I am annoyed! As the happy go lucky soul that I usually am, I am feeling the pinch of someone who is giving out information about a subject, that while I am NOT expert, I have participated in now into my ninth year, WHO does not participate or know a "darned thing!" There is a new book out there looking at homeschooling by someone who neither has experience in homeschooling or what I term as an adequate understanding of the process to make any kind of recommendation aside from his public school experiences and professorship. Yeah, he's done some research on a 'sampling' but what does THIS really show? He knows how to evaluate a few??? I'd be MORE interested and find MORE credibility in the reports of THOSE who are in the trenches doing home education~oh...I forgot...we don't know what we are doing! We aren't degree carrying certified by the state (state of what~poor performance and insanity??) to undertake such studies and synthesize the information. POPPYCOCK! I am NO expert, but I have known literally hundreds of families. I am in a community~active and participating on many levels who knows homeschooling~and it's very diverse. Diverse meaning it's not just the "Christians" who are homeschooling either~but let me say that I fall under this category too! I am a believer and want my children to have a distinctly, notice I said THAT word, distinctly Christian education! I don't buy into all the junk out there~there's loads of it in homeschooling too, btw, but junk that won't adequately and in many cases above the standards EDUCATE my children! Oh yeah, I've got weaknesses in my teaching and personal learning styles. . . without doubt~but introduce ONE public school "pro" who is 100% on their game everyday and without those intrinsic weaknesses that all humans have~I will show you GOD! No one, whatever the level or skill or knowledge performs at 100% ALL the time, nor can we or should we. Instead of trying to justify homeschooling as IF it needs to be justified, I'd rather ask a few questions that I think will tell the story:
1. LOOK at our prision system~HOW many homeschoolers are in there?
2. What rate of teen issues are with homeschooled teens? ANYBODY know?
3. How many homeschool "shootings" have there been?
4. Is there a "lock down policy" or a NEED for one in homeschools? What about teaching the children to respond to the SWAT team when the lone gunman enters? Anybody teaching THIS to homeschoolers? Perhaps THIS is where we are falling SHORT!!
5. WHAT extra burden on society is homeschooling causing? Drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancies, juvenille deliquency, gang violence, violence PERIOD, murder, death, suicide or WHAT?
6. What is the average percentage of differences between homeschoolers and their non-homeschooled peers? IS there any difference???? YOU tell me!
7. HOW many "socially illedept/challenged" homeschooled kids are a burden on society because they were home educated?
8. Who can think outside the box~the jargon of the main stream to perform and make differences in this world?
9. WHY is it anybody's business IF a child is BETTER educated, costing the government less money, and providing society better citizens?
10. AND for my last question, WHEN will folks who are neither vested or experienced get out of homeschooler's business and let us EDUCATE and train as the professionals with all their resources CAN'T?
Like I said, I am ticked! Folks without an interest who are not in the trenches homeschooling just need to keep their opinions to themselves unless THEY want to have the rights and responsibilities to REAR ALL the children themselves as THEY see fit~yeah,,,this is just where I think they are heading, but they want to tell ME how to do it THEIR WAY when what they are doing hasn't and ISN'T working for themselves~HA HA! Go figure! Talk about nerve!
AND testing??? Ha~I'd put almost any homeschooler up to almost ANY public schooled kid in a one to one match up for scores~BECAUSE I KNOW THIS~homeschoolers, while not given all the "same information" meaning I don't use the same sorry sap sucking materials that many public schools use, I use BETTER! AND it also means my kids can think and reason! Match that up if they will! THINKING and REASONING out performs any robot who can spit out information with which its been PROGRAMMED! Issues like classroom control over behavior problems along with all the other garbage keeps learning~oh wait...those children learn~BUT WHAT do they learn? Oh it's a whole 'nuther' subject, I'm afraid...
Here's the article that has me fuming: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2009/08/three_smart_rules_for_home_sch.html for you to read for yourself.
Thanks Home Education Magazine http://www.homeedmag.com/1231/home-school-regulation/ for bringing this to light!
I live in a state which requires a listing of all educational resources for the superintendent and an intent form with a "certified" teacher's signature showing adequate progress. I play by the rules~always have. . .and if someone like the parent in the article listing a dog as a student is pushing the limits, it makes ME and every other homeschool family LOOK BAD~so if this is YOU, please stop it!! Remember that for many reasons, integrity is important and doing false things will not be beneficial to the homeschooling efforts on a global or on your own personal scale because YOUR OWN children see, hear and know!
Catch the review of the professor's book: http://www.homeedmag.com/newscomm/ which is a very good insightful read!
Just had to get this off my mind and heart!
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