| To begin, although I am a former college | | | | families in your community and see if they can fit |
| president and have worked as a consultant in | | | | in another pupil. My wife owns a bookstore and |
| higher education for for 30 years, I do not claim, | | | | consequently deals with many of the parents and |
| in any sense, to be an expert on eduction. I can | | | | kids of home schoolers. I can tell you for a fact |
| however share my experiences and observations | | | | that they are invariably well spoken, polite and far, |
| with you and you can decide for yourself. | | | | far above their public school counterparts in |
| People are fond of saying today that our | | | | educational abilities. |
| government is broken and needs to be fixed and | | | | Private schools are growing rapidly and |
| they're right. What puzzles me is the fact that | | | | scholarships are available in many of them. The |
| many people, parents, college professors, plain | | | | movement was started by conservative |
| ordinary citizens, have known that our primary | | | | Christians who did not like the atmosphere or the |
| and secondary education systems have been | | | | educational bent or the progress their child was |
| broken for years and have refused to do | | | | making in public schools. Yes, many private |
| anything about it. Why are not people up in arms, | | | | schools do tend to indoctrinate their students in |
| where are the "tea parties" to demand that our | | | | religious ways but I suspect that when their |
| kids stop being held hostage to an educational | | | | graduates get out into the world, their attitudes |
| system that rewards mediocrity, focuses almost | | | | will change somewhat. I know that I have never |
| entirely on "self-esteem" and consistently churns | | | | met a student in a church-related school that also |
| out education graduates, many of whom are | | | | wasn't polite, well spoken and confident of their |
| functional illiterates. | | | | educational talents. |
| How many young people do you need to interact | | | | Finally, there is the Charter School movement, a |
| with before you find out they can't read, can't | | | | hybrid of public and private education. It's |
| write and can't articulate a position other than | | | | unfortunate that many of them have political |
| about their favorite pop star? Face it - most kids | | | | overtones but they are worth investigating. |
| in school today are just plain dumb! And it's not | | | | Face it, a student can only learn what knowledge |
| their fault. I don't mean to suggest they have no | | | | his or her teacher has to impart. Certainly any kid |
| intellectual ability, I mean it has never been | | | | can learn a lot outside the classroom and in a |
| challenged and a muscle not used is a muscle that | | | | library, but the basic motivation has to come |
| will soon atrophy. | | | | from the classroom. If you have a functional |
| The problem began years ago when teachers | | | | illiterate standing in front of the class, or someone |
| joined a union and ceased to be professionals. | | | | trying to teach a subject where their in-depth |
| Their focus went from being good teachers to | | | | knowledge of it is sadly lacking, not much learning |
| being good union members and everyone knows | | | | is going to take place. They might be experts in |
| what happened then. Coupled with that fact was | | | | laying out a lesson plan which duplicates what they |
| the entrance of "new teaching methods" and we | | | | learned in college or pleases their administrators |
| were told that these far surpassed the old idea of | | | | but a plan is useless if the only result it produces |
| teaching children to read at their own age level, | | | | is failure, or close to it. |
| do math, learn to spell and how to write a | | | | I was president of a college that offered |
| coherent sentence. If you don't believe me, ask | | | | engineering and science. In order for a foreign |
| your parents. | | | | student to enter as a freshmen we required a |
| As a parent of four kids I think I am qualified to | | | | bachelors degree from their home university. |
| give you the answer. First, recognize that your | | | | Then they had to start all over again. Why, |
| school system is a failure and it will get worse. | | | | because we knew that otherwise, their |
| Second, be honest with yourself about the | | | | knowledge of English, familiarity with math that |
| educational abilities of your kids. If you are at | | | | was not based on the metric system and our |
| least in your mid 30's you should be able to | | | | method of writing and conversing would only |
| recognize whether you would hire one of your | | | | handicap them in what was a very vigorous |
| kids to do a meaningful job. Incidentally, if they | | | | curriculum. Harsh? Absolutely. But we were |
| have "tats" or body piercings you can scratch | | | | concerned that after traveling long distances from |
| them off the potential hiring lists. If they look like | | | | their home, moving to a foreign land with |
| losers they will be losers. My wife and I both run | | | | different customs and dealing with facts and |
| successful business and I wouldn't let them in the | | | | figures that would be unfamiliar to them, we had |
| front door to discuss a job opening. | | | | the obligation to give them every chance to |
| So what are your options? It's tool late to | | | | succeed, even if it meant repeating what they |
| improve public education unless all the school | | | | had already gone through. Today your kids are |
| districts did like the one in Long Island recently | | | | heading for the same fate when they get to |
| and fired all the teachers and most of the | | | | college and find out they need a year of remedial |
| administrators. I could write a book about that | | | | courses just to compete. |
| wonderful decision but this is about your kids, not | | | | With the costs of higher education going through |
| those. You really only have two choices, home | | | | the roof, the public "education" your children are |
| school and private school. Many people would like | | | | receiving could cost you another years' tuition! |
| to home school but simply don't have the time. | | | | Think about it. |
| What you can do is find some home-schooling | | | | |