Home schooling in CA

[scaeagles]

LS, I agree - Bush blew it on this by signing it and allowing Kennedy to write it (or rather his staff). I've never supported it, but I think it is important that it is known that NCLB wasn't a grand republican idea to fix education.

NCLB is just one more failed attempt at a one size fits all education system. I don't think there is one. This is why I think home schooling is such a great alternative, particularly for those who can't afford a private school that meets their needs.

[BarTopDancer]

I believe that the public education system failed me. I also participated in an educational institution very similar to home-schooling, where I don't think I learned much at all. Somehow I managed to graduate high school short credits and unable to do math. Can't do basic algebra or beyond to save my life.

Because of these missing math skills, I was unable to get into a Cal State school (scores were to low). So I chose to go after my community college, non-transferable AA. That got me by for a bit, until I found that I'd probably not get very far in life. Heck, even now I couldn't transfer in to a Cal State school (as a junior) without passing a basic math class first (which I tried several times to do at GWC and OCC). That was the only thing keeping me out. A bit of research and I found that I was able to get in to PSU. I'll have to pass a Stats class this summer. All I need is a D. My beautiful 3.9x gpa will be marred because it is highly unlikely I'll get anything beyond that D. Getting that will be a huge struggle, and I will take it.

I'm smart. And I've gotten some very lucky breaks in life without having a degree. I work in IT - I've tinkered with computers my entire life. But if you look at job listings now, it's a BA/BS degree AND experience to get your foot in the door. I can't leave my job, because I don't have the degree to get me another one. There is to much talent with degrees, they don't need to look at anyone without one.

Wendy - I don't think anyone here is criticizing you for homeschooling T.

[scaeagles]

Interestingly, though slamming on the public education system, I got a great education in CA public schools (grew up in Napa, CA). But that was 20 years ago, and I'm not wanting my kids in the current public education system.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Interestingly, though slamming on the public education system, I got a great education in CA public schools (grew up in Napa, CA). But that was 20 years ago, and I'm not wanting my kids in the current public education system.

I am a product of the LAUSD. There were problems, but a lot of them were caused by my own attitude and lack of proper parental guidance (a problem that is still persistent in today's landscape). Overall, I say that I had some great education opportunities.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

I am a product of the LAUSD. There were problems, but a lot of them were caused by my own attitude and lack of proper parental guidance (a problem that is still persistent in today's landscape). Overall, I say that I had some great education opportunities.

Same boat here.

I'll admit that I had the slight advantage that my parents were part of said system. However, they NEVER went behind the scenes to pull strings. Everything they did and had access to were things that any parent could do and had access to. They were just more familiar with what those things were.

But the reality was that I spent 13 years (including kindergarten) in the LAUSD and got an excellent education. For 7 of those years I was with largely the same set of students. Most did well. A lot did not. Of those that did not, my observation was that most of the reason was that education was simply not a priority in their home. There were certainly a few for whom the public system simply did not have the capacity to help. But, to my eye, they were the exception. The majority of those that were struggling would have been perfectly capable of learning and achieving within the system if they actually tried.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

But the reality was that I spent 13 years (including kindergarten) in the LAUSD and got an excellent education. For 7 of those years I was with largely the same set of students. Most did well. A lot did not. Of those that did not, my observation was that most of the reason was that education was simply not a priority in their home. There were certainly a few for whom the public system simply did not have the capacity to help. But, to my eye, they were the exception. The majority of those that were struggling would have been perfectly capable of learning and achieving within the system if they actually tried.

If a lot did not do well, then by your own standards earlier in the thread, something should be done to change that. Also, if, according to your theory, the same kids that do poorly in public schools will do poorly homeschooled, then why object to homeschooling them?

What if the students that didn't really try just weren't interested in what was being taught, or the way it was presented? I didn't try at all and still got good grades and a full scholarship all while deliberately learning as little as possible. That's a flawed system, IMO.

I can see Indi being one of those kids that just wouldn't try. He would do horribly sitting all day in a classroom staring at some grown up chattering away about things that bored him. Similarly, he would do horribly if I made him sit down and learn a "lesson." So we do a totally different type of homeschooling which works with the way he learns. He loves to have his hands on things...building, drawing, cooking...we explore in a very physical way while talking about what we are doing. There's a lot of learning involved, but nothing formal. He couldn't get that in school. At best, his drive to learn would be squelched. At worst, he'd be labeled ADD or something similar.

