How my child went from home school to Harvard and yours can, too

Fox News ^ | January 26, 2012 | Wayne Allen Root

[Sopater]

America is in shambles from sea to shining sea. Unemployment is nearly at Great Depression levels. The real estate is still week and near collapse. And, of course, our U.S. Triple A credit rating is gone for the first time in history.

But this is National School Choice Week and all of that terrible economic news is child’s play (excuse the pun) compared to our failing government-run education system.

The accelerating and dramatic decline of our public school system is the shame of this once great country. I call our public school system "Every Child Left Behind."

The failure of our public school system condemns millions of young Americans to a future with no hope, no advancement, no good jobs, perhaps no jobs at all.

The American Dream of automatically doing better than the past generation has been relegated to the dust-bin of history because of our education crisis. This is our national disgrace.

Nationally SAT scores in critical reading reached their lowest levels ever in 2011. “Ever” as in the history of America.

Combined math and reading SAT scores were the lowest since 1995. This despite our country spending the most money ever.

[Sopater]

When President Bush took office in 2000 Education Department spending was $30 billion. Today it is over $70 billion annually, plus another $175 billion extra in education spending from Obama’s stimulus program. Add up the numbers. We’ve gone from $30 billion annually to almost $200 billion in just over a decade. That’s about a 7-times increase in total education spending. Does anyone think education is 7 times better? Actually it’s more likely 7 times worse.

That's just Federal $$$. That says nothing about State and local $$$ that goes into these sinkholes.

Yet through all this gloom and doom, there is a ray of hope. A story of remarkable educational success. A story I call “Homeschool to Harvard.” My daughter Dakota Root was home-schooled by her small businessman dad and devoted Christian homemaker mom right here in Las Vegas.

Not all homeschoolers will get perfect scores on their SATs and wind up at Harvard, but they will indeed do better than they otherwise would have if they had been simply thrown to the wolves.

Now, let's just hope that Harvard doesn't ruin this wonderful young lady.

[kosciusko51]

My question is why, after homeschooling your child, would you let them go to Harvard?

She was accepted by many of this nation’s finest universities including Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Chicago, Virginia, and Cal-Berkeley -- the list goes on and on.

Great, all liberal ivory towers. This is just as bad a problem as the public schools.

[ctdonath2]

Education may be free; certification isn’t.

[Tax-chick]

Now, let's just hope that Harvard doesn't ruin this wonderful young lady.

If being named "Dakota Root" didn't ruin her, she's obviously got some kind of skeletal fortitude. Maybe Harvard thought she's American Indian.

When my college roommate applied to their medical school, they were sure she was from Haiti or Francophone Africa (instead of Houston, Texas) because she was black and had a French name. "Dear Third-World Student ..."

[Sopater]

My question is why, after homeschooling your child, would you let them go to Harvard?

After homeschooling my child through highschool, he is now attending a state university, but probably not for the same reason that this young lady chose to go to Harvard. We chose the state U because of the price, and he can live at home while attending school. We still go over all of his books and class material with him and are diligently resisting the indoctrination.

[Lady Lucky]

Whatever floats yer boat! Some homeschoolers would not take a Harvard education on a silver platter.

[T-Bird45]

FTA: Dakota scored perfect SAT scores of 800 in reading and writing.

FTA: The real estate is still week and near collapse.

Just guessing here but I think dad didn't have anything to do with teaching the unit on homophones. Good thing for Dakota...

[Sopater]

...they were sure she was from Haiti or Francophone Africa...

They sure do love to bend over backwards to show the world that they have overcome ratial bias by rewarding their token third-world students, regardless of merit.

[Tax-chick]

She ended up going to UC-San Francisco ... full scholarship, the only out-of-state student they admitted that year.

[Sopater]

Just guessing here but I think dad didn't have anything to do with teaching the unit on homophones.

Ha! That's funny. I also stay as far away from homophones as humanly possible. My children excelled in academics "despite" their parent's "weeknesses" (sp error intended). ;-)

[kosciusko51]

I understand that. But there are good conservative “liberal arts” schools, plus some (mostly) apolitical science schools.

[GeronL]

Right. Great idea.

Teach your id properly and then send them to be re-educated by the commies.

[Mortrey]

Every parent should beware:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid949801312001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAACEco_Vk~,9bOat4XcfB_88ri1a3UMdKnLpH9aM8Fv&bclid=0&bctid=1271237687001

[FewsOrange]

I also stay as far away from homophones as humanly possible.

You are just homophonephobic.

[FewsOrange]

He also has a son.

My 7-year-old Remington Reagan

[Sopater]

Teach your id properly and then send them to be re-educated by the commies.

He's not being re-ecucated. He's only in his second semester and has already had several debates with his American Gov't, English, and Speech profs. He generally confronts them with the truth and then shakes his head in disbelief when they provide an illogical, emotional response.

[Sopater]

You are just homophonephobic.

Guity, as charged.

[buckleyfan]

“Whatever floats yer boat! Some homeschoolers would not take a Harvard education on a silver platter.”

With degree from Harvard, a person can pretty much write their own ticket in life. And also gain positions of influence to help affect the kind of change that is based in their values. To turn their back on that - or to even have parents who urge them to walk away from that - would be shortsighted and utterly misguided, IMO.

[TASMANIANRED]

What a lousy choice for an indoctrination..

[TheOldLady]

Click an eyeball!

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