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.
Having said that, I do understand that not all homeschooling is created equal. I'm not in favor of a total immersion in a particular religious dogma being called "homeschooling", if the point is that "the bible is all my child needs to know". I'm also aware that not every parent is capable of homeschooling, either because of work/time constraints, or because a well-meaning parent simply doesn't have a clue how to successfully teach a given subject. But at this point in time there are so many online resources out there that even if a parent initially feels overwhelmed, a little online research should at least give them an idea of how to get started. I know several local districts here even hand out pamphlets to parents who want to homeschool, so the parents know what knowledge/skills need to be gained at each grade level.
You're right. It's not all about "book learning". And not every parent is cut out to be able to effectively homeschool their child. But I never meant to suggest that homeschooling vs public school is a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" proposition.
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.
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).
Most of the homeschooling parents I've talked to over the years stopped homeschooling around the time their child was going to start HS. The older your child gets, the harder it is to teach them a given subject, unless the subject is something the parent did/does for a living. So when their kid gets to be about 14, the child takes the test which lets the school district know what grade level to put them in, then the parents can choose to put them in either public or private school.
Having said that, I do understand that not all homeschooling is created equal. I'm not in favor of a total immersion in a particular religious dogma being called "homeschooling", if the point is that "the bible is all my child needs to know". I'm also aware that not every parent is capable of homeschooling, either because of work/time constraints, or because a well-meaning parent simply doesn't have a clue how to successfully teach a given subject. But at this point in time there are so many online resources out there that even if a parent initially feels overwhelmed, a little online research should at least give them an idea of how to get started. I know several local districts here even hand out pamphlets to parents who want to homeschool, so the parents know what knowledge/skills need to be gained at each grade level.
You're right. It's not all about "book learning". And not every parent is cut out to be able to effectively homeschool their child. But I never meant to suggest that homeschooling vs public school is a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" proposition.
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