10-31-2007, 09:38 AM
I am genuinely mystified by this sort of One True Wayism on both sides of the educational discussion. It seems like there is a great risk of ignoring valid alternatives any time the debate is framed as between Choice A and Choice B.[/QUOTE]
Let me throw this out and say that if you and I were neighbors we could have coffee and chat for days about this, so understand this is just a little way to hit and run our ideas.
I would take the position that group schools in general are an unstudied experiment (public, private, parochial, magnet, charter, boarding, military, church basement schools, etc). The bottom line is that my research shows that putting large groups of people/children together is not a good idea. (the intent of the activity isn't relevant) Even large groups of mature and reasonable adults can't coexist without strict supervision. So, if we wanted to get technical, I don't send my kids to school because I don't want them in large groups with minimal supervision. In contrast, small groups are excellent (karate, scouts, swimming, track, hockey, art class, music lessons, study groups, parties, basketball teams, etc) at developing appropriate social community behavior and team building skills.
So- for me- it isn't about academics or Christianity- it is SPECIFICALLY about socialization. I don't think schools can be fixed if they continue to try and mass-educate children because of the distraction of being in a large group.
(Note that I am not talking about classroom ratio). So, without writing a book, I just wanted to say that I know what direction you are going- but my reasons for homeschooling are a little different.
Let me throw this out and say that if you and I were neighbors we could have coffee and chat for days about this, so understand this is just a little way to hit and run our ideas.
I would take the position that group schools in general are an unstudied experiment (public, private, parochial, magnet, charter, boarding, military, church basement schools, etc). The bottom line is that my research shows that putting large groups of people/children together is not a good idea. (the intent of the activity isn't relevant) Even large groups of mature and reasonable adults can't coexist without strict supervision. So, if we wanted to get technical, I don't send my kids to school because I don't want them in large groups with minimal supervision. In contrast, small groups are excellent (karate, scouts, swimming, track, hockey, art class, music lessons, study groups, parties, basketball teams, etc) at developing appropriate social community behavior and team building skills.
So- for me- it isn't about academics or Christianity- it is SPECIFICALLY about socialization. I don't think schools can be fixed if they continue to try and mass-educate children because of the distraction of being in a large group.
(Note that I am not talking about classroom ratio). So, without writing a book, I just wanted to say that I know what direction you are going- but my reasons for homeschooling are a little different.
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