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.
Like everything else, homeschooling has its advantages and disadvantages, and it's certainly easier for homeschoolers to avoid the pitfalls if they know what they are. All things considered, though, I certainly consider homeschooling to be one of the best options available.
YS, you are still being a knee jerk reacter. WHAT PITFALLS???? Name one beside a generic socialization. If you really want to help me the homeschooler, do it. Don't just sit there and say there might be problems.
I'm not being a knee-jerk reactor to anything--everything I have said on this thread comes from my personal experience with homeschooling and what I've seen in other homeschoolers (including good friends of mine). I gave some specific suggestions in post #112, but I suggest generally that homeschoolers avoid the tendency toward isolationism that often accompanies a desire to avoid the ills of the public school system. Further, the more homeschoolers interact normally with other members of the public, the sooner common negative stereotypes of homeschoolers will disappear.
Many of the companies provide cd's with the material on them or homeschoolers network to find competent people to teach certain subjects. Also, many community colleges allow homeschoolers to take these courses from them - some even for free.
Forgot to add...since these resources weren't available to me when I was homeschooling, I hired a tutor for those areas where I felt uncomfortable teaching.
How do they not interact normally with other members of society? Do I not do the same things that everyone else does, normally? Give me some examples. Be specific.
And, I believe that public schoolers have the tendency to view the only acceptable behavior in people is how they perceive it. Maybe the onus should be put on public schoolers to learn more about different aspects of society, instead of their limited view of the world due to the bubble they live in.
I have no idea if you do anything I have mentioned here; I'm talking only about what I have seen. If you want a specific example, I know a family that has long dissociated itself with anything "public school-related" Somehow, nearly all sports fit into this category, as well as normal standards of dress (and I'm not talking about a simple rejection of immodest clothes--one can do this and still dress very well). They (particularly the kids) tend to be very proud of this, and intentionally distance themselves from many harmless things that are normal parts of life for most Americans. As a result, the kids (in their mid to late teens now) are almost totally unable to carry on small talk, a skill that is important in many careers in business, politics, and other fields (and, hence, the real world).
The problem I have described here is not a direct result of homeschooling, but it is more likely to happen in a relatively isolated environment. Further, many in the homeschooling community, at least when I was growing up, actually encouraged it. There is no reason homeschooling needs to be like this.
I only describe this because you insisted on a specific example; I don't like to say negative things about fellow homeschoolers.
But, what you are describing as harmless is your point of view. It may be that they view it as harmful. I do not drink; I do not allow alcohol in my home. Yet, drinking and having alcohol in your home are considered mainstream. I consider this harmful to our life.
I do not hold conversations with my coworkers about alcohol, or their drinking adventures. This has not hampered my business career or conversations with these people in the slightest.
And, in all honesty, if people in this country choose to live strict lives; more power to them. The Amish in this country survive on that basis, as do many other religiously strict communities.
Just because you find things necessary in your life does not mean they are necessary to my life, my job function, or anything else. And, part of parenting is being able to instill your values and beliefs into your children. If this means you teach your children that secular behavior is dangerous, that is your right. If the children then choose to immerse themselves in secular culture, they will learn new skills in regards to that.
Hey, Dave is a custodian, not a teacher! Goodnight, whattanass! Did he graduate from teachers college? I doubt it.
Bette, can the school address that? Do they on a daily basis?
I don't know what you are referring to but every day we face problems of kids out of control!!!
Well, calculus and statistics are college level courses that many people going into college don't need.
If a high school aged kid really wanted to take calculus or statistics, they could take it at a local junior college.
I would imagine they could do the same with chemistry and physics.
I know I could teach all of those courses except physics, and my husband could teach physics.
Many high schools don't even teach calculus. That is usually only taught in the city high schools.
Why would a person who is going to major in English or history in college need to take calculus?
Most business majors take a watered down calculus.
Only someone majoring in engineering, math, or the sciences needs to take calculus.
We are starting our third year with the K12 curriculum this fall -- love it, especially the History.
Our curriculum has an online component which included demonstrations for my son's pre-algebra. I'm aware of other curricula which include interacting with a teacher online in real time. In our local area there are also homeschool groups which pay a nominal fee to be tutored as a group by a college student, etc. As the homeschooling communities (and technology) continue to grow, I'm sure we'll see more options develop in future for the more advanced courses.
I've seen kids from homes where their parents (or more often parent) don't know what their kids are doing and don't care---as long as we don't upset their lives.
Do the schools have a program for dealing with that, besides warehousing the student?
I'm just amazed by the resources available today. In the 70's we had to make do with old textbooks. I wish I had grandchildren that I could homeschool today - it would be so much fun and a whole lot easier.
Sounds like the movie Logan's Run.
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