Community Chat

[ValuSkr]

But are these home schools teaching the usual academic subjects - mathematics, literature, science, social studies, foreign languages, etc?  I'm not saying these things are for everyone, but it would be nice if some were still interested.

[Oostende]

There's an awful lot of ignorance in America about homeschooling.  

For my part, I would say that any effort that encourages parents to be more actively involved in the education of their children is a good thing, perhaps even a great thing.

Entire curriculums are available online, with all of the corresponding workbooks and teacher keys. 

Teachers cover the materials in well-presented videos, frequently taped from an actual classroom.  Remote learning is hardly a new concept.  

I don't believe that one size fits all.  If parents are discovering that they have options that are better suited to their children's education, that is wonderful. 

I would consider it a silver lining in a difficult year.

[lovesrecess]

DD put an extraordinary amount of effort into my 1st grader grandchild’s start to school online. My grand thrived as a result. She and a few other moms from the class wanted to form a pod and pool their efforts..they were slammed like you can’t believe because they were not including at least one child from every race and income bracket, so they abandoned their plan. They wanted to include only parents who would participate and do their part with supplementing lesson plans, etc. The schools opened up for face to face learning almost three weeks ago and the district made such great plans for safety and academics that teachers and students are doing well. All students were given a chromebook or iPad for virtual learning, and ATT gave a super big discount for internet service for low-income families. The district even offered a free class for parents to become familiar with the devices. 
One big problem in my state has been so many children have been logging on but not participating. This is particularly true for elementary students, Older kids can usually work more independently on the computer and require less parent supervision. If younger kids are not participating,the parent is not keeping up their end of the bargain. Teachers have called their student's home to check on them...some parents have actually blocked the school’s phone number. I fear we have lost many students. 

[Abrowneyegirl]

@Isobel Archer 

That's classic!

Talk about talking out of both sides of their mouth.  I would be hopping mad if I was a parent.

[Abrowneyegirl]

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@lovesrecess wrote:

DD put an extraordinary amount of effort into my 1st grader grandchild’s start to school online. My grand thrived as a result. She and a few other moms from the class wanted to form a pod and pool their efforts..they were slammed like you can’t believe because they were not including at least one child from every race and income bracket, so they abandoned their plan. They wanted to include only parents who would participate and do their part with supplementing lesson plans, etc. 

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This is terrible.  I would do whatever I wanted.  I am tired of everyone getting into everyone else's business. 

That's like saying I can not enroll my children into music class or dance class unless I fund and force EVERYONE to attend.

Some kids learn better in different settings.  You have to what is best for your student.

Another reason I am not on social media.  No access for people to anonymously complain and criticize.   This forum is the extent of my social media

[Isobel Archer]

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@Abrowneyegirl wrote:

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@lovesrecess wrote:

DD put an extraordinary amount of effort into my 1st grader grandchild’s start to school online. My grand thrived as a result. She and a few other moms from the class wanted to form a pod and pool their efforts..they were slammed like you can’t believe because they were not including at least one child from every race and income bracket, so they abandoned their plan. They wanted to include only parents who would participate and do their part with supplementing lesson plans, etc. 

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This is terrible.  I would do whatever I wanted.  I am tired of everyone getting into everyone else's business. 

That's like saying I can not enroll my children into music class or dance class unless I fund and force EVERYONE to attend.

Some kids learn better in different settings.  You have to what is best for your student.

Another reason I am not on social media.  No access for people to anonymously complain and criticize.   This forum is the extent of my social media

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I know what you mean.  I received many hateful comments for asking School Board members questions  on FB - e.g., specifically how will you create interventions to help kids struggling with reading and math (not in ESL or special ed programs) to succeed?

Amazingly, I was lectured about the importantance of "diversity" - their buzzword for the election -  and told that should be my primary focus.  When I suggested that it was primarly minority and poor kids who were struggling - without help - I was called all sorts of names and told that I was "uneducated" myself and certainly had no standing to question those in charge etc. etc. etc.

[Abrowneyegirl]

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@ValuSkr wrote:

But are these home schools teaching the usual academic subjects - mathematics, literature, science, social studies, foreign languages, etc?  I'm not saying these things are for everyone, but it would be nice if some were still interested.

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I have to admit I wondered about this also.

But as others have said they follow the state provided core curriculum.  Since they are paying school tax they have access to all necessary materials.

My co-worker's group even started the all the children on a few foreign languages at elementary school age.

They also did a lot of real-life learning like household finance.

I helped with the group on a grocery tour day. 

~Food label reading was taught. 

~Calculating price per ounce was taught.  The children had to find the best value laundry detergent based on price per load.

~Another project was read a recipe,  scale it to the correct number of servings and then we collected and purchased the items, made the recipe and older children calculated price per serving and then compared it to a pre-made frozen item or a take-out version.

It was fun teaching the difference between slice, dice, mince, cut, and chop!   

Through this fun day the students were challenged on many levels.  I thought it was a fabulous way to take what they learned in class to a hands-on learning environment.