One of my brothers got straight A's all the way through elementary and high school. In high school, he cried because he was going to get a B+ on a semester grade. Instead, he sobbed his way into being allowed to do something for extra credit to bring the grade up. This earned him a full scholarship to Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor's and then a Master's Degree in a social service field. He's a few years older than I am so he's retired now but he prides himself on not having read a book since he graduated from college. For him, education was a means to an end. Not everyone needs a Bachelor's degree, a Master's Degree, or a Doctorate in order to achieve the end they desire. After he had his Bachelor's degree, he went to work at Yar-Craft while waiting to start on his Master's. I was hired at Yar-Craft a few months after he was and, within a couple of months, I was earning more than he was because I could run the chopper, and he was still doing the entry-level job. Plus, I had another eight-hour job at a chair factory.
And not one of the degrees obtained means the person is any more effective at anything other than lobbying for the system used to promote the use of such degrees, usually if not always for financial purposes.
I was contemplating going for a PhD when one of my professors told me that I could if I really wished to spend the money but all I would really learn is how to use my colored highlighters better. The “letters” only show you the seat. What you know allows you to sit in it.
Some are, some are not, but if you remove the mandate to educate, odds are all of them and many more will fail. But if you are okay with increasing the number of illiterate, uneducated folks we have, great.
Cool! So next the next you have a toothache, just have your neighbor watch a youtube video and give you a root canal.
I see this a lot and find it interesting, as it's probably why we so often keep doing the same thing over and over, despite the fact that it isn't working. Knowing that X isn't working, any suggestions about trying Y or Z instead will be rejected unless Y or Z can be proven to solve every possible problem for every conceivable person, even those who are unwilling to put in the effort, while X is not held to any particular standard at all.
Bobby Dear Bobby, again you read what was not written. The BATTERY OF TESTS, dear, are for those kids who ARE HOMESCHOOLED to show they have received their lessons and learned "something". After 26+ years teaching in The Bronx, trust me, I know very well that MOST KIDS GRADUATE HS PARTIALLY / TOTALLY ILLITERATE. Reading comprehension 101 .
Are you suggesting that while public school students are not expected to learn anything, given that they can graduate illiterate students, homeschooled children are subjected to a battery of tests in order to ensure that they have learned something? If so, that sounds like a large part of the problem that could be made better without government interference.
Ken, Just MHO. When the system doesn't want the kids to learn...no suggestion will be accepted. Trust me I tried. I will never erase from my memory the words of one Principal: "To teach the Quixote two weeks is enough."
Nice try at deflection, but no. The current system, the one you call X, while less than perfect, gives multiple paths to success. Your Y or Z just abandons kids who are unlucky enough to be born at the bottom of the ladder. Sure, some will still fail, but at least we should make an effort to give the ones on the margin at least a shot at learning.
Ken, The kids who are homeschooled -at least in NYC- must follow the same curriculum as the ones who attend school regularly...and pass tests in all subjects to show they received and learned the material. Which other way you suggest to prove the material was acquired properly?
[QUOTE="Hoot Crawford,... at least we should make an effort to give the ones on the margin at least a shot at learning.[/QUOTE] And trust me when I say most teachers do. No kid in my classes was left on the side...not even those who didn't give a d...and never attended school.
I think it makes my point that we look to a failing public school system to set the standard for those who have opted out of it. A government school that isn't working shouldn't set the standard for those who are seeking something better.
Ken, But the standards are there........what you are paralleling is the number of kids who are homeschooled with the number of kids who attend regular classes. See, for the system the fewer the better.