My son the terrorist.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Ok I'm a teacher so.... To be real, all I've read in this thread is negative opinion about liberal this and that. How is math liberal? How is music liberal? How is dissecting a freakin frog liberal? Someone give me facts please instead of opinion. I've never heard of anyone get in trouble for playing with light sabers or pretend army or anything else that normal kids do.

And, these s$&@ for brain principals and teachers spend a great amount of their lives not only raising our kids but also studying how to do it better!!! I've spent probably more time and research into being a better teacher than many have EVER done at their jobs. Come work in my world someday. See kids that come to school because they can have lunch. Try working 16 hour days for months on end. Think of the coaches at your high school. You think they didn't give it their all??

I take total offense to people that make statements and have no fu$&!&g idea what really goes on at a public school. How many of you have spent ANY time at all in your kids classes??

And to the original poster. Yea, that is bull$$&t. I'd be mad too!!!

Kids will draw superheroes. My 7 year old does it every day. At school and at home.

 

I didn't much like school back in the 1950's and 1960's, and liked college a little better but not all that much. So am generally a misanthrope. But it did teach some thangs of course. I just wanted to study only the interesting stuff, and wanted to blow off the non-interesting stuff, and the vast majority wasn't very interesting.

 

Dunno if I would have liked home schooling any better. Having the nature of only wanting to study what is interesting, would have most likely not enjoyed that either, if parents had tried to make me larn the things that seemed useless. Making the teachers the "bad guys" who make you learn all the dull stuff, some of which is necessary to know, might improve relations with the parents in some situations. Good cop/bad cop kinda setup. :)

 

On the other hand if I'd been given time and opportunity to study the interesting stuff mostly full-time then might have made real good progress on the interesting stuff. Some folks, learning slows down at puberty up to about age 25, that period when the little head takes over most of the thinking, so if a kid is capable of "moving right along" on some topics early on, one might want to let the kid go as far as he can get before age 12, I'd think.

 

Daughter recently graduated with a teacher degree and is getting her feet wet in elementary education. So far she thinks the current students are difficult to edumacate and the subject matter is less advanced per age bracket than when she was in school. And I thought they were slacking real bad when she was going to school, as far as watered-down subject matter, but maybe its just an impression.

 

Dunno if modern teaching methods are that good. Maybe better, just dunno. The education imposed on me, phonics and laborious calculation of hairy strings of numbers in third thru fifth grade, it was near impossible to escape grammar school ignorant of reading and basic math. To get a "close approximation" of how to pronounce a word you never saw before, form a decent guess what the word means in context of its use, and develop a "gut feel" of the magnitude of quantities before you even begin a calculation.

 

A "grand experiment" on math teaching managed to ruin daughter's interest in math in the 4th and 5th grades, and she only recovered interest in it the last couple years of college. She actually likes math now that she is nearly 30. I looked it up later and her school was involved in some big UT study in math teaching alternatives, and hopefully they learned that the method used on the daughter didn't work worth a damn and they abandoned those methods, but maybe not. Her performance was so bad I tried giving remedial lessons over the summer, her and a nephew who was similarly getting completely ruined in his attitude toward math. But it didn't work. They were sullen and uncooperative, because they already hated math and I couldn't change their attitude. So I taught them HTML instead, which they eventually got interested in, so at least they got something out of it.

 

The "modern method" that ruined the daughter-- The textbook didn't teach any rudimentary math skills. It was a fat book, and each daily lesson was an arcane number theory abstract lesson, many of the lessons I managed to escape college "practical math" courses never having heard about. A textbook generated BY number theory math nerds, FOR number theory math nerds. But the result of that kind of teaching was-- Kids that age promptly forgot all those interesting number theory concepts, and were never taught rudiments of math, so they ended up not knowing number theory, not knowing basics of arithmetic, and a bad attitude toward the subject that they never overcame until halfway thru college.

 

Sometimes I wonder if the "little red schoolhouse" method of many grades piled into one school room would work better, rather than ginormous elementary and high schools. Let the 6th graders reinforce their earlier training by teaching the 1st graders, etc. Maybe if I'd gone to a "little red schoolhouse" I'd have hated that as well, though. :)

Edited February 15, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[LagerHead]

Sure, some schools have problems, but that’s life. Home schooling should be illegal; you owe your kids more than that.

