Posted on 07/20/2005 12:13:49 PM PDT by Little Bill
I know that I do not believe that 90% abandon within the year. My daughter homeschooled her children until an opening became available in the private school. She did not stop homeschooling to return to government schools.
I think that stat is completely bogus. That would imply that tens of millions of people try homeschooling every year.
Not "the" solution but, with the proper amount of parental involvement, some government schools can be part of a good solution. We cannot simply put the kids out at the curb and expect the government to do what's right.
It's not as if every government school is unworkable. Not yet, anyway.
I wish I had home schooled. At a top rated school district here in Dallas, there is no spelling and very little grammer being taught. I received a thank you note from a daughter of a friend for a graduation present. She graduated in the top 4% of her class at a supposedly excellent public high school. She had misspelled words in her note! I was appalled, but they simply don't teach spelling anymore.
The numbers I saw at my former church were just the opposite; at least 90% of the familllies that started home schooling continued for several years, if not all the way through high school.
I am curious where that particualr stat came from.
22.7% of all the statistics you'll see or hear in any given day are pulled out of thin air.
"On the order of 90% + people who start home-schooling, abandon it within a year, not appreciating the tremendous amount of work it takes."
I've read on homeschooling extensively and have never come across this statistic. Frankly, I'm a skeptic. Could you provide a source? Thanks.
Just curious which district?
I think my kids will be going to a well-ranked public school with parents to counteract liberal bias and fix other maladies ready at home. Teachers are specialized in their abilities; frankly, I'm not good enough at every subject to teach my kids. I
scratch that last 'I'... a typo.
You seriously think teachers specialize in what they teach? Maybe in good cases.... but find any school with a vibrant sports program, and you'll find "Coach" teaching algebra.
In today's environment, there's much reliance on the spell checker. When my son was in elementary school, good penmanship wasn't taught. As a result, my son has the lousiest writing skills that I've ever seen. Printing is atrocious, but I absolutely cannot read his writing. One time I approached one of his teachers about the lack of his writing ability. She indicated that penmanship was not a sole subject to be taught and she did have to practically stand on her head to read children's handwriting but she managed. Such a cavalier attitude! I guess nowadays teachers don't have to worry with the advent of the computer.
No, I was thrown out of several very good prep schools for my inability to spell, my political views, and my inability to learn any other language, except English, and spell any better than the Bard.
My boys are 11 and 7 and currently enrolled in the local parochial school. The school only goes through the 8th grade at which point my wife and I must choose between the public high school, driving the kids every day (an hour one way) to a private high school large enough to offer all the extra-curricular activities the public school offers or homeschooling. My kids will want a chance to play sports and engage in other activities that only the local high school offers, but I fear for them in the govt. school. What to do?
James
Heh... I have a lot to live up to if I'm going to beat my parents, but that's a great way of looking at it.
Hey, as long as the school is educating your kids, and they're not exposed to more idiocy and evil than you can handle, I'm not pointing a finger of blame at you. Still, my parents homeschooled me... I can't imagine doing anything else for my kids. Won't ever get married unless my husband agrees on that.
Okay...decent anecdotal evidence. But anecdotal nevertheless.
On the order of 90% + people who start home-schooling, abandon it within a year, not appreciating the tremendous amount of work it takes.
Could you source that for me? Thanks in advance.
Personally, I don't want to be in a position to grade my kid. As a scientist, I'm concerned that schools aren't teaching basic math and science skills, but most of the parents I know are even less able to handle math.
Anecdotal evidence again. And I guess you run in different circles than I.
Homeschoolers have to be exceptional folks, and I applaud them. I don't see that as being a solution for everyone though...
I don't recall seeing anyone say it's the "only" solution....
I will await your reply.
FWIW-
I guess I believe that good parenting is the most effective tool against the disease plaguing public education.
I think people tend to do what's familiar to them. That's totally fine with me. If you have the resources, the stamina, and the ability to homeschool your children, I think you should do it. There are pros and cons to every scenario though, you've got to pick and choose what works for you. Good luck on the husband hunt, BTW.
What part of Beacon are you in? I used to live in Beacon Hills and attend Glenham Elementary and the Rombout Middle until we moved. I miss it there, although nothing about those schools particularly struck me as exceptional. Maybe things have changed since the early 90's.
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