I've never met a dumb home-schooled kid

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Carlsbad ex wrote:

If the federal government would have kept their hands out of local public schools, then the schools would have been able to teach children subject matter as local boards and the states saw fit. But no, they have to pander to every group and special interest that comes along as well as having to feed, babysit, discipline, etc.
Would have had entirely different results.
But, there are good small school around and they are in smaller districts that allow schools to teach.

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elementary teacher wrote:

I have taught 5th grade for several years and usually have a tough time receiving home schooled students. Their lowest area is usually writing, with math coming in a close second. Students usually have a rough time working for any consistent amount of time, not that we are slave drivers, or anything. I think home schooling is a really nice idea IF parents are able to provide sufficient instruction, but we so have some social issues (passing gas, nose picking) since rules at home are often different from school.

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elementary teacher wrote:

I have taught 5th grade for several years and usually have a tough time receiving home schooled students. Their lowest area is usually writing, with math coming in a close second. Students usually have a rough time working for any consistent amount of time, not that we are slave drivers, or anything. I think home schooling is a really nice idea IF parents are able to provide sufficient instruction, but we so have some social issues (passing gas, nose picking) since rules at home are often different from school.

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Carlsbad ex wrote:

If the federal government would have kept their hands out of local public schools, then the schools would have been able to teach children subject matter as local boards and the states saw fit. But no, they have to pander to every group and special interest that comes along as well as having to feed, babysit, discipline, etc.
Would have had entirely different results.
But, there are good small school around and they are in smaller districts that allow schools to teach.

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IggyKat wrote:

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Agree, with all of the above. I didn't realize that portfolio based assessments were still being utilized. I haven't really seen this in any of my kiddos' classrooms. Either they just haven't showed them to me yet, or my kiddos are not being evaluated in this way. I do get to see all of the different test scores and such, but not anything that would be considered a portfolio. Thanks for the input!

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IggyKat wrote:

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Since when is passing gas and picking your nose a social issue in elementary school? They are kids for crying out loud. If you had said they were distruptive, fighting, or using obscenities I could have agreed with the whole statement. Those aren't social issues, those are kids being kids. We should expect our children to learn how to behave and have manners, but they are not robots.

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Radical Teacher wrote:

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I don't understand how people judge these posts...how can someone disagree with your experience? Portfolios are more suitable for kids from about fifth grade on...prior to that, they're not quite ready. I don't like to admit it, but some teachers are too lazy to use portfolios or other complex assessments and rely on easier methods. Good teachers are assessing all the time--look in a kid's eyes and have a conversation and you can tell what they understand and don't understand. I've had a broad range of experiences with both home-schooled kids and those who have attended private schools but were kicked out when either their academics or their behavior was out of line with what was accepted in the school. The only time I would choose to home school is if my child had a serious medical condition or was being bullied on the mean streets of middle school...I was fortunate not to have either of those situations with my kid. Other people make different choices, which is just one of the cool things about America.

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IggyKat wrote:

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It is the legislation. The No Child Left Behind Act, while good intentioned, has created a mess. Most teachers are teaching to the test and just trying to get the scores they need to keep their jobs. Teachers should be held accountable, but not for teaching a child how to memorize facts and guess true or false or fill in the bubble. There are three teachers in my family in different areas of New Mexico and they are all saying the same thing, No Child Left Behind has screwed up our system pretty badly. We need to teach the basics, reading and math, but we also need to teach critical thinking skills, history, social studies, and geography. Because reading and math are so high up on the NMSBA scale, that is all that is taught and the other stuff only comes in if they have enough time left over. It is completely unbalanced. Again, strong parental involvement is always the key to any child's education, no matter where that might be.

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stopTAGGING ourWALLS wrote:

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The concept is/was very well intentioned. It had all the ear marks of a well thought
out battle plan, but the execution was like so liberal that the weak neck of
execution could not hold up the oversized head of reality.
I personally know a husband and wife (man and a woman) who raised six children
and homeschooled them all. 4 of them are attending university and 2 have graduated from college with advanced degrees. Absolutely impressive as the money earning parents are average blue-collar employees working outside of the home.
I can be done and the pomp and circumstance of modern education just seems to
be driven by the overabundance of mountains of money but it can certainly be
done with will and persistence for excellence and simple caring with respect
for the elders ad personal responsibility for one's actions/consequence.
Teachers that can't be fired because of their super-unions, need to be removed and
put where their actual skills fit their appropriate students needs.
I am equally amazed that some of these working teachers actually graduated with professional teaching degrees. Some I've met would make fine realtors or folding towels and sheets in any department store. I said some, not all....who possibly make up the dynamic of 30% of student drop-outs.
They are handed an approved teaching curriculum to carry out, and dumb kids are passed along anyway with advanced cell phone and video gaming skills.
They CAN be taught.