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Educating Our Children: The Evolution of Home Schooling
FoxNews.com ^ | 2/9/2011 | Maggie Kerkman

Posted on 02/09/2011 7:23:21 AM PST by SonOfDarkSkies

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To: Ev Reeman
The public school system has become a laughingstock in our country and is responsible for the poor showing of ratings of our country as far as education is concerned.

In summary: Teach crap, get crap.

I actively promote and support separation of school and state.

21 posted on 02/09/2011 8:37:48 AM PST by Noumenon ("We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged.")
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To: SonOfDarkSkies
My wife and I home schooled my daughter and have never regretted it. If we can do it, anyone can. Abeka is an excellent curriculum and you have the freedom to add to it any personal choices you want.

She is now a senior at SFA and works as a deputy sheriff. When she graduates, she will be the first in my family, on either side, to have a degree. The straw man of the parents not being teachers is bogus. By the time they get to the age you can't help them, they should be self teaching anyway. If you are still having to "make" them do their work when they are 13-15, you have a discipline problem, not an academic one. Ask a junior or senior in school to show you how to do a geometry problem and see what a blank stare you get. My daughter knew her work and retained it while others were getting drunk and pregnant. Many have drug problems and drug arrests. Is this the socialization my daughter missed out on? She had friends and was able to connect to anyone no matter their age. Today's youth will projectile vomit if you put them with someone younger or older. They can't mix with someone not in their age group.

Public school is literally killing our children and destroying America. You may believe you can deprogram your child, but I haven't seen it so far. Many in my church were teachers and didn't approve of home schooling, but their children are now the ones with police records, unwanted children or abortions, broken homes, and anti social beliefs.

I have often asked my daughter if she regrets home schooling and she has always said she preferred it. She is glad that her education included things like patriotism, history, and the Bible. Public schools don't teach any of that. In fact, schools teach America is evil, God doesn't exist, and they can't tell you why we fought the Civil War or who George Washington was. They can demonstrate the proper way to put a rubber on a cucumber, however, and know the words to all the Lady Ga Ga songs.

I worked a blue collar job for SBC for 30 years and my wife gave up her job to home school. Many seem to think they can't afford it. I couldn't afford not to.

My advice to anyone even considering home schooling is to "just do it". I realize there are many problems out there, but ask yourself if your children are worth it? Public school is a meat grinder that doesn't care about your child. You can't pay someone to love your child. It takes hard work to raise a child and they won't do it. Waiting for the schools to get better is a pipe dream. We waited 12 years and it just gets worse.

22 posted on 02/09/2011 8:42:53 AM PST by chuckles
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To: Ev Reeman

Get rid of tenure, teacher unions and you will see an immediate uptick in grades and enrollments.

That’s part of the problem but it’s much deeper than that. We would need to focus the children on learning important things. Sports, obsession with the opposite sex, and interesting but pointless classes all need to go. It would take a major change by the parents to even begin.


23 posted on 02/09/2011 9:10:17 AM PST by freedomfiter2 (Brutal acts of commission and yawning acts of omission both strengthen the hand of the devil.)
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To: dawn53

Well done!


24 posted on 02/09/2011 9:38:10 AM PST by SonOfDarkSkies (Obama and the Radical Left: 'People of the Lie')
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To: dawn53

That’s pretty cool.

And I’ll bet like almost all homeschoolers, all of you were just average kids who had an extraordinary opportunity.

We’re halfway done with our homeschooling oddyssey and have seen great results.


25 posted on 02/09/2011 10:08:24 AM PST by cyclotic (Boy Scouts-Developing Leaders in a World of Followers.)
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To: cyclotic

The reason my sister started homeschooling (years ago) was that her child was in 2nd grade and couldn’t read. The other child was doing fine, but she was advised to homeschool the one (turns out the child who couldn’t read, had to learn by the sight method...she was one of those kids that phonics didn’t click with)...so if you’re homeschooling one, why not add the others. And that’s how it began for our family. That was 26 years ago when there wasn’t a lot of info and resources for homeschoolers...over the years the resources and support have skyrocketed.

Anyhoo, the point is, some were better students than others, some had gifts in math, and others struggled with math. Some wrote very well, and others struggled to put a paper together. But isn’t that the beauty of homeschooling, you can cater each child’s curriculum to their weaknesses (and strengths.)

We’ve always said that every child could benefit from homeschooling. I, however, have decided that every parent should not homeschool. There are parents that just aren’t up for the task, for one reason, or another. That doesn’t mean they’re bad parents, but it does make them poor homeschoolers.


26 posted on 02/09/2011 10:24:01 AM PST by dawn53
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To: dawn53

Congrats, dawn. I can only hope that my 2 homeschoolers do as well!


27 posted on 02/09/2011 11:33:12 AM PST by backwoods-engineer (Any politician who holds that the state accords rights is an oathbreaker and an "enemy... domestic.")
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To: SonOfDarkSkies

This article is like 10 years old -

1.5MM kids? WAY LOW.

This is an embarrassing article for FOX for anyone familar with the topic.


28 posted on 02/09/2011 5:48:39 PM PST by Eldon Tyrell
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To: dawn53

Homeschooling is already expanding exponentially. If it were more PC, it would be a constant comment as one of the major trends of the last 20 years.

People don’t see it as much - because they see 12 graders gfraduating - not realizing that nubers increased 20%/year. So there are 3X as many 1st graders homeschooling as 12th graders graduating.

Another issue never discussed are the intellectuals homeschooling. This will create a very powerful sub-demographic in 20 years.

My 7th grader is smart. My 2nd grader is doing calculus.

Is ROTC still hyper competitive? (= Ivy League requirements)


29 posted on 02/09/2011 5:57:54 PM PST by Eldon Tyrell
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To: chuckles

Bravo Chuckles!

My 12 year old homeschooler - the one the media would say would “have trouble socializing” is three other kids’ “best friend”. And he isn’t even a people person.

But it counts more when you really sacrifice. Good for you.


30 posted on 02/09/2011 6:05:05 PM PST by Eldon Tyrell
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To: Eldon Tyrell

I’m not sure how competitive it is. My nephew did ROTC at a local high school (in our state you can use public high school programs even though you homeschool.) Anyhoo, a couple hours each morning he went to ROTC at the HS, and then went home for his homeschool studies or to the community college to take classes. He is at one of the senior military colleges in the US...it’s in Georgia. He’s in his junior year and is a non-com officer at this point, but will be guaranteed a place as a commissioned officer when he graduates.
http://www.northgeorgia.edu/About/


31 posted on 02/09/2011 7:56:51 PM PST by dawn53
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To: dawn53

Thanks. That was very interesting and informative.

I was NROTC at Cornell in late ‘70’s.


32 posted on 02/09/2011 10:22:22 PM PST by Eldon Tyrell
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To: FourPeas

It’s a privelege to have something to offer our homeschoolers and to be able to give it.


33 posted on 02/10/2011 6:18:30 AM PST by jimfree (In 2012 Sarah Palin will continue to have more relevant quality executive experience than B. Obama.)
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