I would say that the schools are doing less and less of what they need to do to make them a worthwhile use of our kids' time and to justify the demands they make on parents.

If my kids are going to spend 7 hours a day in school, plus commuting time, they had better learn more than I could teach them in a couple of hours, don't you think? And they should be able to do so safely, and get to and from school in a safe and efficient manner, and in an environment that doesn't make them feel put down. And also, I shouldn't be constantly wondering what they are going to tell my kids today that offends my value system or is not remotely age-appropriate in my opinion. After all, I am their parent, and there are some rights and responsibilities I shouldn't hand off to someone else. The trend in schools is toward doing more and more of what parents like me don't want our kids doing, and less and less of what we feel school exists for.

Furthermore, the schools are constantly demanding more time and money from parents. Teachers are assigning more homework even though there is evidence that this hinders learning if anything. They are even assigning homework to the parents, with no regard for whether the parents (a) have any time for it, (b) have the ability to do it, or (c) have their own very rich at-home learning activities. They are even assigning summer homework. They are demanding that parents "volunteer" for the school and pay significant amounts of money for things that used to be covered by the school budget. Then you have all the peer pressure and even violence, which the school fails to curb, which causes kids to feel like they just can't go to school without wearing designer clothes and altering their bodies. When you know you could teach your own kids more than they learn in school in half the time and for about the same cost, it's surprising that more people don't pull their kids out of school.

Now, the teachers will say that all that may be true, but it's someone else's fault. However, I say that's nonsense. The teachers' unions consistently support the party that wants schools to focus less on academics and more on BS and take over the parents' roles in areas where parents don't want this. The idea of teaching to a test is meaningless if the kids were actually learning what they used to learn in school. So many teachers' basic academic skills aren't up to the level of a sixth-grade textbook, so naturally they have to use non-traditional means to get the kids to pass tests that they themselves might not pass! Maybe the teachers ought to be the ones taking classes to learn the stuff that is on the tests. Or maybe the teachers should be regularly tested on basic skills. And if they don't like the specific content of the tests, they should get involved in making it more relevant. But not to the point of bringing it down to the least common denominator, so that we're better off with no test at all (which is what they really want).

Then you hear how awful it is that teachers have to spend time outside the classroom working and studying. Well, every other professional I know has to work a lot more hours than a teacher. Maybe it's a union mentality, I don't know, but pride in one's work usually means doing more than the bare minimum. And no, I don't think the answer is higher pay for all teachers. Maybe for the teachers who actually get results. Honestly, if my kid's teacher sent home a note with grammar and spelling errors, I would be having a fit, not calling for her to have a raise.

I don't know if I'll homeschool my kids or put them in private or public school. I have four more years to decide that, and I'll decide based on what I feel is best for my kids given the alternatives available to them. Philosophically, I'd love for them to attend public school so that they are not privileged compared to other kids whose families have no choice. But realistically, when it comes to my own kids' needs, I'm the only one looking out for them. The buck stops here, and I'm not going to let any school brow-beat me into doing what isn't right for my kids.

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Jennifer, you already *are* your kid's primary teacher. Think of all he's learned just from being with you. Do you really think that reading, basic math and thinking skills are that much more difficult to teach? After that, natural curiosity takes over and parents just guide and facilitate the learning.

Children are sponges, eager to learn whatever their surroundings have to offer. Parents who kindle this fire can mostly just sit back and watch it burn. The kids *will* teach themselves, when given the freedom and respect that foster learning.

What our citizens seem to have forgotten is that the State is responsible to the parent; the parents are not responsible to the State.

"Do parents know enough to be able to make decisions like homeschooling for their kids? "

I hope this was written in order to be provocative, because if you actually do wonder at this, you've missed the mark.

Recently, ParentDish linked to a blog referencing a story about school systems that are having to outsource recess. Readers expressed shock that kids would need this kind of help learning to play together. Kids who spend their early years in a group setting live the 'dog eat dog' lifestyle years before they're ready to deal with it properly. It is perfectly reasonable to expect that they will need help with their interpersonal skills.

Homeschoolers (and others) are often told, "you can't protect them forever. Someday, they'll have to enter the real world." We are quite well aware of this fact and we choose to keep our kids close at home until they can learn the skills required for success in the real world.

