Now that I've thoroughly spooked you with the last two fictional posts, I present a discussion on home schooling. Here are some statistical trends in North America with a link to the Fraser Institute.
My sister homeschools her son and while the reasons for this are varied - as is with many parents who under take this journey - one of the main reasons was the difficulty of integrating him into the mainstream school system. My nephew suffers from Turret/ADHD; at one point he was on the autism spectrum.To say it hasn't been easy for them is a massive under statement.
The government decided it was time to implement "integration" into the system; that is, students afflicted with autism and other neurological disorders were now to be taught alongside "normal" kids.
It hasn't worked out as well as it could. Teachers have been over stressed with the burdens and responsibilities that comes with such a project. The government, as they're apt to do, didn't provide the necessary resources to meet this lofty objective. There's simply not enough properly trained professionals to help cope with integration.
My wife, for example, teaches Grade 1. In addition to maintaining her duties to the class, she has to deal with two autistic kids and one with global developmental delay. The autistic kids demand full attention. It's hard to balance all this. Luckily she has one child worker with her. While she has never complained, I can see the stress in her. She recognizes that it's easy to ask for more social workers, too many adults in a class is not a good thing either.
All this to say, my sister saw first hand, despite some herculean work by some educators who actually cared, just how short changed everyone was getting. Being a highly intelligent and motivated gal, she decided to teach her son herself.
I know one person who homeschools doesn't like the lack of religion courses in public schools. As the government imposes more and more what will be taught, activist parents push back by maintaining their individual right to choose what to teach their kids.
I'm positioning myself to go this route if I deem it necessary down the road for my daughter.
This thing of showing Michael Moore and Al Gore movies in the classroon passing off as legitimate intellectualism I have a problem with.
Although not exactly the same situation, my wife (who is also a grade school teacher) and I are also considering home school as an option.
ReplyDeleteThe question: how do we ensure a healthy level of socialization our kids would get in school? We discussed activities etc., but are still not sure if it's the right move.
Thanks for the examples in your post.
It's not an easy decision indeed but in the case of my nephew, it was the last viable option.
ReplyDeleteSocialization is important. On the other hand, it's not like he was understood or was the most popular guy. What good is social interaction if you're being picked on? What I'm trying to say, sometimes it's better to not be in a particular environment.
This way, he has his clique of friends, it's a controlled environment of sorts and he's learning in a way that keeps him at ease.
Good luck!