Homeschooling

Hi Nunquam,I have to say I'm hostile to homeschooling. I'm not sure it should be banned, but it should probably be more closely regulated. Parents should have to prove that they are providing a meaningful education, rather than just teaching the Bible by rote. Sadly, I suspect that many homeschooled kids are being denied a real education, especially in science. At the very least, it's hard to believe that most parents have the wide-ranging expertise needed to teach all subjects at once. The lack of socialisation is also a concern. Kids need to meet other kids, of all backgrounds, because when they become adults, they'll need to live in the real world, not the cosy sanctuary their parents build for them.Here's an interesting article on the topic;

quote:

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Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her 10-year-old's biology lessons.

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Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed Charles Darwin's theory.

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"I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's like, 'This is not true!'"

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http://news.yahoo.com/..._on_re/us_rel_home_school_evolutionMutate and Survive

I think the kids' performance on standardised tests probably comes down to the extra time and attention homeschoolers get. In a regular school, a kid is lucky to get a few minutes with the tutor per class. With thirty or forty kids per class, it's gonna be tough to give them all the attention they deserve, especially in the areas they might find troublesome. I'd like to see those standardised tests on science subjects though... I agree. For my part, I hated school. I had a really miserable time, my teachers were often incompetent, some of them were a disgrace. Nonetheless, I am grateful that I had the experience. Without it, I'd probably be even more of an antisocial misanthrope than I already am! Yeah, it's hard to see why creationist parents wouldn't want their kids to know about evolution. Know your enemy and all that. If they really have conviction in their beliefs, they should have nothing to fear.Mutate and Survive