Recommended authors:
Charlotte Mason
John Holt

For the more radical, there is Alfie Kohn and John Taylor Gatto. Check out some of their works and you might find yourself yearning to homeschool.

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I agree with Sandyone. However, the article in question paints a skewed picture of homeschooling and unschooling (a style of homeschooling). If I read that article before I started my homeschooling journey, I would have thought the author was a hippie-dippie nut job. First, most homeschool families aren't at the bar with their children at night, even if it is a low key pub. I'm all for exposing my kid to the real world when it's appropriate. I know New York has more to offer than that.

The media does a poor job of painting the true picture of homeschooling. That is why we get a bad rep as ultra Bible pounding holy rollers or new age artsy folks. In short, people should not judge homeschooling, or anything for that matter, until they are knowledgeable about the position they are debating. I've spent the last 4 years researching homeschooling, reading up on the history of traditional education, talking with other hs families, reading hs blogs and only in the last few months have I felt comfortable enough to debate it with friends and family. And I challenge those individuals to do the same. I think most people would agree with the homeschool stance if they took the time to REALLY study the issue and their options.

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Dang!! SKL beats me to the punch, AGAIN!! :)

I've had to make this decision this year. My son was academically ready - even advanced - for Kindergarten. Our choices were public, private or homeschool. For personal reasons, including the social aspect (my son is an only child in the country, with no other kids around), homeschooling was off the table, even though I think I would be able to teach him very well.

That whittled the choices to public vs. private. I took him to the public "Round-up", and was told that, while he certainly is a very bright boy, he's "a little wiggly" and I should seriously consider keeping him in 4-year-old Preschool for another year. I sat down with the principal and asked her directly, "Based on your opinion, as an educational professional, what academic benefit is there for him to be held back from Kindergarten this year? He is already reading and doing basic math. If he repeats preschool, I fear that he will become extremely bored."

Her answer? "It's your decision."

That's it. That's the only "professional" opinion that I could get out of a public school principal who has a DOCTORATE in Education.

We chose the private school, and are very, very happy with our decision.

This experience has reinforced my opinion that more and more, our public school system has simply become just one more bureaucracy, sucking money out of our pockets and giving us crap in return.

As SKL said, the demands upon us - the public and the parents - are higher and higher every year, but the return diminishes with each passing year. Every year, I listen to the Teacher's Union whine about "low teacher pay" - but what other profession is going to give a full three-month vacation, in addition to two weeks at Christmas ('scuse me, "Winter"), a week at Easter (uh... "Spring") and a four-day weekend over Thanksgiving? Not to mention all the other holidays interspersed in there, PLUS extra vacation and sick days built into the contract. And when we raise the pay for teachers, we don't get better quality. The Union continues to resist allowing testing for teachers, and I am constantly seeing things like, “Im a teacher and I can tell you that Ive been their, to.” When a person can’t tell the difference between “there and their”, and “to and too”, THERE is a problem. And the problem is that this person is being paid to teach the future of our country.

Yes, there is a HUGE problem with public education in this country. As far as I’m concerned, it should be torn completely down and rebuilt – and since that’s not going to happen, perhaps it should start with a voucher program. It’s pitiful that I have to pay for my neighbor’s kid’s education (through taxes) AND my own child’s education (through tuition), but the reverse is not true, because their kids go to public school. I should be able to take that tax money, at least while my child is in school, and put it towards my own child’s education. I shouldn’t have to pay twice.

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Yup, We all suck. Public School Teachers are a bunch of lazy, whining, illiterate losers. We barely passed our college courses, we just sit through the manditory 25 hours of professional development each year, we never use time after school or on the weekends to make our lessons better, we never spend our own money on school supplies, food or clothes for our students. We never give up any of our own time away from our own families to support our students who have no support at home. We only teach to the test, and never try to make it relavent to the real world. We never communicate with parents...because what do they know...they can't have any information teachers would want about their child and how they learn best. We take up class time teaching students social skills, community building, postive attitudes and other non academic stuff because we think ALL parents are wonderful, teach these things to their children, and we just want something easy that the kids already know! We take all your money and make your kids stupid. I am so glad you have all caught on to our little game. There is not 1 good public school teacher out there.
Honestly it bothers me that there are people out there who really think this stuff. I am very dedicated. I LOVE my students. I want what is best for them. There are some bad teachers out there, but I am an educated professional that is leading my school into bringing technology into the classroom to teach our students what they need to succedd in the real world. When you comment in the future, please remember MOST TEACHERS CARE AND ARE GREAT AT THEIR JOBS.

