What's Wrong With Homeschooling?
The Illinois Family Institute's e-mail update of the week contains an article written by Rhonda Robinson, a Douglas County native who is homeschooling her nine children.
Here's the lede:
Would you believe the earth was created on Oct. 23, 4004 B.C.?
The age and origins of the earth has been a hot debate for centuries, and remains in full swing today.
Um, well, no Rhonda. I don't believe the earth was created on October 23, 4004 B.C. Actually, I'm kind of shocked to find out that anyone could. I'm guessing they must not have The Discovery Channel in Douglas County. Or Nova. Or books.
And I guess it depends on what you mean by "hot debate." Based on the fossil evidence, its universally accepted in the scientific community that a meteor struck Central America 67 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs.
Based on radiometric dating of lead isotopes, as well as meteorites and their remnants, the age of the earth and the solar system is believed to be 4.55 billion years old, plus or minus 50 million years.
Of course, Creationists dispute that, just as they dispute evolution.
Here's a good explanation of why they're wrong on the age of the earth.
Here's a good explanation of why they're wrong on evolution.
Now, can someone explain to me how any kid in Illinois can earn a high school diploma without understanding these basic scientific facts? Or more importantly, that science requires that a hypothesis be testable and the results be reproducable, and that no hypothesis can ever be absolutely proven, only disproven, but once the results are reproduced often enough, they become generally accepted fact?
27 comments:
*YAWN*
I bet you won't be yawning when the Creationist doctor is operating on you.
Wow, I didn’t realize that all you needed to become a surgeon in Illinois was a high school diploma.
Your example is off target. Here is why.
First, 10s of 1000s of Illinois kids get an awful education for obscene amounts of money, and probably can't add, subtract or read as well as most home schooled kids. An 18 year old who can't read beyond the 5th grade level is a far worse outcome than a home schooled kid thinking the earth is 4-6000 years old, and there are 1000s of them roaming the streets.
Second, children belong to their parents, not the state. Hence, they have the right to educate as they see fit.
Third, parent rights supercede the state's.
Fourth, parent rights supercede the state's.
Fifth, parent rights supercede the state's.
Sixth, Emil, Mikey, Rod, Todd & Richie's belief that this state can withstand never ending amounts of taxation, pension piggery, payroll waste and abuse, and outright legalized corruption, is at least as absurd as the earth being 6000 years old.
They (Emil, Mikey, Rod, Todd & Richey) are far more of a danger to our society than a creationist mom teaching her kid what she wants to.
Seventh, parent rights supercede the state's.
Parents right supercede the state's?
That's just not the case and it fact, it is ridiculous.
Are you really claiming that parents have a right to beat their children? To sell them? Of course not. Of course the state can impose controls over parents.
Skeeter,
Your comment is so ignorant, one would think that YOU were homeschooled. Protections from beatings and sale are rights of the CHILD or person, NOT the right of the state. Duh.
These arguments over the age of the earth are left over from a 19th century notion of time.
Here's from Scientific American on the 21st Century's notion,
In daily life we divide time into three parts: past, present and future. The grammatical structure of language revolves around this fundamental distinction. Reality is associated with the present moment. The past we think of as having slipped out of existence, whereas the future is even more shadowy, its details still unformed. In this simple picture, the "now" of our conscious awareness glides steadily onward, transforming events that were once in the unformed future into the concrete but fleeting reality of the present, and thence relating them to the fixed past.
Obvious though this commonsense description may seem, it is seriously at odds with modern physics. Albert Einstein famously expressed this point when he wrote to a friend, "The past, present and future are only illusions, even if stubborn ones." Einstein's startling conclusion stems directly from his special theory of relativity, which denies any absolute, universal significance to the present moment. According to the theory, simultaneity is relative. Two events that occur at the same moment if observed from one reference frame may occur at different moments if viewed from another.
Chew on this a bit, and the age-of-the-earth debate between Creationist and 19th Century Scientists doesn't seem too important.
