Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues Education US Schools -- a failed system?

In Texas...home schooling isn't much more than a legal way for parents not to be responsible and for kids to drop out of school.

When so many kids become completely problmatic...they suddenly are removed from school under the guise of being home school. Everybody is happy...school admin because the kids are out of their hair and parents don't have to deal with truancy officers and court and kids...well, they get to sink farther into ignorance.

I'm not saying that's across the board how it is, but for many kids...yes. A lot of parents are responsible and kids do get a reasonable education at home, but I often wonder if they aren't the exception rather than the rule.

There's really poor accountablity required in the Texas home schooling system.

Los Angeles Times

people are generally afraid of homeschooling if they don't understand it, or if they are entrenched in the current system and do not see any other method as viable. i was afraid of it at first. but it has turned out to be the most creative, progressive form of education i have yet to see. i can't speak for what's happening in texas, but i'd like to see a little more information on that austin. that sounds suspicious to me.

Phil...I looked at your posting. Thanks.

Personally,

I don't think that a parent has to be a certified teacher in order to home school.

I think that parents who do want to teach their children at home be willing to take a literacy and academic test to see if they are qualified to teach their children.

Plus...I think it would be good to have a 40 clock-hour course that parents have to take to help them learn about teaching models and problems that they may encounter with their children during the process of home schooling.

I think that children and parents should somehow be responsible for demonstrating academic progress and provide such proof to local education district adminstrators that they are doing what is expected. That can be accomplised by a variety of ways.

there are provisions for this in some states such as North Carolina.

No.

"Under-funded"?- yes
"Drowning" in an "antiquated system"?-yes
"Taken-for-granted"?-yes
"Better-than-nothing"?-yes
"The-best-we-can-do"?-no

"Government-funded education" IS the ONLY education that "most" of "our children" are "exposed to".
"In order" to "fix-it"
"THESE THINGS" must be "addressed":

1]
Poverty

2]"Too short" "school days" [months,year,years]."Unimaginative schedules". [For instance-4 days 8-5-academics-Fridays-arts-students' choice].

3]The "bidness side" being "over-payed" while the "Ones-who-make-a-difference" are "under-payed".

4]"Biases" MUST be "banned" whether "religious,social or political". "They" are not "needed tools" in "the effort" to teach "readin',writin' and 'rithmatic". "Armed" with [a super-duper foundation in] "these", a child will be "free" to do "whatever" he/she "damn well pleases".
["Good manners" notwithstanding.]

5][PAYED]Work-study,apprentice "programs" need to be "re-introduced" to high schools.



[I think "many" of "our" policies are [what my Dad would say] "mutton-headed".]

Thank you and right on, Mama....especially....

my point too. thank you

well, i get what you;re saying. problem is, these problems are not being addressed, at least not directly. the link i provided to the article above does suggest there are those who would address issues, albeit indirectly. and then there are those who keep their heads in the sand, mostly educators and administrators, in my experience, which is largely why we homeschool, because they refuse to commit to dialogue that might actooly address issues that might actooly change things that might actooly have a positive impact. so, you've made a list. it's not a bad list. but how would you propose addressing these shortcomings because, frankly, if this is the only education many will see, and it's better than nothing, yes, it's still crap, to be blunt and in impoverished areas such as where i live, it might be worse than crap. and don't take my bluntness as a sign of indignation toward your points, it's just that, well, it seems that unless we get out there and put in their faces, the reality that is, they aren't going to pony up and come to the table and admit there are problems. oh, btw, it's so bad here that in the last year three long time public school teachers have pulled their children out of public schools, left their jobs and are now homeschooling. it says something. makes a statement.

I am not against homeschooling. That is a personal choice and I have seen it work and I've seen it not work so well. It depends on your method in my opinion. My niece and nephew are well ahead academically but are hard to be around socially. My sister and brother in law are very conservative and very religious. Those kids don't get out much at all.
I have seen other parents do it right in my opinion. A liberal free spirited way. Very cool.

If homeschooling can coexist beside public education, I'm all in favor of it. The same as private schools. I don't think it should get public funding though and drain away from public schools. Like you 2wins, there is no way my children were going to get 'less' of an education. I'm too involved in their lives but there are the masses out there that don't have 'good' parents. I just don't think it's a good idea for us not to at least give them basic skills to be able to get jobs.
I wanted my girls in the public system because I wanted them exposed to the good and the bad and learn how to work through it and they did.
I did help that schools in Athens are pretty good. I attribute that to being a college town. The statehouse certainly doesn't help us out.
We have a few teachers like 2wins describes in that article. My daughter's 5th grade teacher comes to mind. Well and wait a minute her 1st grade one too.

My youngest daughter dropped out of school her senior year (no she did not have our permission....sigh) because they wouldn't let her take senior English the first half of the year so she could graduate early as she was way ahead of her requirements and even had college credits. She is still counted as a 'dropout' even though she reentered the second half and graduated with honors. Those statistics are terribly skewered. The administrators are desperate to keep kids in until the very last minute so they don't count as dropouts and they lose more funding.

As mama pointed out....we need more in the public education realm not less.
It is good for our communities even if you are home schooling. I passionately believe that.

Olyve