Community Chat

[kaydee50]

IMO it should be up to the parents as to whether they want the schools open.  The parents are paying taxes for the school system and therefore the teachers' salaries.  It should be their decision not the teachers' union.

As far as homeschooling I think that takes a lot of discipline on the part of the parents.  Not an option for a lot of people.  

And I agree that the social interaction is just as important as actual learning.  The kids are missing so much that I doubt they will be able to make up.

[Gorgf]

My stepdaughter Home Schooled up until Middle School but higher level Math could not be taught by her. She also began working out if the home as a mail carrier sub to fulltime. Dad was not supportive to help her as her job ,according to him and eventually they divorced. 

How does a parent teach Chemistry at home? Some of the small schools like our Tribal School and  Christian schools are working with the Community College for courses they don't offer.

Our Schools are back to 75% occupancy and some remain at home. Believe it or not some parents were against their child wearing a mask and are staying home longer.

I think it is important to have those students home schooled to be in activities that are social. I have noticed they lack social and interactive skills with peers.

We have a Habitat  for Humanity Home in the neighborhood with six children Middle School to high School. Two require Special Education. Mother works days to be home at night. Not an option for very long.

[Jaspersmom]

Whether you intentionally wanted to or not, you made it an "us vs. them" argument.  My biggest gripe is about those who think it's easy being a teacher and anyone can do it.  I don't know what your family situation is like, but I've known cases where the parent(s) were ill-equipped to serve as their children's teacher(s), but did so anyway thinking they were offering a better option with home schooling.  Most home schooling is religious based which tends to have a narrower view of the world and even reinforces the attitude that those views supercede all others.

Teacher unions and almost all unions now have been made out to be the bogey man.  From my experience, unions protect workers in situations where management has chosen not to keep workers safe or pay them a fair wage.  Believe me, teachers DO NOT like teaching virtually or in a hybrid model.  They want the kids back in school.  First and foremost, though, they want everyone to be safe and right now schools are potential breeding grounds for the virus.  Just this past week, a child in a school near where I live was positive for three days and yet, the parents who were also positive sent the kid to school anyway and didn't tell school officials.  Turns out the story is even worse since the kid's teacher is pregnant but hadn't yet announced it to her colleagues and principal.  Now she is frantic because she was exposed and may contract the virus.  What a way to live!

To be honest, most schools are doing their best to follow Covid protocols.  To me they're the cleanest I've ever seen them.  However, when you're dealing with hundreds of students and staff in one location day in and day out, then the risks are too great just to say all kids should be back in school.

[Goldengate8361]

@Jaspersmom Right on! (Fist bump!) I agree with everything you said. In the time prior to the pandemic, I knew people who home schooled their children, too....and I always felt terribly sorry for the kids! Although I'm sure the parents were well intentioned, they were NOT teachers! I actually think that one bonus of the pandemic has been a renewed appreciation for the expertise, skill, and professionalism of our nations teachers! I believe there is now an elevated, much deserved  respect for our teachers.

[Mom2Dogs]

I have famiy that lives in Chicago..sigh...she has always homeschooled her children, thank goodness.  I like the small group learning as well

[caroln242]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

I have famiy that lives in Chicago..sigh...she has always homeschooled her children, thank goodness.  I like the small group learning as well

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I was born and raised in the Chicagoland area and I believe I turned out fairly well educated. 

[furbabylover]

After reading all the posts that go into detail about why they don’t like homeschooling, it’s clear to me that there is a true lack of awareness as to the actual mechanics of the process. There are in place enormous resources for augmenting the experience. In many cities parents have access to groups led by PHD’s who offer their services in public locations for specific courses the parents can’t teach. The children attend weekly and have repetitive testing. They have access at local colleges to labs for chemistry, etc. They meet for debates and general socialization. These kids consistently out perform those taught in public schools. Remember, Americans rank 36th on the International scale! For those of you who go for the stereotype of homeschooling being primarily a religious choice, it is not. Most families who choose this route do so because they are concerned about the comparatively poor quality of curricula, drug use and violence in the public arena. I find it very telling that a teacher who criticized me here couldn’t even come close to spelling “curricula” correctly.

