Homeschooling? What do you think now? (Ha! Ha!)?

Question

Did you read the paper this week or watch the news? The State Appellate court now requires a teaching credential to home school children in the State of CA. Homeschool organizations are taking their fight to the Supreme Court.

Good luck with that! You will need it. Only teachers should teach. All of you lazy, uneducated, misfits or whoever else is homeschooling, you need to go to college and get credentialed if you want to continue with your misguided mission of homeschooling. If you want your children to get religious instruction, get out your checkbooks, and send your children to private Christian schools. If your child has a disability, stop pampering them and send them to Special Ed programs. If your daughters are pregnant, they can go to parenting and family planning education. If you were better parents, they would still be in a comprehensive high school graduating with their class.

It is about time the government put a stop to this foolishness. Full steam ahead!

Answer 1

If it makes you feel better, I suspected it was a joke from the "(Ha! Ha!)" and was sure by "lazy, uneducated, misfits".

Do remember that on the internet, no one can here your tone of voice (or, for that matter, see your face). Amazing, isn't it, how much of our communication happens non-verbally.

BTW, love the line "If you want your children to get religious instruction, get out your checkbooks". I think it truly captures the spirit of people who are against all forms of school choice.

Answer 2

Are you  a teacher ( I hope not! ), or just an uninformed individual? As Debra stated, "sad"

Answer 3

You were obviously educated by the public school system as I can see it in your grammar and in your manner. Sad really. Glad to know that not all are like you. Home schoolers far out test public school and private school counterparts. Care to explain that?

Answer 4

The smartest, most well educated kids I know are home schooled by an mother without a teaching degree. In sharp contrast most of the kids I know who attend public school (I know quite a few) couldn't think their way out of a kids place mat crossword puzzle. The public school doesn't teach kids how to think it just teaches them what to think, and parents get to decide what goes in their children's minds, not the state.

Answer 5

I don't think religion, disabilities or pregnancy are always among the reasons people homeschool their kids.  It's a personal choice to outsource or do the job yourself.  Homeschooled children have always had to prove they have passed certain education milestones before they can ever get a high school gradution certificate, and they usually outperform public/private schooled children on standardized tests, so I'm unsure why anyone thinks this law is necessary.  

Perhaps they want to make sure every Californian is being indoctrinated the same way?  Get in line & march, kids!  Free thought is not allowed!  There is only one way: ours!

I suppose homeschooling parents will have to pay a fee to the government for this credential, right, on top of their tax dollars that go supporting the public schools they don't use?  What a shocker.

Answer 6

Actually, here are some statistics for you:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

What you refer to as "foolishness" is actually producing better results than the public school system.

In addition, these results remain consistent whether or not the teaching parent has a certificate or college degree or has even finished high school.  So much for those important "credentials".

Apparently, many want to get rid of homeschooling because it is a threat to the establishment.  Public schools do not want the competition because they simply cannot compete.

I would suggest you educate yourself about homeschooling before you make such sweeping statements.

Answer 7

I am glad you took the time to amend your post stating that it was a joke. Unfortunately there are many individuals out there who are using this as a victory and a slam against homeschoolers. There are excellent public school teachers. There are mediocre public school teachers, and there are lousy public school teachers. The same should be said of private school teachers and homeschooler parents.

Answer 8

I was part of a home schooling community of over 700 families.

I started college my senior year in high school.

Every university I have attended since has put me on the deans list of academic excellence.

Here's some extra curricular things I've done:

-Soccer (we played private schools; and usually won)

-Boy scouts(Eagle scout)

-Summer camp volunteer

-Poor outreach volunteer

-Cultural Center volunteer

-Theater

-Tae Kwon Do

etc. etc. etc.

The insane idea that home schoolers are less educated (actually we're 30% more successful) and anti-social(while there are knifings, cliques, drugs, excessive alcohol, bullies, etc. etc. etc. in public schools) is completely inaccurate and biased. Most home schoolers get just as much socialization as public and private schoolers do with TWICE the interaction with adults.

YOU are the reason home schoolers are also the most politically involved group in America.

Home schoolers are the best equipped people in the world, academically and politically.

There are anti social home schoolers just like there are anti social public schoolers.