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And when YOU comment here, please remember that playing the "martyr" card only makes you look bitter, and is supremely unhelpful.

Nobody said that ALL teachers were bad. Nobody said that NONE of the teachers cared. We were commenting on the overall situation, and I don't think anyone will disagree that the state of public education in this country is in serious trouble, and needs a LOT of fixing. It's knee-jerk responses like yours that are designed to steer an otherwise logical and possibly fruitful discussion into the emotional and unproductive.

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My aunt homeschooled her 4 children until the two oldest went to high school. They participated in 4H and girl scouts/boy scouts and knew a lot of kids in their area. When they started school (the two oldest in high school) they were ridiculed because they didn't dress like the other kids and didn't know the popular television/music stars, and because they were new and academically further ahead than others their age. This says that homeschooling worked for them academically, but socially they missed out. My aunt and uncle were so upset by their children being teased that instead of teaching them how to deal with societal pressures they pulled all 4 back out of school and homeschooled again. The oldest 2 plan to go to college with no real practical experience in how to deal with their own peer group. It's upsetting to see them having such a hard time with other kids their own age and I worry about how they'll do in college. Hopefully well. I like the idea of homeschool leagues and other large groups of homeschoolers getting together in a large group. I think socializing and learning how to navigate a peer group is very important, and something that can be missed out on if you're not exposed to large, diverse groups of people often enough.

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My brother had a wretched teacher in middle school, that constantly nitpicked him, and even spread rumors about him to the other teachers, essentially setting him up for failure. He was miserable at school, which led to attitude and fights at home. Midway through seventh grade, my parents pulled him out of public school and started homeschooling.

At this time my sister was struggling with boys tormenting her in sixth grade, and I was feeling the effects of 'mean girls' in fifth. My younger sister's teacher in kindergarten was taking the credit for teaching her how to read, something she had been doing for quite some time before school. At the end of that year, we were all done with public school.

With homeschooling I found myself free to learn and focus on what I thought was interesting. Yes, I learned things that I wasn't interested in, such as physics, but I also was able to focus on areas of history I liked, on mythology, on my writing. I was able to think outside of 'what's the next test?' I was able to volunteer at the library. While we are not a devoutly religious family, I found I was able to study my religion and count it as school. My family is still politically active, and I was taught to fight for what I believe in, and what I want, rather than accepting what I'm given.

One last thought: My friend, who I love dearly, was public schooled and started college at the same time I did. She left at the same time I did, without a degree. I have my Associate's at age 19. I am on my own, she is struggling to get out of her parents home. Just a thought.

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Good Teachers DO complain about those not so good teachers. There is a lot of peer teaching and coaching. We often work with each other to make our teaching better.
I think I would like to apoligize for "being the martyr". I did not mean to come off that way. I put a lot of time and passion into my job and it seems the general concensus is that most parents hate teachers. I just don't understand. We honestly try our best, and this is how we honestly feel: Our hands are tied with NCLB. Our school funding, thus our jobs, are based on ONE test. Everyone knows, especially parents, you can't judge a kid on ONE thing. So, yes, we take time out of normal class to help the kids know best how to take the test. What we really want is for the test to not mean so much. We want to be judged on progress. Say a kid gets a 45 on the test. Next year he or she scores 67, but passing is 80. Can the government not see how much progress that kid made? No, they only see she or he still failed. While, as teachers, we are jumping for joy because of the success this kid is making. I honestly don't understand how parents can allow this to continue. I feel public school is the best place for most kids. Teachers have all gone to college, we actually DO have to take a "skills test" to be certified, and we have to have continued professional development. Yes, homeschooled kids do turn out okay, public and private school kids do as well. I guess it all comes back (for me) as to WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE HATE US? I really don't understand.

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I am a highly educated tax professional, but I would never assume that the average American could understand the complex nature of the current tax code. Likewise, I would never assume that I, as a highly educated person could be a "teacher" to my elementary age children. How arrogant are these parents that they think they properly teach their children as much as children in the average classroom learn on any given day? What about the intrinsic lessons that consist of learning to deal with difficult personalities or unexpected results - i'm sorry, but the home environment cannot even begin to duplicate that. It is simply a controlled environment that is not any thing close to the real world.

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