The real question becomes how well are our schools preparing kids for 21st century science? Maybe a home school kid would be in pretty good shape... I suspect they would now their arithmetic and multipication tables better...
I'm not sure if the "books" insult was necessarily fair here.
It appears this tidbit on the history of the world comes from a home-schooling popularized "history book": Annals of the World
It is the history of the world based on Biblical references and other ancient texts that, according to those pushing the book, have often been destroyed over time, making the book's findings impossible to reproduce.
I'd wager its accuracy would be in the same league as an Iranian state-sponsored textbook on the history of Israel.
Books alone cannot cure ignorance when blind acceptance and wholesale disregard of conflicting information is at work.
Fenway seems to be a real articulate person who knows how to speak his mind in a non-offensive way. Maybe he was home schooled too?
//First, 10s of 1000s of Illinois kids get an awful education for obscene amounts of money, and probably can't add, subtract or read as well as most home schooled kids. An 18 year old who can't read beyond the 5th grade level is a far worse outcome than a home schooled kid thinking the earth is 4-6000 years old, and there are 1000s of them roaming the streets.//
There's also the point that most Americans do not accept evolution. Since homeschooled children make up just 2 percent of the American student population we have to assume it's some other educational institution that is completely failing those people when it comes to a science education, nevermind redaing and math.
Hmmmm...Wonder what that educational institution might be.
I wonder if homeschooling just make an easy scapegoat so that the failings of that other educational institution can be swept under the rug.
Yellow Dog, remember that 30% of the current Republic Party Presidential candidates think that the world was created in its present form within the past 10,000 years.
(Yes, I know that Brownback dropped, but Keyes is in! :-) )
So, why should we hold this woman to a higher standard? What the heck, her kids could always get into Bob Jones or Liberty University!
Can someone explain to me how any kid an earn a high school diploma without understanding basic US geography? Apparently, it happens quite often, unless the National Geographic study, released last year, that showed 1/3 of 18-24 year olds couldn't find Louisiana on a US map had a survey sample skewed heavily towards drop-outs and flunkies.
At 2:05 PM, Dawn said...
"There's also the point that most Americans do not accept evolution. Since homeschooled children make up just 2 percent of the American student population... I wonder if homeschooling just make an easy scapegoat so that the failings of that other educational institution can be swept under the rug."
The Westboro Baptist Church kids aren't homeschooled either... but I hardly find that to be convincing evidence that it's the schools there failing them.
If anything your point and this fact helps show that being raised in an environment that encourages ignoring conflicting information to their belief system only results in making it almost impossible for schools to correct ignorance.
Homeschooling isn't the problem. Destroying a child's ability to think objectively is.
The debate about homeschooling comes down to this: how important is the right (and duty) of parents to act as PRIMARY educators of the children to the survival of a free society? Ultimately, all parents homeschool; the only difference is in whether they do it full-time or delegate some of that responsibility to other persons or to a public or private institution. A landmark Supreme Court decision in 1925 (regarding an Oregon law that would have effectively outlawed private schooling) stated clearly that children are not "mere creatures of the state."
Yes, some parents -- far too many -- abdicate their duty and abuse their right to be their children's primary educators. Those who do so in an extreme manner (physical or sexual abuse, neglect, etc) merit having that right curbed or taken away in their case. But we CANNOT take that right away from ALL parents just because some abuse it. A good school (public or private) never loses sight of the fact that it's working FOR the parents, not the other way around.
I say this as the parent of an autistic daughter who was successfully homeschooled for 2 1/2 years and is now in a (very good) public school.
I should add that while this may be heresy to a lot of fellow homeschoolers, I don't think it would be unreasonable for the state to implement some kind of rudimentary oversight or accountability for homeschoolers, although I do understand their fear of the government dictating to them what they can and can't teach.
homeschooling isn't free. It is the most expensive form of education.
