DDL on 20/7/2010 at 22:12
Quote Posted by CCCToad
My own take on the article: its most valid point is that both America's right and left are similar because they subscribe wholeheartedly to the belief that it is their prerogative to force their vision of life on the rest of the world, no matter whether they want it or not. There isn't that much difference between the Obama staffer who wants to force people to "say the right things" or be sent to prison and the Neocons who wanted to force Iraqis to be democratic.
My concern is when people start confusing "opinion" with "fact". 'Saying the right things' is opinion based. 'Stating correct facts' is not.
And that article is full of confidently stated incorrectness. Which I would say is a bad thing.
Plus I really don't think allowing policy to be dictated by the kind of crushingly stupid mouthbreathing inbred cretins that hold "tea parties" is a good idea. At all.
Though that last one may be left wing bias.
Enchantermon on 20/7/2010 at 22:14
Quote Posted by Thief13x
Please tell me you don't live in the states and therefore aren't aware of the public education situation here.
This. It certainly isn't the case with everyone, but when I see the kind of education that a lot of students are getting these days and from my day, I'm glad that I was homeschooled.
About the whole isolation thing: I was involved in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts when I was in school, and am now a proud Eagle Scout. I was involved a lot in my church youth group, went to at least two weeks of summer camp every year and interacted with the kids in my town. When we moved to NC, we found a homeschool association to join. My mom wanted me to get into sports, but I'm not into them. I do know, however, that many schools welcome homeschoolers onto their teams. There are many avenues that enable kids to intermingle in society while being homeschooled.
Being homeschooled, I am confident that I received a solid education (my mom, who has a Master's degree in Elementary Education by the way, was my teacher). By being homeschooled I was free to adjust my schedule if I needed to, I could take a break if I got frustrated and I could learn at my own pace and in my own way. In every subject except Math, I was a grade ahead of where I would have been in a public school. I graduated High School with a 4.0, graduated from Mid-Atlantic Christian University with an Associate in Bible and a 3.95 GPA, and in two days will graduate from ECPI College of Technology with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in Network Security with a 4.0. While I'm not going to sit here and say that no one who went to a public school can achieve this, I will humbly say that I think that I've proved that homeschooled kids are not dumb, and they certainly can do something worthwhile with their lives.
Shug on 21/7/2010 at 00:13
Congratulations Enchantermon, but honestly that says more about your own intelligence and work ethic than homeschooling vs public schooling.
Quote Posted by TBE
I care if he learns about why it's important to always be able to keep and bear arms.
Surely in the US sending him to a public school would be the most effective method to teach this
Chimpy Chompy on 21/7/2010 at 00:15
That's grand Chanty but no-one was claiming that every homeschooled kid is messed up or a failure. Question is, does it work on a regular basis?
Homeschooling tends to get a bad reputation - religious fundies trying to shelter their kids from ungodly ideas like the theory of evolution and acceptance of gays. Of course there are some sane people in there too.
I'd be interested to see the stats regarding how homeschooled kids perform, ideally vs others of similar socioeconomic backgrounds. (I suspect this will be a fairly middle class thing?)
Vivian on 21/7/2010 at 00:49
Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy
That's grand Chanty but no-one was claiming that every homeschooled kid is messed up or a failure.
Actually, I guess I was.
Kolya on 21/7/2010 at 01:33
Well that was probably going a bit far. But we can't tell for sure before fett's kids turn legal.
Muzman on 21/7/2010 at 01:39
Quote Posted by AR Master
"It's for the environment!"
'Caring about the environment is for pussies'
Enchantermon on 21/7/2010 at 01:40
Quote Posted by Shug
Congratulations Enchantermon, but honestly that says more about your own intelligence and work ethic than homeschooling vs public schooling.
My point was that homeschooling didn't stunt my ability to interact socially or my scholarly abilities.
You do bring up a good point, however. Like I said, just because I was homeschooled didn't magically grant me the ability to attain what I have. I had to work for it. If a kid doesn't have a proper work ethic and is lazy, then it doesn't matter whether they're homeschooled or not; they'll only do as well as they want to. Conversely, if they work hard and apply themselves, they can move mountains academically, homeschooled or not.
TBE on 21/7/2010 at 02:33
Quote Posted by Stitch
TBE is making the case against home schooling rather well, I think.
Sorry, I am not psychic, you'll have to form a question or statement so we can infer something. I was not home schooled, nor do I teach anyone in my home. So your ganging up on TafferBoy bears little weight on my fragile emotions.
I didn't agree that everyone should be home schooled and kept out of schools, I basically said I support people's choice to do so. I can look at other people in my culture and support their differences.
Thief13x on 21/7/2010 at 02:57
Quote Posted by Enchantermon
While I'm not going to sit here and say that no one who went to a public school can achieve this, I will humbly say that I think that I've proved that homeschooled kids are not dumb, and they certainly can do something worthwhile with their lives.
I will humbly sit here and say you are a lucky mofo. Congrats on graduation, I hope ya do well and make some $$$$:).
I would sincerely challenge any anit-homeschool folks to present a good reason as to why avoiding this country's current abomination of an excuse for education is a bad thing.
Homeschooling may not be the ultimate answer, but at least it's an option available to those who would rather see their kids as engineers rather than cooks at the local Wendy's
