Posted on 11/13/2004 4:04:54 PM PST by Marinefamilyx3
You're not selfish any more than I am.
Ylthough I've usually heard it all, daddy hasn't, so our dinner table discussion is about "what happened in school today"
There has been article after article regarding parents complaints of the amount of homework, which can take up to three or four hours if done properly.
bump for later
Based on a 1998 Independent Study By Dr. Rudner who studied over 20,000 homeschoolers:
Another obstacle that seems to be overcome in homeschooling is the need to spend a great deal of money in order to have a good education. In Strengths of Their Own, Dr. Ray found the average cost per homeschool student is $546 while the average cost per public school student is $5,325. Yet the homeschool children in this study averaged in 85th percentile while the public school students averaged in the 50th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests.iv
Similarly, the 1998 study by Dr. Rudner of 20,760 students, found that eighth grade students whose parents spend $199 or less on their home education score, on the average, in the 80th percentile. Eighth grade students whose parents spend $400 to $599 on their home education also score on the average, in the 80th percentile! Once the parents spend over $600, the students do slightly better, scoring in the 83rd percentile.v
The message is loud and clear. More money does not mean a better education. There is no positive correlation between money spent on education and student performance. Public school advocates could refocus their emphasis if they learned this lesson. Loving and caring parents are what matters. Money can never replace simple, hard work.
Apparently you do.
Well, at least I know enough about our history to know why the public school sytems are failing. And, yes, I am the teacher. You prove, repeatedly, you inability to read and comprehend what I have said about my personal situation.
After a child has gotten on a bus at 8:15 and arrived home at 4:15, it is a LONG day. This amount of homework IS too much for a 6/7 year old. What is described above is just Monday night. Then there is Tuesday where spelling words have to be put into sentences, 2 math pages come home and a map of former communistic eastern block states have to be labeled (and colored in, too. Neatly.) It all continues until the weekend when you breathe a sigh of relief that there will be a two day break and you do not have to argue and fight with your kids about them completing this stupid-a$$ busywork that comes home.
The school has them for at least 6 1/2 hours - I cannot see why they even have homework (BUSYWORK). It interferes with what parents CAN teach their children due to time restrictions.
sort of sums it up, doesn't it????
It's exaclty why I love my school district, located in one of the poorest counties of this state.
I'm an auto mechanic; Imagine If you brought your car to me for a brake job, and I did the brake job but told you you had to take the car home and put the wheels back on. Would you pay me?
phonetic spelling...
That IS tried and true.
It is the whole language approach that is getting them into trouble.
For example some researchers found that 7th graders show no cognitive growth between the 6th and 8th grade. Instead of having children do school work in the 7th grade they are thinking of making the 7th grade a boy scout/girl scout - sports oriented educational year. Build social skills - teamwork - original thinking.
8th grade on - maybe offer more vocational education for students who grow more bored with theoretical math and creative writing or literature classes? Stop turning High Schools into college prep courses.
I know that last part may shock many think that the past PS worked so well because they kept curriculum simple.
Colleges are now education mills - to make money. Colleges would reduce the number of credits required for a diploma. Most college courses are fluff destined to fleece the parents some more.
see my #151
I am just saying few can home school and it is unworkable for large amounts of Americans and immigrants.
I totally understand and agree with your BUSYWORK comment.
My daughter's 2nd grade reading teacher told me point blank that the weekly spelling assignments are an effort to get most of her 2nd graders to learn the words and if my daughter (a 1st grader in 2nd grade reading) doesn't do the assignments there will be no penalty.
However, the teacher also makes a point of checking my daughter's work because she knows that we are insisting it be done. She's a 1stgrader who is the top student in the 2nd grade. In kindergarten they stopped testing her at the 4th grade level because her reading comprhension dropped below the 75% level (it was 74%)
A combination of public school and interested parents can and will work.
Yes it does, and as much as people want to believe that home education is only for the wealthy, and public school is only going to do better if we throw more money at it, they are wrong.
I think you and I both prove the opposite points.
Because keeping our kids in the system sends the message that it doesn't have to be fixed. Whether the kids are moved into homeschools (which hits a school's budget, why do you think they fight it so much), or private schools, or charter schools, every move sends a message. School choice thru vouchers or other programs will send a bigger message.
Until the public school system has to face the reality it cannot continue as it is, it will continue as it is. The only way to send the message it is not working is thru the pocketbook.
But, I am not going to risk the future of my kids on some notion that it might be fixed in the future. That will be too late for us.
If I were in a 2 parent household, I might be more inclined to look at private schools. But right now, this choice works best for us.
I went to a college prep High School - nothing wrong with that. My niece graduated from a "tech" high school - nothing wrong with that, either.
Your homepage says you were born in Scotland - but gives no indication as to where you live now.
There are many of us here in the good old US of A that are happy with the school system where we live - what's your problem with that?
Actually, there is much to consider in your post. My wife teaches 7th grade. She says they are more interested in socializing than learning.
I don't think everyone is college material, but they do all need to be able to write and read. Few read above the 7th grade level, many read at the 5th grade level. This can be detrimental as they get older, because so much of our health information is written at a tenth grade level.
My wife once talked about how some students might get more out of school if they were able to pursue a vocational class WHILE hearing a book on audio tape and/or listening to a lecture. Who knows what the answer is.
I teach 9-12 graders, and some of them consider sharpening a pencil an endeavor that should last a greater part of the period. Staying in their seats is torturous.
I don't know what the answer is, but there is a definite lack of maturity. Teachers can really try, but the students have got to want to learn.
And not only do we prove the opposite points - we both prove the all or nothing attitudes are wrong.
Teaching respect for differing opinions, as long as they are well presented, is a definite must - all or nothing attitudes do not do that.
My daughter couldn't wait to go "vote" on election day. She informed me that when he was old enough to vote she would vote for President Bush. Needless to say, I had to explain to her that she couldn't talk about how "we" were voting once we walked into the polling place. She understood, but when we were getting back in the car to go for lunch she asked me if she could talk about how "we" voted again.
Even non-homeschool moms are homeschoolers in their own ways!
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