Does homeschooling violate liberal values?

[YGBFKM]

As long as I'm on the opposite side of Devil when it comes to anything involving education, I feel good.

 

[93Devil]

Public (hippy liberal town which some feel) or Private (Hand of God smashes down and the GOP is good! which other feel) is just fine with me. Please let your child be around other children. And swim class once a week with you hovering does not count.

Seriously, don't shelter your children.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I am yet to hear something Liberal being taught in schools today.

Addition? The water cycle? The Civil War? Health?

Science. Not to be a smartass, but that's the answer.

Liberals or religious folk?

In our neck of the woods, WE (the God-fearing public) want creationism taught alongside real science.
I think those folks are everything but liberal; straight-laced conservative Republican Baptists.

 

[YGBFKM]

I am concerned that the impact of gay scientists is ignored by homeschoolers.

 

[93Devil]

As long as I'm on the opposite side of Devil when it comes to anything involving education, I feel good.

Good luck homeschooling.

 

[93Devil]

I will say that educators look at homeschooling like journalists look at citizen journalism.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I think I'd rather have my kids in school simply so they can be introduced to reality sooner than they would otherwise. And by reality I mean interacting with a wide variety of their peers.

 

[YGBFKM]

What do educators think about spelling?

 

[Bob Cook]

I wouldn't say I'm particularly a homeschooling fan, but **** did put his finger on a point in the favor of private schools. My guess, too, is that there's less "bullying" of youngsters who actually want to get an education. That type of peer pressure is very strong, and if you can eliminate it from a child's life, his/her chances of academic success have GOT to be better.

In my kids' experience in private and public, I have seen zero evidence that anyone is bullied based on academic achievement any better or worse in either environment. If at all. In fact, the big difference I see is that public school authorities are far quicker and fairer when it comes to incidents involving students (though the stories about the kid getting suspended for weeks for bringing a spork to school might offer anecdotal evidence otherwise). The big problem regarding bullying in private school is that if the bully is a kid whose parents are favored by the institution (particularly, parents who give a lot of money), then the target and his or her family is screwed.

 

[93Devil]

What do educators think about spelling?

It is being pushed out by No Child Left Behind standards. Just like keyboarding.

Plus, spelling would be low on Bloom's Taxonomy (http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm), which is the core of educational philosophy today.

 

[Dick Whitman]

What do educators think about spelling?

It is being pushed out by No Child Left Behind standards. Just like keyboarding.

Plus, spelling would be low on Bloom's Taxonomy (http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm), which is the core of educational philosophy today.

I'll tell you who cares about spelling: Parents.

Holy Jesus do parents care about spelling. That's all my wife ever hears about from parents is stuff related to their kids' spelling tests. And it's been that way at all three schools she has taught at. Spelling, spelling, spelling. Drives her bonkers.

 

[93Devil]

I would much rather my child do this consistently well than spell correctly.

 

[YGBFKM]

Spelling has little to nothing to do with success in most professions. I just find it funny when "educators" can't spell.

 

[93Devil]

Spelling has little to nothing to do with success in most professions. I just find it funny when "educators" can't spell.

Because most modern educators don't consider it important. You are more teaching letter blends and vowel sounds with spelling lists, not the actual spelling of the word.

 

[YGBFKM]

I rest.

 

[Bob Cook]

One thing I'm happy to see my son's high school doing well is balancing two demands:

1. That students learn all sorts of facts and figures for the benefit of standardized testing.

2. That students, in an age of easy, free and limitless access to information online, learn how to find what they seek, process it and analyze it.

 

[Stitch]

I think the Slate article misses the point a bit by using liberalism in the American sense instead of the political science definition. Using the political science definition, homeschooled students are not learning liberal values of freedom and what it means to be part of civil society. I know a few who would seem to want a "natural state" for all.

 

[YGBFKM]

Good point, Bob. Learning how to find information is incredibly important. Reading the Great Gatsby for the fifth time won't help you fix a broken heater.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Good point, Bob. Learning how to find information is incredibly important. Reading the Great Gatsby for the fifth time won't help you fix a broken heater.

Well, that's easy: Call a handyman.

 

[YGBFKM]

Right, stitch, but this article isn't about liberal values, it's about liberals' values.