Posted on 11/27/2006 7:04:44 AM PST by meandog
Schools With Good Teachers Are Best-Suited to Shape Young Minds
There's nothing like having the right person with the right experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Certain jobs are best left to the pros, such as, formal education.
There are few homeowners who can tackle every aspect of home repair. A few of us might know carpentry, plumbing and, let’s say, cementing. Others may know about electrical work, tiling and roofing. But hardly anyone can do it all.
Same goes for cars. Not many people have the skills and knowledge to perform all repairs on the family car. Even if they do, they probably don’t own the proper tools. Heck, some people have their hands full just knowing how to drive.
So, why would some parents assume they know enough about every academic subject to home-school their children? You would think that they might leave this -- the shaping of their children’s minds, careers, and futures -- to trained professionals. That is, to those who have worked steadily at their profession for 10, 20, 30 years! Teachers!
Experienced Pros
There’s nothing like having the right person with the right experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Whether it is window-washing, bricklaying or designing a space station. Certain jobs are best left to the pros. Formal education is one of those jobs.
Of course there are circumstances that might make it necessary for parents to teach their children at home. For example, if the child is severely handicapped and cannot be transported safely to a school, or is bedridden with a serious disease, or lives in such a remote area that attending a public school is near impossible.
Well-Meaning Amateurs
The number of parents who could easily send their children to public school but opt for home-schooling instead is on the increase. Several organizations have popped up on the Web to serve these wannabe teachers. These organizations are even running ads on prime time television. After viewing one advertisement, I searched a home school Web site. This site contains some statements that REALLY irritate me!
“It’s not as difficult as it looks.”
The “it” is meant to be “teaching.” Let’s face it, teaching children is difficult even for experienced professionals. Wannabes have no idea.
“What about socialization? Forget about it!”
Forget about interacting with others? Are they nuts? Socialization is an important component of getting along in life. You cannot teach it. Children should have the opportunity to interact with others their own age. Without allowing their children to mingle, trade ideas and thoughts with others, these parents are creating social misfits.
If this Web site encouraged home-schooled children to join after-school clubs at the local school, or participate in sports or other community activities, then I might feel different. Maine state laws, for example, require local school districts to allow home-schooled students to participate in their athletic programs. For this Web site to declare, “forget about it,” is bad advice.
When I worked for Wal-Mart more than 20 years ago, Sam Walton once told me: “I can teach Wal-Mart associates how to use a computer, calculator, and how to operate like retailers. But I can’t teach them how to be a teammate when they have never been part of any team.”
“Visit our online bookstore.”
Buying a history, science or math book does not mean an adult can automatically instruct others about the book’s content.
Gullible Parents
Another Web site asks for donations and posts newspaper articles pertaining to problems occurring in public schools.
It’s obvious to me that these organizations are in it for the money. They are involved in the education of children mostly in the hope of profiting at the hands of well-meaning but gullible parents.
This includes parents who home-school their children for reasons that may be linked to religious convictions. One Web site that I visited stated that the best way to combat our nation’s “ungodly” public schools was to remove students from them and teach them at home or at a Christian school.
I’m certainly not opposed to religious schools, or to anyone standing up for what they believe in. I admire anyone who has the strength to stand up against the majority. But in this case, pulling children out of a school is not the best way to fight the laws that govern our education system. No battle has ever been won by retreating!
No Training
Don’t most parents have a tough enough job teaching their children social, disciplinary and behavioral skills? They would be wise to help their children and themselves by leaving the responsibility of teaching math, science, art, writing, history, geography and other subjects to those who are knowledgeable, trained and motivated to do the best job possible.
(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois.)
I'd like to answer your questions.
At the high school level, many students supplement their home education with community college classes or with other sources. My 16 year old daughter is taking an honors english literature class from a retired teacher who offers this sort of class. In January, she will be taking American Sign Language (foreign language) at a community college (High School and college credits combined) and will continue with other classes as well.
Mother's anger at school's spelling mistakesTeachers were left red-faced after they sent out an official school letter littered with spelling mistakes.
The botched letter was sent to parents at Minster College, and included such errors as "your child has behaved in an unacceptable manor" and "it is unexceptable behaviour".
It also stated that director of sport Neil Barrett who signed the document had a "B.Ed Hon's".
One mother, who did not want to be named, received a copy when her son was given a detention and was shocked at what she read.
She said: "I was absolutely appalled by the errors in this letter.
