In The News

[Topazora]

there are plenty of good private schools out there if he has the money to pay the tuition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrNluXrrHKY#

Holy Shit!  I feel bad for the owners of those cars.  I would've cried if I were watching my car fall into a landslide, but at least no one was hurt.

[SM]

there are plenty of good private schools out there if he has the money to pay the tuition

Most people can't, and many private schools aren't worth anything like what they charge.

[Rong]

We all know private schools are less about teaching and more about social status and connections SM.

[SM]

Quite so old bean, fa-fa fa-faahh.

[DoomRulz]

looks like the forum somehow posted my comment before I typed everything

And yes, source is questionable.

http://www.cornwallcommunitynews.co.uk/2013/08/03/female-teachers-marking-down-boys/

Apart from math, I always knew writing assignments were graded subjectively (It was obvious to me, and I thought everyone knew this as well...and I wonder how this works on standardized tests... you can't tell me scores wouldn't vary depending on the person grading creative/prompt writing).

And for what it's worth, I don't think either gender on average is doing very hot across the board. School, it would seem, no longer places any emphasis on actual learning, just tests. I say give the system lipo, except don't suck the fat out; chop it off. One can wish for a mighty educational cleaver of reform, can't they? 

In a nutshell, I think public education is slow, inefficient, out of touch (bordering on irrelevant), and even damaging. I would never purposefully subject any kids of my own to it.

So what?  Homeschool?

It could be a great idea, depending on the student. A director I work with once every so often homeschools his son and he's one of the sharpest kids I know.

[Kimarhi]

My cousin got homeschooled and hated it. He was a social person and being away from his bros nearly drove him up the wall.  Then when he went back to public school he spent half the school year catching back up because they were much further along than he was.  He hated it.

I've heard other people like it though.  I was a public school kid all the way.  One of my best friends went to private school and the classes were harder and the education better but it didn't prepare him for dealing with all us normal kids in college.  He was used to the prep school life and we he got put back in with the rest of us he lost his way in college and got kicked out of UK.  He hasn't went back for any higher education since this happened.

They all have their ups and downs, I think public school kids just deal with life better even if their education isn't as good.  Public school kid with street smarts.  Bucked the ACT and SAT and just took a college entry exam that was thirty questions.

[Cvalda]

Virtually every person I've known who was homeschooled was the child of some right wing zealot. NOT TO SAY MOST HOMESKOOKLED KIDS ARE BLAH BLAH BLAH, just my experience.

Public school is necessary, I think. You don't really learn much of anything and it is usually a hellish experience, but it prepares you for the bullshit you'll face later on and helps you guage social dynamics, etc. Can't get that sitting at home in a pampered nest with your parents.

[Kimarhi]

ummm hhhmmmm

[BANE]

Virtually every person I've known who was homeschooled was the child of some right wing zealot. NOT TO SAY MOST HOMESKOOKLED KIDS ARE BLAH BLAH BLAH, just my experience.

Public school is necessary, I think. You don't really learn much of anything and it is usually a hellish experience, but it prepares you for the bullshit you'll face later on and helps you guage social dynamics, etc. Can't get that sitting at home in a pampered nest with your parents.

Haha nope.

[Kimarhi]

We are speaking from the American experience.  Canada is a more civilized place. 

[Sabby]

As someone who had to develop social skills as an adult, I can see where Cvalda is coming from. I did go to school but I didn't interact much. I wouldn't say that public school is necessary, just that a social upbringing is a huge deal, and school is one of the most common ways to go through that.

[Kimarhi]

A fair point.

[Xeno Killer 2179]

there are plenty of good private schools out there if he has the money to pay the tuition

Most people can't, and many private schools aren't worth anything like what they charge.

Exactly.

Whether the curriculum is better, whether classes are smaller so teachers can give more individual attention, and whether or not it better prepares students, I also worry what kind of message and mentality these places promote.

I got enough of the "YOU MUST SUCCEED!" "YOU MUST GO TO COLLEGE!" "YOU MUST STUDY STUDY STUDY FOR SAT" "A 4 YEAR DEGREE MEANS YOU EARN ONE MILLION MORE OVER YOUR LIFETIME" bullshit from good ole' public school.

I imagine that kind of elitism that's invaded the social consciousness would be strongest there. Excellent if it produces a happy, capable person. Disastrous if it creates an unhappy overachieving workaholic yuppy.

So what?  Homeschool?

Yes, with some exceptions.

At the moment I think there's too much social decay to expose a developing mind to. I wouldn't have a problem sending a kid off to public school if the kinks were straightened out in the next 10-20 years, or I found the ideal culture/community. I'm not looking to bubble wrap my kids; I just don't want them consuming cheese fries and coke every day and then getting yelled at in 4th period by some sweaty lard ass riding a high horse. That, or getting in trouble for doing the right thing. As it is, I would either have to be their teacher, or heavily involved in their learning.

I'm 20 so I can't say if I want children yet, but as long as we're talking about being a parent, I may as well wait until I've done everything I wanted to do that's best done beforehand and I can provide every advantage possible.

My bio dad was an anonymous sperm donor, so it was literally fire and forget for him. It still blows my mind when I realize I could potentially have a double digit number of half siblings out there. Apparently now over 1 percent of people in the US were conceived artificially.

[SM]

Wow.

Yank public schools must really suck balls.

[Kimarhi]

My shit was like dangerous minds.