“I think we should throw those books in a fire,” [Spotsylvania school board member] Abuismail said

Hammster said:

Or maybe parents have realized that schools have drifted so far from just teaching academics that they want to make sure their children aren’t being indoctrinated concerning issues that parents oppose.

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You've offered the ideal solution: homeschool.

Why don't the dissatisfied parents simply do that, instead of try to change the public school system to indoctrinate other children concerning issues they support?

Surely It's the indoctrination itself that's the problem, right?

Hammster said:

Or maybe parents have realized that schools have drifted so far from just teaching academics that they want to make sure their children aren’t being indoctrinated concerning issues that parents oppose.

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And that is the problem.

Parents ACTUALLY think that schools HAVE drifted far from teaching academics. They have no. Although in due course they will be severely limited in the teaching of history I suppose.

Hammster said:

Teachers have the right to quit.

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You say that flippantly but I'm not sure you are aware of the impending crisis that your education system is facing right now with the epidemic of teachers quitting.

Hammster said:

They actually have drifted. Otherwise, there’d be no issue.

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Actually, they have not drifted. It's paranoid parents being fed lies by idiots like Gaetz and Greene and then tiny mentions of things like "America treated his minorities poorly for a long time" that get blown into victimhood.

Hammster said:

I think the reason is that most parents don’t homeschool is that either they agree with the programs at the school, or they think there is no other choice. So they think they can reform a system that can’t be reformed since it was never really what they thought it was.

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It occurs to me that the COVID pandemic and rise in remote learning just might provide an answer: What if, rather than learning remotely from one school, parents were able to pick individual instructors for each subject, and mix and match?

So... if you didn't care much for Mr. Smith's reading list at your kid's "regular" school, you could opt to enroll your child at Mr. Jones' course at a more... conservative school, and those parents could sign their kids for Mr. Smith, because they want their kids to have a more... worldly reading list.

Obviously the logistics and scheduling would be an issue, but what say you to the general idea?

TLK Valentine said:

It occurs to me that the COVID pandemic and rise in remote learning just might provide an answer: What if, rather than learning remotely from one school, parents were able to pick individual instructors for each subject, and mix and match?

So... if you didn't care much for Mr. Smith's reading list at your kid's "regular" school, you could opt to enroll your child at Mr. Jones' course at a more... conservative school, and those parents could sign their kids for Mr. Smith, because they want their kids to have a more... worldly reading list.

Obviously the logistics and scheduling would be an issue, but what say you to the general idea?

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Calling it logistics is a bit of an undersatement. The huge problem is if there is a good teacher (or a rather bad one who hands out good grades for just showing up) there are going to be more students wanting a slot in one of their classes than that teacher can take. Which student wins? Heck that issue was bad enough when I was in High School.

And I'm pretty sure a bright but lazy student could figure out a way to take teachers whose reading lists were mainly book already read by that student. (Actually I half did that anyway because I had the advantage of a good English teacher in Jr. High who encouraged me to read a lot of books that were a bit challenging).

I also have to wonder jsut how many parents would put in any effort in checking the teachers. Sex education draws similar complaints. When my son was in High School the teacher scheduled planty of time for parents to question her about it. I decided to be a bit of a problem and did so. She was rather happy that year because she had the most concerned parents ever. The whole of 2! Far more parents [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] and moan than actually put in any real effort.

Hammster said:

Free market? It’s worth a shot. But the unions would never go for it.

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So instead of teachers being attached to individual schools, parents would be able to select their child's virtual education from a centralized "teacher pool," as it were. The unions would probably play ball so long as there was no minimum class size -- even if you have a class of only 2-3 students, you're still being paid.

Toss in some bonuses for the larger class sizes, and they just might like it...

keith99 said:

Calling it logistics is a bit of an undersatement. The huge problem is if there is a good teacher (or a rather bad one who hands out good grades for just showing up) there are going to be more students wanting a slot in one of their classes than that teacher can take. Which student wins? Heck that issue was bad enough when I was in High School.

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Well, first of all, it'll be the parents, not the students, picking the teachers -- based (presumably) on lesson plans being available via a state DOE website, for example.

And I'm pretty sure a bright but lazy student could figure out a way to take teachers whose reading lists were mainly book already read by that student. (Actually I half did that anyway because I had the advantage of a good English teacher in Jr. High who encouraged me to read a lot of books that were a bit challenging).

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I did the same thing in college -- no way around that.

I also have to wonder jsut how many parents would put in any effort in checking the teachers. Sex education draws similar complaints. When my son was in High School the teacher scheduled planty of time for parents to question her about it. I decided to be a bit of a problem and did so. She was rather happy that year because she had the most concerned parents ever. The whole of 2! Far more parents [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] and moan than actually put in any real effort.

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Parents who don't want to put in the effort (and believe me, I know there are plenty), can have their child assigned random teachers based on schedule and class availability -- pretty much the same as a high school/college registration.

Again, I'm just spitballing here...

TLK Valentine said:

Well, first of all, it'll be the parents, not the students, picking the teachers -- based (presumably) on lesson plans being available via a state DOE website, for example.



I did the same thing in college -- no way around that.



Parents who don't want to put in the effort (and believe me, I know there are plenty), can have their child assigned random teachers based on schedule and class availability -- pretty much the same as a high school/college registration.

Again, I'm just spitballing here...

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Sounds good though it also sounds like be careful of what you wish for, you might get it.
I think it would end up like so many large freshman lectures with a popular professor that are actually taught by questionably trained teaching assistants.
And then there is the question of standards.

Ponderous Curmudgeon said:

Sounds good though it also sounds like be careful of what you wish for, you might get it.
I think it would end up like so many large freshman lectures with a popular professor that are actually taught by questionably trained teaching assistants.
And then there is the question of standards.

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Standards won't be any more of an issue than they already are -- remember, all teachers must be certified by the state.

Hammster said:

You’re right. The solution, then, would be homeschooling. There’s absolutely no way a pervert could ever watch a homeschooled child. It’s impossible.

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There are many who homeschool in order to conceal abuse.

Hammster said:

Lol. The unions would play ball. You’re so funny.

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If a teacher who normally has a class of 35 students gets a class of 5, and gets the same pay, why wouldn't the unions go for that?