How to Be a Beekeeper (ESPN.com takes swipe at homeschooled Spelling Bee contestants)

ESPN.com ^ | 6/2/2005 | Darren Rovell

[baseballfanjm]

ESPN.com ran this article, intending for it to be an amusing take on how to predict the winner of the National Spelling Bee. However, the last "formula" irked me.

Here's what it says:

"Stay away from home-schooled kids.

It goes without saying that these kids don't get out of the house much. There are 34 home-schooled competitors in this year's bee, including speller No. 142 Jack Ausick and speller No. 217 Benjamin Zachary Walter. The first home schooler won in 1997 and others followed, including Lala in '99 and Thampy in 2000. But kids that actually interact with other children at school have won three out of the last four bees."

While he has other "stay away from" picks that fit the joking manner of the article, that one struck me as just lame and as a swipe more than a joke.

[Sam's Army]

From today's headlines:

"10-year-old forced to lick teacher's toes"

Oh, but I forgot; homeschooling is the "worst of two evils".

[mollynme]

After reading his posts, it sounds like Mikey had a home schooled roommate in college. The guy would have had better studying skills and probably got a lot better grades making Mikey feel inferior. In self defense, "Mr. Interaction" justified his lack of educational success with the rationalization that "I had more fun because I had better people skills!" The anti-Christian bias that pops up repeatedly indicates that this roommate did not go along with Mikey's "all religions are equal" beliefs. (Or it could be an issue with Mormons.)

Deep down inside Mikey must feel guilty that he isn't giving his own kid(s) the best educational experience so he willingly believes the lie that home schooling produces social misfits and socialization is so much more important than any advantages that home-schooling might give (such as obtaining a more well-rounded, fact-based education and avoiding the violence, drugs and promiscuity that is endemic to the public school system.)

< /my 2 cents>

[TXnMA]

Washington DC spends over $10,000 per child per year, but they rank pretty close to the bottom in acheivement. For that kind of money, you could rent a pretty good room and hire a teacher for $100,000 per year and have a 1:15 student:teacher ratio.

Outstanding analysis!

I wonder where the money goes.

Good question!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can you spell "NEA"?

AKA "Slimy leftist union featherbedding".

[Braak]

Well said Suzi, having experienced the "Lord of the Flies" stuff. Folks, face it, when you have a college prof admit in a class of mine that public high schools are nothing more than "state sponsored dating". Uh, fine, but then if that is the case, my tax dollars nor my future children should not have to endure that mess.

[SuziQ]

Now being Jewish, I don't think we're going the Christian route..

There is a wealth of homeschool material that is of a secular nature. We are orthodox Catholics, but I didn't use 'Catholic' homeschool materials with our kids, with the exception of religious instruction because I wanted them to have a broader view of life. I included Catholic materials as a supplement, though, to give them the whole picture, because some secular textbooks are dismissive of religious ideas. I'm using the 'Classical' approach with our daughter. If you can find a copy of "The Well Trained Mind" at your library, take a gander at it. Some of their ideas come from a 'Christian' perspective, but not overly so. It could easily be adapted for use by a non-Christian family.

[Mrs. Ranger]

From today's headlines:
"10-year-old forced to lick teacher's toes"


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1415037/posts


Yup, just more of that "socialization" homeschoolers miss out on. ;)

[Braak]

Not knocking Christians. Have called many a freind. My only statement was to make clear that well, I am not going to subject my kids to the Publik Skools (mispelling deliberate).

Now, as for the "Well Trained Mind" read it and found it to be a very good book. It will definately be used by this (hopefully) future parent.

I am more worried with this Michael character...he seems to be anti-religious in general and just not a very tolerant fellow. I admit I am a bit secular (Haven't been to temple since my wedding.) I think sadly, the last "acceptable" discrimination is against religious folks of any stripe. I may not be as religous as perhaps I should be, but I know there is a god, and one day, I will meet him, and he and I will chat. Dunno what will be said, but I think it will be interesting.

[mother22wife21]

Excellent point.

