[fatnotlazy]

When I was a kid, the school district had a truant officer. He was tough. If your child was missing school chronically for no good reason, this guy could have your child taken away. I know because one of my classmates spent some time in a foster home after the truant officer had her taken away for too many unexcused absences. Her parents had to go to court to get her back.

Ok, our schools have become indoctrination centers and don't teach what kids need to know to function in life. But one of a parent's responsibilities is to make sure their children get an education. If you don't like public schools, find an alternative. Otherwise, make sure your child goes to school.

[No_More_Harkin]

I like that. I have well behaved kids who attend school, but once they are there, they could bolt and do whatever, I don’t have control of that.
If the thought of THEM being arrested and put in foster care or boys home didn’t scare them, nothing I could do would.

[wintertime]

Otherwise, make sure your child goes to school.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Here are two questions:

What if it could be proven that the child learns nothing in a Prussian-model government school? Would you still support paying up to $30,000 per year per child for a schooling program that was nearly completely ineffective?

What if it could be proven that** no **child ( academically successful or illiterate and innumerate) learns anything significant in a Prussian model government school?

A Stanford professor of education once e-mailed me a told me that studies have **never** been done to show **where** a child is learning and **who** is doing the teaching! Is it the teacher or parents, tutors and the child himself? Is it the prison-like school or in the home?

I ask these questions because it is my anecdotal observation that academically successful children ( whether institutionalized or homeschooled) are doing the **same** amount of formal studying at the kitchen table **in the home**! Their families also share very similar home habits and value for education.

So?...Both groups of academically successful kids ( home and institutionalized) are achieving the same levels of literacy and numeracy but one group ( homeschooled) does not go to school.

My conclusion:

Maybe, just maybe, the school is doing ***nothing***! Maybe, just maybe, we spend up to $30,000/year/child on a schooling program that is completely ineffective!

Maybe, just maybe, the only thing government institutionalization does is send home a very expensive curriculum that the academically successful child, parents, and tutors follow **in the home**!