He just turned five a few weeks ago and has become interested in learning to write. The way he likes to do this is by having me write a word on his paper and he copies it. For one thing, I was amazed at how accurate his printing was, having had no experience with it. When your brain is ready for something, you do it easily. But what struck me most was how he would experiment with it. He would put words together and add extra letters to the end and then ask, "What does this say?" It was such a fantastic way to learn. He would never have been allowed to do that in school. I can totally see him in kindergarten or first grade with his little lined paper being told to write the same letter twenty times or whatever they do and either refusing or getting more and more bored with every passing minute. Then eventually he'd be labeled as one of those kids that just doesn't try. But why try for something that feels so crappy?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

If a lot did not do well, then by your own standards earlier in the thread, something should be done to change that. Also, if, according to your theory, the same kids that do poorly in public schools will do poorly homeschooled, then why object to homeschooling them?

Aaaaargh!

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Same boat here.

I'll admit that I had the slight advantage that my parents were part of said system. However, they NEVER went behind the scenes to pull strings. Everything they did and had access to were things that any parent could do and had access to. They were just more familiar with what those things were.

But the reality was that I spent 13 years (including kindergarten) in the LAUSD and got an excellent education. For 7 of those years I was with largely the same set of students. Most did well. A lot did not. Of those that did not, my observation was that most of the reason was that education was simply not a priority in their home. There were certainly a few for whom the public system simply did not have the capacity to help. But, to my eye, they were the exception. The majority of those that were struggling would have been perfectly capable of learning and achieving within the system if they actually tried.

I am also a victim product of the LAUSD, but I credit that system with nothing. This is the system who, after a great deal of effort to meet with my counselor, get pre-approval on coursework I'd be taking on foreign exchange, etc., called my parents in October of that semester to ask why I wasn't in school. Good job guys. And mind you, it's not like the system provided me with any info about foreign exchange either. Anything outside of the box or dare I say it, enriching, like that was completely beyond their ability to comprehend. That's just one example, but I found it to be the case across the board. Anything over and above the lowest common denominator was beyond the system's abilities to deal with. LAUSD bites.

[Strangler Lewis]

Speaking of private schools, Eliot Spitzer and I prepped together. Well, not really together. He was three years ahead of me, and I didn't know him. The school was all boys when I started in seventh grade. It went coed the next year except for the junior and senior classes. Spitzer was in the junior class. After eighth grade, we moved to southern California where I went to a coed and somewhat startlingly precocious public school. I probably did not get as good an education, and my path to power, well, it was just shot. I have, however, never been to a prostitute, much less a ring of them.

[MouseWife]

Damn but that was a lot of reading.....

I've been following the matter, just a bit, as I have homeschooled my two boys, just one year each, but I have.

I do not have any type of degree, certificates, nada. But, I knew I did not want my kids returning to their schools the following year. Schools may be for teaching but not all schools are equal. If I had a child who was to be in grade school right now, I do not think I would put them in.

The public school system, what programs haven't been cut? They are also cutting nurses, vice principals, teachers, but, adding more and more classrooms.

I can offer my child more as far as arts & sciences on my own, I believe, than most schools now can {especially with the budget cuts as well as the programs being replaced with other programs, like the emersion program}. Imagine taking a group of 50-70 kids on a field trip to an art museum, how much do you think one child would learn? Imagine trying to teach 20 children to read, write, or do math and how many of them don't speak English, or, haven't had any introduction to any type of education? Then imagine sitting alongside your child, showing them, teaching them. Which situation do you think your child would benefit more from?

When I went through the homeschool system, I had to be assigned to an accredited school. They interviewed me, asked me why I wanted to homeschool. We were assigned a teacher. Then I was assigned all of the books, workbooks, worksheets, etc., as well as the year plan of when each lesson was to be taught. We would turn in samples monthly as well as meet up with the teacher, though, not as often. The school had a small library as well as a computer room, and weekly classes in art and really every topic. They had fieldtrips where the kids could socialize {as well as those weekly classes}.

I think that the time I spent with my children homeschooling was the best time ever. I knew so much more about what they were learning and every where we went I could point out things that were relevant to their lessons. I think those things really sank in.

As for things that parents don't know, the teachers manual pretty much explains it all. Things you don't understand, you can either look on line or else set up a meeting with the teacher.

I don't think that right for parents should be taken away, and I don't think that we should have to have a degree. Some classes, that might help parents in how to teach, become organized. But, when the schools are in such bad shape that they are in, why should we be forced to send them?

I would like to see some checking up on parents, though. I know we worked and we covered everything they required, plus more. But, we were quite serious about it and I've always felt education was important, mostly, reading and math. The other subjects, I like for the kids to discover what interests them most and then focus on them. But, I do know parents who fudge things, who do not put in the necessary amount of time. That bothers me greatly. I wonder what happens when these children are tested {as they do test them regularly}.

That being said, I think it might balance out for the students in regular school whose parents are fudging things and not taking their education seriously. Either way, I personally, want that choice.