Posted on 08/17/2002 5:06:31 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
As the summer comes to a close, and fall creeps in, millions of children and teens will be trudging off to the local institutions of learning in the early morning hours. The greatest number of these institutions are the so-called "public schools."
However, there is another form of education that has begun to do extraordinary things. Homeschooling has already outperformed every other form of education in America – and not just in test scores.
In 1985, a Gallup Poll surveyed America on their opinion of homeschooling. The results might startle a few today, because 75 percent of Americans thought homeschooling was a bad idea. Public opinion – at that time – believed that the notion of parents alone teaching their children at home was a foreign idea and questions were raised about whether it would or could be successful.
However, when homeschoolers had a chance to perform and show the world what results could be accomplished, public opinion changed drastically. Less than 20 years later, another Gallup Poll was taken on homeschooling and America changed its opinion to 75 percent believing homeschooling is a good idea.
The simple answer to why public opinion has radically changed on home education is the fact that homeschoolers outperform their peers in government schools and other forms of education.
First, on average, homeschooled students score in the range of 75 to 85 on most tests – while their peers in government education score in the range 50 to 60 on the same tests.
Second, home-educated students score above average on the SAT and ACT tests. Additionally, many colleges and universities are now more likely to be interested in homeschooled students because of their above-average results.
Third, homeschoolers have been ruling the academic "bees" for some time now. Year after year, homeschoolers have been in the top placements for the Geography Bee, Spelling Bee and the USA Math Olympiad.
Even after the successes of homeschooling, the National Education Association still continues to raise the issue of socialization. You would think, by now, we would be past this fundamental issue. Yet, homeschooling is not just about results, test scores and the future business success of a student, but the time spent the way it should be – with families living their daytime hours together.
Government-run public schools have had their chance. For over 100 years, schools have been run publicly by the government and – from the beginning – it has been going downhill alongside the intelligence of America.
In addition, you can see severe lower standards in government schools these days. When students have a 3.6 Grade Point Average and score below 20 on the ACT and have to take remedial classes in college, you know we have a problem with standards in schools.
However, test scores and results on the ACT and SAT are not the worst problem facing government schools. But, rather, it is the intentional indoctrination that is taking place in many schools, under the banner of "hate-crime prevention," "tolerance," and "multiculturalism."
Yet, while some school districts are accomplishing good results, most are not. Education expert and nationally known author Thomas Sowell said, "If every parent in America knew what was really going on in public schools, there would be a revolution."
He was right. American parents are becoming aware of what is happening in our schools and reform has just now begun to take shape.
What's this reform I speak of, you ask? It's the reform that is taking place by responsible American parents taking their children out of government schools. The only element that has a chance of saving public education is competition between private education and public education.
Therefore, I call upon parents to take their children out of public schools, ensure their ability to perform in the business world as an adult, and choose the greatest form of education: parents teaching their children at home.
And thank you too Kyle - keep the faith!
I won't argue about the efficacy of home-schooling for academics, nor will I discount the value of family time. As such, the socialization thing is way overblown by the NEA: who, it must be remembered, have ushered in a system whereby "socialization" apparently means giving in to the worst manifestations of modern trash culture.
Still, I've seen many homeschooled kids, especially boys, who really do miss out on certain important social lessons. My experience has been that many homeschooling parents are very protective of their kids, and the primary teachers are their (protective) mothers, who very tightly restrict the people with whom their kids interact.
For boys, this often leads to situations where they miss out on learning "guy stuff" -- those stupid-seeming games where the main point seems to be inflicting pain, and laughing when you get hurt, and doing it with a group of like-minded guys.
Guys will understand the fun of a game like, say, "butt ball," the point of which is for one team to taunt another by waving their (clothed -- you'll soon see why) rear ends at the other team, who attempts to hit same with a whiffle ball thrown as hard as possible from close range.
Churchill once said, "nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." OTOH, there are very important lessons to be learned from getting stung and laughing about it with your team mates. And it's remarkably difficult to imagine a group of home-schooling mothers allowing such a game to take place.
If nothing else, a more public education (i.e., not necessarily public schools, but with relatively uncontrolled interactions between kids) provides access to to guy stuff, not to mention an education about how to deal with people who are not just like you.
And you can take that NEA and GLSEN and flush them!
Like, how to talk to the tattooed redneck down at the hardware store? Or the tough-talking guy on the garbage truck?
As I noted above, my primary problem with home-schooling has much more to do with over-protective parents than it does with the education they give their kids. There are all kinds of people out there, and real-world living demands that one know how to understand and deal with them. Those are lessons that can only be gained by being around people who are not like you.
And yet, there's that class of home-schooling parent whose actions are precisely to limit their kid's access only to people just like them.
Nearly ten years ago, while selling California real estate, I went into a home where there were two boys about your age, Kyle. They came to the living room, interested in what was happening but not saying much. They looked directly into my eyes respectfully, even though I'm an adult, and responded with such intelligence, I later asked where they go to school to learn such unusual behavior. You guessed it.........homeschooling.
Since then, I've continued to be favorably impressed with the many homeschoolers here. No Ridalin anywhere. And now there is such organization and popularity for the trend that they regularly get together for field trips and the like. So there is as much socialization there as in public schools. Just of a better quality.
There are a host of clubs and group activities that parents can involve their kids with such as sports, Boy Scouts, computer clubs, self-defense, summer camp, etc., where kids can still learn social skills by being around others. And they're far safer than government schools.
We often see people on threads like this who simply condemn public schools out of hand. I do not trust such people, because more often than not they appear to condemn public education primarily to serve some other personal and/or political agenda that has little to do with education. No, I don't trust the NEA and the "education establishment" -- but neither do I trust foamers-at-the-mouth on the opposite side of the debate.
It is true that many public schools are failing. But the problem with public schools is not that they're public. After all, public schools of old were often quite good. Moreover, there are still many excellent public school teachers -- and even entire public school districts -- who do a very good job of teaching kids. Indeed, the public school systems of certain other countries still do very well.
The real problem -- in public education as elsewhere -- has mostly to do with competence. The main difficulty with public education is that it is too difficult for any but Ed-school graduates to get teaching jobs. Alas, schools of education rarely teach anything except technique -- graduates rarely know anything about the subjects they're expected to teach. (I saw the transition when I was in high school -- the difference between teachers with real and ed-school degrees was embarrasingly obvious, as was the difference in quality in their results.)
People with real degrees often stay away because of the unbelievable obstacle course set up for them by the unions and their sympathizers.
Unfortunately, conservatives have only made the problem worse by insisting on "accountability," which in practice means more testing and paperwork, and less time spent on teaching and preparation.
The solution? It's actually pretty easy: do away with "Degrees in Education," and return to the old system where teachers are required to have a degree in an actual subject. Teacher certification would require a few specialized classes (my wife had maybe 5 actually useful education courses).
The problem is, it's not so much about being "around others," so much as it's about being around others who aren't like them.
You make my point with that all-important qualifier: "... parents can involve their kids." IOW, the parents are controlling their kids' interactions, leaving the kids with little opportunity to deal with situations on their own.
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