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Sep. 7, 2006
Dr. Phil
I read in my homeschoolers group that Dr. Phil is doing a show on homeschooling! The link is
www.drphil.com/plugger/respond/?plugID=10527
So I went ahead and signed up. As a complete minority in being a Buddhist/Christian Homeschool, we have a pretty good shot. It'd be a wonderful learning experience for the family anyhow on how a talk show is run, a bit of dabbling with camera work or hosting or producing? Who cares?! As long as we walk away with more knowledge than we started with, it will be worth trying.
Not to mention, I stand for the goverment's release on the monopoly of education. I would love to see 'price tags' attached to each child regardless as to what school they attend. That way, the schools are competing for your children (because they are tagged with tax dollars) and the schools will most likely try harder, or they'll be put out of business! Reward success of teachers by paying them MORE, and punish the poor teachers by actually being able to fire them without all that red tape. Get rid of the teachers union so they're at-will employees, and the poor performers can be taken out of education!
I rant a bit here, but I can't help but think it's because of that BOE meeting. ... And that latest John Stossel book Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. Here's a quote from that book, page 134 and 135:
MYTH: Homeschoolers are religious wackos whose children don't learn to socialize.
TRUTH: Homeschooling is a good option for some parents fed up with lousy government schools. Homeschooled kids do well
More than one million kids are being homeschooled in America today. That's 2 percent of the school-aged kids, adn that number has been growing by 10 percent every year. Some parents choose to homeschool for religious reasons, but a growing number are just fed up with the public schools.
Critics say that kids who learn at home don't learn how to get along with their peers. Homeschoolers answer: Why assume that school is the best place for kids to get "socialized"? Isn't school where you're supposed to pay attention to the teacher, not your peers? Homeschooled kids socialize all the time - at places like Boy Scouts, ballet lessons, soccer teams, and church choirs. Many get together for classes with other homeschoolers.
South Carolina teacher Tristen Sharpe was named the "teacher of the year" by her school. Her two boys attended the same school, adn she noticed one of them was falling behind. His teacher said, "I just don't know what to do." Sharpe decided she knew what to do. She quit he rteaching job to homeschool both her sons. Soon other parents asked her if she would homeschool their kids as well. Tristen says, "As many as I can take, I take." She has a long waiting list. "Parents who have called say, 'Is there anything that you can do? Is there anything? What part of the day is available? I'll do anything.'"
When we visited Tristen at her homes school, we were struck by how excited the kids seemed about learning. Caymen Young, who hated her math class in public school, told us, "I love math, I'm a math freak." Science class was held at a pond behind Tristen's house; the kids caught tadpoles and ran over to show us how they go through life stages. A rope swing attached to a tree became a physics lesson. For geometry, they built a fort.
Brian Ray taught in both public and private schools before becoming President fo the National Home Education Research Institute. He says homeschooled students blow past their public school counterparts in terms of achievement. "In study after study, children who learn at home consistently score 15-30 percentile points above the national averages," he says. Homeschooled kids also score almost 10 percent higher than the average American high school student on the ACT.
I don't know how these homeschooling parents do it. I couldn't do it. I'd get impatient, and I'd fight with my kids too much. Yet more than a million kids learn at home, and they outperform the kids from the public schools.
(end of quote)
That was a lot of typing, LOL but worth the effort! I ate this book up. I really enjoyed his viewpoints on a lot of issues. I highly recommend reading it!
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Sep. 7, 2006 - Dr Phil