Why Homeschoolers Care About Public Schools
A certain blogger delights in pointing out problems they perceive with homeschooling (without any facts to back up their imaginary problems). While I personally think they should mind their own business as my homeschooling my own children in no way concerns them, I reserve the right to point out the flaws in public schools for these reasons.
- I pay taxes and my tax money goes to support public schools. As a tax payer I have every right to demand that my money be spent wisely.
- I have relatives in public schools, I have every right to be concerned that they aren't getting the education they deserve.
- Every citizen has the right to be outraged by the number of teachers sexually abusing their students, giving students inappropriate material and leaving their classes unattended.
This same blogger actually DEFENDED the public school teacher who made 8th graders read aloud explicit 'sex' questions.
Teachers: Did you ever need to get some classroom material ready and just didn’t have time, and so you clicked on a web site that was recommended and printed off a section of it, and handed it out to your students and had them read from it out loud in class, then get fired?
It could happen to you. We don’t know yet if Health Teacher Scott Groff of Cook County Illinois will get fired (I hope not … this looks like a really stupid but not fatal mistake) for pretty much doing just that.
I wonder how many other professionals could use the excuse that they just didn't have the time to prepare for ___________. Imagine a courtroom where a lawyer just didn't have the time to research his brief or a doctor who just didn't have time to prepare properly for surgery. Why should our children's education get less attention to details? Teachers you are PAID to get classroom material ready - "the I didn't have time" excuse doesn't cut it. Even if you are generous enough to give the teacher a pass for accidentally clicking on the wrong website and printing out and distributing the wrong material, exactly HOW does that justify him continuing to force the students to read the material out loud. After the FIRST question most people would have realize something was wrong and called a halt to the 'lesson'.
Greg immediately counters with a mythical homeschool parent who might read something inappropriate (and who gets to determine what is appropriate - in my book it would be THE PARENTS) to their own kids.
The good news is that this terrible, embarrassing goof occurred in a public school where administrators could jump in and, working with the teaching staff and the parents, fix everything. Who knows how many times this happens in a home schooling environment, and just goes along undetected and uncorrected? Probably several times a day.
Good news!!!!! Excuse me but there wasn't anything 'good' about this 'lesson'. Exactly HOW could you fix everything? The damage has already been done. The students have already been embarrassed and humiliated in class. Children do not come with a rewind button, I doubt any of them will forget the 'explicit sex lesson' they were forced to read out loud. Certainly these parents don't think the problem is fixed.
A health teacher made 8th graders read aloud explicit questions about oral sex and masturbation during a sex-education lesson at a suburban school this week, outraging parents who demanded the teacher be disciplined. The principal at Wolcott School in Thornton, said he learned of the lesson early Friday after numerous phone calls from parents and directed the health teacher to apologize to his class for the two-day lesson.Parents say this apology isn’t enough. They plan to attend the Thornton School District board meeting next week to demand that the 27-year-old teacher, Scott Groff, be suspended or fired.“My daughter brought it to our attention because she was disgusted with it,” said Grady Braley, father of a Wolcott 14-year-old. “There’s certain things at her age they need to know. But this was a how-to manual.”“It’s creepy, and I’d like to know why he’s still teaching.”
Another mom called the principal’s explanation “a lame excuse.” She said her daughter told her that classmates laughed during the lesson, but some were clearly uncomfortable with reading the material to the class.“This is not Porn 101. This is a school,” said the mom, who also asked not to be identified to spare her 14-year-old daughter further embarrassment in their tiny school. “This is putting girls and boys in harm’s way. It’s almost voyeurism.”
Read more here.
I agree with these parents, someone who exercises such poor judgement has no business educating our children. Unfortunately while the board is protecting the children at their school, Mr. Goff is free to seek employment elsewhere. How many other professionals could mess up royally and get PAID LEAVE?
Read the complete article here.The board of Thornton Elementary School District 154 decided Tuesday night that a teacher accused of handing out sexually explicit material to 8th graders in a health class would go on paid administrative leave immediately and his contract would not be renewed for the next school year.
- Alasandra Addresses The Eight Homeschooling Concerns Educators Had And Offers Eight Public School Concerns She Has
The post Educators Criticize Homeschooling list eight homeschooling concerns. This is my reply to them. 1. Deprive the child of important social experiences. I assure you homeschooled children aren't deprived of social experiences. Some homeschool...
- Aelfric Worries About Socialization Of Homeschoolers
Aelfric says I am all for the right of a parent to home-school his or her child, but it's a choice to be carefully undertaken. Few parents can bring the intellectual diversity and educational acumen to bear that the panoply of school teachers could...
- Bad Public School Teachers?
NYC Educator has a post on Bad Teachers which I found by way of VDare's Diversity Is Strength…It’s Also Really Bad Teachers post. The majority of public school teachers I know do an outstanding job, they are wonderful teachers and wonderful human...
- Educational News
In New Jersey we have Hell in the Public School Classroom. Sixteen-year-old junior Matthew LaClair says he was shocked when history teacher David Paszkiewicz, who is also a Baptist preacher in town, spent the first week lecturing students more about Heaven...
- Public Education Is Inherently Destructive
One of the big problems with the public school system is that the schools are not accountable to the parents. Parents have their children's best interest at heart; unfortunately public schools often do not. Public education is inherently destructive....