I read this and thought, now gee, that sounds like a good idea. Still doesn't approach the flexibility and customization we find in homeschooling. Then I listened to this MP3 ditty from DailySusan.com (HT to Gena), and it's starting to become painfully clear to me that education is rapidly approaching a crisis.
Homeschooling is a valid education option, one that a lot more families should consider...although it's not for everyone. Clearly, the option of last resort, however, should be a parent stuffing their child in an egg carton bus and sending them to an egg carton school where they are forced to conform to the expectations of their teachers and peers. Your child deserves better.
Speaking on your last line there about peer pressure at "egg carton" schools...My son and I were just discussing the peer pressure of the schools this week. We were at the ice rink and I was mentioning how fun it would be to have his party there. He replies by saying that his friend thinks ice skating is stupid and then lists the number of things that his friend thinks is stupid. I had to explain that his friend had no choice but to find those things stupid because if he didn't he'd have no friends at his school. It certainly gave Junior a lot to think about. I may have a revolt on my hands if we ever end up having to send him to school. :-D
I guess with all the back to school hoopla, everyone is reporting on how much Americans have dropped in the World Wide standings.
On Mon. and Tues. of last week, Oprah did two shows about it. On Tues. she tried to focus on what was working. One charter school model (there are now almost 50 of them in the US) starts classes at 7am, finishes at 5pm, assigns 3 hours of homework, has half days on Saturdays and Summer School is required. The program is called KIPP. It seems sad to me, but maybe this is what is needed to break generations of poverty and drop outs. The kids they interviewed are happy, love been smarter than their peers, and have huge goals.
Another school that peaked my interest was High Tech High in CA. No textbook, lots of hands on projects, classes were different everyday, kids were focusing on solving real world problems. This school seemed to have a great mix of kids and some traveled 2 hours one way just to attend for an all free public education. I just kept think how this wonderful idea would be screwed up so fast as soon as the NEA got a hold of it.
The only way I think public education is going to work is if it is handled county by county. State and Federal agencies just get in the way and mess things up. And the guy who left the comment about homeschoolers being the ones prepared for menial jobs, is just very delusional.
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