This HAS to be a joke.

[cpbellavia]

Between that and stories like this, if i were living in the US, I would definitely have to homeschool my boy. Your schools are run by a mixture of leftie politically-correct wusses, and rightie paranoid fruit bats, taking the worst from each.

Do you really think these 2 articles give an accurate representation of the normal population of US public schools? Are you a fucking moron?

[Tamara Reynolds]

Do you really think these 2 articles give an accurate representation of the normal population of US public schools? Are you a fucking moron?

I do, and I am not a fucking moron.

I have a bachelor's degree in education, as well as two graduate degrees in education. I have taught in multiple public and private schools and have been an adjunct faculty member at 3 different colleges.

My children go to private school for a reason. If there wasn't a private school in Asheville that I liked, then I would be homeschooling them.

[BigShot]

When I take over the world the people who implement systems like that will be the first up against the wall...
...those who defend them will be up second.

I think people will get the hint after that - those who don't... third.

[tertius]

But, Tersh, taking food out of their hands to give them free food??

Nowhere does it say to take food away, I believe. Simply that if something is lacking from the meal, the staff are supposed to offer it to the kid in question. The end.

[tertius]

I do, and I am not a fucking moron.

I have a bachelor's degree in education, as well as two graduate degrees in education. I have taught in multiple public and private schools and have been an adjunct faculty member at 3 different colleges.

My children go to private school for a reason. If there wasn't a private school in Asheville that I liked, then I would be homeschooling them.

Damn, Tbone. You're old.

[Tamara Reynolds]

Damn, Tbone. You're old.

Not as old as Rip, as I constantly remind him.

[Patrick]

My children go to private school for a reason. If there wasn't a private school in Asheville that I liked, then I would be homeschooling them.

Can I ask what made it a good school, in your opinion? I'm particularly interested in the contrast to the public school system in your area and the things you didn't like about it or the things that it was lacking. Is it just rigor or what?

[Tamara Reynolds]

Can I ask what made it a good school, in your opinion? I'm particularly interested in the contrast to the public school system in your area and the things you didn't like about it or the things that it was lacking. Is it just rigor or what?

Well, I lean towards unschooling. My daughter originally went to a Sudbury School. Sudbury Schools are democratic schools without grade levels or a standard curriculum. That school turned into a homeschool cooperative, and it just wasn't convenient for us. So, I moved her to a private school that uses an integral curriculum, which is based in Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Then my son started there this year for pre-k.

My teaching background is mainly in Project Based Learning and the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

Things that I don't like:
Grades
Grade levels
Standard curriculum
Homework (for the most part)

This school has multi-age classrooms, which is good. I have to sacrifice some of the other things, but for the most part, if I don't like something, then I just tell them. We haven't had many issues. The school is really a great place.

Rip would say that it is a fucking hippie liberal school.

I am not a hippie liberal though. I am really a libertarian. I like when the government stays the fuck out of my business.

[cpbellavia]

Why do you think that homeschooling would be an acceptable alternative?

[Patrick]

That's very interesting, thanks for the reply.

A friend of mine is a teacher in a Waldorf school (not sure how widespread those are) and in talking with her about their approach, I realized that my objection is really that it sounds quite different from what I wish I had gone through now that I look back on my education. Once I realized that was my standard it's pretty easy to see that my kid may or may not be anything like me -- parenting, friends, local world, etc. -- so I'm not sure that's a good standard of judgement. I am actually inclined to think it's a bad standard. It's intriguing to hear someone with so much background in the topic advocating for such a departure from the standard system... really food for thought.