Many Mused on thu 2 oct 97
>I had two maybe three teachers who were creative and innovative, the
>rest ..... well zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. That is one of the many
>reasons why I am a STRONG advocate of Home-schooling
At least you had a group of teachers; some variety: the ones who got your
interest up may have made fellow students snore off, and the ones you snored
to may be the teachers who got someone else inspired. We never have quite
gotten to pairing students' learning styles with teachers in whom that
teaching style is their strength.
I've met a lot of home schooling parents (mostly wanting me to provide free
instruction since they don't know enough to begin to teach, and don't want to
buy books because it's for a short term instructional topic and only for the
1-2-3 kids) who I wouldn't want for a teacher PART of the day- and their
children are stuck with them as their only teacher for YEARS. I have always
preferred that the teacher know more than the student about the topic at
hand. Remember how many times you had homework that was unfamiliar to your
parents?
Part of school experience is learning to deal with a variety of people and
their styles, and with groups, organizations, and those dynamics. Home
schoolers are "spared" that (but looked at another way, it's a major set of
skills and opportunities they are missing out on).
I realize that some home schooling works out wonderfully, as you must realize
some public schooling does. But there are so few checks and balances in home
schooling; many underlying agendas are unrelated to education, instruction,
and knowledge- it can go way wrong for a long while and not be discovered.
Sorry to be OT, but this one pushes my buttons.
Mary
Cindy on fri 3 oct 97
Mary,
About home schooling, just who, exactly, came down with the edict that it
was the state's responsibility to educate our children for us? True that
some home schooling doesn't work out. True, also, that a far greater
percentage of state schooling doesn't work out. Note that I said
percentage--and that's a researched fact. I don't want to take the time to
hunt down the research, which is somewhere in my ever-swelling library, but
the test scores (and that's the easiest thing to go by) are there.
BTW, most of my friends who home school (I don't, yet) spend prodigious
amounts on books, science stuff, and other assorted curricula. *And* they
pay their property taxes, *and* mom stays home to teach the kids.
Remarkable people, IMO.
Cindy in Custer, SD
>
> I've met a lot of home schooling parents (mostly wanting me to provide
free
> instruction since they don't know enough to begin to teach, and don't
want to
> buy books because it's for a short term instructional topic and only for
the
> 1-2-3 kids) who I wouldn't want for a teacher PART of the day- and their
> children are stuck with them as their only teacher for YEARS. I have
always
> preferred that the teacher know more than the student about the topic at
> hand. Remember how many times you had homework that was unfamiliar to
your
> parents?
>
> Part of school experience is learning to deal with a variety of people
and
> their styles, and with groups, organizations, and those dynamics. Home
> schoolers are "spared" that (but looked at another way, it's a major set
of
> skills and opportunities they are missing out on).
>
> I realize that some home schooling works out wonderfully, as you must
realize
> some public schooling does. But there are so few checks and balances in
home
> schooling; many underlying agendas are unrelated to education,
instruction,
> and knowledge- it can go way wrong for a long while and not be
discovered.
>
> Sorry to be OT, but this one pushes my buttons.
>
> Mary
David Hendley on sun 5 oct 97
One of the reasons I am a potter is so my children will have
me at home, see the work I do, and learn the important lessons of life.
They see me working, researching problems, reading, and finding creative
solutions to problems. It's only natural that they stay home during
the day with the rest of the family.
You mention that you get calls from homeschoolers asking you to teach
pottery to their children for no pay. That's funny, because I mostly get
calls from schools asking to arrange "field trips" to see a potter working
and learn about making pottery (definitely for no pay
and I'm already funding the school with every pot I sell).
I am, by the way, agreeable to having school groups come to the shop,
as well as Girl Scout and Boy Scout groups.
In your post you also say that you would hate to have some of the
homeschooling parents you've met be your teacher for one year,
much less for years and years.
There is good reason their kids might feel otherwise.
The big difference is the parents you met don't LOVE you,
as they love their children. These parents would not burden
themselves with all the extra work of having their kids at home
if they didn't LOVE them and want the absolute best for them.
No teacher in a school can have such a relationship with scores of students.
Regarding the comment that the parents don't know enough to
help with homework, much less teach their children:
The truth is that "learning" never stops.
It should be a lifelong pursuit.
The homeschooling parent is also learning much of the time,
and, in the process, demonstrating this principal.
With a World Wide Web connection one can find information on
virtually anything. Learning a bunch of disjointed, unrelated-
to- real- life facts is becoming more and more a waste of time
when anything can be quickly called up and learned when needed.
This can make for an exciting atmosphere compared to a classroom
where an experienced teacher is spewing the same tired old factoids year
after year.
The other truth is that real, honest-to-goodness, true learning
cannot be "taught". Sure, things can be remembered long enough
to pass the test, but a student must be motivated to learn, and if he is
nothing, in fact, can hold him back and no teacher is needed.
Another of your criticisms of home schooling is that the children "are spared"
opportunities to deal with a variety of people, groups, and organizations.
Do you call spending the whole day with a group of people who are
all exactly the same age dealing with "a variety of people"?
That's certainly not a situation you are likely to meet in the "real world".
Part of the prison experience is learning to deal with a variety of people
and groups and their styles. Would that be a good reason for me to send my
children to prison?
And yes, I want to "spare" my children from all the time that is wasted
in school. Their time is too valuable to spend more than half
the day riding a bus, shuffling around a building, checking roll,
getting a note to use the restroom, standing in line for lunch, and the
notorious "working quietly on their own".
Concerning your reference to "underlying agendas unrelated to education"
in homeschooling, I can only say that the NEA is one of the largest
lobbying groups in the country, with the singular goal of eleminating
any competition for their monopoly on education.
I'll compare the results of home schooling vs. public schooling any time using
any criteria. It's really no comparison, but you would expect parents who
take the
time and effort to personally teach their children to have much better
results.
I deeply admire my local teachers because they are trying hard to do a,
really, close to impossible task.
I ask for the same respect.
In the course of human history "schools" as we know them are barely a
blip on the screen, but in the span of only 2 or 3 generations
people have come to accept them as "normal".
In this world of "let someone else do it",
I, for one, will reserve my right and duty to care for my family.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
See David Hendley's Pottery Page at
http://www.sosis.com/hendley/david/
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