That's right. School is *not* just book learning. But there have been so many instances of one or two unruly students in the public school system ruining a field trip for the rest of the class, many districts have decided to forgo field trips altogether. Every homeschooling parent I've ever talked to has told me that they make it a special point to take their child(ren) to museums, zoos, concerts, etc as part of their learning experience. Another big reason I'm in favor of homeschooling is that if your child excels in a given subject, as a parent you can make the choice to spend a little extra time immersing your child in that subject. Public school districts are basically hogtied by curriculum requirements, so they simply don't have any "extra" time to devote to ensuring that the slower children don't get left behind, and the brighter children don't get bored ( ... )

Amazing that you could write so much on a topic without bringing up your mother.

That's because anyone who's been following my LJ from the beginning already knows that she taught music in the public school system for over twenty years, and spent another four years after retiring from the public system teaching music in a private Lutheran school.

I've read your whole journal and this is the longest entry that is not full of stuff about your mother.

With the possible exception of one or two about how you know more than your doctors.

What makes sense to me is a mixture of public school and homeschooling. E.g. a really bright middle-schooler skips eighth grade, learns twice as much that year because he's/she's not being slowed down by a public school curriculum, and then enters high school better prepared for an honors/AP track. I think that could really put a student ahead, and maybe give him/her an early opportunity to learn how to stick to a self-designed study schedule (super helpful in college).