Replies to '11/24 Great School Debate'

 Wow! The public school I went to had  College credit courses. Also, the teachers were not afraid to give out F's and hold you back. They also had Gifted classes. I don't remember any ADHD kids. The teachers worked hard to keep kids stimulated and interested. If you weren't "with the rest of the class" they wanted to know why. Often, it was because a child was bored, or learned differently. So, the teacher's would move the kid to a class better suited to him/her. I was in 5th grade reading in 2nd grade and by the time I was in 6th I was working on my own in the back of the room.

I guess, it all depends on the district and the teachers

P.S.  Two of my younger sisters graduated public high school (this is one of the best public schools in NE Texas!) in all HONORS classes and could not tell you the difference between a noun and a verb nor could they do advanced math.  Yes, public schools at thier finest there!

 

 

The above is a perfect example of grade inflation.  Some of my son's friends goto the local Public High School, and they are in "honors" classes as well.  These honors classes are a joke.  Before I pulled my son out of the school he was enrolled in the Pre-AP classes.  One of the classes didn't even have a textbook.  He had no homework nor any real classroom assignments.  The teacher "lectured" every day on topics like the prices of oil stocks and the evil of the death penalty.  This is what my tax dollars goto?  No thanks.

This is why we pulled one of our children out to homeschool him.  Many parents are woefully unaware of what is being taught (and not taught) in our public schools.

In Massachusetts, we don't even have funding for TAG (gifted/accelerated) courses.  Teachers just shove extra worksheets at advanced students, or have them "help" lagging students.  They are simply not educated to their fullest potential.

In addition, despite having one of the best math curriculum frameworks in the country, most towns are still using constructivist-based learning (and isn't it funny how parents on this board criticize the "child-led" learning philosophy of unschooling, yet totally embrace the "child-led/discovery-learning" constructivist fuzzy math programs being used - and fought by parents - in districts across the country).  There is a reason drop-out rates are so high in this country, and so many students get to college and require remedial math and English classes to "catch up" - and it isn't because those students were homeschooled.  If our public schools would stop spending so much time with anti-bullying, "be nice to each other" friendship circles to keep kids from growing up and wanting to shoot each other, they would have more time to focus on the task at hand - teaching our children reading, writing, math, history, science, etc.

My son tested two full grade levels behind in basic computation skills when we pulled him out of public school - and we live in one of the "top performing" districts in our state on the MCAS standardized tests. He was getting good grades, though - so if I hadn't tested him on my own I would have not ever known there was a problem.   After intensive remedial work leanring multiplication tables and long division, he is now working at grade level, doing Algebra I as an "8th grader".  My 4-year-old daughter has excellent academic skills, but we have no alternatives for her except to pay for Junior Kumon and then private or homeschool - she will not be challenged in our public schools, unless you count the challenge of eating your lunch in 15 minutes or less so you can get outside for the one 15-minute recess the school allows elementary students these days.

My youngest son is autistic and doesn't think abstractly.  He can't.  He will struggle monumentally with the fuzzy curriculum in public schools when he gets to Kindergarten, so we will likely have to pull him out in favor of private, specialized schools or homeschool.

Public school isn't everything to everybody.  Parents need options, and I think it is great that parents are willing to educate their children at home.  In terms of time spent, remember:  it is a lot faster and easier to teach one or two children at home than 20-25 in a classroom - without time wasted lining up, listening to anti-bullying speeches from school counselors, waiting for bathroom passes, going to assemblies, etc. - so of course homeschoolers spend less time doing "school" at home.  We also have homeschool co-ops - between music lessons, sports, teen centers, dances, etc., sometimes homeschooled kids get more socialization than their public school counterparts - if nothing else, simply because they have time to!