(https://pleatedjeans.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/archie-comic-monkeys.jpg)
A recent court case was brought against two homeschooling parents who decided their children didn't need an education because the kids would definitely be Raptured before they reached graduation age. So there was no point, they said. And apparently, there are now two million kids being home-schooled and most of have been pulled out of school on religious grounds.
A few years ago, home schooling was illegal in the majority of states and this was for a reason. The state has a responsibility to see to it that it's citizens have a half decent education.
Shouldn't this whole thing be stopped (or better regulated at least)? If I'd been home-schooled, I would have resented the holy shit out of it as soon as I was old enough to realize what a massive disadvantage I would be at in adulthood. Either that or I would be an ignorant evolution denier driving an SUV and waiting for a massive vacuum cleaner to come down and suck me up because of my righteousness. Neither prospect is particularly attractive.
What should be done?
There were other motivations for home schooling other than religious based bullshit.. Lots of kids received little or no education in some school districts and many were high crime areas. I know several people who were home schooled who turned out pretty good and got great educations,, but the problem is there doesn't seem to be any real standard to determine if the parents are actually bothering to teach kids anything.. It seems to be "I can raise my kids to be just as fucking stupid as I want and nobody can say otherwise." going on under the pretence of teaching them the way of GAWD..
I think in our secular society home schooling should be unlawful for the reasons it was originally. Also, schools get subsidies from the government based on how many students they have, so homeschooling are causing our public schools to not have enough money to survive. And the voucher programs take away money from the public schools also. You can thank the Bush administration for this with his BS no children left behind. We are so behind in science education compared to other countries that the Chinese and even India are taking high tech jobs away from us. We are destroying public schools by teachers having low wages and wonder why good qualified teachers are leaving. Private schools don't even need teachers with degrees. We wonder why kids turn to crime, when they know they won't be able to get well paying jobs even when they get out of even college. When I went to Ireland and the Netherlands I couldn't believe how far ahead of us they were with technology and science. :wall:
But but but This is Murika and we have GAWD on our side.. No need for edumakashun..
Quote from: 1liesalot on May 12, 2015, 05:39:10 PM
Shouldn't this whole thing be stopped (or better regulated at least)?
What should be done?
Home schooling is not for everyone. But it should be an option for responsible parents who recognise their child(ren) would be better suited in a home school environment.
My niece was yanked out of the Public School in 2nd grade. Her parents (and her teacher) realized she was reading at a 4th grade level, and that keeping her in (public) school would only hinder her academic growth.
My niece just turned 16, and she is currently attending University.
What should be done?
Nothing. Contrary to what the progressives believe, it does NOT take a village to raise a child. It takes two devoted and responsible parents to do that. And sometimes it involves home schooling.
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on May 13, 2015, 03:11:14 PM
But but but This is Murika and we have GAWD on our side.. No need for edumakashun..
Gawd has relatives that can't get into any college that doesn't have "Baptist" in the name.
Quote from: 1liesalot on May 12, 2015, 05:39:10 PM
(https://pleatedjeans.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/archie-comic-monkeys.jpg)
A recent court case was brought against two homeschooling parents who decided their children didn't need an education because the kids would definitely be Raptured before they reached graduation age. So there was no point, they said. And apparently, there are now two million kids being home-schooled and most of have been pulled out of school on religious grounds.
A few years ago, home schooling was illegal in the majority of states and this was for a reason. The state has a responsibility to see to it that it's citizens have a half decent education.
Shouldn't this whole thing be stopped (or better regulated at least)? If I'd been home-schooled, I would have resented the holy shit out of it as soon as I was old enough to realize what a massive disadvantage I would be at in adulthood. Either that or I would be an ignorant evolution denier driving an SUV and waiting for a massive vacuum cleaner to come down and suck me up because of my righteousness. Neither prospect is particularly attractive.
What should be done?
My spouse partially home schooled a couple of our children simply because the education they were receiving was so bad. Early on we even had them in a Christian school simply because the education was so good. We of course culled the crap back out of them. I don't think homeschooling should be allowed for religious reasons. I don't think parents should even be allowed to indoctrinate their children. By doing so they are forcing limitations on another person's life and I consider that immoral.
I used to sell homeschool curriculum, and I've seen homeschoolers from all walks of life and all backgrounds. Aside from people who homeschool for reasons NOT relating to personal viewpoints and opinions, I think most of the arguments for homeschooling are pretty hollow.
The big ones are:
1. They teach Creationism, ex ed, banned books, and other things I don't personally agree with.
2. Public school sucks and will turn my child into a non-thinking robot and he or she is obviously a genius and the teacher just doesn't have the time to fully appreciate my special snowflake.
As to the first one, sheltering a person from ideas isn't education. There are age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate topics and issues obviously, but in general, putting your fingers in a child's ears and yelling "LA LA LA LA LA" every time someone says "Darwin" probably won't end well.
As to the second, people act like education is black and white. You can either send your child to public school and depend ENTIRELY on the school system to shape your child as an individual or you can keep them home and do it yourself. There's an obvious middle ground, which says you can send your child to school and still teach them things on the side. The thing with school is it teaches children to live in the real world. They'll encounter unfair teachers, children who don't like them, feel bored, be asked to complete assignments they don't agree with, and so on. You know, like the real world? And again, is there some law against teaching your own child to think critically, or compassionately, or outside the box? That role should not fall on teachers alone.
