Ranty Rant
Acidman is right. This is scary. How can any family let their children get past the age of, say, twelve, without a working knowledge and appreciation of the First Amendment?
This is what we get for allowing the government to be involved in education. At all. Perhaps Horace Mann ought to start appearing on those lists people come up with now and then of people who did the most to ruin the country.
One of the best ways to bring out the libertarian in me is to pine for more spending, especially federal spending, on education, so the communist teachers union can waste even more to undereducate, indoctrinate, and fail to challenge our kids to think like the rational beings they start out as before being shipped off to government brain sausage factories. The foolish think they want more and more of that. The irresponsible are relieved they can step back from their kid’s lives. The controllingly clever know exactly the why and what of public education, better still accompanied by increasing federal bucks and mandates, and happily use the foolish and irresponsible to ensure things get worse and worse.
Augh.
While I agree with the “scariness” of this article, I think that perhaps one of the major reasons that children are “undereducated” etc. is the lack of funding to hire teachers and provide the neccesary enrichment tools needed to provide a well-rounded education. Yes, there are some schools/teachers etc that just don’t care and no matter how mucch money they have, won’t change the way public school kids are schooled, but then there are the few that do care. I am constantly debating these issues(federal education funding, homeschooling etc.) and can see good and bad aspects on both sides. Not all children have a “bad” public school experience either. I didn’t. And you have to admit(well you don’t have to!) that there are some teachers out there that do care and put the necessary effort in to teaching our children. Granted they may be far and few between but they do exist. I don’t know, just a different point of view I guess. I don’t think I am foolish or irresponsible though, for sending my child to a public school and just the fact that I debate these issues constantly shows that in some way, I do care. Honestly, I think that more parent involvement within the public school system would be a huge thing too. It bothers me to see parents send their children off for the day and leave it at that. Reagardless of whether or not a child is homeschooled or or “public” schooled, parent involvement is key.
Posted by Sharon on 02/01 at 01:21 PMAbsolutely. Ultimately the parents should be involved and paying attention enough to help ameliorate a bad school experience.
In my case some was good, some was bad. Teachers varied. I’ve seen the work my nieces and nephews do and they actually covered things in junior high or late elementary that I never saw until high school, college, or at all.
I learned almost everything I learned in public school before I hit high school. That was mostly four years of keeping us from competing in the workforce full time or starting college early. The more I look back on that school and the times, the more I can’t believe what they got away with.
Still, indoctrination is the main thing, and it takes very involved parents to counter that.
Posted by Jay on 02/01 at 01:30 PMI’d like to know how this varies by grade.
Posted by Joseph Hertzlinger on 02/01 at 04:48 PMI don’t really have anything useful to say, except that as a homeschooled, highschool senior, I’d have to say I’m not terribly surprised. Actually, I just wanted to de-lurk to say that as someone who’s benefited hugely from homeschooling, I think you’re on the right track. Though I admit, I am a little biased.
Posted by Emma M. on 02/02 at 05:43 PM
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