Or, do like they do at West Point. Your education there is on the house - IF you graduate. If a cadet flunks out of West Point, he is on the hook for the cost of trying to educate him.
I don't even ... comparing home-schooling and West Point?!?
I meant no offense. I really mean it by saying sorry. My point was that what are we asking of our schools?
My dad always corrected me when I said "me and my friend" he said "no, My friend and I". I didn't do "good" I did "well". He was a teacher and he was very strong in correcting me. Now one can argue the origin of that particular way of speaking I just felt that, well, there was a leaning toward getting after teachers.
Public education is what it is and teachers are at the bottom.
"To make this second giant leap possible, the culture surrounding science in America must change."
Those who follow the "public understanding of science" movement in the country - esp in the bible belt - will recognize Zack Kopplin as a rising star in the pro-evolution, pro-science efforts there.
Mr. President, please call for a SECOND giant leap for humanity.
.....
"...the purpose of education is not to validate ignorance, but to overcome it."
homeschooled children--as a whole--score higher on standardized tests, read above grade level, demonstrate stronger critical thinking skills (which are NOT part of standardized tests), and are emotionally more mature and respond better to criticism...what's not to love?
many communities are considering changing the rules to allow homeschooled kid to participate in school sports--the best argument is that homeschool parents pay the same taxes and their kids should be able to participate...there are issues to consider, and i do believe the states should develop statewide guidelines for the local districts--keep the feds out of it!
btw, homeschooled kids spend far less time actually doing school work...an average of 2.5 hours/day as opposed to 7-8 hours/day for public schools
homeschoolers in virginia actually started a private college (patrick henry college) that spanked harvard in a national debate competition in 2010
this from your friendly neighborhood public school teacher
ps: i think most people would be surprised to learn how many public school teachers send their kids to private schools...there can be no more significant criticism of our public education system
homeschooled children--as a whole--score higher on standardized tests, read above grade level, demonstrate stronger critical thinking skills (which are NOT part of standardized tests), and are emotionally more mature and respond better to criticism...what's not to love?
Do they learn standard practices for academic writing?
So some home-school advocacy groups perform their own studies and the conclusion is that homeschooling is better.
Shocking!
All of these studies are so tainted by confirmation bias that they are worthless. They are about as useful as health studies produced by cigarette companies.
What the links actually reveal is the huge weakness of homeschooling: It often fails to teach critical thinking and objective reasoning. Who needs the scientific method when you can just invent conclusions?
There is actually a very glaring lack of data that can be used to assess the effectiveness of home-schooling vs. public education. In most places, home-school families can choose to participate in standardized tests, and many do not. The home-school students who are performing poorly often just don't take the tests at all.
There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that shows home-school can produce good outcomes. But there is no credible hard data that supports the argument that home-schooling consistently produces better outcomes.
Booky, I think its interesting that the choices you advocate (state rights, private schooling etc) all contribute to a splintering of society into isolated tribal blocks where those that can create advantages for their particular tribe are encouraged to do so. The rest of society, moral less and generally un deserving, can go suck on it.
Perhaps you would like to get your application in for this:
Unclimbed rock that we will take the family to climb maybe next week.
Credit: Soulsurfer
Girls making pizza
Credit: Soulsurfer
On Patagonia lake this last dec.
Credit: Soulsurfer
We have lots of different reasons why we home school. [photo[photo
Our friends B&B in Bisbee Az we stayed at.
Credit: Soulsurfer
id=287204]id=287203]
What we enjoy is being able to take a week off and head out and go camping every month or so. We usually head to Joshua tree, red rocks, southern Az or Bishop area. The nice thing is we enjoy time together unplugged that would be hard to do if the kids went to public school. I do pretty well as a grid operator for the power company so one income is more than fine. But we do have many friends who have 1 vehicle and barely make it day to day and still home school.
Honestly I can't say my kids are the brightest or most well mannered. My hope for them is they will follow their passions and enjoy life and serve others. We have plenty of friends who have their children in public school and we love them dearly and they are great. For us this just works that's all. I'm not all that worried about kids from china out doing my kids either. They will find their place in life.
Nice stuff Soulsurfer. We're heading to JTree tomorrow for a full on family fun fest. Stay away from Indian Cove if you don't like kids! Its gonna be a dog and pony show. We have six ropes, 200 feet of webbing and 27 rock shoes. Shoes, not pairs. Somebody's always missing one.
At Indian Cove, I recommend the hike in rattlesnake canyon. The stream should be running and there are some nice waterfalls and pools. My kids really enjoyed it.
Dave,
That sounds super cool. I'd love more details. I actually don't know JTree too well. We've stayed at Ryan or Hidden Valley when staying as "climbers." This is our first time taking the whole junk show down. Me and Macronut are each bringing an RV, its gonna be a riot.
Where exactly is the creek you're talking about. I'll pull up a map of the park.
I just read upthread and noticed your question about accrediting. Yes, our family belongs to an accredited co-op, a sysytem in our "school" that files attendance and grades and updates with the state. We have a three strikes and you're out rule. Literally, if you do not get your grades and attendance in on the last friday of the month (or whenever it is), you can get booted from the school. We take it seriously because we are honest folks, but I'm sure it gets abused. We aren't the Ruby Ridge or Warren Jeffs type. It should also help when we get to college application time. Its good to keep it by the book.
Have fun in Joshua tree micronut. Looks like the weather should be at least ok this week. It was really nice in Anza Borreggo today so jtree should be similar. And Indian cove is supposed to be a little warmer than the main park so I think you'll have a great time.
I should have added that my wife is a professional teacher. She taught public school for many years, and before we even married, we talked about homeschooling any kids we might have.
It only worked for us because we were fully committed. It takes an incredible amount of work to create a school environment, and discipline to stay on task....for both student AND teacher.
Amen, If parents care about their kids that much, I think they're likely to be fine or better.
Listening to a lot of wonderful friends, many have had rather sad (or worse) childhood and parents. Homeschooling isn't for everybody
Let us know!