Posted on 06/02/2005 12:55:33 AM PDT by baseballfanjm
ESPN.com ran this article, intending for it to be an amusing take on how to predict the winner of the National Spelling Bee. However, the last "formula" irked me.
Here's what it says:
"Stay away from home-schooled kids.
It goes without saying that these kids don't get out of the house much. There are 34 home-schooled competitors in this year's bee, including speller No. 142 Jack Ausick and speller No. 217 Benjamin Zachary Walter. The first home schooler won in 1997 and others followed, including Lala in '99 and Thampy in 2000. But kids that actually interact with other children at school have won three out of the last four bees."
While he has other "stay away from" picks that fit the joking manner of the article, that one struck me as just lame and as a swipe more than a joke.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
"I find it abhorrent that many teachers now only have permission to "teach the test" - it leaves no room for deeper learning, especially when it comes to the tapestry of cultural experiences that can be found outside the classroom."
If only public school teachers would "teach the test" once in a while. They spend all their time on political correctness and fail to teach writing, mathematics, history and reading.
My freshmen college students can't write a coherent paragraph or understand simple ratios. They all have high self esteem, however, and expect at least a grade of B for anything they produce. If they don't get one, the common reaction is to call mommy and get her to complain to the Dean. At least once a year, we experience the lawyer/parent/Dean scenario with a student who can't find the time to attend 50% of the classes and can't understand the F.
You know the old saying: all general statements are false.
Your view on public schools seems to be that they are all terrible. Clearly, that is not the case. If it were, why would rich people in places like Montgomery County, MD or Arlington County, VA (who can afford to send their kids to private schools) be sending their kids into such disastrous environments? Highly educated lawyers, doctors, lobbyists etc. do not take chances with their kids' futures.
"Teaching the test" doesn't teach writing - it simply teaches how to pick the right multiple choice answer. "Teaching the test" means going over information related to a particular test and only teaching the answers to questions that you believe will be found on that particular test. In most cases, "teaching the test" means no real writing skills are taught.
Most of the students you are teaching in have probably "passed" all the "tests" they were given in school - and yet their writing skills are dismal. So are their reasoning and mathematical skills - these are skills that are learned through intensive exposure to information, not through "this answer equals this question". A true understanding of base ten cannot be replaced by answers simply memorized and regurgitated back to a teacher, and true writing cannot be learned by picking the letter "d" on a multiple choice test.
You and I are on the same page; "teaching the test" = no writing, no reading, no 'rithmatic, no reasoning. The sum of "teaching the test" = ZERO education.
It depends on the test. If it includes math problems, then teaching math is teaching the test. It is the task of the test writer to write a good variety of math questions.
Writing is a much more difficult subject to evaluate with multiple guess questions. Math... No problem.
Some time ago, teachers decided that they would teach "reasoning" to primary school students. Memorization of multiplication tables and sentence diagramming were dropped in favor of reasoning exercises. That was a big mistake. Six year old kids aren't ready to do much high level reasoning.
Students now use calculators as a crutch. Unfortunately, they can figure out which numbers to punch into the calculator.
I asked 92 college freshmen in a Financial Accounting class to write down the answer to this question: What is 32 percent of 100. Only 26 students were able to answer correctly. Those students could not possibly have passed any math test, multiple choice or otherwise.
If you get down in the mud and wrestle with a pig, does the pig get clean or do you get dirty. You are mentioning socialization. Problems or concerns with socialization is the biggest fallacy going and I think the NEA is gloating about keeping these rumors flowing. I would invite you to come see how socially unacceptable my kids are. I often wish they were a little more reclusive.
Dear MikeyA5150,
"Having worked with and had roommates with home schoolers, I would never home school my son."
Perhaps your decision is a good one for your son, as this first sentence of yours is not quite fully decipherable.
Are you saying that you worked with homeschooled folks, and been roommates with homeschooled folks, or are you saying that you worked with folks whose roommates were homeschoolers, or you worked with homeschoolers and had roomates who were somehow "with" homeschoolers? A little clarification would go a long way.
