Ha!
What a crock.
One of the LAMEST statements attempting to support an argument I have ever read ...
"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!"
'fight the laws'??? oh my ...
Where's the barf alert?
I am a homeschooling Dad - I am NOT a "wannabe teacher".
I have no desire to teach your kids.
Gasp! You mean a company actually wants to make a profit? Unbelievable! Well, I guess all those teachers' unions, NEA, etc.. will stop pushing for the need for more funding.
I HAVE wondered why parents who homeschool don't automatically band together and specialize, each focusing on a different subject. It would seem that charter schools would naturally flow out of such an arrangement. I'm pretty sure it happens, but it seems like it would be a natural outcome.
What a sick joke.
Send your kids to public school and they WILL be misfits.
Do you ever wonder where those social, disciplinary and behavioral problems COME FROM?
I wish that your average public school teacher WAS an "expert". Unfortunately, if you look at the mean SAT scores, the grades, the colleges of graduation, or any other indicator of success in learning, public school teachers are far behind the curve. In fact, the mean SAT scores of education majors are the lowest of any college major (this may have changed - the last time I looked was a few years ago - but I doubt it).
It has been my experience that the best teachers are those who are (1) familiar with the subject; (2) highly motivated. In the elementary grades, almost any parent of reasonable intelligence is both of these. When you reach high school, some of the specialized subjects can be more difficult, but that's why there are homeschool co-ops. If I were still homeschooling my son, I would "trade" my skills in English composition and grammar, history, Latin, and German for lessons from somebody who knows what a differential equation is!
As for this fellow's arguments, they are straw men (take the socialization riff for example. I have never heard a homeschooler argue "forget it!" Scouts, church, and athletic activities provide ample opportunities for socialization.)
Does head custodian have the same job description as it did when we were in school?
Just like those "pros" who setup timing for traffic lights?
Just like those "pros" who operate the IRS, GSO, etc?
Just like those "pros" who work airport security"
Since when did those in government employ become good at anything?
Public schools are, like, you know, SOOOOO 20th century.
They are quite literally obsolete.
We have the Dinosaur Media deathwatch disclaimer. Maybe we need a Public School Deathwatch disclaimer.
In this case a BARF alert should have been sounded!
The interesting thing is that some of the "well meaning amateurs" do better than the professionals.
I expect to get flamed for this, but here I go.
I am a teacher. I teach English Literature. I firmly support a person's right to homeschool their children. That said, here is my one problem:
My cousin is a lawyer and a good one. He wants nothing more than to homeschool his children, but he has serious problems with mathematics. Algebra was a foreign language to him and forget about anything above that. (He made one 'C' in college...in College Algebra). Since he has such issues with mathematics, and the standardized tests put such emphasis on math, how can he, an obviously intelligent person, be reasonably expected to prepare his children for the rigors of math?
This may be an isolated incident, but does shed a big light on some more serious homeschool issues. Do most homeschool parents have the necessary skills to teach some of the more difficult courses? What about languages, which are often required for entrance to college?
Please do not get me wrong. I am 100% for your right to do what you will with your children, only that I question how well you can provide all the time.