 

 

I have to agree with Dave here. You definitely owe it to your children to indoctrinate them in the politically correct liberal version of history rather than have the opportunity to provide a filter and maybe tell them what actually happened. For example, I sure as heck don't want my kids to know that FDR EXTENDED the great depression rather than ended it. I want them to know that increased government spending is the answer to all the world's ills. I want them to believe that the Federal Reserve is not a misnomer and they had nothing to do with the devaluation of our currency, out of control inflation (also known as the "hidden tax") and encouraging the horrible business practices that lead to all the bubbles that eventually burst in this nation. 

 

Besides, home schooling is easy. It requires no sacrifice in time or money on the part of the parents, unlike public schooling. 

 

You owe it to your kids to encourage them to be dependent on and beholden to a benevolent state. You owe it to them to learn to accept the low standards set by our schools and discourage them from demanding more of themselves. 

 

Come on folks, wake up and get in lockstep. Your bosses and mommies and daddies in the government are depending on you.  :shake:

[KaNuckles]

I didn't think you were being an ahole at all, and sorry if I came off a little strong. It's just I think the numbers on homeschool children are a little misleading in regards to their success and this is why:

Folks like to point towards homeschooling as it generally has better results than public schooling when it comes to education and later life success. What I don't think is taken into account here is that parents who homeschool are naturally going to be parents who take a greater interest in the education of their child, so you're not going to have a large sampling of under-educated homeschool children the way you would for a similar pool of children in public school, where there is a mixture of parents who care and those who don't. For the parents who don't care, it wouldn't matter if the kids were in the best school with the best teachers, they're still most likely to turn out crappy if they have crappy parents who aren't involved in their schooling. Every time a child graduates from public school and goes on to higher education (academic or vocational) and begins a successful career, that is an example of the system working, but it takes parents and teachers together.

I'd think homeschooling wouldn't be a problem if it weren't the things those kids miss out on. They need to learn many of those childhood life lessons on their own, not having mommy within arms reach. Especially once they start hitting puberty. They need to be around the opposite sex, have girlfriends/boyfriends, get heartbroken and learn about real friendships. Those shouldn't be lessons they learn after they've left the nest.

Nobody came across too strong. Just making sure i didn't... :up: That is an excellent point. The parents are at the root of their kids success and most likely if they home school then they are the type to care and be involved. These are also the parents who will look to place their kids in some social situations for that very reason. The ones I talked to had, anyway. And in some cases it had worked itself out through a church friend who got them in with the school kids. But definitely it takes a parent who is engaged for the kid to be successful whether the kids are home schooled or go to public school. 

 

Which is a good place to say to the OP good for you for sticking up for your child and making sure they know that YOU are raising that baby and not them.

[TMF]

The parents are at the root of their kids success and most likely if they home school then they are the type to care and be involved. These are also the parents who will look to place their kids in some social situations for that very reason.

That's a good point, as I've seen folks post before about having a group of other homeschooling parents and having their kids involved in sports at the schools in their district.

My personal experience with it is a family member who homeschools for the purpose of keeping her child in a protective bubble. She's the type that says if you vaccinate your children you're sheeple, if you eat anything but organic you'll get all kinds of cancer, and her son might as well be a bubble boy since he's such a pussy. Some day he will need to be a man, but he ain't gonna be much of one. I worry about when he gets old enough to notice girls, and will never have any romantic experience until he pays for it in his twenties once he is finally free from the protective bubble of mother and the Bates Motel.

Of course, it's none of my business how someone raises their kid, I just can't help but notice the glaring issues there and how that boy is going to need a lifetime of therapy if he doesn't climb to the top of a bell tower and take out a few dozen people first.

I would really feel guilty, as if I was depriving my son from an experience if I put him in an environment void of peers, friends, romances, bullying, childhood fights and just basically learning how to out scratch certain things on his own, and I'm just there when he needs me, not when he doesn't. Edited February 15, 2013 by TMF

[Guest 6.8 AR]

The public school system is trying to emasculate and turn every male into something they're not. We are not borne victims, but

made into them. Schools do this with their influence and policy. I don't understand why, in Tennessee, we allow these teachers

and administrators to keep their jobs.

 

Yes, I said teachers, too.

[KaNuckles]

That's a good point, as I've seen folks post before about having a group of other homeschooling parents and having their kids involved in sports at the schools in their district.

My personal experience with it is a family member who homeschools for the purpose of keeping her child in a protective bubble. She's the type that says if you vaccinate your children you're sheeple, if you eat anything but organic you'll get all kinds of cancer, and her son might as well be a bubble boy since he's such a pussy. Some day he will need to be a man, but he ain't gonna be much of one. I worry about when he gets old enough to notice girls, and will never have any romantic experience until he pays for it in his twenties once he is finally free from the protective bubble of mother and the Bates Motel.

