heywood on 4/9/2009 at 01:30
Around here, there's relatively little home schooling but a relatively large number of secular private schools. They ain't cheap, but neither is housing in a town with good public schools. I'm sometimes amazed how people here will mortgage themselves right to the breaking point to live in a better school district.
I'm also puzzled why the cost of education in my area seems to have doubled in the last 10 years or so, even though the student population isn't growing and teacher pay has only grown half that fast.
Aerothorn on 4/9/2009 at 03:43
"Jigsaw-Jimmy" is easilly one of the dumbest names I have ever heard. That kid will be destroyed in grade school.
Muzman on 4/9/2009 at 03:48
...and grow up to be a serial killer.
You see it now?
PigLick on 4/9/2009 at 04:27
I just assume all kids are potential serial killers and take it from there.
june gloom on 4/9/2009 at 22:25
Quote Posted by fett
I think you're still in the 1980's. I live in NW Arkansas and just today signed my kids up for a local co-op w/ about 200 other families. There were the usual Jesus crazies, but I'd say about half of them are either ambivalent toward the religion factor, or determined "secular" homeschoolers, like us. Lots of teens with long hair, band t-shirts, (one with dreadlocks), dads with beer logo shirts, and a lot of hippie types.
I dunno, man. I looked up the surveys held by the US Department of Education and as recently as 2007, 83% of the families of the estimated ~1.5 million homeschooled students in the US said the ability to provide religious or moral instruction was a big reason for home schooling, up from 72% as recently as 2003. (deep breath) When asked which factor (among several others, like public school environments) was the most important, religion was the top at 36%.
I realize that does not necessarily mean that they're Conservapedia-lovin' Jesus freaks, but it does raise interesting questions as to whether my viewpoint is still valid or not. And for what it's worth, you yourself basically said only half of the gathering you were at was
not Jesus Crazy, which of course leads to the implication that the other half
is, and at ~50%, that's a lot of Jesus Crazy.
fett on 4/9/2009 at 23:16
Yeah, lots of Jesus crazy going on out there in homeschool land for sure, but don't read too much into "morality" being a reason. I considered it a "moral" issue when my 2nd grader's teacher told them that they all had to be friends because her class "is a family." I promptly explained to her that the class being "a family" is 1) bullshit, and 2) a crazy justification for making them get along with each other. Kids steal from each other, bully one another, etc. - that's not a family, and if it is, you write those fuckers off and quit spending the holidays with them, right? Or you deal with it physically (if it comes to that) but YOU get in trouble for throwing a punch, despite the fact that the adults were too lazy to intervene and supervise the situation. Those are all moral issues to me that have nothing to do with religion. What I saw during my three years of volunteering on a daily basis in the public school institution was morally reprehensible. Kids with severe behavior problems are rewarded for acting good for one day (sometimes for one hour) and the kids who behave all the time are ignored because they don't cause problems - both in the disciplinary sense and academically. I could see my son putting this all together and realizing that if he wanted the teacher's attention, rewards, or to distinguish himself from everyone else, the obvious solution is to cause problems. Moral issue.
But I get what you're saying - 50% is an incorrect estimate, though it may be accurate for our particular co-op. All I know is there's a lot of "secular" homeschool families in my area and we avoid the religious ones like the plague if at all possible. Some of the religious ones are cool and can have a normal conversation without all the Jesus-speak, but they are few and far between. As much as I hate to say it, we just steer clear when we can to avoid the inevitable insanity.
june gloom on 4/9/2009 at 23:27
Granted. But given the huge percentage as well as anecdotal observations (my own, yours, and others), it's only fair to assume that when they say "moral instruction" they mean "DON'T BE GAY" and similar things.
I realize I bash homeschooling a lot, and I feel I have valid reasons for it, but I have to give you kudos for being an exception. From your anecdotes you strike me as an excellent parent as well.
AR Master on 5/9/2009 at 00:28
my kids will never darken the doorway of any public school i can guarantee you, no fucking lazy ass union carded liberal teacher is going to force their radicalist agendas down my kids' throats, I'm not having my sons get expelled for taking an aspirin or punching some kid in the fucking chops for threatening him
why would you stick your kids around bored academics all day so they can talk about how numbers make them feel and "learn" that everyone is great when you can have them running around outside and pumping them full of moral fortitude (the schools don't and most parents sure as shit dont) and material untainted by the stench of ivory tower academia. I sure won't and will skullfuck any pussy who turns their nose any perceived degree at it
RavynousHunter on 5/9/2009 at 00:58
Wow, what the hell, dude?
AR Master on 5/9/2009 at 01:09
you sass talkin me boy
