THE DAY HOMESCHOOLING DIES

Email | 21 Oct 03 | Chis Davis

[SLB]

Home school? Bump

[annyokie]

Hmmmm. A tad extreme, IMO.

[2Jedismom]

Should make for interesting conversation!

[TopQuark]

The leaders of the Public School movement were, for the most part, humanists It would be nice to see a confirmation of that.

who were concerned about two things they believed endangered America’s future: The continuation of what they called religious superstitious beliefs and the influx of illiterate immigrants seeking jobs and a better life in this country.

Most certainly false: modern schooling arose because the technological and social changes were occuring at a more rapid rate, and without education, a person did not stand a chance to function in so changed society.

Contrary to tha the author says, the main reason for corporate form of education is that it started to require a professional teacher. At all times, as the child was growing up, (s)he was "chooled." A girl (typically) was schooled in taking care of the home. A boy (typically) was schooled in the matters of hunting and later trade. Parents taught what they knew. With the scientific break-throughs occuring rapidly starting with Enlightenment, a typical parent is no longer qualified to teach. Just as one hires a lawuer or a doctor, parents hired teachers. Of course, the wealthy ones had tutors, but the poor had to band together.

The article is rather misguided.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Around this same time, another movement was taking shape: The Common (Public) School movement. The leaders of the Public School movement were, for the most part, humanists who were concerned about two things they believed endangered America’s future: The continuation of what they called religious superstitious beliefs and the influx of illiterate immigrants seeking jobs and a better life in this country. These leaders believed that realizing their two-fold goal of ridding our society of religion and providing an education for immigrant children mandated compulsory education for every child. Soon, the various states were passing compulsory attendance laws and children began to be public schooled en masse.

Demonstrably false history. The common school movement was not designed to rid society of religion, but rather to inculcate Protestant values to (largely Catholic) immigrant children.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I do like the comment about not sticking to a canned curriculum - I was a little more strict when we first began homeschooling our daughter - but with my son, we take off in different directions daily...... lol..... we love watching The History Channel - and I don't worry about him learning about Attila, then about WWII......

[capt. norm]

Bump for a later read.

[dawn53]

Hmmmm. A tad extreme, IMO

I would agree. I like Chris Davis, I've got some of his tapes on homeschooling and they are wonderful.

But I find it a little ironic that he is discouraging people from using curriculum that his own company advertises and sells.

I homeschooled for many years, and we were very relaxed in our approach. No grades, no tests, but I was concerned about mastery of subjects, and did use curriculum, i.e. Saxon Math, Abeka Grammar.

My son's in college now and doing just fine, so he must have received what he needed to carry on in academics.

But the insecurity that afflicts most home-schooling parents is a constant source of worry. Scope and sequence and pre-packaged curriculum helped me feel better about my ability to homeschool.

[TopQuark]

I am terribly sorry for the numerous typos in the previous post.

[annyokie]

I have no quibble with homeschoolers, provided they actually have some mastery of the subject matter.

Despite the fact that my husband and I are quite well educated, I am uncomfortable with homeschooling the kids.

[cgk]

I like the "unschooling" philosophy, from what I've read on it.

[dawn53]

I didn't go into details of our homeschooling experience, but here it is. I believe homeschooling to be a viable option and outstanding choice for any child (notice I didn't say for any parent, because I do believe some parents can't adapt.)

We started homeschooling when my son was in 3rd grade, because my husband traveled many weeks with his job, and it allowed us to tag along.

We were very relaxed in our approach, but used Saxon Math, and proven grammar texts. Other than that my son was encouraged to read, and he loved reading. That's how he learned Science, History, Geography, etc. I did pay for a tutor to help him with composition, because I felt that was my weakest area.

When he was 14 and had finished his 9th grade courses, I took him to the local college, he passed the College Entrance Exam and we enrolled him. He lives at home, we ferry him back and forth to his classes. He is 15 now, taking a full course load and making all A's.

I take no credit myself, but credit the fact that he was homeschooled and allowed to progress at his own rate. He is not a genius, he is just a normal teenage boy, who plays video games and street football with the neighborhood kids. But minus the peer pressure of a public school environment found that it was okay to learn, to excel in your studies and to feel good about education.

[SauronOfMordor]

I have no quibble with homeschoolers, provided they actually have some mastery of the subject matter.

In the homeschooling community, people like the author are known as "un-schoolers".

I'm a homeschool dad. I don't follow a fixed curriculum, tending to play things by ear. The oldest one has turned out well, getting a 1300 SAT and starting her first college course (Biology I) at a nearby university. She's 14

What I've been doing is concentrating on reading in the first 3 grades. My viewpoint is that if the kid is able to read well and independently, everything will work out. If the kid is not reading well by then (I mean at the level of being able to read and comprehend the newspaper, not Dr Seuss), then they're not going to do well in anything

[FourPeas]

We are in our second year of unschooling. It's amazing to watch where the natural curiosity of a child takes them.

[FourPeas]

Ping.

[Temple Drake]

hear, hear! Can't let a lot of little Irish and Slavic kids bring their pagan, Papist ways into our pure nation ...

[Temple Drake]

sarcasm off.

[Domestic Church]

Please read:


http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm

[TopQuark]

Why should I read that book? Suppose that the proponents of public education in this country had some other motives, as some people here and the author of the article suggest. Does that explain the fact that public education is universal around the world? Probably not.