Where I live home schooling is regulated heavily.
Also My sister was home schooled for non religious reasons and for a time I home schooled my daughter. Don't throw away home schooling because of religious idiots. It has it's purposes. Like seeing that your children are getting a proper education that the public school can't offer. Also challenging your child to get a head of their grade level. There are pluses to home schooling.
Banned? No. Regulated, tested, and monitored? Yes. These are the students who should be taking the state test, moreso than the ones in public and private schools. The parents should have a couple check-ins a year with the local school district to address any issues they may be having.
What I don't get is why home schooling is even necessary anymore, at least in areas that have online home instruction. In that case, if the education is inadequate, the parent is right there to assist, and if it's not inadequate, no prob.
No, homeschooling should not be banned. There is already too little freedom in the world, and I don't think we should be doing anything to make that circumstance worse. In addition, I distrust the state, and I don't think statism is conducive to freedom or human flourishing. For those reasons, I think alternative educational methods and venues should be encouraged, not discouraged. Also, it is the responsibility of the parents of a child to see that their child is educated, in the same way that it's the parent's responsibility to provide for that child's care and welfare. That state's presence is a necessary evil, and it should be operating as a general representative of the people, not as their master. The state is there to provide for the safety of the citizens, building and maintain a basic infrastructure, enforce basic laws against theft, fraud & coercion, and punish those founding guilty of breaking those laws. I see no reason for the state to be overly involved in micro-managing the educational activities of each individual family or person.
Quote from: doorknob on May 14, 2015, 03:34:01 PM
Where I live home schooling is regulated heavily.
Also My sister was home schooled for non religious reasons and for a time I home schooled my daughter. Don't throw away home schooling because of religious idiots. It has it's purposes. Like seeing that your children are getting a proper education that the public school can't offer. Also challenging your child to get a head of their grade level. There are pluses to home schooling.
^this, for all the right reasons. Home schooling dependent on religion with no oversight is definitely a bad idea. But there are certainly instances where it makes sense. People who live in remote areas such as in Alaska can home school and still interact with their peers in other ways, such as (formerly)via radio and (now) via the internet. The situation where you have home schooling and the only social interaction with peers is through a church does not mold a child into a comprehensive adult but into a narrow minded believer.
Homeschooling is a bad idea after elementary school, once students start studyign different specialized subjects. A parent at home can't be expert in all these areas. There should also be oversight and ways to evaluate student performance that ensure they're learning real knowledge and not being indoctrinated in Jeeziness.
Quote from: trdsf on May 14, 2015, 07:41:20 PM
Banned? No. Regulated, tested, and monitored? Yes. These are the students who should be taking the state test, moreso than the ones in public and private schools. The parents should have a couple check-ins a year with the local school district to address any issues they may be having.
What I don't get is why home schooling is even necessary anymore, at least in areas that have online home instruction. In that case, if the education is inadequate, the parent is right there to assist, and if it's not inadequate, no prob.
I agree with that first paragraph 100%
To your question in the second paragraph. Like someone else said, some areas are not safe at all. When I was going to art school, it was in a town that was very impoverished and had horrible gang violence. My friend had a close encounter with being mistaken for a mark and might have gotten killed one night... Homeschooling makes sense for that area so kids are more safe, but unfortunately one of the people I know that grew up in that town happened to be home schooled by his very religious parents. He knows science pretty well, but rejects it from his skewed take on reality.
Sent from your mom.
Quote from: PickelledEggs on May 17, 2015, 05:39:34 PM
To your question in the second paragraph. Like someone else said, some areas are not safe at all. When I was going to art school, it was in a town that was very impoverished and had horrible gang violence. My friend had a close encounter with being mistaken for a mark and might have gotten killed one night... Homeschooling makes sense for that area so kids are more safe, but unfortunately one of the people I know that grew up in that town happened to be home schooled by his very religious parents. He knows science pretty well, but rejects it from his skewed take on reality.
Oh, sure - but that's why I mentioned online home instruction. Granted, it's as shitty as any other charter school, but at least it's a program of some sort.
Quote from: trdsf on May 17, 2015, 06:45:11 PM
Oh, sure - but that's why I mentioned online home instruction. Granted, it's as shitty as any other charter school, but at least it's a program of some sort.
I don't know if it will make a difference how well they understand the subjects. The fact that they are home with parents that are influencing them with their beliefs is the main thing. Even if they are influencing them intentionally or unintentionally. The fact that they are around their religious parents more than other people and not exposed to other views as much as other people is the thing that I believe is the problem.
Sent from your mom.
Quote from: PickelledEggs on May 17, 2015, 06:49:35 PM
I don't know if it will make a difference how well they understand the subjects. The fact that they are home with parents that are influencing them with their beliefs is the main thing. Even if they are influencing them intentionally or unintentionally. The fact that they are around their religious parents more than other people and not exposed to other views as much as other people is the thing that I believe is the problem.
It partly addresses the question of academics; granted, it does nothing about mom standing behind the kid saying, "Oh, you just answer it the way those godless freaks want it so you can pass, but we know the real Bah-bull trewth". And it's an available solution for parents who want or need to home-school for non-religious reasons. My point is that in many areas, it's not necessary for the parents to do the schooling themselves if they want to keep their children home for non-loony reasons.