Why is the experience of having your lunch money stolen so important? I was bullied for a few years in middle school and I could certainly have done without it. It gave me absolutely nothing useful to carry with me into adulthood. My home-schooled niece is far more capable than I in any social situation. She’s the one who makes friends easily, who is naturally the center of attention of any gathering, and is usually the smartest person in the room. Not me.
But not all. My sister is an atheist and participated in a whole group of atheist home schooling mothers.
One learns that there are ass holes in the world, not everyone loves you like Mommy, Daddy and Uncle suranyi.
My nephew was homeschooled. He hated it, and has vowed he will not homeschool his kids.
If homeschooling was producing students who don’t have the basic academic skills to succeed in the work world or college, there might be a case. We know that public schools are actually producing a lot of students who are not ready for work or college.
I certainly agree that if done well it can lead to good results. The trouble is that evangelicals that don’t believe in science run to it to inoculate their children against reality.
That’s who gets the headlines, but from what I’ve seen, the homeschooling community is just as much about hipsters following the most fashionable living trends, and right now homeschooling is quite chic.
The fact is, the public schools just aren’t that great, and also aren’t that safe, and no one is accountable for anything. That will tend to make parents flee the system.
And as long as parents who have the means flee the system, there’s that much less pressure to actually fix the fucking system. It’s Randian. Fuck you, I got mine. That’s great. Just better make sure the “I got mine” is enough to protect you and yours when the system breaks down because you don’t want to be part of it. And keep in mind that there’ll be a LOT more of them than you.
Hipsters? From what I’ve seen, it’s religious loons and/or social conservatives. You know, the kinds that don’t want their kids going to public school because there aren’t any morals and they don’t teach the Biblical interpretation of things like evolution, history, and science.
There are some areas of life where social solidarity does not apply. The raising of kids is one of them. There is plenty of pressure to fix the public school system already. Problem is, the stakeholders only see more money as the solution, even though we already spend more per student than most countries. The only political clout parents can exercise that sends the proper message is to boycott the system until it’s forced to change or die.
Is that experience from the news, or from people you know who homeschool? I know few religious fanatics, so I can’t tell you how many of those people are pulling their kids out of school. But I do know a lot of people in the 30-40 age range, and if there’s anything they are fanatical about, it’s organic products and the environment and homeschooling. Or any of the other latest trends in childrearing are. Unfortunately, a high percentage of these people are also anti-vaccination.
Not quite. It appears that anti-vax is evenly split between parties.
How about the organics craze?
As far as home schooling, the biggest group (36%) homeschools for religious or moral reasons.
Second cite (PDF)
Explain why it’s a bad thing.
I didn’t mean to imply it was, only that there are certain types of people more into organics than others, and its not the Christian fundamentalists who are shopping at Whole Foods.
Your cite also kinda proves the point. While fundies are the biggest group, they are not the majority. The public school system gives parents ample reasons to choose a different way. And I’d bet that while homeschoolers are wealthier than average, few of the really wealthy are doing it. The people with the six figure incomes are sending their kids to the best private schools.
Yes, they are, so I guess you’ll be retracting that claim, right? Right?
You’ll note that his cite said 36% gave religious and moral reasons as the most important reason, not the only one. In reality, the vast majority of homeschooling parents pick religious and moral instruction as a reason to home-school. In 2007, that number was 83%(PDF).
Which does not imply that they are fundamentalist Christians opposed to evolution or sex education or whatever. A lot of my fellow Jews include religious instruction in their homeschooling.
Your claim that fundies are the majority of homeschoolers requires better evidence than that.
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I should think that promotes class distinction, and the wealthy folks who run government are more than willing to give educational alternatives to their social equals.