Why They're Homeschooling
An interesting case study.
If WordGirl and I decide to homeschool WordBoy, it will be for similar reasons, put more bluntly:
We don't want him to be an idiot who embraces his ignorance.
That is what schools do to smart kids today. That is what they're designed to do by an educational establishment that cares more about perks than performance. If you're the class moron, there is no end to the attention and resources which will be placed at your disposal. If you're the class genius, you'll be resented and shunted off to the library between applications of the latest zombie-creating prescription drug.
WordBoy is likelier to be the latter than the former and means to much to us to be put through the wringer gifted kids endure for being too bright for time-serving mediocrities to deal with.
We may give Catholic schools a chance---we have an excellent one in our parish---but even they get infected with the government's lowest common denominator approach to education.
To translate for those who had, as I did,a public school primary education: government's approach to education is to dumb things down to the point that sufficient percentages achieve a diploma---that is how they define "success".
We can do better, and we owe it to our kids to do whatever we can.
If WordGirl and I decide to homeschool WordBoy, it will be for similar reasons, put more bluntly:
We don't want him to be an idiot who embraces his ignorance.
That is what schools do to smart kids today. That is what they're designed to do by an educational establishment that cares more about perks than performance. If you're the class moron, there is no end to the attention and resources which will be placed at your disposal. If you're the class genius, you'll be resented and shunted off to the library between applications of the latest zombie-creating prescription drug.
WordBoy is likelier to be the latter than the former and means to much to us to be put through the wringer gifted kids endure for being too bright for time-serving mediocrities to deal with.
We may give Catholic schools a chance---we have an excellent one in our parish---but even they get infected with the government's lowest common denominator approach to education.
To translate for those who had, as I did,a public school primary education: government's approach to education is to dumb things down to the point that sufficient percentages achieve a diploma---that is how they define "success".
We can do better, and we owe it to our kids to do whatever we can.
Labels: Education
posted by Teflon at 10:45 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
J-Mom felt very strongly about homeschooling. I had to be convinced. I'm glad we made the decision. To get a quality education in most public school systems, a parent has to supplement that education. Well, if you have to supplement, why don't you just take that education on yourself anyway? And then you avoid having your kids exposed to the things they are being exposed to in public schools.
I was raised primarily in private Christian schools. My mom taught, so I was able to attend tuition free, pretty much. I was reared on the A Beka curriculum and I still believe it's one of the best programs out there. We use a variety of different things at home.
I tell you Tef, WG, if you guys decide to head down this route, it's not an easy one to follow, but tremendously rewarding.
Amen, brother---we've got a little while to decide, but right now our preference is Catholic school augmented with everything we can throw in. If that doesn't work, we'll be homeschooling him.
Our main concern is not so much exposure to the lunatic curricula of the ever-so-politically correct public schools, but rather the absence of the things which used to be the hallmark of education. History has largely been replaced by "social studies", classics with crap, literature with movies, etc. Math moves at a snail's pace because of the need for the weakest students to understand before moving on. Science is more history of science than actual application of the scientific method.
Education is simply too important to entrust to government employees.
Yup. My nephew (my SIL's son from a prevous marriage) is being homeschooled for 5th grade this year because his mom was caught between a rock and a hard place: bad curriculum (including s-e-x ed that was not appropriate) at the public middle school, and a dad who acts all gung-ho about being a good father and a devout Catholic, but won't lay out money for parochial school tuition for his only son.
Right now they're in a good position to homeschool him, because my brother and SIL moved to a manageable home in a decent neighborhood with nice neighbors, including good kids for my nephew to play with. But a year or two ago there's no way it would have been possible. I hope it works out for the family.
My parents worked really hard to send us to Catholic school, and I wonder what my choices will be when it comes time for me to school my kids, too. Maybe it's just as well I'll have a background in education when I'm finished with my master's program--homeschooling might be a viable option. It's a last resort to me, but it's not remote in the very least.
Sex ed in 5th grade? Unbelievable!
That's exactly the kind of nonsense foisted upon us by the government bureaucrats who run public education. They'll say "parents need to be more engaged" out of one corner of their mouths while doing all they can possibly do to keep parents away from the most important decisions they make. Parents can have a seat at the table when it comes to opening their wallets for less and less education, and a seat at the table when it comes to the ridiculous amount of homework kids today are given because teachers don't teach, but the educrats won't give parents a seat at the table when it comes to what their kids are taught.
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