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.)
A rather ex cathedra statement if you ask me. My daughter attended public school for 12 years and is now halfway through her first year at the Air Force Academy. She's hardly a misfit.
Show me a "good" school offering a correct education I might consider sending my kids to school. I will continue to homeschool my four kids and produce educated citizens and voters.
Show me a "good" school offering a correct education I might consider sending my kids to school. I will continue to homeschool my four kids and produce educated citizens and voters.
Wonder what this lefty's thoughts are on the war on terror?
Sad, but certainly true, very few of our public school teachers today come from the brightest and more ambitious among us.
Just like those "pros" who setup timing for traffic lights?
Just like those "pros" who operate the IRS, GSO, etc?
Just like those "pros" who work airport security"
Since when did those in government employ become good at anything?
Public schools are, like, you know, SOOOOO 20th century.
They are quite literally obsolete.
We have the Dinosaur Media deathwatch disclaimer. Maybe we need a Public School Deathwatch disclaimer.
Oh, so you agree with the assessment of the writer.
In this case a BARF alert should have been sounded!
Because this is when the other "pros" close in on them and arrest them for teaching without a license.
The interesting thing is that some of the "well meaning amateurs" do better than the professionals.
I don't think I could spend $13,000 TOTAL for all 12 years!! Considering I have three kids, and the books are used again and again, there is no way we would spend that much.
This guy is full of himself and the NEA.
I expect to get flamed for this, but here I go.
I am a teacher. I teach English Literature. I firmly support a person's right to homeschool their children. That said, here is my one problem:
My cousin is a lawyer and a good one. He wants nothing more than to homeschool his children, but he has serious problems with mathematics. Algebra was a foreign language to him and forget about anything above that. (He made one 'C' in college...in College Algebra). Since he has such issues with mathematics, and the standardized tests put such emphasis on math, how can he, an obviously intelligent person, be reasonably expected to prepare his children for the rigors of math?
This may be an isolated incident, but does shed a big light on some more serious homeschool issues. Do most homeschool parents have the necessary skills to teach some of the more difficult courses? What about languages, which are often required for entrance to college?
Please do not get me wrong. I am 100% for your right to do what you will with your children, only that I question how well you can provide all the time.
That's what happens pretty much everywhere now. Except in our state, charter schools are prevented by none other than the teacher's unions. For the kids and all. Bill Gates is a huge supporter of charter schools in a desperate attempt to get a few decently educated American employees but the school system stopped worrying about the kids a long time ago.
So homeschooled parents get together and teach all sorts of classes. I teach a lot of SAT prep classes and high school math. All my students have actualy taken the SAT and ACT and scored significantly higher than the public school average.
Actually, many homeschoolers do band together, with co-ops that allow them to pool various teachers' giftings. My sons have had 4 years of high school math taught by another homeschool mom who was a high school math teacher before becoming a mom. We have participated in co-ops where the kids have had writing taught by a local published author, critical thinking courses by a gifted and talented teacher, art by a professional artist....etc. Most of whom are homeschooling parents, or professionals with an interest in training motivated students. It really is a great way to go.
Maybe Custodian means something different than it did when we were in school?
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