Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
I have no problem with that Rosie. Not everyone has to go to college. But I think you're an exception.
If you decide to homeschool your kids, I know from our conversations here, that you'll prepare yourself first and not just assume you can do it because you went to school. Am I making any sense with that?
As for higher education, I went to a private Christian school and am hoping my kids will do the same. But I also trust some of the public universities and depending on their field of study, I wouldn't mind if my boys went there.
Don't tell the cave troll...;-)
Doh!
But also because I believe schools are much more local than that, and horror stories in a book will not be that helpful in determining what the situation is right here at my own schools... So that is why I am not going to promise to read the book. I just probably won't...
I certainly wasn’t trying to force you to read something you don’t want to. I’m sorry if it came across that way.
The book is not just anecdotes. Mr. Stormer examines those who were instrumental in bringing about “government” schools. The people who set up this system were very open about their agenda. They were out to change society through the younger generations. This goes back to the early twentieth century with John Dewey.
So if you agree that these "bad" schools are a recent phenomenon, then there must not be anything inherently evil if they were once OK...
I would submit that once the federal government became involved the school system went bad. This system has never been ok. It has been continually degenerating until we have our present system. And it will continue to degenerate until we get the federal government and the teachers’ union out.
What do I suggest? - I guess push for conservatives on school boards and go to school board meetings if your kids are in school. If no conservatives are on the ballot, then run. I would guess your school boards at "bad" schools meet alone with little intervention from the public. No one goes to meetings. Impact things. Go to visit, volunteer in classrooms, meet with administrators.
Those are good ideas. However, they will ultimately be futile until the fedgov is removed from the schooling business.
Thanks for your thoughts Hair.
Ok…..
1) Private schools: I'm at least a few years older than you and I grew up in the south. My first grade year was the year Virginia schools were desegregated. I still remember that was the conversation on the way to school my first day. As such, I've always been skeptical of private schools, particularly "Christian" private schools because a lot of them were formed, not for educational reasons, but for segregation reasons.
You could always investigate the school and the church that runs it. That should tell you if they exist merely to continue segregation.
2) Homeschooling: I agree that it's great for some families. I think you (ksen), 2J, SuziQ and the others (Jen's family) are all quite well prepared to homeschool your children. But a lot of people aren't. I may insult some folks here, but I think if all you have is a high school diploma that you don't have any business homeschooling your children. No, you don't need an education degree, but you need more than high school.
Why aren’t parents with a high-school degree qualified to teach their own children through high school? Especially these days with the plethora of helps that are available for homeschooling families?
The love and care the parent will give the child(ren) will far outweigh their lack of advanced degrees.
And I have a real problem with folks who want to homeschool their kids to keep them away from all the evil in the world. Hear me out. It's a good thing to limit what your kids are exposed to. But at some point, they've got to know what the real world is like.
What point is that? 5 years old? 8 years old? 13 years old?
When you are trying to nurture a new tree you don’t stick them out in a hurricane at a young age to help them learn how to weather it. You keep them inside and feed them and care for them until they are strong enough to weather the storms.
I'm reading that series because I think the story line (and their interpretation) is intriguing. But the writing is crap. Last year during Christmas rehearsals I was reading one and so many people from our choir came up to me and said "aren't those books just wonderful? They're the best thing I've ever read." [insert puke smilie here]
Yep, the writing there is pretty junky.
I'm on my soapbox here because I adamantly refuse to fall for the line that just because something is "Christian" that it is "quality."
Ok, I can agree with that.
And THAT's why I'll never agree that homeschooling is for everyone.
Why? Because some Christian writing is not quality? I’ll bet those Christian authors were not homeschooled so I don’t see how you are making the connection.
Oohh, that's right!
25 days until Extended DVD release!
61 days until TTT!
Would conservatives have more impact in that argument if they had not already detached themselves from the schools? I think they would.
The public, including the liberals, need workable solutions from us if they are to be swayed to our side. When we talk about disbanding the Federal DOE, and they ask, what would replace it, we need to be able to say "locally controlled schools", and back that up by supporting local schools, not just "homeschooling". Because like it or not, they aren't going to be able to jump on that bandwagon, its as foreign to them as us suggesting we all switch to breathing water. It doesn't give them a vision they can take in and use.
I hadn't planned on it but it sounds like I already agree with the author.
From what I hear from co-workers and neighbors who are parents, most of the teachers don't even know their own material.
Some may be. Many just aren't.
The love and care the parent will give the child(ren) will far outweigh their lack of advanced degrees.
So someone who graduated with a 1.5 GPA is qualified to teach their kids just because they love them?
What point is that? 5 years old? 8 years old? 13 years old?
That's a decision that each parent needs to make for each child. But I think as Christians we do a great disservice to our young people by not letting them know what the real world is like. There's a big difference between not letting your kids participate in/view something/read something and not letting them know that something exists.
Shelter a kid from all the evil of the world and when they finally get out from under your care, the evil will destroy them.
I’ll bet those Christian authors were not homeschooled so I don’t see how you are making the connection.
The Left Behind books were just an example. The point (again) is that just because something has a Christian message there is no guarantee of quality. Just because parents are Christians there is no guarantee that they have the ability to teach their children.
I believe conservatives have tried what you espouse. It didn't work, so some are abandoning the system.
I think it went something like: try, no influence, abandon; not abandon, no influence, try.
This is where I get lost in the extremist language. We are talking about letting your kids mingle with other kids who come from families that do not all like yours and be taught by teachers who may vote for a different political party. It ain't orcs with daggers.
I sometimes wonder, is the evil that parents here fear really that your child may hear a different philosophy in class, without you there to filter it, and that your child might agree with them on something? - That they may question or disagree with the parent when they grow up?
I suppose I did, but you know what? - I heard all kinds of views in high school that were not like my dad's, and I recognized it where it diverged... I talked about it and debated with my Dad, debated where I stood with kids in class, and came back around to a view pretty close to my dad's anyway. But that view was honestly achieved. I had the freedom to hear other views, and my dad seemed confident that what he said would be the thing that stuck in the end. In other words... relax. You're right. Your kids will question that, but if you are right, they will come back.
From what I hear most teachers do not send their own children to the public school system.
Is that an authorization to spam?
Ditto that!
I've worked with ex-teachers, folks whose mothers were teachers and left, people that decided not to teach, etc. I don't bring up the public school situation unless I want to get an earful!
About this reform thing. "Traditional" public schools have done/ are doing anything possible to sink the charter schools here.
That’s really not a fair characterization. Who should determine whether a parent is “qualified” to teach her own child at home?
So someone who graduated with a 1.5 GPA is qualified to teach their kids just because they love them?
Do you really think most parents graduated with a 1.5 GPA? I graduated high school with a GPA of 2.0-2.5. Does that mean I am no longer qualified to homeschool? My wife has only a year and a half of college. Should she not teach our 7th grade daughter?
That's a decision that each parent needs to make for each child. But I think as Christians we do a great disservice to our young people by not letting them know what the real world is like. There's a big difference between not letting your kids participate in/view something/read something and not letting them know that something exists.
Shelter a kid from all the evil of the world and when they finally get out from under your care, the evil will destroy them.
There’s a difference between letting your kid know what the world is like and putting him in their care for over 30 unsupervised hours a week.
I think the opposite. I think Christian parents are doing their children a great disservice by subjecting their children to a system that is diametrically opposed to what the parents are trying to teach their children.
The Left Behind books were just an example. The point (again) is that just because something has a Christian message there is no guarantee of quality. Just because parents are Christians there is no guarantee that they have the ability to teach their children.
I would still trust the average Christian parent with the education of their own children.
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