Posted on 03/02/2006 11:45:53 AM PST by LouAvul
Elizabeth and Teddy Dean are learning about the Italian scientist Galileo, so they troop into the kitchen, where their mother Lisa starts by reviewing some facts about the Renaissance.
Elizabeth, 11, and Teddy, 8, have never gone to school.
Their teachers are primarily their parents, which puts them into what is believed to be the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. education system -- the homeschool movement.
For their science lesson, Teddy and Elizabeth are joined by three other homeschooled children and their mother, who live down the street in their suburb midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Before the lesson starts, all five kids change into Renaissance costumes -- long dresses and bonnets for the girls, tunics and swords for the boys.
"We definitely have a lot more fun than kids who go to school," Elizabeth said.
.................
But there is no disagreement about the explosive growth of the movement -- 29 percent from 1999 to 2003 according to the NCES study, or 7 to 15 percent a year according to HSLDA.
This growth has spawned an estimated $750 million a year market supplying parents with teaching aids and lesson plans to fit every religious and political philosophy. Homeschooled children regularly show up in the finals of national spelling competitions, generating publicity for the movement.
Parents cite many reasons for deciding to opt out of formal education and teach their children at home. In the NCES study, 31 percent said they were concerned about drugs, safety or negative peer pressure in schools; 30 percent wanted to provide religious or moral instruction while 16 percent said they were dissatisfied with academic standards in their local schools.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
It's a shame these homeschooled kids won't be socialized properly by being exposed to boring curriculum, drug and sex deviants, sociopaths, and children whose parents simply don't care about them. We're losing an entire generation of cell-phone toting, expensive clothes-wearing fashion victims here. It must not be allowed. Put the parents in prison immediately. (sarcasm)
How does one go about homeschooling? I have a daughter with a teaching degree with two children not yet school age. I would love for her to do this.
That sounds great. Where is that?
We don't have children yet but "planning has begun". I have a pretty good reason to like homeschooling - I've spent years teaching in various schools!
My main motive is positive: I so easily see how I could do better - I have background in cognition and development work in addition to education - and I just think I would have a blast doing it. I'm in Manhattan, so I suspect there will be extra hurdles here.
According to sHrillary, they also do quite well in the finals of the national cross-burning competitions.....
It would be nice to get a school tax break from the local government for those who homeschool, or send their kids to private schools. Hit them in the pocket book. The more that opt into this, the more likely it may happen in a few years. Or, I can hope.
But I don't want my kids to be socialists.
Don't forget the gay and lesbian infiltration at the middle school/high school level.
Well somebody will have to run things when todays crop of students graduate.
Start with google. There are tons of resources. I didn't homeschool, but I'm trying to convince my daughter to.
Man is that my feeling. The notion that students miss out on proper socialization, I've taught music at some awfully nice Catholic and prep schools - I think the social environment there is just toxic. And I'm not especially socially conservative either, I just see troublemakers getting all the attention while the good kids sit patiently, and I see the crazy parents ready to draw knives on each other at any moment. Oh, for the option to not have to spend even a day worrying about that stuff!
Exactly. I have some homeschooled kids in my neighborhood. They don't even know the meaning of sh%$, da%$, m%^he& f^&(er, su%& me, eat &%. Where are they supposed to learn this stuff if they are not exposed to older hoodlums?
People will get tired of paying for a socialist program they aren't using. The trouble we have right now is too many people enjoy dumping their responsibility on others.
However, there are some small signs that is changing. It just isn't changing fast enough.
LOL!
We are in Wisconsin (East-central area). My cousins homeschool their 10 (not a typo) children. They are in homeschool organizations specifically for things such as music, acting, sports, etc. One son is on a baseball team that competes with the local private schools. Another daughter plays the violin in a local orchestra. I think they've organized cheerleading as well. I'm not sure how it was set up though.
According to Hitlery, the other 22% homeschooled their kids in the evenings so that they could sleep during the day and be fresh for the "night-riding" and "cross-burnings" they do each night.....
My kids, 11 and 8, have never gone to school.
We're using a pre-packaged Catholic curriculum. My wife says she's more of a coach than a teacher, as my kids have learned to work fairly independently. They're usually done with all of their work by 12-1 PM. They're both a grade ahead of their peers, and lightyears ahead of their peers with regard to religious studies. My oldest has almost finished with memorizing the first Baltimore Catechism.
Their grammar instruction is excellent, so good in fact, that I've used it as a basis for teaching them the basics of Aristotelian philosophy.
Both of them learned to read at age four. They learned letter sounds from Sesame Street. Then, with 20 minute lessons from Sam Blumenfeld's Alpha Phonics book, learned to read independently within four weeks.
I've concluded that schooling is unnecessary for children less than 12 years of age. And considering the fact that by that age they will have learned to work independently, they should be able to tackle on their own subjects that are difficult for some parents (i.e., Algebra, etc.).
I don't plan on sending our children to school at all. And I don't even care very much about sending them to college, although I will if they're interested.
I agree, but, the change is happening. Better than not.
ping
Compare this to public schools, where the kids aren't exactly sure what an "Italy" is...
They tried to do this in the mid-90s, and homeschoolers whipped their butts. The congressional switchboards had never been so swamped. It was a good civics lesson for homeschoolers, and one Congress hasn't forgotten. The measure was defeated overwhelmingly.
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