You have to take into account the lost income when looking at a homeschooling parent.
Teacher salaries start out in the $30k range, and $40k in the Chicago area.
With a class-size of one, you are effectively spending a minimum of $30k to teach that kid(about 4 times what schools spend otherwise), plus you are still paying taxes for education.
If the State spent that much to teach each kid, you would probably see similar results.
I don't know about you, but I know a lot of people who really wouldn't have wanted to spend all that time with "mommy" .... and I can't imagine it being that healthy for ME to spend all that time with them, either. The people I know who home school their kids (I only know a handful) seem to be more concerned with a sort of "contamination" by popular society rather than with educational quality.
No matter how hard I try, I can never get into the debate re: home schooling. I'd guess that the greater portion of the US have the same problem.
If you want to home school your kids, then you should be able to do so--i.e., you should have the right and hopefully, the ability to do so.
If the kid turns out fine in that he can think, appreciate diversity, and grow up to become a successful adult who can get along with others, great. If he can't and it's by design, then he'll probably be happiest right where he is.
Don't forget that while living on an island without the luxuries we're afforded may seem tough, most natives wouldn't have it any other way if given a choice. If a native who hasn't been exposed to anything else, is pushed or decides to move to New York at some point, then there's no telling where his preparedness (or lack thereof) will take him and, directly or indirectly, his parent.
To 6:55 Anonymous, there is something to be said for protecting children from some of the "contaminations" of popular society until they are of an age to recognize why they are harmful and have the mental and emotional ability to resist them. However, while fundamentalist Christians seeking a religious-based education seem to be the "face" of the homeschooling movement, there are many other reasons why parents may choose homeschooling:
-special learning needs that public schools aren't meeting (that's why we homeschooled our daughter, she needs lots of one-on-one and didn't do well in a crowded and busy classroom when she was young);
-a desire for flexibility (homeschoolers don't have to arrange their work, vacations, etc. around the school schedule, and they don't have to fret about finding a home in the "right" school district);
- the ability to mix with people of all ages.
By the way, homeschoolers can and do socialize very well, through homeschooling support groups, community service, groups like Scouts and 4-H, etc. Some homeschool groups have co-op teaching arrangements whereby parents take turns teaching different subjects.
Again, there are many good reasons for homeschooling that have nothing to do with a particular religion. But as I said before, all parents are (or should be) homeschoolers regardless of how much time their children spend in a school, in much the same way that all parents are "working" parents whether or not they hold a job outside the home.
Well, apparently enough Creationist kids graduate from high school to fill the classrooms at Illinois' Wheaton College. (I think their official position is still Creationist.)
Even at my daughter's suburban Lutheran grade school, evolution was treated with a big "oh, isn't there something else we could talk about?"
But I think you're wrong in one respect -- while I think everyone agrees that the meteor in Central America happened, hence the K-T boundary, there still seems to be hot debate on whether that was the sole cause, or even the primary cause, of the dinosaurs' demise.
Anyway, don't we evolutionists believe they didn't die out -- they became birds?
If you don't like the archaic views of the Far Right, then you must outlaw not only homeschooling, but also church attendance and religious schools so that you can stamp those unscientific notions out. A bit unConstitutional, maybe?
What does religious fundamentalism necessarily have to do with homeschooling?
The fastest-growing group of homeschoolers now is the secular variety...those of us who homeschool because we dislike the inanity of NCLB, we don't want our kids bullied or abused, and we want our kids to be able to study at their own level, not at the level-deemed-appropriate-for-kids-who-are-9.3 by some bureaucrat in Washington.
"f the kid turns out fine in that he can think, appreciate diversity, and grow up to become a successful adult who can get along with others"
If your definition of "fine" is to "appreciate diversity" rather than learn how to read, write, and calculate, I suppose that you define success down as far as you like.
JBP
"What does religious fundamentalism necessarily have to do with homeschooling?"
