I would add that they are the child's **only** teachers. Yes, they may enlist help from paid and unpaid tutors and the child ( himself) but ultimately it is in the home and outside the classroom where the real education happens.
I came to this conclusion when I noticed that academically successful homeschoolers and institutionalized children spent the same amount of time in formal study, at the kitchen table, **in the home**. Academically successful institutionally schooled children were telling me that they were spending up to 3 or more hours a day doing homework in the home! Well!....Gee!....At most, my homeschoolers spent up to 2 hours in formal study in the home.
My conclusion: The real learning and teaching is happening outside of school in the home, in study clubs, private or paid tutoring, or by the child educating himself by doing independent reading, homework, and home assignments.
Sadly, taxpayers may be spending up to $30,000/year/child to institutionalize a child in a government school and it is unknown where the learning takes place ( outside or inside the classroom) and who is doing the really hard work of teaching ( parents, tutors, or the child himself). These studies have **never** been done.
“Sadly, taxpayers may be spending up to $30,000/year/child to institutionalize a child in a government school and it is unknown where the learning takes place ( outside or inside the classroom) and who is doing the really hard work of teaching ( parents, tutors, or the child himself). These studies have **never** been done. “
A colossal waste of money. And the teachers whine that they need more of it when anything sheds light on how badly they are doing.
Actually, there’s been studies galore on how our schools are doing compared to other countries. (I know, that’s not the study you were speaking of!). But it’s hard to say our schools are doing well when we are at the bottom of the TIMSS (Trends in International Math and Science Studies - a tri-annual test given since the mid-80’s). Of course, our MSM doesn’t report the findings in the least. But every so often they do a HUGE analysis - looking at teacher education, home life, cultural issues, - an amazing array of data - that would be very helpful to fixing our schools. IF that’s what the unions and liberals had in mind.