Andrew Lentvorski wrote:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
On Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 08:24:26PM -0700, Andrew Lentvorski wrote:
The people truly capable of home schooling are probably capable of
the extra level of work required to get that certification.
Um, home schooling stats blow the pants off public school stats. Why
do we need do add more bureaucracy to a successful system?
The difference between accountability and bureaucracy is simply
when it applies to you, huh? Hypocritical, much?
And, you are right, homeschooled students perform some better (I'm going
to challenge "beat the pants off" though).
However, as always, the differences fold directly from socioeconomics:
http://www.conservativefront.com/2004/12/03/homeschool-vs-public-school/
Let's take a look at this article:
Within the second paragraph, I find this "...religious extremists...". I
find it hard to take seriously an article containing such a statement,
but I'll keep reading (and maybe the statement is not meant the way it
sounded to me). This statement, and the label "extremist" is too often
used to immediately discount the views of a person or group, without
further thought as to their point of view. "They believe that the public
education system indoctrinates their children with anti-Christian
philosophies that undermine the mental and moral health of their
children." Sorry, but this is often true. There are many things in the
public school system that are contrary to many religious beliefs
(whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or otherwise).
This is in fact a contradiction to the "Separation of Church and State"
doctrine that many spout they believe in so strongly.
"Public school advocates argue that the biggest problem with
homeschooling children is that they miss out on socialization. They
claim that by not being involved in the classical classroom environment,
they miss out on social skills that are second nature to kids from the
public schools. Homeschooling parents who wish to give their children
good social skills must go out of their way to expose their children to
social situations where they can learn these skills."
However, children are more and more denied the ability to learn social
skills and to "be children" while in school. Children are growing up
emotionally. They need to learn about conflict resolution, how to fail,
how to succeed, how to deal with many of life's curves. Zero tolerance
policies are taken to the extreme. "No Child Left Behind." is crap. No
child is allowed to fail any longer and they all get to pass. ADHD is
crap. It may be that some of the social interaction that a child might
have is taken away from by home schooling, but there then the schools
take them away as well to an extent. There are other ways of interaction
and some kids these days partake in many activities outside of school
(TV and video games not withstanding).
"Many public school administrators say that parents lack the necessary
skills to be able to teach their own children and have passed
legislation that requires parents to pass some level of certification
with the state or local school district before teaching their children
at home. The state also complains that they have no way of knowing if
the home schooled students are being taught the necessary curriculum and
might be missing important material"
Sounds like an excuse to keep kids in public schools, continue to get a
fat paycheck, and remain in complete control of their little corner of
the world.
Interesting statistics on the background and income of homeschooling
families. I'm sure there are other statistics as well (as there are in
every study). It stands to reason that a parent must have lots of time
and the other parent needs a decent income. However, the average income
is not what I'd consider very high, so what if the cost of certification
was added? I suspect the average income would rise and the education
level of parents would also rise.
Interesting statistics on the academic performance as well. Given the
statistics quoted, and the studies, etc. cited, I'm sure I'd come to the
same conclusion. I would also agree that "beat the pants off" is a
reach, but "better than" is not.
Sorry, but I personally agree with the certification requirement. It's
not that hard for someone who already has a Bachelor's degree to get one
nor is it that terribly expensive. And it will serve as a nice buffer
against letting the idiots run amok.
Why do you oppose it? It actually strengthens your position, not
weakens it as it will quickly clean out the morons who shouldn't be
homeschooling. I thought homeschoolers were all about accountability.
That's what tests like SATs, etc. are for (the right tests, not some of
the crap we have now). As was already stated, why allow the system to
screw up yet another good thing?
BTW, inexpensive certification suddenly becomes impossible for parents
who don't have a dime to spare. So, with required certification, home
schooling soon becomes an option only for the rich. When I looked some
time ago, teaching credentials were not all that easy or inexpensive.
PGA
--
Paul G. Allen, BSIT/SE
Owner, Sr. Engineer
Random Logic Consulting Services
www.randomlogic.com
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