I love that commment. For all the talk on the far right about things like morality, they sure feel comfortable lying through their teeth when convenient.
Now, can someone explain to me how any kid in Illinois can earn a high school diploma without understanding these basic scientific facts?
I didn't learn a lot of things in high school that other people probably think are pretty important, but that's beside the point.
The answer to the question above is simple: Illinois has some of the most lax homeschool laws in the country. Basically, the only requirement is to notify the regional superintendent of education that you intend to educate your child at home. That is not a high standard to uphold.
I say this as the parent of an autistic daughter who was successfully homeschooled for 2 1/2 years and is now in a (very good) public school.
Then maybe you didn't find the really good part of a homeschooling lifestyle in that short time. It's finding the best educational route for each one of your children.
I couldn't find that personalized quality in any school; private or public.
I should add that while this may be heresy to a lot of fellow homeschoolers, I don't think it would be unreasonable for the state to implement some kind of rudimentary oversight or accountability for homeschoolers, although I do understand their fear of the government dictating to them what they can and can't teach.
Who's going to determine who is an unacceptable homeschooler or not? The state? The schools? And their record is a real attribute to hold up as a quality standard. sarcasm mode off
I'm glad you found a good fit for your child, whether it was homeschooling or a public school.
What I wish is that people who despise the testing and NCLB mandates from Bush (and Ted Kennedy) would find it in their hearts (and brains) to be a little more open minded and stop wishing NCLB mandates on homeschoolers.
Do people really suppose that parents who are brave enough to go against the societal norm and happily ignorant people like skeeter are planning on screwing up their kids' education?
Illinois has some of the most lax homeschool laws in the country. Basically, the only requirement is to notify the regional superintendent of education that you intend to educate your child at home. That is not a high standard to uphold.
You must work for the schools. You don't know the law but state misinformation like they're facts. It's even more "lax" than that. :-) I like to think of it as letting families have even more autonomy than most states.
We do NOT have to notify the ROE of anything as my never schooled kids are not on any notification or registration forms of any sort. If homeschoolers are leaving the schools, then yes, families do need to let the school know they're not truant but are moving on to a private school.
Again, not a high standard to uphold?! For who; the family and most importantly, the child? Or do you mean it's not a high standard to uphold for the school folks to stay in business?
I'd like to point out an unfortunate fact. I do know of several cases in which parents have said they were homeschooling, but in fact they didn't do a thing after pulling their kids out of public school. I'm especially thinking of one boy, who is now about 19 and has no diploma, and doesn't have enough knowledge to so much as get a GED. Sure, the local junior college offers some classes to help him learn enough to get his GED, but the kid has basically lost interest in education at this point. He's been out of the school mode for many years now. I don't know why parents would do such a thing to their kids ... but the fact is, a few are in fact doing this.
Anonymous, I'm thinking about many, many kids who are 19 and w/o a diploma. Their only option was the public school and drop out (or pushout) status.
What do you suppose the percentages are comparably with homeschooling as opposed to the public school's percentage?
Who's going to be footing the bill for the public school failures? I guess I should raise my hand as I am a taxpayer.
"I do know of several cases in which parents have said they were homeschooling, but in fact they didn't do a thing after pulling their kids out of public school. I'm especially thinking of one boy, who is now about 19 and has no diploma, and doesn't have enough knowledge to so much as get a GED."
Guess what? This happens in our public schools too.
You should take a look at John Stossel's "Stupid in America" (on youtube). It's really eye opening. Amazing how the boy who could hardly read kept being promoted to the next grade while his mother was begging for the schools to help him. You know what worked? Stossel arranged for some tutoring (same direct instruction principles as good homeschooling)and the boy improved by leaps and bounds (measurable, quantifiable leaps and bounds). Nevertheless, the public school wasted years of his life, loads of tax payer money, and set him up to be a non-productive member of society.
Wake up sheeples, the schools are failing our kids and it takes courage to admit it and even more courage to actually do something about it.
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