Posted on 07/25/2005 7:26:05 PM PDT by Millicent_Hornswaggle
Schools With Good Teachers Are Best-Suited to Shape Young Minds By Dave Arnold
There's nothing like having the right person with the right experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Certain jobs are best left to the pros, such as, formal education.
There are few homeowners who can tackle every aspect of home repair. A few of us might know carpentry, plumbing and, let’s say, cementing. Others may know about electrical work, tiling and roofing. But hardly anyone can do it all.
Same goes for cars. Not many people have the skills and knowledge to perform all repairs on the family car. Even if they do, they probably don’t own the proper tools. Heck, some people have their hands full just knowing how to drive.
So, why would some parents assume they know enough about every academic subject to home-school their children? You would think that they might leave this -- the shaping of their children’s minds, careers, and futures -- to trained professionals. That is, to those who have worked steadily at their profession for 10, 20, 30 years! Teachers!
Experienced Pros
There’s nothing like having the right person with the right experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Whether it is window-washing, bricklaying or designing a space station. Certain jobs are best left to the pros. Formal education is one of those jobs.
Of course there are circumstances that might make it necessary for parents to teach their children at home. For example, if the child is severely handicapped and cannot be transported safely to a school, or is bedridden with a serious disease, or lives in such a remote area that attending a public school is near impossible.
Well-Meaning Amateurs
The number of parents who could easily send their children to public school but opt for home-schooling instead is on the increase. Several organizations have popped up on the Web to serve these wannabe teachers. These organizations are even running ads on prime time television. After viewing one advertisement, I searched a home school Web site. This site contains some statements that REALLY irritate me!
* “It’s not as difficult as it looks.”
The “it” is meant to be “teaching.” Let’s face it, teaching children is difficult even for experienced professionals. Wannabes have no idea.
* “What about socialization? Forget about it!”
Forget about interacting with others? Are they nuts? Socialization is an important component of getting along in life. You cannot teach it. Children should have the opportunity to interact with others their own age. Without allowing their children to mingle, trade ideas and thoughts with others, these parents are creating social misfits.
If this Web site encouraged home-schooled children to join after-school clubs at the local school, or participate in sports or other community activities, then I might feel different. Maine state laws, for example, require local school districts to allow home-schooled students to participate in their athletic programs. For this Web site to declare, “forget about it,” is bad advice.
When I worked for Wal-Mart more than 20 years ago, Sam Walton once told me: “I can teach Wal-Mart associates how to use a computer, calculator, and how to operate like retailers. But I can’t teach them how to be a teammate when they have never been part of any team.”
* “Visit our online bookstore.”
Buying a history, science or math book does not mean an adult can automatically instruct others about the book’s content.
Gullible Parents
Another Web site asks for donations and posts newspaper articles pertaining to problems occurring in public schools.
It’s obvious to me that these organizations are in it for the money. They are involved in the education of children mostly in the hope of profiting at the hands of well-meaning but gullible parents.
This includes parents who home-school their children for reasons that may be linked to religious convictions. One Web site that I visited stated that the best way to combat our nation’s “ungodly” public schools was to remove students from them and teach them at home or at a Christian school.
I’m certainly not opposed to religious schools, or to anyone standing up for what they believe in. I admire anyone who has the strength to stand up against the majority. But in this case, pulling children out of a school is not the best way to fight the laws that govern our education system. No battle has ever been won by retreating!
No Training
Don’t most parents have a tough enough job teaching their children social, disciplinary and behavioral skills? They would be wise to help their children and themselves by leaving the responsibility of teaching math, science, art, writing, history, geography and other subjects to those who are knowledgeable, trained and motivated to do the best job possible.
(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois.)
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.
What a bunch of maroons.
Excellent point!
bttt
There is an easy way to test this, we need some FR members who are also NEA members to write in SUPPORT of homeschooling.
If they refuse to publish then the selective publication exposes all for the world to see. (and will probably get the article printed elsewhere with more exposure because of the nea censorship)
I would guess once the kids are out of the Public schools it gets a bit easier..
You haven't given one specific example that can be attributed to being a homeschooling problem. Everyone, no matter what background they have, come across situations that they are not prepared for.
You are probably right as to reading, writing, English, geography, social studies, and foreign languages, but do you really think that most parents are able to teach math and the hard sciences beyond the most basic level? I'm not talking about simple algebra, geometry, and earth science, but rather, linear algebra, calculus I and II, advanced statistics, chemistry, and physics, at the 11th and 12th grade level. Even if a parent knows the course material backwards and forwards, they may not be able to teach it, and even if they are good teachers, they may not have sufficient knowledge of the subject matter.
It's always impossible to prove causation, so I don't know if I have anything that will meet a standard you accept. but first, what is your experience with homeschooling and homeschoolers? How long have you been homeschooling (or been homeschooled)?
I have been homeschooling for 9 years.
That's what community college is for!
Not where I live. Standard college prep courses in the public school systems include chem in 10th grade, physics in 11th grade, calculus I in 11th grade, and calculus II and or advanced statistics in 12th grade.
Sometimes the dog did eat the homework, but that's not the way to bet.
Bette, can the school address that? Do they on a daily basis?
If you read, I believe you'll find he was home schooled.
If I consider the tone and quality of his analysis and presentation, them I have to say you don't compare very well.
He continues to say that homeschoolers could have inherent weaknesses in regards to adapting to the world outside of the homeschool, and I have asked for a specific instance. He has not provided one.
I am showing that it is easy to say that homeschoolers are accused of not having the necessary skills, but when it comes down to proving it; no one has proof.
And most of them are better behaved as well--no school bus jokes, bad behavior, fights, etc.
Personally, I'd rather have "amateurs" teaching than the women teachers who have sex with boys or the child molesters that somehow manage to get hired until they are caught. Safety is an important consideration in deciding where children should spend seven hours of 180 days each year.
Here's my question: Calculus A & B, for example, is pretty complicated stuff and a lot of very smart parents aren't math oriented. How do they teach a subject that they haven't mastered themselves?
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