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

UNSCHOOLING
yes, it's a radical idea but it does work. the first part of unschooling is "deprogramming." this largely consists of allowing a child taken from public school to decompress. it's not reall deprogramming as much as it is allowing the child to relax and settle down for a new world. unschooling essentially allows the child to guide him or herself with the assistance of the parent, of course, and explore the world and learn to learn. and while they are learning to learn they also absorb. we do a variant of this. we do have some fundemental sit downs such as math and latin because otherwise they would ignore this. but by and large the unschooling method does work. however, the parent has to be relaxed enough and engaged with their children enough for it to work. do not mistake this process for just letting them run wild and allowing the adult to be off the hook. quite the contrary, children who are engaged in unschooling are typically very intense learners and the parent can find that there is a great deal of work to be done. it is not for everyone. it is one of many methods. it is difficult to get your head around at first but once you see it working it is incredible.

2w
This does sound like a good thing. But I wonder how practical it is for most people. Many families depend upon two incomes and cannot afford to dedicate one parent to full time child rearing. But if you are able to do this, and if you have a parent who is intellectually prepared to do this.... it sounds like a great idea.

well ardy, home schooling generally does require a parent at home. Thing is, it is possible to live with one income but you have to be committed and most of all you have to be debt free. with the majority of americans dependent on credit cards these days, and paying out crazy monthly bills, there's no way. but it can be done. i can tell you that we have four children and currently the only debt we have is a very reasonable mortgage. and i do believe it is possible for any family to get to this point, it's just that people seem to not realize it. credit kills, sort of, because it can be good if done right, but we seem to have forgotten how to do that too.

That's where personal responsibility comes in. It's the parents responsibility to raise and rear their children - not society's.

The "problem" with education rests at the feet of parents who don't' fully accept their responsibilities for having/raising/rearing/affording children.

If more parents accept that children are a "luxury" item - then we as a society would be way better off.

An excellent good sound bite for a presidential campaign

Thanks Ardy. If parents equate children to having a high-priced luxury car (...and those Ranters who have such a vehicle know what I'm talking about just to maintain them), then perhaps we can get a hold of many items that ill our society - beginning with our education system.

Unfortunately for many parents, children are not nearly as difficult to acquire as luxury cars. They also last longer, are harder to park, and probably cost a lot more!

Having children is not a luxury and the problem is not that we have too many children but rather that we do not provide enough community support to care for those we have. A whole other topic could be started about population control and it's possible effects.

But for this thread, I think it important to recognize that for the most part the decrease in per capita funding of schools lays largely at the feet of those without school aged children. they are most frequently the "anti-tax" bfigaders and those who complain about property taxes. It is that group who spearheaded the Jarvis tax cuts here in California and now we are suffering from their greed.

Even if all schooling were done privately, I contend it is an expense justifiably placed upon the entire community, not just those with school aged children.

That's exactly my point - as a society, we need to re-evaluate how we look at children - children are expensive and they last a long time.

See above. The thinking about having children needs to change: Children should be a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT.


My basic premise is that having a child requires thought, not action. The thought process should begin with the following question: Can I as a single person, or can we as a couple, afford to have one or more children?


Again, personal responsibility for off-spring needs to come into play for children BEFORE that child become society's issue or burden.

...it's as if people are leaping before they look - bearing children before they realize they can't afford them.

Just because one is capable of breeding - doesn't mean that one should actually do it.

...and I would also submit that parents who truly value their child will make sure that child gets the best education and our society's educational issues will fix themselves.