[TalonDJ]

As a 28 yr-old homeschool grad with 3 home school grad siblings I find your comment somewhat near sighted. I will pull out my favorite example:
Before being home schooled my older sister was having a grand time in public junior high. Of my sibling she was the only one that did not want to stay home. Her goals in life at that time were to be a waitress and to make the cheer leading squad. Within less than a year of being home schooled her goal was to be an astronaut. After she graduated she went on to get an engineering degree at a top university (3 of the 4 of us are engineers now and the other is a veterinarian). She entered the marines and became one of their first female fighter pilots. While she had/has a great shot at pursuing becoming an astronaut she has since decided when she gets out of the corps she will start a family with her marine husband and homeschool them. Gee, it is a shame she did not get enough socialization...

[TalonDJ]

EXACTLY! The who concept of 'social misfit' is one that home schoolers have no use for. It is something the 'popular' people in public schools invented to boost their self esteem.

[mollynme]

Check out this website. It lists a lot of home school resources. If you scroll down the page you will find a long list of "Jewish Homeschooling" resources.

[TalonDJ]

I have heard all the excuses before. That is an old one. Guess what? Forcing someone to test their morals in their teen years versus vastly increases the likelihood they will stumble. One time someone tried to tell me they wanted their kids exposed to drugs in school so the would 'know how to handle it later'. This is an amazingly stupid piece of logic. People in their 20s are much less likely to experiment with drugs and have much better moral confidence to say 'no'.
Someone also once tried the 'I send my kids to highschool so they have a chance to wittiness to the other kids.' Again, poor logic. Would you send a kid that could shoot straight off to a war? Heck know! Just because it looks on the surface that he might be able to handle it it is not worth the risk that he can't. The situation is the same except the scars are less visible.

[TalonDJ]

As a homeschool grad I use to get that 'missed prom' question in college. Since I went to an engineering school full of geeks I would asked 'did you go to your prom?' The answer was 'no' at least half the time.

[TalonDJ]

My parents started homeschooling strictly for educational reasons (the public school was a joke). The religions/moral/family-bonding benefits were a nice side effect.

[TalonDJ]

If you are a good parent then you child won't be a misfit.

Yeah but the 'good parent' does not get to decide what a 'misfit' is. The 'popular' people at school decide that. Oh and guess what, it is not very close to the definition of 'misfit' in general society. You really need to do your homework. Studies have shown home schoolers to be more able to interact with adults and people in general. When ever I got the 'socialization' questions I would ask people how many real friends they had in school. Feel free to think back and answer yourself. The answer is usually. 1-4 close friends, a few more acquaintances and a thousand other people there that they could not care less about or hated. I, on the other hand had... the same number of friends and acquaintances and no one I hated. The only difference in homeschool was they were kids next door, or down the block, or in the homeschooling group, or boyscouts, or on the swim team, or at karate class... If you think you need a government school to meet people you must not have gotten out much as a kid.

[SuziQ]

If you think you need a government school to meet people you must not have gotten out much as a kid.

*snort* Ain't it the truth?

[RavenATB]

Did you know (and, I assume you do) that FBI crime statistics show that people who work in or attend public schools are more likely to be victims of violent crime at school than they are on the street?

[RavenATB]

Did you know (and, I assume you do) that FBI crime statistics show that people who work in or attend public schools are more likely to be victims of violent crime at school than they are on the street?

[RavenATB]

Sorry about the "double post"

[Modernman]

As a product of public and private schools in Canada and the US, I think homeschoolers on FR tend to focus on the incredibly poor public schools (such as Washington DC) while ignoring the generally good (such as Oakland County, Michigan, where I graduated from high school) and great (Montgomery County, Maryland, where my wife went to public school) public school systems.

Pretty much everyone I know went to a public school. Generally speaking, few of them have any complaints. Homeschoolers on these threads focus on the sensational stories about things that go wrong in public schools while ignoring the millions upon millions of normal, productive members of society who graduated from public schools.

That being said, if I have my way, my kids are going to the British School in DC or St. Albans.