At least 16,000 children in the UK are homeschooling, according to a recent Guardian article. According to parents, bullying is the primary reason that parents choose to homeschool. I’ve heard that bullying in Britain makes America’s average bullying behavior look tame. Children have committed suicide over it.
The UK’s increased religious subgroups such as Muslims, Gypsies, and Christians have also opted to remove their children from government-sponsored schools.
A DfES spokesman said: “Standards have never been higher and with record funding in our schools we believe the best place to educate a child is actually in school.
Not all homeschoolers are convinced. And why should they be? Funding does not equal quality.
“Some of the parents interviewed felt that standards of education had declined,” the report said.
This, coupled with a view that the current education system is overly bureaucratic, inflexible and assessment-driven, prompted some parents to home-educate.
Here’s hoping that this trend spreads throughout the rest of the European Union. Perhaps Germany would lighten its restrictions on homeschooling if they were to recognize that the rest of the EU had chosen to embrace it.
Last week I read a somewhat disappointing news story at the Leavenworth Lamp.
DoDEA plans, directs, coordinates and manages the education programs for Defense Department family members who would otherwise not have access to a high-quality public education. Although operating a home-schooling program is outside of its directed mission, officials said, DoDEA has administered the Remote Home School Program since school year 2001-2002, when it received the first in a series of unsolicited allocations and grants to support the program.
What’s good about this is that maybe families will begin looking for private alternatives to this public service. The HSLDA has a wonderful page for those who are not yet convinced that public homeschooling programs are undesirable.
What’s sad, however, is that this is going to leave thousands of children without an education in the fall. Many military families value homeschooling because they so often move from place to place. Homeschooling allows military children to complete a consistent curriculum throughout the year despite frequent moves.
I would like to personally extend an invitation to any and all military families that wish to provide their children with a quality homeschool program. The MorningStar Academy offers a quality online K-12 Christian homeschooling curriculum that is perfect for families that are always on the move or don’t have access to a good school nearby. Please click on the link above for more information.
Although it doesn’t seem that the mainstream media is interested in reporting this, a Pennsylvania government-sponsored virtual school recently boasted the following statistic.
We have been notified by the Department of Education that we have once again made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). 21st Century Cyber was the only cyber school to make AYP last year, and is the only cyber school in PA that is not on the academic warning list. Congratulations to our students and staff!
Out of the twelve public cyber charter schools based in Pennsylvania, only one is meeting AYP standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind plan!What a track record! This news comes hot on the heels of the HSLDA’s recent announcement that public virtual schools are performing worse than not only private schools and homeschools, but the very public schools for which they were designed to provide an alternative!
Parents who are considering enrolling their children in a public virtual charter school need to realize that these organizations survive using bait-and-switch offers like free computers and internet connections in order to entice families back into the public school. Students are given the same poor curriculum, the same perverse sense of morality, the same rigidity in teaching methods, and it appears, the same declining academic standards.
Joel Turtel, author of “Public Schools, Public Menace” cites a harrowing tale of the public school’s incompetence. He was a volunteer reading instructor some time ago and was asked to help a young boy read. He was dismayed to find that the child was never taught to sound out words using phonics, but simply memorized words that were simple enough to sight read. As a result, the boy insisted on reading only certain books that he had been able to memorize.
When Turtel expressed to the boy’s parents that the reason why their child has not excelled in reading is not due to a learning disability or disinterest in reading, but because he had never actually learned how to read. When the school’s administrators found out about his suggestion, they were furious and demanded that he leave the premises.
This heartbreaking story is indicative of a greater problem that is endemic to the public school way. Reading is perhaps the most tangible of subjects in which memorizing vs. learning is used. Consider any other subject. In history, for instance, any child will be able to tell you that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. However, ask them why he sailed, what the causes and effects of his journey were, and you’ll find a child at a loss for words. The same though process can be found in every subject.
That’s because the public school curriculum program encourages students to memorize information in order to pass a test. This type of learning occurs all the way through high school. Once the test is over, the students perform a “brain dump” and forget all that they have learned. Little concern is put towards attaining a meaningful understanding of any given topic, but memorizing singular, unrelated facts that amount to a whole lot of ignorance.
Perhaps more troubling is the school’s reaction to Turtel’s suggestion. It is clear that they do not have the child’s best interest in mind. Sticking to the curriculum is what’s important, not enabling a child to succeed. One can only hope and pray that the young boy’s parents heeded Turtel’s words.
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