Topic : 11/24 Great School Debate

I find it interesting that people have an idea that public school is the way to go, that public school offers some great diversity of character, education, discipline and socialization.  I am a Credentialed teacher.  I have worked in public school, private school and have taught my kids at home.  I can tell you that the best education they had was at home.  Not only was the education better, but the character building and socialization were the best, better than any public or private school could ever offer.  I was told that my kids had the most respectful attitude, the willingness to learn and the ability to sit in class and listen because they went later on in life and for only a short period.  They learned at home for most of their elementary school lives and have been able to offer leadership to their peers and are able to hold a conversation with adults better then most kids their age. 

 

The teachers that think they can offer more because they study more is ridiculous.  Kids learn because their parents care and love them.  Nurturing is far more important than a text book. The socialization kids get in school is less than desirable and my children can attest to this too.  What they have learned that is good, they have learned from home. 

 

I find it arrogant to assume that the only place to get a good education is in the institution of a school setting.  The school is a fabrication of real society.  Real society does not sit at a desk to gain information.  Real society goes out and discovers it. That is what homeschooling does. 

 

I teach in a school setting and everyday, I am thankful that I was able to homeschool my kids for 11 years because they had true education from the heart out and it shows in all they have done and continue to do.  They are thinking people not willing to let their peers tell them  how they should live.

 

 

Why weren't there more representatives? My son would love to see his idol on there (as stated on another post, that would be motocross driver, Davi Millsaps).

I'm retarded. I meant 'our girls' not 'are girls'. 

I have to input on this show after watching it. As a college professor / scholar, I have seen far too many students from public schools in remedial math and english -  I cannot believe they have passed high school courses, or were they shuffled through the 'system'...?

My daughter was home-schooled for her last 2 years, and has adapted well in community college where she is a sophmore. She writes very well though needed remedial math. As a divorced parent, I was limited in my input on this decision to homeschool, though did research to make an objective, informed decision, and while hesistant I agreed to pay for the venture and to participate.

There is a social aspect Dr. Phil presented that is important, but let us not forget that this can also be a negative aspect in our public school systems today. My daughter felt lost in the crowd and that some of her teachers were totally apathetic. She functions well, working as a waitress 4 days per week while attending college full time, so individual attention has to be given to each child and situation.

I would like to add that Dr. Phil failed to state that statistics have a long lag time, and we can only apply the statistics to the time frame during which the research was done. Also, when stating 'statistics say.....' one should always state where those statistics came from. So I question the statistics eluded to by Dr. Phil. Another concern is Dr. Phil stated the importance of SATs... many community college do not require SATs but entrance examinations for placement, as they tend to be open enrollment.

Each parent has to realize where their child is in the spectrum of growth and learning. The best students I have had teaching at one college were homeschooled, one going on to law school which I was pleased to write a letter of recommendation for. There are those who have graduated public schools that are not socially funtional. It is individual to each child, not even family...

A child has the right to play sports or cheerleading or participate in other extra curricular activities since they are in the school district... it does NOT exclude a child if they are being home schooled. Other social organizations, i.e., churches, sport leagues, etc., are also a good avenue to engage children in the socialization process.

A person cannot look down upon home schooling because they didn't do it, or couldn't imagine it. With violence in schools, including the massacres that have happened, one cannot blame a parent for being protective. It is not the public school systems' fault for someone on a rampage, but the individual that cannot control themselves... but we blame the schools for not protecting the children. Tough situation, but it is the environment in which we now live in.

I would encourage all parents to assess each of their children as to the appropriateness of different approaches to schooling. With the onset of online colleges (including Ivy League colleges now going online due to declining enrollment), we cannot negate that we are in an age of change with traditional schooling.

I have had college students come to me saying their guidance counselors' told them they were not 'college material', and I would have to say that the guidance counselor is selling a child short....I would say is that our tax payers dollars being used wisely to have a 'counselor' tell an adolescent they cannot achieve a college education? 

Another point of contention is that the gentleman from CA who worked for the education department didn't mention that alternatives of public schools are not always available for all children... rural areas do not have these opportunities, nor do all states.

Public schools are NOT any better than homeschooling... just one alternative to educating a child. Parents should be objective in their approach to each individual child as to what is best for each child.

 

I went to public school. Nobody asked me to homecoming or prom. So I sat at home.

 

And I left high school early so I could go to a foreign country rather than go to a silly prom or graduation ceremony.

 

You are right about kids needing a college degree. Most homeschoolers intend for their children to go to college.

 

A college degree is not absolutely necessary in life.  Yes, there are certain professions for which require it, and yes, for some jobs they just want some letters after your name.  But, unless  my kids choose college, I'd rather they wait until they know what they want to study, rather than just get any old degree, be tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and never use the degree.