"These people are teaching our children and it does not set a very good example."
Headteacher Alan Klee, who recently managed to pull the school out of special measures status, said: "The computer's spellcheck system was not used so we have now changed our procedure so that my deputy will check everything."
Does the Army Corps of Engineers know that this well meaning amateur is putting the lives of everyone on the river at risk by not having a professionally built boat? < /Janitor Dave's hyperbole mode>
9TH grade in the public schools-
I had 2 classes taught by coaches. One was world history. The coach would show up 15 mintues late EVERY DAY, would B.S. for another 20-30 minutes, might answer some questions, then would give a reading assignment and leave again. He was black and had several black girls who were his favorites and he would have them create the test weekly (NO LIE). Needless to say, ALL the blacks in that class scored 100 on EVERY test!
The other class taught by a coach was science. He was white. He too would show up late daily. 3 days a week, we were treated to a film, usually about sports. I don't recall EVER having a test in that class! I had an A in the class and don't think I ever opened my book. I don't think I even brought my book to class. A friend and I usually read trashy romance novels during that class or did homework for other classes.
I guess reading comprehension isn't necessary for public school teachers these days. You neglected to read/comprehend that in co-ops they have qualified "instructors" for certain subjects as evidenced by the following that AnAmericanMother said:
In fact, you would be amazed at the qualifications of some of the folks in these co-ops. Just one example -- a retired Army Colonel of Engineers with a doctorate in electrical engineering was teaching the kids calculus, along with the principles of navigation and applying math to "real world" problems like moving dirt and building amplifiers . . . and the kids were having a ball!
What do you teach?
LOL
I've been a teacher a long time. I've developed flame retardant skin!
You do the arithmetic. I'm too lazy to fire up my HP 41C.
I could teach 9th grade geometry on my head, it's calculus that I'm lacking at now (even though I made a 5 on the AP exam back in 1973.) I would co-op or hire a qualified instructor for calculus, or alternatively my husband could teach it (BA in Chemistry from Georgia Tech.)
Hubby and I homeschool our children. Between the two of us we have undergraduate or graduate degrees in math, statistics, physics, international relations and economics. We have graduated summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and one of us is a Phi Beta Kappa. We both have extensive, real-world experience working in these fields, which we can share with our children.
But since neither of us has a teaching degree I guess it's arrogance to believe that we can better educate our children than a series of education majors who have spent the majority of their lives in a classroom.
We are not alone. Most homeschoolers I know are highly educated. Those who aren't are highly dedicated and seek assistance when needed.
My son went to Kindergarten. His teacher was barely literate. Many education majors are at the bottom of the college barrel. But they're the professionals, while we're the hubristic amateurs?
What do you teach, what are your qualifications and degrees ?
Educate yourselves:
http://www.pathco-op.org/
And dog -- neither you or your NEA union brothers will EVER get a SECOND to corrupt my children's minds. BTW, the last time we tested in California, my 10 year old daughter was at high school freshman level across the board.
"Charlie should of received a 'A' but however..."
Well, I am a teacher and I agree that homeschooling is preferable to tossing your kids into the meat grinder that is public education. But I have to say on behalf of the teachers I've met so far that they are generally bright, ambitious, idealistic, well-intentioned, etc.... and most of them don't last more than three years. Public school is Hell's Zoo, and it takes years just to get the hang of managing 35 adolescents, teaching from the required books that often change every few years (just as you're getting good at something, they switch it on you). Then there's the crushing nightmare of the administrative meddling that constantly drags you away from your planning and grading to "meet" in various "teams" to come up with new ways to pump up the scores. It's weird how many of the teachers in my school are having heart attacks and strokes in their late 40s, early 50s. The stress is mind-boggling.
Well, the point of my little rant is that even if the teachers are as great as they could be, it's still a rotten situation to put kids into.
Yeah, well meaning amatures who for 100 dollars per student per year do a better job than a whole staff of government paid professionals and 10,000 dollars per student per year.
Why home school a child when you can send him to a government school for social indoctrination and self-esteem building?
That is great, but what about the other 90% of schools.
Does this mean he couldn't get a better job? I remember about ten years back my husband applied for a maintenance job at a public school. One look at his application (even with a limited college education) he was immediately offered a teacher's aide position in a Special Ed. class.
BTW, he has also repaired his own vehicles and our house. The only thing that really stops him from that now is time.
He leaves the homeschooling up to me.
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