For three years in a a row, NEA, I gave you my little boy and asked you to teach him math. They would do a test the first week of school and he would finish all the requirements of that grade in that first week and sit there bored for the other 9 months. Now he is home with me, learning high school geometry. And no gangbanger kids are sitting next to him, giving him details from life in the hood. You HAD your chance!
bump
Just pimping for the union...
When my son was in the first grade, one day he said, "I be gone, Dad." I said, "Wait a minute. Who taught you to talk like that?" "My teacher." 'Nuf said.
I agree that there are numerous (!) problems with the public educational system...but I think we're discussing throwing out the proverbial baby with the bathwater here. Something is required to fill this need for many students. I believe that repairing the political side of the system would be preferential to dumping the "baby."
Gee.... Some of the absolutely WORST teachers I've ever had were tenured, long time "teachers."
One absolutely ruined math for me my frshman year in highschool. In his class, we had a weekly quiz every Friday. Ten questions. 4 of 10 correct was an A. 3 or 10 correct was a B. 2 of 10 was a C. 1 or none correct was a D. He gave no "F"s. I learned nothing whatsoever.
On the other hand, some of the best teachers I've ever had were NOT "trained professionals," at least not as teachers. They were excellent in their fields.
There are some teachers who are in the profession because it's their avocation: They're passionate about the subjects they teach, and they love teaching it. These are the best teachers you can ever have. I've been lucky enough to have some teachers like this over the years.
But far too many teachers are in the business because they figure that they get summers off, and the fact that they failed in more rigorous educational pursuits. "Those who can't do, teach" perfectly defines them. And I've had far too many of the later.
Mark
This guy is so full of scat.Leave it to the trained professionals? Right.Id rather teach my children to the best of my ability than trust the most precious things in my life to some left wing dirtbag who claims they can teach.
OK Mr. Formal Education expert, first we have to define what constitutes good formal education before we can argue about the best means to achieving this end.
Perhaps we could agree that a good formal education should prepare children for life. But how should we prepare children for life? To answer this question, we need to understand the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to know, love and serve God in this life so that we can be happy forever with Him in the next. This is a simple objective truth.
So any formal education that doesn't center on helping children to know, love and serve God in this life is a poor education, and any education that completely ignores the purpose of life, such as godless government education, is a fraud.
And so it seems that leaving formal education "to the pros" is a mistake of the highest order.
Something published by the NEA is going to change my mind about homeschooling? The NEA is one of the major reasons why the government schools are in the pitiful condition they are in today.
We've been through this argument about parents not being qualified to teach their own children before. Sorry, but that argument doesn't hold water.
If I want my kids to feel school atmosphere socialization I will personally physically kick their butts while calling them vulgar names while my wife stands around and berates them in belittling ways.
That should be enough school socialization to last them for another year or two.
Otherwise, we continue to participate in homeschool functions on a weekly basis. Field trips, group gatherings, and other functions like church. Our kids enjoy the many church sports options offered and seem to be functioning quite well without the unruly influences of some of the public school children. Everywhere we go, people compliment how well behaved our children are and I don't see any reason to stop homeschooling in the near future.
3- I did not read this on a web site, I dealt with the teaches, administrators and the system.
When we HS'd our daughter a number of good teachers were very supportive of us. And quite impressed with the results.
Save money, abolish the Dept. of Education for a start. Then reduce the number of high-priced administrators by 50% and let the States run their public schools with tested, competent teachers using non-liberal texts. Will it ever happen? The RATs are back in charge and it won't happen, more's the pity, and the drop out rates will continue to increase while our kids are learning liberal junk.
my son is going into the air force as an airborn linguist
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
Yet another patronizing diatribe from the left on how it is essential that they be in charge of indoctrinating children -- and this one is written by a school janitor.
What a crock! My best friend and my s-i-l both recently completed college for teaching degrees and they both told me the same thing- a teaching degree does not teach you how to teach or prepare you for the real life exprience of teaching. You're expected to learn that on your own; learn as you go.
They are NOT *professional* educators; they are just ordinary human beings like you or I who decided to pursue a teaching degree to earn a living- a degree that is of such poor repute that it is useless as credentials for a job in the real world.
No. Teaching children is not difficult. Trying to control a classroomful of undisciplined, out of control kids AND trying to teach them something in the meantime IS difficult. By the time the discipline issues are taken care of, on a good day 50% of the time might be for education. On a bad day 90% is discipline and that leaves 10% for teaching. ( As per several teachers who have told me this.) If the class time is 50 mins per subject, that means that some days you might get 5 mins. of teaching time.