‘Invasive’ High School Survey Asks Students How Many Guns Their Families Have, Why They Have Guns

Given that you are teacher in a government school

I am not a teacher in a government school. I am a retired software/electrical engineer. I am donating my time as an after-hours instructor in a community school. The classes have not started yet, and I am scared to death that I will screw this up. Given that I'm not even close to being a politically correct person, I expect to incur the wrath of The Machine in short order.

I volunteered as a mentor for the robotics team last year, and discovered that schools no longer teach shop. They certainly don't teach subjects that prepare people for making robots. I taught the kids how to use tools and make machines. The school recognized its shortcomings, and took my offer for teaching classes. Since I am not a certified teacher, and am too old to spend time to get a certificate, we choose the uncredited after-school classwork. The school spent a great deal of money equipping a machine shop to my specifications.

So, I am impressed that the school and the county would even take this, not in their budget for the year, and run with it. That clearly demonstrates a willingness to do the right thing. I have never seen that happen with any other government agency throughout my life.

While true that most book-centric studies can be accomplished most successfully outside of good funding, some things cannot. I observed no home schooled teams at the FIRST robotics competition. It takes $5000 to purchase a basic parts kit, plus an additional $2000 to $5000 to complete a machine that will work in the competition. There is another $5000 to register for the competition events. That totals to numbers that are not so easy to handle by small groups. Now, all of those parts need to be fitted together in a machine shop. You will drop about $20,000 for a nicely equipped shop.

Some things cost money. Actually working with physical devices in the technologies is definitely one of them.

I tried to start a program outside of the school system to address the needs of technical instruction. Nobody wanted to help. No organization wanted to help. I am in the Atlanta area where there is a lot of money, yet I was the lone voice crying out in the wilderness. A government school stepped up to the plate when no other entity did so. I spent the better part of a year trying to find sponsorship. Parents certainly don't care enough to help, they were the first to say, no thanks.

You have been very sweet during all of this, and I apologize for my lack of manners. My wife selected my login moniker for me, matching my general disposition. More later, I have to run to a robotics funding event.

I agree. Some things cost money. And....If there were no government K-12 schools, many of these “things” would be taken over by the department of parks and recreation. Some “things” that come to mind are theater,dance, chorus, band, orchestra, fine arts, metal and wood working, robot teams and sports.

Since your county was willing to take on the expense of a robot team for the government school, it likely would take on the expense for the Department of Parks and Recreation, if the government K-12 system were to collapse.

Also....Is your robot team open to homeschoolers and private schoolers, or are only those in the socialist-entitlement K-12 schools entitled to the money collected from the taxpayer ( by threat of police and court action)?

As for science labs:

...you can enjoy all of your little perks...like vacations to Aruba and Cancun...a boat and a deer lease...

I have none of those. I still work "word of mouth" jobs to make ends meet. My wife has a job that pays rather poorly, but works long hours. We are pretty poor with little savings. I can find nothing in my previous postings that would induce you to make that self-righteous assumption.

We sacrificed quite a lot for our kids as well. No school provides everything a child needs, so you can bet we picked up the slack. Not all high schools are ridiculously liberal, especially in pockets of conservative people like where I live. Our kids went to a public school; however, that is no basis for you to assume that we haven't been there with them every step of the way. We have volunteered to help with numerous clubs and to provide a continuous convoy of transportation to extra-curricular events. My kids did, in fact, get schooled at home in many things that are not provided in any school. I taught them how to use wood and metalworking tools, how to use digital logic integrated circuits and associated test equipment. I also taught them how to shoot and survive in the woods.

Home schooled children do good well in college, that has been clearly demonstrated. If you are unable to work with numerous other families, you would be unable to provide well equipped laboratories or shops. You would also be limited in how deep the children could go into esoteric subjects.

I have tried to figure out how to help home-schooling parents with shop and laboratory facilities, as well as special instruction with the subjects I listed elsewhere in this thread. Many of them decline in various impolite ways, or they do not follow up. I've even offered my own shop to their service; but, they seem to assume that I have perverse plans for their children. Of course, they have no response when I tell them I would expect parents to be in attendance. Based upon those experiences and the responses from you and others in this thread, it is no surprise to me that liberals find conservatives to be nasty and totally hard-headed.

The Chamber of Commerce and other civic organizations show no interest in setting up special centers for technological studies. If you can figure out how to fund such facilities, I would surely help present the subject matter.

So you see, I have gone full spectrum to provide my skills, knowledge, and equipment toward the education of kids. I was just plain shocked when the public school took advantage of my offerings while no other entity did.

You can send them to the libtard factory...

Since you have yet to sample ALL of the public schools in the United States, you might be making unqualified assumptions.

Also....Is your robot team open to homeschoolers and private schoolers?

I just checked on that. By golly, it is! That school is open to the entire community.

I wanted to add to my previous post that there is a rather large Catholic school in the Atlanta area. They were present in the FIRST Robotics competition, and they kicked butt! Their machine was well designed and well built. I can't remember the name of the school just now, but it places very high in all of the area's scholastic events. They have a lot of money flowing in from the Catholic system. Money does help. Few other denominations are funded that well.

If I could figure out a way to fund those technology classes outside of the school system, I surely would. I tried hard, for about a year, to do just that. The idea was pretty much summarily rejected wherever I went.

Home schooling organizations were pretty disappointing. They are kind of "nose up", I assume from their high need for independence. Now you know why I am a bit dismissive of them: They are dismissive of me.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.