[sunshine 919]

People who home school is totally different than this distance learing.  Home school you work at your own pace.  You can home school anytime during the day.  Kids who are home schooled are allowed to participate in school activeities such as sports in their zoned school.  Afew of them graduate early.

Distance learning is totally different.  Kids her in NV are doing zoom meetings which most of them hate.  They are also switching from screen to screen.  Then they have activity breaks.  My grand daughter was here one day doing her school on line and she was up wondering.  I went to the screen had to find the teacher because teachers disappear my grand daughter got her on the screen.  I asked if she was suppose to be off screen and the teacher explained the break, then a few minutes later they were on lunch.  

Not sure how well this distance learning is working.  I know there may be kids who excel with this but it is not the majority.  They have been interviewing kids here and they are tired of it.  

I hope they can get the schools open safely.  Key word safely.

We had two snow days last week  There is a high school here that a lot of kids and adults went there and went sledding the parking lot.  They had a blast.  They showed them on the news.  

[software]

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@kaydee50 wrote:

IMO it should be up to the parents as to whether they want the schools open.  The parents are paying taxes for the school system and therefore the teachers' salaries.  It should be their decision not the teachers' union.

As far as homeschooling I think that takes a lot of discipline on the part of the parents.  Not an option for a lot of people.  

And I agree that the social interaction is just as important as actual learning.  The kids are missing so much that I doubt they will be able to make up.

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Some teacher unions have become very powerful in some states, they drown out the parents.

Homeschooling is certainly not an option for all.   From what I've heard from parents locally who homeschool, there are approved curriculum they must use & also the children do the same testing as those in school.   The parents also combine with other homeschooling parent for some social interaction.  If they are being taught according to standards, what they've missed is small compared to what they gained.

In my family when our kids because school age, we moved to a top rated school district & sent our kids to public school.   It was a sacrifice & the kids did well, it was a very good experience.    But education should not be limited by a zip code. Another topic for another day

[Jaspersmom]

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@furbabylover wrote:
After reading all the posts that go into detail about why they don’t like homeschooling, it’s clear to me that there is a true lack of awareness as to the actual mechanics of the process. There are in place enormous resources for augmenting the experience. In many cities parents have access to groups led by PHD’s who offer their services in public locations for specific courses the parents can’t teach. The children attend weekly and have repetitive testing. They have access at local colleges to labs for chemistry, etc. They meet for debates and general socialization. These kids consistently out perform those taught in public schools. Remember, Americans rank 36th on the International scale! For those of you who go for the stereotype of homeschooling being primarily a religious choice, it is not. Most families who choose this route do so because they are concerned about the comparatively poor quality of curricula, drug use and violence in the public arena. I find it very telling that a teacher who criticized me here couldn’t even come close to spelling “curricula” correctly.

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I would be curious to know how many home schoolers live in areas that have high drug use and recurring violence.  I live in a suburban area with relatively safe schools that have strong academic programs.  Those who've chosen to home school most definitely have religious leanings and want to move away from secular teaching.  Catholic high schools and Jewish yeshivas are popular here, but little is offered for the more conservative Christian students.  Perhaps it's different in other parts of the country where more resources are offered for those learning at home.  I would also think it's somewhat easier today for parents who home school to network with each other.

I'm not against home schooling if that's what a parent wants.  However, I'm troubled by anyone who maligns public school teachers because of their union affiliation.  Most teachers try to do their best in spite of the challenges that may come their way.  Covid has turned nearly all of education upside down and no one was prepared for it.  We have learned much in a short period time about what works and what needs to work.  However, we've got a ways to go before we're even close to saying it's normal again.