Kids can't fail grades anymore.
It's bad for their self-esteem.
Well, what kind of shape is their self-esteem going to be when they finish high school and can't READ?
Monday, July 04, 2005
School fact
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5 comments:
One of the many reasons why we are considering home-schooling our kids. We aren't sure yet if we can make the sacrifices necessary for us to be able to do this financially, however. Having the salary being an ATC will provide will help a lot, however.
I have a really hard time with the whole "Home-school" thing. My little cousins were home schooled, and they grew up and have NO social skills.
I do agree, however, that the public school system is going to hell in a handbasket. But I believe that parents need to take a little more responsibility with the teaching of their children. It's up to the parents to ensure that the kids are doing their homework, and that they can read.
I think a huge problem is that a lot of parents leave ALL the teaching to the schools, and they need to take more of an active part in their kids learning processes. If my kid came home from school and couldn't read, I'd make sure he learned it from me.
Just my 2 cents.
My daughter (in first grade) doesn't get As, Bs, Fs etc. She gets Advs, Ps, PPs, Ds, and Ns. Those cryptic letters stand for "advanced," "proficient," "partially proficient," developing," and "no skill"... or something like that. It's so freaking lame. No kid will ever get an A or an F. It's like not keeping score at peewee soccer games and other mass-stupidity.
It's a disservice to our children. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Children must learn to deal with both. Sometimes you're the best person for the job and sometimes you don't have the skills. Again, children need to learn how to cope.
Anyway, my daughter is in a public school and she's doing great, but like Phoe mentioned it takes a lot of at-home effort. Some parents do the at-home stuff --reading, spelling, math problems-- and some parents don't. The developmental difference between the two groups is blatantly obvious.
As for home schooling... I'm not an expert, but I'll toss out a couple ideas. If you're willing to put in the effort to home school your kids, then you're probably willing to put in after-school efforts if you send your kids to a school. Either way, your kids will be smart. Show the kids that education is important to you and they will assimilate that value structure. If you do home school your kids, don't neglect the socialization aspect of education. A classroom setting teaches kids how to interact with their peers and develop mechanisms for dealing with nice kids, mean kids, smart kids, and dumb kids. Basically, if you home school then try to supplement the reading/writing/'rithmetic with play dates and trips to the local playground.
From the July/August issue of Adbusters:
School's Out Forever
With the state of most public school systems being nothing to write home about, my partner and I made the decision to "homelearn" our children instead. As the saying goes, if you want a job done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself. It was a decision we initially made only one year at a time, but we kept coming to the same conclusion: educating our kids at home (where the heart is) was by far the best option. This has given them the freedom to express their talents on their own terms, and I love taht I was able to spend so much extra time with them.
I'll start with our youngest, Nigel, the most kindhearted and generous 12-year-old I know. He recently learned how to downhill ski and, just like his big brother, is absolutely fearless on the slopes. His biggest adventure this year has been starting a longboard/skimboard company called Oasis Board Co. He negotiated a deal with a longboard company in California who shipped him a whole whack of trucks for his skateboards. He even managed to repay his debt to us in record time.
Ryan, 16, is ever the resourceful young man. He's a master at finding great deals on electronics and can refurbish everything from speakers to computers to store lighting. All these years hanging out with Dad in our tool-filled garage has made Ryan an accomplished bike mechanic, not to mention an ace skateboard/skimboard builder. He is also extremely well read and loves to bone up on anarchist political movements, environmental issues and science fiction.
And then there's our eldest, Elise, who's now 17. She just returned from a backpacking trip to Europe, where she supported herself by busking with her fiddle and joining a band in Dublin called The Mayday Riots. Since coming home she's been housesitting for friends, playing in her new band and has recently been invited to record music for a music soundtrack.
None of this would likely be the case if the kids had undergone the homogenizing experience of peer pressure or been chained to desks all day at school. Putting the "house" back into "schoolhouse" was the best decision our family ever made.
- Gin Neilsen
If Parents have to spend two or three hours every night helping kids do their homework, this is exactly the same as home-schooling. I know that some homeschoolers teach their kids two to three hours of structured learning every day, and then the rest is child directed learning. I've been thinking of modern day school as being purely a baby-sitting service to allow families to have bigger houses and more expensive cars by having both parents work.
One of the biggest reasons why I am switching careers is to get a bigger salary so that my wife can stay home so that our kids can be homeschooled.
I recognize that the biggest complaint people have about homeschooling is the lack of social skill development that kids might get. I've also read that the social skill development that homeschooled kids get, if done properly, is far better than what is learned in school.
We're still not decided on it because it is so much of a financial commitment as well as a life style change, but we're certainly leaning towards it.
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