"Well By [sic] using The [sic] Master as the example teacher, I choose to show my child that other ways are out there and to beware. I don't take him to an bad movies(which are about 99% of all that come out recently) But I don't see that public school as Bringing [sic] sin upon my son."
More evidence that perhaps your children are better off in the public schools, at least in terms of learning how to write.
"but to shelter you [sic] child from a social experience is just abuse"
"They are social misfits."
"We discuss this at home and he learns more than any of your home-schooled sheltered Tali ban [sic] govern [sic] children would"
"Not the Tali ban [sic] way of but The [sic] American way differences are good learning tools."
"Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of public schools I just think home schooling is worse."
"I believe that home schooling is abuse."
"home school associations= misfits unable to interact with other misfits."
"Home schooling is not the answer but a problem"
I think that it is entirely possible that any homeschoolers with whom you've met up may not have been the problem party in the relationship between you and them. ;-)
"Wow somebody has misjudged me!!!"
Based on your incendiary language, perhaps the question is just who is the social misfit.
"By not fitting in, I mean they don't socialize well."
By using your incendiary language in a forum with many homeschooled families, and in a forum that prohibits personal attacks, you show that you don't socialize well.
"Unless you are afraid of your parenting abilities then shouldn't you be able to let you children be with others that are different."
Ironically, it is usually those most in fear of their parenting skills who are most anti-homeschooling.
"I teach the values and, for the most part the facts of sciences and writing."
Based on the demonstration of your writing abilities in this thread, perhaps you should leave the teaching of that to the public schools.
sitetest
My kids have had daily interaction with bullies, people of different backgrounds and faith, people who really are nice, and people who are two-faced. This is just from dealing with the kids on our cul-de-sac. In the last few days they have learned the difference between a genuine friend and a groups who act like friends. The neighborhood punk has called my oldest son and nerd. My son has told him, "I know I'm kind of a nerd. But, I'm proud of it."
If anything, the homeschoolers I know are incredibly outgoing. I have had a little girl come up at an SCA event and just sit on my lap as her mom introduced herself to me. The only "awkwardness" I might see is they don't have as many inhibitions and some don't keep space. Instead of sizing up potential playmates, they just get in there and play. This is how my daughter make friends. She will look for the kid on the playground who looks lonely. Every time we go out she makes a new friend within half an hour.
Dear TalonDJ,
Congrats to your parents. Obviously, they did an outstanding job.
sitetest
Dear Modernman,
"great (Montgomery County, Maryland, where my wife went to public school) public school systems."
The Montgomery County schools aren't so great, anymore, regrettably. A few are still pretty darned good, academically, and a number more are still pretty decent, if not quite good. Larger numbers, unfortunately, aren't what they once were.
As for "good" public schools in general, well, what can I tell ya? My own neighborhood in Anne Arundel County feeds into what is supposed to be the best elementary school in the county. Our school district is pretty high rent, we're talking about lots of intact families, mostly college-degreed moms and dads, high incomes, high property values, truly enriched environments.
When we moved here four years ago, the other moms and dads were aghast that we were dedicated homeschoolers. They took it as a personal affront to their prized elementary school that we wouldn't send our children there.
Sadly, we're now seeing the effects of that "great public school." It appears that the school has no idea of how to deal with bright, energetic, fun-loving boys. Two of the boys on our cul de sac have been "diagnosed" ADHD. These kids aren't hyperactive. They're just regular, active boys.
It's gotten so bad with one of the children that his parents will be pulling him out of school after this year. To homeschool. It is a bitter irony as these parents were among the most hostile to us when they learned we were homeschooling.
What this supposedly "great public school" did to this child is abuse. It is criminal.
Modernman, I'm sure there really are still some good public schools out there. However, many of the public schools with good reputations actually pretty much stink, now.
sitetest
Parenting is the key, not where the kids are taught.
I'm with you MikeyA5150. And I think you proved your point quite well by getting the irate responses you got. If a home schooling parent is so insecure that they have to attack someone who disagrees with them, how can their children grow up to be emotionally stable?
The extremists that I've encountered here w/r home schooling are quite similar to the leftist extremists - no room for differing opinions or for parental choice. Yeah -that's gonna attract a lot of people!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.