I am a college student at UGA and was raised in the public schools. I received an amazing education with the confidence to pursue anything-even my goals of becoming a neuro-surgeon..  I have known several people who have been home schooled and for some children, under particular circumstances, it is definitely best; however, i think unschooling is strictly setting your children up for failure.  The  three unschooled children that were portrayed may have been very bright and intelligent and presented with amazing opportunities, but the social skills they lacked were extremely evident.  This is where I believe homeschooled/unschooled children are deprived. Yes there are extracurricular activities, but none compare to those received in a public/private school setting with others teaching other than mommy.  When Dr. Phil made the joke to the "history-buff child" asking who some mayor was,  he was completely aloof to the fact that it was a JOKE!  These are the type of expriences and skills that are gained through interacting with a wide variety of their peers for the majority of the day.  The question is.. is this best for the child. Are they going to look back in life and feel like something is missing.. that they have missed out? unfortunately for the majority, the answer will be yes.

         One other detail.. my cousins were homeschooled for the first 10 or so years of their life. They are my best friends, and the most beautiful women I have known. They are very well spoken and have even won almost every beauty pageant they have entered. You would think they are the most popular girls in school; however, a couple days ago I was speaking to one and she said, "ya know, i am seeing all of my friends get married and i have been thinking.. i dont know who i would ask to be my bridesmaids rather than my sisters and you guys."  Is this because of the socail skills she was deprived of early on.. we both agreed it is.

The problem I see in the schools today is the importance of the testing.  They test and test even kindergartners and then they label them with some sort of disability or hold them back a year or put them on drugs to keep them quiet.  I crushes young children's confidence and their will to learn anything even at home.  It is heartbreaking watching children not eat ANYTHING for lunch because of the drugs.  I pulled my son out of school last December.  We start at 8:30 and end at 2:00.  He takes piano, karate, gymnastics and swimming with other kids.  I also substituted at the school before this and let me tell you it is almost humanly impossible to do what the government wants and teach 25 kids of all kinds.  Unfortunately the is no time for a child who is bright, outspoken, outgoing and wants to really learn things like my 9 yr  old son.  He does 10 times more at home than he did at school.  We use k12 and love it.  Also looking at progress academy for next year.  They are virtual schools. I hope I don't sound like I am bragging but there is no room for bright kids or disabled kids.

I posted my story a few moments ago. But what I failed to mention was that I think Dr. Phil really missed out on this one. He should have also feature some successful families that teach at home. He should have taken this time to educate the public on all of their options for teaching their children at home. You do not have to teach your child there are other options. People need to know some of the reasons we teach at home.  Let us tell those stories Dr. Phil .... I had to take my daughter out of public school and had no idea that I had other options. She is now safe from the exposure of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Yes, kids at her school were doing this in the bathrooms, and parking lots, instead of being in the classroom. The peer pressure had my daughter in tears every morning begging to stay home. It was heart breaking. That is why I took her out.

I had to write today about the couple who have decided to "unschool" their children.  Maybe I have been in the dark but this is the first time I have heard df such nonsense.  Yes, in an ideal world we could keep our children safe and secure with use everyday for the rest of their lives.  However, in the real world it is part of our job as a parent to prepare our children to be completely independent of us.  The truth is you can and should still teach your children about the world, the ocean, trees and so on and so on.  That is part of our jobs.  However, it is also part of our job to make sure our children are formally educated.  It is really unbelieveable in today's world that people think they are creating "entrepreneurs" by unschooling.  They are actually doing the exact opposite.  Not to say that you cannot be a successful entreprenueur and not have maybe FINISHED highschool.  My husband and I have 3 successful businesses and neither of us finished college and also were not A students.  However, what school did teach me is discipline and that in the world people expect certain things from you.  You should not  teach a child that they can do whatever they want whenever they want, because that is not how it is in the real world.  Unfortunatley, these people are setting their children up for failer as adults.  Children need a structured education whether it be public or private school.  As for the guy that said there are drugs, guns, teasing, bulling and dealing with rich kids, well guess what all of that is also in the real world of adult hood to.  As you reach adulthood and maybe get your first job at any given larger company chances are in your career you will deal with harrassment of some sort, favortism of some sort and maybe even co-workers or bosses on drugs (whether it is illegal drugs or pill popping) or alcoholism.  Unfortuntaley many of the probelms that we talk about in highschools are also in adult society.  It is the PARENTS job to educate children about these problems at a young age.  A lot of parents these days think for some reason it is the school systems job to teach their children some of life's most important lessons.  PARENTS need to take more responsiblilty when it comes to their children and teach their children as they get older to be more responisble for their own actions.  

 That is very offensive, your "practice saying 'do you want fried with that?'" remark.  You make it sound like all the people who work in fast food resteraunts are dumb, uneducated people.  It's not just high school drop outs, you know.  I graduated 19 out of 130, with a 3.9 gpa, and worked at a resteraunt for four and a half years, starting two weeks after graduation.  After reading your post, I am led to believe that you are one of the people who look down and overly critisize the poeple who serve you your food on the other side of the counter.  Regardless of the education someone has, no one is better than anyone else.  You are no better than I am, or anyone else for that matter. 
Not all careers need education.  It all depends on what you child wants to do when they are grown, how they want to spend their lives.  You should be telling your child they can do anything with his/her life.  With what you say to your child, your views on life, if your child ever works for a resteraunt (or any so called "uneducated job"), your child will think they are stupid.  Way to go.