General Interest > Feed Your Head

Dumbing us down

(1/3) > >>

Oz girl:
So i took ginger's advice and read this book. if the author is correct is sounds like the USA public school system is somewhat broken. He also makes the point that private schools are elitist and create an invisible but real class barrier. I would concur with this because as a kid at a private school I felt either envy for the kids who in primary school did not wear uniforms or as i got older curiosity about "the other" in my mind public schools had a certain decadent rabble rousing mystique. it was only in adulthood I became aware that the reality was way more mundane. Looking back I am aware that private education does breed a certain unspoken snobbery.

It seems that public schools largely run differently here because of the much smaller population but there are certainly some similarities. i do wonder if having kids in simple 40 minute blocks is really a good way to teach them and build a rapport.
What I am undecided about is whether universal home schooling is the answer. While there is no doubt that many of the families who home school do produce children who are thinkers and who are not  afraid to take the road less travelled, there were seversl questions that gatto did not address.
For instance what about the fact that homeschooling can be used by religious zealots or paranoid conspiracy theorists to protect their children from a world that they fear and loathe? Is it any healthier to breed such paranoia in youngsters? Dont their kids have a right to some level of exposure to an alternate view? Even conservative religious schools provide some level of exposure to the outside world. Also there is the question of families who abuse. In a regular school there is at least a chance for the youngster to report such activity. At the very least the child has a reprieve from a hostile home environment for 8 hrs even if the school system has many flaws

What are peoples views?

nimdA:
I've been dumbing myself down for the last 3 weeks almost every single night. Not to worried about the public schools as I graduated from high school ages ago.

To top it off I believe strongly that it is every person's sacred duty to educate themselves regardless of their circumstances. Being educationally crippled by forced attendance in a public school is hardly an adequete excuse for not tending to your own education.

Sidhe Shee:
Did you know?

Following another school district's policy, my daughter's school district sent me a letter six months ago informing me that I would owe the district $35.00 for each day missed that wasn't a legitimate day missed.  How cheeky.

Froderik:

--- Quote from: ""Sidhe Shee"" ---Did you know?

Following another school district's policy, my daughter's school district sent me a letter six months ago informing me that I would owe the district $35.00 for each day missed that wasn't a legitimate day missed.  How cheeky.
--- End quote ---

That's totally fucked.

Sidhe Shee:
Totally.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page