Hi everyone! Welcome to the NerdFamily House! We are having our first rain of the season out here so I hope you didn’t get to wet. Come on in, let me take your jackets and bags. Make yourself at home!
Since it is summer, everyone starts thinking about what kind of schooling they want to do. This is the time to decide between public, private and homeschooling. Well, I have recently been asked what I think about charter schooling as a form of/alternative to homeschooling.
First, lets talk a little about what a charter school is. A charter school simply refers to the funding and oversite issues that apply to theses special public schools. Some are traditional schools and some are offsite schools. Not all charter schools are offsite schools. What I mean by offsite schools is that kids don’t attend every day (some once a week, some once a month, etc) but they still have a teacher. Sometimes they will still have sports and clubs. Sometimes not. They have homework assigned and every so often check in to make sure it is getting done, to get tested and (I assume) help if they need it.
So the pluses are that you don’t have to keep all the records and all the books are free. Some off extracuricular activities that don’t cost anything. You have a trained teacher to assist you as you go. Typically you can move along at your own pace be that faster or slower. You can minimize anything in the curriculum that you don’t agree with. If you are homeschooling for social reasons it pulls your children out of the typical school society and you can protect them a little more.
The cons (and this is the side I sit on) start with the fact this isn’t homeschooling but public schooling at home. You answer to the public schools, as you should because they are paying for it. While you can minimize certain subjects/issues that you don’t agree with, you can’t just choose to not teach them at all. Now some allow you a little latitude in what you teach but not complete control. So you also have to fit within the traditional education theory and are not going to be allowed to do a classical education, unschooling or even eclectic. Your kids will still need to take the standardized testing that the public schools have. Personally, I find the tests a gigantic waste of time and effort so I don’t want to have to do that. You do have a teacher that you answer to. And you have attendance rules of how many days and how many hours you kid has to do school.
I think it really boils down to the fact that it is public school and that comes with strings. The leash may be looser but it is still there. It is a good option for someone who has no qualms with the public school other than social and religious issues. I think there are better options but that is my humble opinion;).
I get asked if homeschooling can be as effective as public schools because we don’t have the financial resources. I have asked them what they are getting for the money? Sure there is lab equipment and some art supplies but does that add up to thousands of dollars a year for each kid? Well, San Diego has paid 56 “educators” over the last 6 years to not work. They have put them on administrative leave for periods ranging days to years. This is how the San Diego schools deal with educators they don’t want having contact with the students instead of … I don’t know, firing them. Maybe this is why we are having state and federal money issues. I understand that this isn’t all the money in the system but hey it is a big chunk of change. I wonder if Fresno area schools do that too? Read the article, it was really interesting.
One of the arguements that I hear often is that homeschooling doesn’t prepare your kids for “real life” because they are isolated. I always disagree. I think that being around real people, volunteering and apprenticing lead to a good picture of real life. We now have proof that the education system doesn’t care about real life.
We know that the teacher’s unions don’t work for the parents. We also know they don’t work for the students. That is perfectly illustrated by the teacher who got her job back after getting her class to vote a boy out who has Asperger’s.
Awesome isn’t it? CraftyHedgeHog over at Etsy made this (sold out right now) and they also have a fetal pig. It gives me a great idea. As a homeschooler I am always looking for new ways of learning. Who says you have to actually dissect an animal? I know of many moms who don’t want to do it for a variety of reasons but worry. This is a rite of passage. Can you have a good grasp on biology without doing a dissection? Well, I don’t know. Couldn’t you do an awesome 3-D model like this? Since it is all about learning the information, you imagination would be the limit.
I really think this translates to all areas of learning. There is no end all thing you have to do. It’s all about the info!
Since the President is appointing a Supreme Court Justice it is a great time to find out information on previous justices. In that vein I recommend going over to The Stimulist and read about 5 of the most surprising appointments. I don’t agree with the degree of surprise on some of them but it is a great read! I personally don’t think that Black and his KKK membership really was all that shocking in relation to FDR’s appointment of him.