Posted on 09/13/2004 10:11:18 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
And some kids will do well whether or not their school is any good or whether or not their parents participate in their education.
>>Public schools are often criticised for having teachers teaching subjects in which they have no specialized education - (e.g. math, science).<<
No, because the difference is that the person supervising my curriculm has all the knowledge I do not. I actually am not the teacher (it may be Bill Bennett who is the teacher) I am like the teacher's aide. I do not make lesson plans, my prepackaged curriculm does.
Some charter schools (we have one in my state)are now offering a classical education.
A classical charter school in Colorado is the second highest ranked school in the state.
The trivium just makes so much sense. It's unfortunate that many school officials think classical education is elitist.
The fluff over teacher certification is part of the lie that teaching (or learning) basic subjects is difficult and requires "expertise." Any adult who can read, write, and do arithmetic can teach up to 6th grade (under tutoring or homeschool conditions where crowd-management is not a deterrent ... which leaves out my house, I guess :-). If a child doesn't understand one explanation of a math concept or a grammar issue, for example, the other parent can explain a different way, or you get on the internet and look for another explanation, or call your curriculum provider for suggestions ... etc., etc., but usually it's not necessary at the elementary level.
Even math through high school is just not that hard, particularly with video courses available to help parents who never learned it :-). The main requirement for resources outside the home would be in lab sciences, but even then, a student who has mastered reading, writing, and math at home is going to be better off in college than one who hung around in a science lab, but can't follow written instructions, write up a report, or do advanced algebra.
We have a lot of logic, grammar, and rhetoric in our family. Sometimes I consider running the van into a telephone pole just to get a little peace and quiet :-).
I hear that. We're a relatively new homeschool family - oldest is 7 and the only one in school so far, but when she "got it" and really started to read (about halfway through kindergarten), what a feeling. I really felt like a TEACHER. And then more and more (especially this summer) she started reading every book she had with great pleasure - what fun to watch.
Lately she's started to write her own stories, which is something I didn't really expect. :)
If the goal is teaching children how to think rather than what to think and when to think it.
We are adding the "Well-Trained Mind" to our packaged curriculm! Great book. And the good thing about homeschooling is we school all year and have the ability to do 7 days a week. We can add anything we like!
This probably happens all to often. The student prevailed, however.
http://www.educationnews.org/courts-pedagogic-asserting-the.htm
You've got that right. It's probably not an attractive option for many of today's schools (and not only public schools) just for that reason.
Do you know about this site?
http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/
Great site!
I'll have to take some time to go through it. We have Gym and Swim at the Y and Polish Dance today.
Homeschooling keeps one busy!
"Parents who are not willing to make the slightest sacrifice of time or money to help their children get an actual education (as opposed to what happens in public schools) "
No debate necessary. You, and many folks do not believe education occurs in any public school environment, and that placing children in them is tantamount to felonious behavior. You use a pretty broad brush that simply paints an erroneous picture of reality. Perhaps it is true where you are, but it is a big world.
bump for later
I suppose --- but I think the parents encouraging education is the more important factor. There are too many parent(s) who don't care and who don't care if their 13 to 17 year old daughters start having babies because the only thing the parent themself knows is how to get a welfare check.
The social safety net is too secure now --- no one really needs to worry about making it or not.
The social safety net is not as secure as it was 15 years ago. There is a limit on how long someone can collect welfare today. Use up your limit and fend for yourself.
That was only one particular welfare program renamed TANF. It doesn't include Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid, EITC, SSDI, housing subsidies, or all the many others. There is no way government spending for all the handout programs combined is lower than it was 15 years ago and many of the permanent welfare types were moved to SSDI.
Thanks for the information.
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