Homeschooling parents: what is the main problem with conventional school, and how would you fix it?

Question

My wife and I take turns homeschooling our 3-year old son, we each work 3 weekdays. The biggest problem for me was that suicide bombers often target schools, so I feel that he is safer at home.

Answer 1

It's also arrogant, demi-god teachers, rules about the bell.  You duck into a class 3 second after the bell and you can face suspension.  Why?  We're not talking 10 minutes but 3 seconds!

Denial of opportunity based on GPA or pre-reqs that don't count.  Such as having a high GPA to be a media services worker.  What does a GPA have to do with projectors, tape recorders, rentals films.  

Media services is a profession and someone with a poor GPA who can't make it in college can work in that filed with some experience!

The inability to take things like computer programming if you don't pass algebra.  While computer programming does have some basis in Algebra, Trig and Geometry, you don't need to be skilled in math to do programming and programming helps develop skills in algebra!

So it's silly, arbitrary rules that don't affect the STAR QUATERBACK who has the prom queen as a girl friend, even if he gets straight Ds in all classes!

Right here at Y/A there was a 17 year old girl crying because she completed ALL her AP and Honors classes by grade 11 and was FORCED to stay in school in study hall and baby classes because the RULES say a diploma is only given to a 12th grader

Meanwhile here in HS section 16 year olds get accepted to Stanford University.

So, the silly, arbitrary rules of brick school can be another factor.

Answer 2

You cant actually fix public school unless you have an enormous amount of money to fix the teacher to student ratio. Also, sucide bombers don't usually hit schools, where did you get that???

Edit: sorry, i read your profile and realized you now live in Israel. I have some relatives there. It's tough there...

Answer 3

For us, the reason our son is HS'ed (but daughter is in public school) is because everyone in a class of 20-30 kids is "leveled".  The teacher cannot teach in each child's individual learning style, or speed.  So kids who take awhile to learn get left behind (in spite of the No Child Left Behind law) and the kids who need more challenges are stuck in with the "pack".

So since our son needs different grade levels of coursework, and the ability to go at his own pace, he is HS'ed b/c until public/private schools start grouping kids by ability level in all subjects instead of by age, B&M school will not work for him.

Answer 4

I dont think you can "fix" the conventional education system.  It is an artificial environment with curriculums based on what politicians and comittees feel children should learn, based on an assumed average ability.  It was NEVER going to work.  The fact is that ALL children are better off learning from the people who know them best.  I know not everyone can homeschool, I do see the need for educational institutions, but homeschool (including for socialisation) when done properly will always be a better option.

Answer 5

Well, bombers did not factor into our reasons for homeschooling. (Though perhaps I should have since we live in the community that was home to the Heath school shooting.) We began homeschooling because our child was not learning in public school and the schools answer was to heavily drug my child with no regard for her health. It turns out she just needed a change of venue.

The short answer to this question is, the system is outdated and I would do nothing. I think homeschool is the absolute best option for my family. Even if the public schools were sterling here, I would continue to homeschool.

Answer 6

We home school for a thousand different reasons but I think the thing that I like best about homeschooling is I can tailor my children's education to what works best for them.  We choose where, when, how, and with what curriculum.  Most importantly, we can take as long or as little time as we need.

There's no way for any conventional school to match that.  Teachers have an incredibly hard job.  Mine is easy - I know my children better than anyone else and so it's much easier for me to fit their education to their strengths and their weaknesses.

Answer 7

Well, I think there are several problems with public schools in the US (I don't know the details about other schools, but yep, suicide bombers would rule them out for us as well)...they go from the district all the way to the national level, and I don't actually know that they're ever going to get "fixed".

Many public schools are fairly good, some are excellent, and some are truly horrid.  However, no matter how good a school is, it can't feasibly tailor a curriculum for every child - so those who don't fit the classroom logistics are somehow going to get left out.  My son is one of those kids - highly gifted and dyslexic - and the schools where we live just aren't able to accomodate him.  So, we homeschool.

There are a lot of reasons to homeschool, as every child is different.  Some kids do very well in school, and some don't.  There should be choices for each.

Answer 8

WASTE:

of minds

freedom

money

time

Send in experts (parents, etc..) to monitor every class for what the true parts of the education are versus the parts that are simply to run the machine that is called school.

Answer 9

We have a relatively good system and now big problems with violence.

The main problem we have is that our kid did not learn there.  He did not qualify for learning disability and they said he was performing at his potential.    

The teachers all said he did well in small groups and with one on one attention.   We did not want to send him 8 hours to public school and then pay Sylvan the big dollars to teach him....so we just decided to homeschool.   That made more sense because we just teach him in the way he best learns.

It works.

Answer 10

I would like to see more multi-age classrooms--at least 3-year splits, like Montessori schools. More programs available for those who need to go a different pace.

Actually, one of the primary problems today is the governments thinking that testing proves anything and requiring all public schooled students to meet some arbitrary standard according to their age. The educational aspect of school would improve greatly if government understood what it actually means to be educated.

Answer 11

Remove the fear and guilt that is taught to the children. I finally had it when the school decided to teach my 10 year old child about self mutilation to feel better. It was a hour lesson in health class. I found out about it after the lesson was taught.

Answer 12

Overall, I think conventional schools are places where a lot of time is wasted and where the majority is forced to fit in a certain mold. Logistically, I don't really see any other way to educate the masses when you have approximately 1 teacher to 20-30 students.

I see the odds in favor of the kids with homeschooling, where the teacher/student ratio is considerably better, allowing for more one on one instruction.

I think a way to begin to fix the system here in the USA is to reduce class size and also group the students more by ability, rather than age.