Answer 9

wowo i thuoght i was stupid and rude... but im not!!!!

Answer 10

Are you feeling rather hostile tonight?   LOL

Yes homeschoolers plan to take it to the Supreme Court and they plan to win.  So, the judge that thinks he's better then the constitution of your United States will lose.  No biggie.  

I thought the United States was all hyped up about freedom for everyone.   I guess you believe that people should have freedom only if they believe what you believe huh?

Edit:  Oh my - I just read an answer of yours and it says you are an educator?   You educate children and this is who you write?  No wonder there are so many homeschoolers in California.

Answer 11

Amen!

Haha! I wish there were more people like you....

We're not uneducated though....Nor are we lazy....

In fact, I can guarantee most homeschoolers are smarter that the average public school child....

But I don't agree with homeschooling....Nor do I think it prepares the child for life....

But you have a few misconceptions....However I agree....

=)

Answer 12

wow.... just...wow.... I think i'll pass on this one. Everyone who matters knows where I stand.

I do have a question though... If only teachers should teach, why don't they?

Answer 13

When you get an education please let us know.

Answer 14

I was going to respond to this but I prefer to have fun when I'm wasting my time, so I'm going to play WoW for a while. I really need to level my mage.

You're just pissed off because there are people getting a better education in less time, and you can't stand that other people think differently.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get to level 12.

Answer 15

Do you want the government to wipe your *** for you too?

Really, as Debra pointed out, you are living, breathing evidence that public schools are dysfunctional establishments. You have no understanding of the way that this country was meant to be run; your wonderful public education probably left those little tidbits out. Buy a copy of the Federalist Papers, read them, and maybe you'll learn a thing or two. Like the fact that individual freedom is a big part of America. Fancy that.

BTW, I'm in college right now, and they're in the process of telling me that everything I learned in high school was a bunch of bullsh*t. Yup, the government sure knows how to get things done properly :\

EDIT: Whew, that's a relief. You'll have to excuse me, I come from the religion and spirituality section, where people who seem like satirists are sometimes completely serious. For example, I once met a young lady who actually believed that fossils were statues built by an ancient civilization in homage to their giant lizard gods. Such exposure has limited my ability to recognize tongue-in-cheek humor...

Answer 16

Sadly, all private schools do not require teachers to be certified, either.  Some people do a great job of homeschooling, but as a public school teacher I have encountered more than a few students who were home-schooled prior to enrolling in public school that are lightyears behind because their parents were more interested in some "cause" than in educating their children.  I would think that parents who are truly interested in giving their children the best education possilbe would not mind being required to prove that they were capable of doing so.  If I were to decide to homeschool, I would feel better knowing that I had the knowledge and expertise that my child deserved in a teacher.  Either setting (public or private) can be either fabulous or lousy, but an educated educator would always rank high on my list of priorities.

Answer 17

The state didn't change the laws.  You misunderstood the situation.  

So, to answer your question... I now think just what I've thought for many years, that unschooling is the best way to live :D

I do wonder why you seem so angry, bitter and prejudiced towards people who choose homeschooling.  My kids aren't pregnant, disabled, or in need of religious instruction... they simply don't want to spend their time in traditional school.  I think it would be foolish to force them to go.

Answer 18

I do not see this as a matter where a compromise is possible.  It is either licit to homeschool, or it is not.  I have no objection to homeschooling at elementary level, but it is deficient at high school level: parents simply do not have the knowledge to teach all of the necessary subjects.

Answer 19

Wow, I don't know *where* you went to school but clearly you don't understand what a "question" is :p

Why can't people remember it's not a competition between home schoolers and public schoolers? Home schooling isn't the best choice for everyone, but clearly neither is public school.

As far as your uninformed and ignorant opinion that home schoolers are uneducated. Please back that up with facts and statistics. Did you ever have a class in rhetoric? Because you are horrible at making an argument. I'd advise checking out a Anthony Weston's "A Rulebook for Arguments" if you want your invective to even begin to resemble a logical argument.

I was home schooled until I entered college. I graduated from University with a 3.7 overall GPA and was on the deans list every semester.

I am a member of  Phi Theta Kappa the International Honor Society of 2 year Colleges, Phi Sigma Iota The National Foreign Language Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa the oldest undergraduate honors organization in the US.  

I am far from stupid and am certainly not uneducated. Statistics show I'm NOT some sort of anomaly. Most of my friends growing up were also home schooled and those who already completed college are all successful and doing quite well.

Home schooling doesn't work for everyone, there are certainly stupid home schoolers out there, but they're not the norm.

Ergo, caput tuum in ano est.

EDIT:

To those who keep insisting that parents simply aren't equipped to school their children through high school:

BACK UP YOUR ARGUMENTS WITH EXAMPLES. I am an example against your argument - what do YOU have?

Don't think home school parents just make up their curriculum. They use the same books that would be used in school. Many use other teaching aids such as satellite classes for harder courses like chemistry.

EDIT #2:

Hmm, ok so it was a joke, but the responses weren't, so I stand by everything I said.

LBGirl, without knowing you, and with no winking smiley faces, it's hard to tell you were joking. Next time, wink :-p

Answer 20

What you wrote sounds excessively hostile. This leads me to believe that you have some sort of personal experience or are talking about something you know nothing about. I home schooled a friends child because she was out ill too much and they would have failed her. When she went back the next year she tested higher on the istep than most of the children her age. I did not have a teaching degree, although the experience moved me so much I am now pursuing an elementary education degree. I would suggest if you are going to make comments like this one, you should really do your homework first and if it was a bad personal experience, I hope you learn that everything that happens to you in your life doesn't happen to everyone. Personal fables are something adolescence should conquer.

Answer 21

Why all the anger toward homeschoolers?  Calm down.

fwiw, I don't homeschool for religious reasons (atheist) nor for special needs, nor for any disability.  I homeschool because I have been through the public school system and my opinion is that is sucks, BIG time.  I wouldn't send my kids to a public school, and certainly not to one in California, no matter who was trying to force me.

What do I think now?  I think the state needs to mind its own business.  I will keep on doing what I think is best for my kids, regardless.

edit:  perhaps you should brush up on the intricacies of delivering sarcasm properly...

Answer 22

I find this offensive. I get straight A's. I am a grade ahead educationally for my age. I am not weird in any way, I am actually quite popular, and I do get out a lot. I am not ugly, disabled, pregnant, etc. But I chose to homeschool because I wanted to get away from the violence/s*x/drugs/you name it. It's a free country [though many people are trying to change it] and it's my choice whether I get to homeschool or not. Get off everybody's backs and start worrying about your own problems, because God knows you seem to have many.

Answer 23

You probably shouldn't have added that this post was a joke.  Now it not only makes you appear judgmental and uninformed, but also immature and pathetic.

Every child is a unique treasure and should be raised and educated in the best possible way so as to maximize his potential.  I've met many brilliant, kind and caring teachers, but they were far outnumbered by average to poor and some downright psychotic (luckily those didn't last long in the system).  On our worst day, our child will still be led in his learning journey by someone who loves him just for who he is.  We love him with his differences, his spirit and  will never fail to see the potential in him.   We will look at him as the wonderful adult he will become and the gift from God that he is right now.  We can challenge him to reach for the stars,  and to have faith that he can achieve his dreams.  But we can also be there to help him get back on the right path when he strays,  show him that life itself is an experience to treasure.  That you can't look so far into the future that you can't love the time you are in.  

How many certified teachers with so many students in their care, can add that to my son's education?

Answer 24

Let us not stop at that.  Let the government put a stop to the foolishness of letting people with IQ's less than 120 have children.   All people who are in less than perfect health could be exterminated.  The religion of each state should be legally changed to Humanism since that is the religion taught in the public schools.  

Children could be put in classes that would equip them for particular jobs with the government controlled society and there would not be any freedom to choose since only the government would know what was best for each person.

I am not a prophet of doom, but we are on our way to your kind of society in America.   It makes me sad.

Answer 25

I am a public school teacher.  Certified.  And there is no way a "certificate" is going to make someone qualified to teach or not.  Research shows that the smaller the learner pool, the less amazing the teacher has to be.

MEANING: Most real learning takes place outside of the public school anyway.  Homeschooling can be a very viable alternative.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for America's education reform.

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