Of course, it's none of my business how someone raises their kid, I just can't help but notice the glaring issues there and how that boy is going to need a lifetime of therapy if he doesn't climb to the top of a bell tower and take out a few dozen people first.

I would really feel guilty, as if I was depriving my son from an experience if I put him in an environment void of peers, friends, romances, bullying, childhood fights and just basically learning how to out scratch certain things on his own, and I'm just there when he needs me, not when he doesn't.

I know she means well but you're right, there is definitely more to homeschooling than just the book work. Like anything, there is definitely a wrong way to do it. And if you can't get them the social interaction they need then i say public school or even private school is a better option. they do need that interaction....

[Guest 6.8 AR]

If the administration disagrees with the policy, why do they enforce it?  Particularly in cases as silly as this?  They should take cases like this back up the chain to the school board to illustrate the stupidity of the policy.  If they're blindly following stupid rules, they're just as guilty as the uninvolved parents they like to bitch about.  Quit being mindless minions and think for yourself.

Because they agree with the policy and won't come out and admit it. It took an act of volition for them to punish his son. Making

an excuse by saying it was policy, was an attempt to blame someone else for their action. I wonder who wrote the policy and who

approved it? Your local school board, which is made up of some of the most liberal and foolish people in your community. Also,

a little guidance from all the way up to DC, which we know is made up of a majority of bureacrats of the liberal genre.

[Joe357]

At first when I read topic, I was thinking this has to be a joke.

 

 

All I can say is "YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID"

[Guest ThePunisher]

Because they agree with the policy and won't come out and admit it. It took an act of volition for them to punish his son. Making
an excuse by saying it was policy, was an attempt to blame someone else for their action. I wonder who wrote the policy and who
approved it? Your local school board, which is made up of some of the most liberal and foolish people in your community. Also,
a little guidance from all the way up to DC, which we know is made up of a majority of bureacrats of the liberal genre.

Yep, local school board members in liberal democrat controlled cities are nothing more than frustrated wanna be politicians who actually drink the liberal kool-aid, and make these assinine policies. The major problem with public schools is b/c of these liberal minded policy makers that don't have a clue as to how to run a school or how to teach a class. The public school systems forfeited their right over 40 years ago to have well run schools, that have an envirnment with discipline and administrative support for teachers, so that learning can actually take place.

Until the people take back their communities and cities with leaders that have common sense, and conservative values, I'm afraid nothing is going to get any better with our schools, and authoritarian institutions. The liberal indoctrination is well entrenched, and it is gonna be hard to remove these idiots from our institutions. Our hope of doing so will be in the private schools and home schoolers. We don't have long to retake our communities and country back. Edited February 15, 2013 by ThePunisher

[Raoul]

Don't forget that all of these millions in tax dollars that TN took for the race to the top program included some very interesting guidelines and reporting requirements.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

It actually ended up being the race to the bottom, didn't it?

 

It's not just liberal controlled cities. it is all of them, even those in Texas are like that. The school systems are being raped by

people in DC and your local school district. Must be "for the children". Federal mandates are taken to heart by bureacrats,

and are nothing short of extortion.

[homeagain]

Sure, some schools have problems, but that’s life. Home schooling should be illegal; you owe your kids more than that.

 

Hah.  Like saying small government should be illegal because we owe our citizens more than that.  Forced systemic profligation for everyone is the answer. 

[Wyldk2]

Sure, some schools have problems, but that’s life. Home schooling should be illegal; you owe your kids more than that.

 

I'm afraid the parents who want to homeschool their kids should have the right to teach their children over the state. Why should it be made illegal? Is the state schooling system that much better? I admit i went to public schools as the majority on this forum did, but my eyes were opened to the "hidden evil" in some of the state policies after i graduated and went on to college.

 

Ever look at a new school and think to yourself, That looks like a prison?  Well most  public schools and prisons were designed by the same people. I think those that want to have their kids taught at home where they can recieve a more direct approach should be allowed to do so. After all, it is the parents that are responsible for their children, not the state.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Sure, some schools have problems, but that’s life. Home schooling should be illegal; you owe your kids more than that.

 

I'm glad I made my choices based on my abilities with the raising of my kids. I liked my choices better. By your saying

something like that, you might consider censorship being legal, also. But I wouldn't dare wish that, even on you.  :D

[ttocswob]

Sure, some schools have problems, but that’s life. Home schooling should be illegal; you owe your kids more than that.

