Having been a teacher - longer school year will NOT solve the problems.
Having worked as a museum docent, Hoot Owl is NOT far off. We did some some wonderful home schooled families, and they came agan and again, and had lesson plans and real questions, and their children were smart, well educated, polite and wonderful to be around.
However, they were few and far between. More often, we saw the "unschooling" movement group. they came in a herd, and the herds on the farms part of the museum were better educated and behaved than these children and parents. They came a lot too - so the moms could side on the benches in the pavillion while their children ran rampant through the museum sites. They couldn't follow an instruction to save their lives - "don't touch the cookstove, it's hot", and damn if we didn't grab several kids hands as they reached for it anyway. I got cut in the broom shop as a child grabbed my broom making knife off the machine (after asking about it and being told to NOT touch it), and swung it around like he was a junior ninja, hitting me in the arm in the process. Luckily, I hadn't sharpened it that day and had been using it; the cut was superficial.
Every other site at the museum dreaded this group, because these children could not listen and were unsupervised. When we talked with our bosses, they spoke with the parents, who claimed their children were supervised the whole time. Really? Your child is an 1/8 of a mile away from you, yet they're supervised by you. Right.
I met a 7 year old who could not even recite his ABCs, a 10 year old who could not add simple numbers, and more. I understand the concept of homeschooling, I understand the concept of "Unschooling" - these children were neither. They were just shy of being feral. These are the failures of that type of system, BECAUSE the parents were being too lazy, or not understanding the concepts, or just really didn't care.
These kids exist - or are you next going to tell me that the over 150 people who had to deal with these families in the years I was there, who all saw the same things, who all dreaded those children coming about and who did actually do their best to try to teach them something and keep them safe - we're all wrong? Or we're all assinine too.
Let me note that every one of those people had college experience (interns), were college graduates in the fields of history or museum studies, and more than half had been or currently were teachers on all levels of the educational system. So it's not like we were a bunch of clueless gits.
Just because you disagree - and yes a stereotype exists about homeschooling - doesn't mean it's not the truth. The stereotype gets its basis somewhere, from some example or series of examples.
bailey bud wrote: My comment
I don't know who's advising the President - but this call to action is nothing but bull [turds]. (can someone add bullturds to the emoticon list - it's an animated bull lifting his tail.....???)
I homeschool my kids. My oldest is a scholarship student at Colorado School of Mines, and a commended student in the National Merit Scholarship competition. His school day was shorter than most school days - and his school year was shorter, as well. He lived overseas for three (3) years, in a hyper-diverse environment, and understands "diversity" better than any of the lame wishy-washy diversity educators do.
So when politicians start pounding their chest for more money for education - I'm not in the choir singing kum by ya (sp?). Try this, Mr. President ---- how about paying my wife (the kids' main teacher) $30,000/yr, so we can continue teaching the kids. It's cheaper than the money spent per student - even in Park County. It's much less than your kids' Sidwell Friends - and yields better results, on average.
major bean wrote: My wife and I home schooled our two daughters. They never attended a public school.
One daughter graduated from Colorado University with a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering and a Masters in Science. Honors received at University of Colorado:
1. Tau Beta Pi Honor Society
2. Golden Key International Honor Society
3. National Dean's Honor Roll
4. Dean's Honor Roll
5. Cum Laud
6. National Chancellors List
She is currently works in the NSA.
Our other daughter received her B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering and will receive her Master's this December. Honors received at University of Colorado:
1. National Scholars Honor Society
2. Dean's Honor Roll
4. Cum Laud
She is presently in the employment application process with the FBI.
Home schooling is the best private education that can be given if you are dedicated, devoted, educated, and blessed with the resources.
Combined with public schooling, it will not work. And it will not salvage a troubled child.
Again a congratulations to you and your children. Those are great accomplishments. You and baileybud are perfect examples of why we need more funding for homeschooling and private schooling.
I WONDER...if there is a connection between Barry O. refusing to release his transcripts and his clarion call for a longer school year. :nocommment: :don'tknow: :Whistle
Meanwhile certain school districts, like Hawaii, are cutting back to 4 day weeks.
I would like to see a longer school year, but I am not in school anymore.
And for the home schooling crowd, private school is often cheaper per student than public education, and with better results.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
SS109 wrote: Meanwhile certain school districts, like Hawaii, are cutting back to 4 day weeks.
I would like to see a longer school year, but I am not in school anymore.
And for the home schooling crowd, private school is often cheaper per student than public education, and with better results.
Exactly! And this is why I don't understand why our Government fights so hard to not give funding to Private schoolers or homeschoolers? If they are doing great, then we should encourage them and help them with funding, not fight with them and try and give more to public schools and unions where they are doing so much worse. School vouchers would help our education system tremendously. But that is the government and unions giving up some control for the better of our children and this nation and they will never do that.
We all should watch that new documentory that just came out on our education system and how Teachers Unions are a huge cause of our problems today. Not the teachers, but the unions. They fight for what is best for the teachers and not the children at all.
I can't find that movie. If anyone knows it let me know. Thanks
SS109 wrote: Meanwhile certain school districts, like Hawaii, are cutting back to 4 day weeks.
I would like to see a longer school year, but I am not in school anymore.
And for the home schooling crowd, private school is often cheaper per student than public education, and with better results.
I don't think that you'll see a longer school year, because the Vacation Industry will be screaming bloody murder about it. (Disney, etc.) They have a lot of support in Washington because of the number of clowns in office . But I do disagree about the costs of a Public vs. a Private education. Public ed. is usually paid out of property taxes, etc. like they do in NYC. Private Ed. is in addition to the previously mentioned taxes. My old grammar school closed last year because the area went muslim, and the school was Catholic. When I went to school, it was free because the Parish was well stocked with Catholics and the money was flowing in through the Mass donations, etc. The last year the school was open they had dropped from a full enrolment of 1200 to 250 students, and instead of free, it was about 7K per student per year. That's 7K over and above what it would cost to go the Public Ed. route. :VeryScared:
You won;t see a longer school yeah, because that will NOT cure the problem. How exactly does he expect adding more days to fix the budget shortfalls, the textbooks 20-30 years out of date (Sorry, if it talks about Carter or Reagan as the current president, it needsupdating) the lack of teacher aides, supplies, even decent teachers?
All it does is provide more free childcare. If that's the goal, then fine.
. But I do disagree about the costs of a Public vs. a Private education. Public ed. is usually paid out of property taxes, etc. like they do in NYC. Private Ed. is in addition to the previously mentioned taxes. My old grammar school closed last year because the area went muslim, and the school was Catholic. When I went to school, it was free because the Parish was well stocked with Catholics and the money was flowing in through the Mass donations, etc. The last year the school was open they had dropped from a full enrolment of 1200 to 250 students, and instead of free, it was about 7K per student per year. That's 7K over and above what it would cost to go the Public Ed. route. :VeryScared:
