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thatbrian said:

The below quote dates back to 1923. How much worse are things 90 years later?!

“Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist.” ― J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism

What's the best way to educate your children?

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I work in a church school but have worked in government run schools and I can see such a huge different sizes. The government schools I worked in were good however their ethos is on building up the child to believe in themselves. Everything is centered on 'me' even the songs they sing. So teaching them they do not need others or a God. Also evolution is taught as a fact and not a man's idea. Just my experience.

thatbrian said:

Thanks for sharing.

Me, me, me, me seems to be part of the curriculum in government schools, and it seems to be working. Were encouraging narcissism! As Christians we know that that's like pouring gasoline on a fire.

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My predictive text has gone barmy again... I meant I work in a church school. Sorry

thatbrian said:

The below quote dates back to 1923. How much worse are things 90 years later?!

“Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist.” ― J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism

What's the best way to educate your children?

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Yes, I think it will be OK for my future children to attend public school. Even I myself was educated in a public school, and I am OK. Actually, I disagree with the idea of homeschooling. It is not good, IMHO.

thatbrian said:

Do you know any people who've either homeschool their children or where homeschooled themselves?

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No. I come from Portugal. We do not homeschool in Portugal.

As someone currently attending university in order to become a teacher and as someone who went through 15 years in the local public school system from preschool all the way up through twelfth grade, graduating a mere four years ago, I have thought about this a great deal. The answer, when I have my children, something that God willing is in the not too distant future, I will homeschool them until first grade and then I plan to put them in parochial school to complete their education. Many children in public school are floundering academically, becoming far to calculator reliant far too early and never really being properly taught how to read or more importantly how to think. Instead their heads are filled with dogma, some of it good, much of it bad, without the skills or discernment to sort what is good out of the rubbish. I've seen current history "textbooks" where the years, dates, and names are completely wrong in almost every chapter and the teacher knew it too. He told me that he doesn't use it and that I should do my own research in preparing my lesson for his High School World History class as though their book did not exist. The singular worst part of it though, is that religion, and Christianity in particular, is treated as taboo, as forbidden, which sends the students who are Christians the message that they should be ashamed of themselves and who they are, at some of the most vulnerable parts of their lives. I simply will not have it. I will find someway to make sure my children get the full and proper education that they deserve and will not lose their souls doing it.

I have quite a lot of experience with homeschooling; I was homeschooled, and attended a (very large) homeschooling group. And, unless you have some sort of teaching qualifications (like, say, a degree in education), it is a freaking disaster. Nobody should be homeschooled. Literally nobody. Sign your kid up for a cyber charter school, or something, just don't traditionally homeschool them.

Public school generally offers better options than homeschooling and private schooling, and is... well, public. It isn't incredibly expensive, and what is taught is fairly impartial to things like religion -- it's just facts. I graduated high school in 2013 and didn't encounter a single thing which disagreed with my Christian sensibilities (and read the Bible every day in study hall).

I had some dumb teachers, but I also had some really great ones. I only attended public school for 3 years, though.

Edit: I also find the implication that I can't choose what I believe, and that I let what was taught in school choose for me, insulting. The fact is, at some point I started being old enough to think for myself, and, like most people, I did it.

You can teach your kids whatever you want, but eventually they'll be old enough to disagree with you for reasons that are intellectual and not pure rebellion. The important thing is that they have access to different ideas -- and, of course, to the truth.

thatbrian said:

Thanks. That was my guess, so I was wondering how you've formed an opinion against homeschooling when you've had zero exposure to.

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I do not need to experience a concept which I have just heard in order to form an opinion about it. All I need to know is exactly what the concept entails — after I know it, I can form an opinion, with no need to experience the same or to get into contact with people who have experienced the same.

thatbrian said:

The below quote dates back to 1923. How much worse are things 90 years later?!

“Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist.” ― J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism

What's the best way to educate your children?

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I'm a former public school teacher and I come from a family of educators. It may shock you to realize that all of us think that there is no one-size fits all approach as to how all children should be educated. So, the answer to your question is that it depends. Some public schools really are better than others. However, many parents have no choice but to send their kids to public school, and they don't necessarily get a choice as to whether or not they send their kids to a good one.

I taught in three different schools. One was considered good, one was considered bad, and one was truly in-between. What makes a school good or bad actually isn't the teachers, because teachers can and do transfer to various schools often. I guarantee you that your child's teachers in the good schools have likely also taught at bad schools. I've also taught with many teachers in public schools that had also taught in private schools. Good and bad teachers exist in all schools. When you start examining the underlying factors of what makes a school good or bad, you will eventually discover that it is entirely dependent on the demographics of its population. The in-between school where I taught was considered a school in crisis because of test scores. However, this school had a very high percentage of ESL students that were forced to take standardized tests in a language they didn't even understand. The bad school had administrators that didn't know how to tackle the issue of having a student body that was almost all low-income, from broken homes, in gangs, surrounded by drugs, et cetera. The good school had a high percentage of students from families that were middle class with involved parents. Most schools tend to have students from various backgrounds, just in varying percentages.

Here's the answer to a parent's dilemma. In my observation, no matter the school, the deciding factor of a child's success was always the parents. Parents must care, parents must be involved, and parents must not depend on any school (public or private) to cover all of the bases. It is not fair, but the way public education in this nation was originally set up and really hasn't deviated from since the beginning, is that it is assumed that parents are doing certain things outside of school with how they raise their children.

I've mentioned this in other threads over the years but, some sociologists have pinpointed that there are certain things middle and upper class families tend to do in child-rearing that lower and working class families do not and, the public education system in the US assumes that everyone is doing (or should be). Unfortunately, the lower social classes don't tend to realize this or understand that a lack of what is termed 'concerted cultivation' and direct parental involvement educationally (outside of school) is essential to social mobility for their children. The result is that educational achievement (which is directly correlated to social status in the US) is not realized.

That said, if you have the luxury and the income to send your children to private school, or become part of a decent home-school co-op or some such, then do so. If I had kids of my own, there are only a handful of public schools I would want them to attend. To me, it isn't about the teachers. It's really that I wouldn't want any child of mine exposed to students that haven't been raised appropriately by their parents, because those kids tend to have out of control behavior and attempt to bully others. If you don't have this luxury, then all is not lost, you just have to do more at home.

How much experience with homeschooling is appropriate, would you say, before deciding not to go that route with your children's education?

BrianJK said:

How much experience with homeschooling is appropriate, would you say, before deciding not to go that route with your children's education?

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Some homeschooling curriculum is better than others. I would, personally, not homeschool a student when it comes to high school, as I think there are social experiences that should be had, levels of instruction that likely won't be had at home, and opportunities that otherwise would be lacking or harder to come by. I am a fan of the homeschool co-op idea- but I would investigate that heavily before committing to a particular group.

Honestly, if you're going to homeschool and find it difficult for whatever reason, then there is nothing wrong with throwing in the towel. Teaching isn't as easy as a lot of people like to think and it is a skill set that has to be developed. I taught for so long that I would have no issues making my own curriculum and implementing it. Lesson planning is something I'm good at, enjoy, I know what works and doesn't work, and I am able to motivate some hard to motivate kids. If you're uncomfortable with it or if your child is not receptive, then there is nothing wrong with investigating other educational models for your child. Don't feel like a failure if it doesn't work out. However, I wouldn't linger on trying to make it work if isn't working for you either.

I fully support people who choose to homeschool for whatever reason. I just don't think ones decision whether to homeschool or send to public school is a reflection of their Christianity.

BrianJK said:

I fully support people who choose to homeschool for whatever reason. I just don't think ones decision whether to homeschool or send to public school is a reflection of their Christianity.

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Agreed 100%.

BriannaRose said:

What other options does a single mother have?
I love the idea of homeschooling, but it doesn't seem possible to make it work out while working 9+ hours a day.
I have heard private schooling, in most cases, isn't much better than public schooling. Let alone the financial issues it brings.

I want nothing more than to keep my child from the sinful influences of the world, but it feels almost unavoidable.

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Former public school teacher here. If you can't homeschool then you can't. Don't feel guilty about it, don't feel pressured, and don't feel like all is lost. Yes, your child is likely going to be exposed to other kids that have no home training. Depending on the school, your child could be exposed to a lot of kids like that. The main thing is what you're doing on your end at home. Be involved. Have discussions with your child. Look over his/her homework. Talk to the teachers. Go to conferences. Supplement his/her schooling weaknesses over the summer (i.e. if your child is weak in math, then find ways to work on math). You are responsible for how your child is raised when it comes to religion and ethics. Believe it or not, most children are more heavily influenced by what they get at home than by what they get anywhere else, and they really do act accordingly.

thatbrian said:

That's a liberal talking point with no basis in reality. Home-schooled children are MORE socialized and better communicators than public school kids. Go meet some. That will dispel the myth for you.

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Not necessarily. I've seen kids that have been educated very well at home. I've also seen kids that have been educated very poorly at home. The same holds true for public school educated kids.