Replies

When your child is sick, do you take him/her to a doctor...?

Your analogy is a false one. Teaching patently is not brain surgery, much as you'd like it to be so, much as you portray it as such. As I stated before, you are plainly attempting to act as a gatekeeper to the professional fraternity known as "teachers."

I'm sorry...your monopoly, if it ever existed, has been forever broken.

Scratch that, it's not quite true. I'm not sorry.

Question: When your child is sick, do you take him/her to a doctor or someone who practices homeopathic medicine? When you have a legal problem, do you represent yourself in court? If your basement is flooding because of a leak, do you try to fix it yourself or call a plumber?

All cases where specific, individual attention is given for specific problems.

Occasionally a parent will call on a professional tutor to handle individual education needs as well.

But the cattle pens in schools are quite different than the scenarios you cited above where a specific type of attention is needed.

Question: When your child is sick, do you take him/her to a doctor or someone who practices homeopathic medicine?

I usually handle it myself. If I do take them to a doctor, I choose the doctor, and I make sure it is a doctor that is competent. I don't have that much control with the school system.

When you have a legal problem, do you represent yourself in court?

On several occasions, I have quite successfully done so. If I do use an attorney, I make sure it is one that is competent.

If your basement is flooding because of a leak, do you try to fix it yourself or call a plumber?

As a matter of fact, I would fix it myself. The only time I have ever hired a plumber, it took me several days to fix the mess he made. I'll never make that mistake again.

Teachers are professionals too!

You teach how many hours a day? How many years did you train to be a teacher? I'm a parent 24 hours a day, and I've spent my entire life preparing for the job. In spite of my government school education, I have managed to become quite competent in my ability to teach my kids to learn. I am as much of a professional as any teacher.

For those who have no other options, government schools are just slightly better than nothing. If a parent can send their kids to (carefully selected) private schools, that can be a step up. I homeschool my kids because it gives my kids the best education available to them.

The arrogance of the "teaching profession" is further evidence that homeschooling is the right thing to do. Far too many teachers feel that they are not only more qualified to teach my kids than I, they also feel that they are more qualified to decide what my kids are going to learn.

Yes, and it's time that they started acting like professionals and being held accountable for what they produce.

If I feel that my doctor, lawyer or plumber has done a poor job on my teeth, my case or my pipes, I fire him or her and hire someone else.

I only wish I could do that with the incompetent teachers I have hired with my tax dollars.

School choice now!

Teachers are professionals too!

True, and to the extent reasonble, we have worked with teachers positively. (Note that upon our older kids' graduations, they asked us to "send us more" since they stood out academically). As we reach the limits of our competence/time we hand off responsibility for teaching, but that's closer to age 15, not 5.

One huge effect of homeschooling has been the demystification of education, undoing the "Don't try this at home - we are professionals image". My wife is a consummate teacher. (Our 7 year old reads 5th grade chapter books, and the Britannica's in our household get a workout from the time kids reach 7th grade). And you must admit that a good portion of professional training is involved with simply managing 30 bell-curved students at a time, a dis-economy of scale that homeschoolers don't face. Instead of dealing with crowd control, parents can instead synergistically integrate "school" into a number of everyday real life activites.

That said, let me say that anyone being lazy about homeschooling is without excuse - it is WORK for all involved, and does not simply "happen" by being home.

(BTW, we go to doctors ... if common-sense self-medication doesn't work. But if the basement starts flooding, I first try it myself - if homeschooled child #3 (very hands-on) hasn't already fixed it by the time I get home...)

Please don't feel set upon (and my apologies if anyone has been less than civil on this thread), but this is an important issue. Parents who have done wonderfully homeschooling thier kids are sometimes hammered with this stick (usually by teachers' union advocates or government school functionaries) and get a little sensitive to it.

Well, first of all, if my child were sick, how would the doctor know if I didn't take him there? Yes, I take my kids to the doctor, but I also take them to get the medicine, take them home, tuck them in bed, give them the medicine, cook them healthy food, nurture them, comfort them stay up with them all night if need be. The doctor spends 10 minutes with my sick kid, I spend my life with them.

Legal problems, well, we tend to behave ourselves around here....but if I needed a lawyer I would call one, but I would be involved!

Basement flooding......last time I needed a plumber, according to my husband, I fixed the problem myself!

Next time I need a teacher, I'll call one, otherwise, I'll just use my education (Ph.D.) and teach my own kids. Good thing I know enough to buy the right curriculum, read it and teach it......

How many teachers do you know these days that are really "professional" teachers? Where did they come from? Most I meet came out of a corporate environment looking to "save the world" or some such thing. I'll put my education, and study of child development and love of my children up against any "professional teacher" any day of the week.

Mrs. Dung