and I'm quite certain that my shyness is not a by-product of homeschooling.  Neither of my brothers are one bit shy.  In fact, my kid brother doesn't know a stranger.   Extra curricular activities for all of us involve heavily social environments.  We all know how to protect ourselves should we be attacked, we all learn things the hard way, etc.  Though I'll admit to a certain degree of naivete in the past semester of college, by no means does this mean I learned everything out of a book.  \n\nExample:\nDiscussing Native American stereotypes in Poetry/Short Stories this April, I mentioned peyote beadwork, referring to it as "peyote".  My experience with the word "peyote" has always been limited to a group of Native American dancers, all of whom made their own costumes and beadwork.  Peyote, as far as I was concerned, was a style of beadwork, as opposed to applique or loom beading.  I was embarrassed to learn, in that very class, that peyote is a hallucinogen.  The memory still makes me feel naive and wet behind the ears, but I learned a valuable lesson: Open mouth insert foot; Remove foot, insert other foot.  Oh well.\n\nNot all of my education as come from the curricula my mom has pieced together, but I confess a lot of the things I learned comes  from books.  "The Blue Girl" by Charles DeLint, "The Moorchild" by Eloise McGraw, "Dreadnought!" and "Battlestations!" by Diane Carey, (Star Trek novels are my guilty pleasure) and numerous other novels, ranging from science fiction and fantasy to mysteries and romances.  \n\nSo, to conclude, homeschooling doesn't, by definition, mean sheltered from the world.  \nI think Bruce Tinsley said it best, though be worned that the following quote can be described as rude and unkind: "Contary to popular belief, homeschooled kids are not less socialized than other kids. They just have to use smaller words and shorter sentences."\n\nI never said I was a saint.
1119011
The public schools are doing exactly as the parents demand. The problem is NONE OF THE PARENTS GET INVOLVED! I tried to revive the Home-School Association at my daughters school. Out of 700 students Home school never had more than 5 parents show up EVER! The teachers have their share of blame, but us parents must also stand up and take our responsibility as well! If a school of 700 students had half the parents interseted enough to show up to Home-School every month Alot more would be accomplished. The teachers are with your child 30 hours a week --- the parents are with the child much more than that. The teachers are appathetice because the parents are lethargic.