 

My kids were homeschooled. One is a Park Ranger, the other a CPA. What more do I owe them again?

[Chucktshoes]

My kids were homeschooled. One is a Park Ranger, the other a CPA. What more do I owe them again?

An indoctrination in the statist ideology that the collective knows better how to raise children and how one should comport their lives than they do as individuals, duh!

[Guest FreeFalling]

I worked with the TN Department of Education for 3 years.  Every single person I encountered was a complete idiot.  I'm sorry, but that's the brutal truth.  I will NEVER work with them again as long as I live, and I encourage every person I meet to send their children to private schools.

[npgunner]

The way I look at it ... people go to private/home school to promote certain values and ideals in their child's education:
1. safety
2. academic excellence
3. moral/religious/political values
I'd say its debatable depending on the certain district whether most public schools can provide safety. I never felt unsafe at my high school, but wouldn't send my kids there now. I'm not talking about the bullying "problem" (don't particularly believe its a problem). I'm talking about strictly safety from violence.
I'll also go out there and say I doubt public education provides the quality of academic excellence (as an average of all schools) that I would think as acceptable (see trending test scores and academic achievement as of late).
And finally I think we can all agree that public school won't (likely because of not being able too) provide the environment of moral/religious/political philosophy most of us ascribe too. As such, if I had kids I wouldn't have a problem home schooling or sending them to private school, and I believe that choice is right to make.

[npgunner]

I think one main point not mentioned in this thread, is that a real problem (I might say the MAIN problem) with our education system (much like other aspects of life) is a multi-generational lack of basic parenting skills throughout the population that has lead to each successive generation feeling more entitled and consequently less responsible for their actions in society. I believe that if you bring back strong parenting and family groups in society that believe in accountability, respect of other individuals, and discipline (gasp!), you might have a hope of turning this country around.

[mikegideon]

I think one main point not mentioned in this thread, is that a real problem (I might say the MAIN problem) with our education system (much like other aspects of life) is a multi-generational lack of basic parenting skills throughout the population that has lead to each successive generation feeling more entitled and consequently less responsible for their actions in society. I believe that if you bring back strong parenting and family groups in society that believe in accountability, respect of other individuals, and discipline (gasp!), you might have a hope of turning this country around.

 

You get an A+ in this class. Unfortunately, we can't mention it. Excellence is politically incorrect. :)

[Spots]

Both my nephew and my niece are being home schooled by my middle sister, their aunt. Their mom and their aunt are both teachers, my oldest sister still teaches, my middle one quit to home school the kids and spend time with her newborn. Now if the teachers in the school system think what They Are required to teach is bad enough that they home school their own kids, its gotten pretty bad. And yes they do teach things they don't agree with, because they have to pay bills like everyone else. I don't think a home schooled kid is really missing anything other than having evolution theory, socialism, and a bunch of other goverment mandated, brain washing crap fed to them every day. Granted they don't get the social situations, but if they attend church like my family does, or make regular trips to the park, friends houses, etc, they don't seem to miss out on much.

[npgunner]

I agree ... school isn't (and shouldn't be) the only opportunity for social interaction with other children.

[gnmwilliams]

I was basically home schooled throughout my middle and high school years. I never had a problem learning to deal with other people because my parents made me get a job when I turned 16. A retail sales job that put me face to face with people everyday and where I was held accountable for meeting goals and other various responsibilities. I was never exposed to people offering me drugs or alcohol growing up because my parents wouldn't let me hang out with people like that but for some reason, even without ever having to deal with those situations in "real life" as non homeschoolers would call it, I still have never had the urge to take a drink or a puff. I am not saying all this to say I'm better than anyone else but to say that anyone who thinks homeschooling turns kids into awkward and socially inept people have the wrong idea. Whether you're public, private, or home taught, it's all for naught if youre never taught good values and responsibility at home. Things that are the parents job to teach anyway, not the schools. I'm not meaning this as an insult to anyone's parents because I know we all do the best we can but if a child has little to no follow up in the home on what they are being taught, they are more likely to be influenced and affected by the teaching. I think this is where the differences between public and private are most felt, in their curriculum. I'm not saying public schools are evil or even a bad idea in some cases. But a parent must be very cautious to always remain involved and aware of what their child is being taught so that they can step in for a nice teaching opportunity if necessary. While acknowledging that everyone is different, and that not everyone is qualified to homeschool, I feel that if it is available, it is the best option. Edited February 16, 2013 by gnmwilliams