Posted on 08/09/2003 2:24:02 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
You're kinder than a LIBERAL would have been if the situation had been reversed.
That is quite an indictment of public education when those who are not 'professional educators' do most of the teaching which others are being paid to do.
When Shanna got her Tsongas scholarship, we were at the Mass. Statehouse, where the brain trust of Massachusetts' state schools--and the requisite state pols-- had gathered to present the awards.
I naturally took advantage of the situation to point out to every congressman/gal and college executive I spoke with that a homeschooler was among that year's crop of the state's best and brightest....always trying to plug away and soften attitudes.
I was shocked, SHOCKED!, by the sincere positive reaction among the folks I thought would have been most off-put by the circumstance! It seems that there is only a small vocal minority (actual commies) in the state that attacks homeschooling.
Homeschooling is, aside from a couple nitwit districts, easy and accepted; very much legal, and supported by a lot of pols and college administrators. There is a strong recruitment among private and public schools. Their problem is finding the kids and getting them to apply.
Let's not condemn all liberal educators and pols with a broad brush: they're keeping the whackos at-bay....quietly.
Happy thought to share with you, friends. Even Tom Finneran thinks homeschooling is boffo.
Shan is kinda' irked by me making a big deal of her accomplishments: she feels that if she is exalted, she will be humbled. (like I done teached 'er). However, she realizes that I'm trying to encourage others to make the committment to homeschooling.
So she has reconciled herself to the fact that she is being assayed: an additional pressure she could do without; but she takes that burden upon herself for my, and others', benefit. Great kid. She's prolly gonna smack me upside the head when she gets home.
You wouldn't believe one of the homeschool boards I visit and contribute to. It's about 50/50 Christian Conservative/Flaming Liberal.
We have a ladies'/gentlemen's agreement to avoid political discussions (although gentle teasing is permissable), but the point is that homeschooling is no longer a Conservative-only movement. That's a good thing IMO.
Well, she'll understand when she grows up. *grin* What an achiever. I imagine she's proud of you too.
Brown Alumni Magazine - Homeschooling Comes of Age
I don't doubt it. 25 years ago, a friend got me and my son involved in a doctoral thesis study of three-year-olds' speech patterns at none other than the Nova Southeastern University referenced in this article. The young man doing the study strongly advised me to keep my son out of nursery school, and to home school him, if possible. His studies showed that toddlers who showed an advanced degree of speech capability and inquisitiveness tended to lose those qualities when regimented in a school atmosphere.
I couldn't home school -- by temperament and economic necessity -- but I did send my child to private schools, where he proceeded to manipulate almost every teacher he ever had, such that even failing test grades and sloppy grammar/spelling were considered by private school progressives as insignificant compared to his "creativity," a view influenced in no small way by his social/verbal skills, I suspect.
As a result, I found myself tutoring him in grammar and math up through his high school years, (and politely reading the riot act more than once to permissive teachers) -- with significant resistance on his part, since he had learned that he could skate very nicely without my help.
He attended college on a full academic scholarship, and is successful now, but I often think back on the advice of that doctoral candidate (as opposed to the NEA type quoted now at Nova), and wonder where his path would have led if I had had the temperament and resources to home school full-time (instead of the part-time role I had to assume while also paying tuition). The movement was barely in its infancy in Broward then (I knew only one parent who homeschooled in our area), but I'm glad to see, considering the non-standards of our public schools (and, to some degree, even private schools) that it is alive and well.
Indeed. Our world *does* need leaders. Undoubtedly this indictment of homeschooling will morph into something more sinister as the NEA, et al. sees the moral, confident and competent leaders that homeschooling produces.
"''Some people feel you have to go to school to be properly socialized,'' said John Kernohan of Hollywood, whose five children, ages 3 to 15, have always been home-schooled. ``If being exposed to drugs, premarital sex, violence against teachers and students is a definition of proper socialization, that is not mine. My children are not ignorant of what goes on in the world, but they don't have to be exposed to it on a day-by-day basis in order to be properly socialized.''"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sounds like a well-informed Freeper to me..!!!
Bumper Sticker: "My kid doesn't get beat-up for his lunch money. He's home-schooled..!!"
FRegards,
Don't these kids play with kids from other families, or have Boy Scouts, or something like that?
Translation: Human-socialization factor == Sitting still with folded hands, drugged into it if necessary.
The woman was honest enough to share academic data that disagreed with liberal political ideology. What would be the value of trying to embarass her? Sport? Spite? No thanks.
Dr. Collins is ignorant.
The above link shares news of a former homeschooler now serving with our military in Iraq...and earned the bronze star. Very nice article.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.