For A Friend Of A Friend...
I just feel like I should get this out there, just in case some of my past rants have come across in a way that might have caused a bit of irritation without my intent to do so.
Like I've said in my iOnet "disclaimer" for years, I don't aim my ideas at a target of pissing people off.
When I bitch about the HoMeSkOoLeRz [tm], I'm not pitching a general bitch about all Homeschool kids. I hope the reading public understands I'm not throwing the same blanket over the whole bunch.
There are many, many families out there who are having great success with the Homeschool concept -- when I got back in touch with Andy (my Prom Date) a few years ago, one of the questions he asked as we stood in the middle of Wal-Mart catchin' up was how my brother's kid was doin'. I told him about how there were two kids now, and that I still worry about their mom getting killed or injured in a bizzarre household accident, and that they were HoMeSkOoLiNg [tm] and the whole idea scared the shit outta me.
Andy looked a little offended; "Hey, I was a Homeschool Kid!"
"Uhm, Yeah Andy, but your mom's a Teacher, their mom is an Airhead."
Andy and his mom did the homeschool thing while he was also attending Vo-Tech and working at a pretty decent job while still in highschool; best I can tell, it worked out quite well for him. He's got a good job, runs his own business on the side, makes decent money and is enough of a problem solver to make it through life's little rough patches -- I'd say he does alright, and even as his ex-girlfriend from way-way-back, I'm glad we ended up friends even if it took us a while.
Those successful intellegent Homeschool Parents and Kids aren't the ones I'm worried about. I'm worried about the eight-year-old who's puzzled by the reversible "Open/Closed" sign; of course it says "Closed" on the inside -- because we need the "Open" sign facing outside when we're Open. I'm worried about the twelve-year-old who can't read the "FRAGILE" sticker on the box that the UPS Man just brought in. I'm worried about the dad who can't spell the name of the motorcycle he wants to Google for, even though it's printed on the shirt he's wearing. I'm worried about the mom who can't spell "Area" when she's writing it on the whiteboard for the HoMeSkOoL [tm] math lesson of the day.
I, the chick who flunked out of PTA school, am worried sick about my sister-in-law -- the one who signs her name with My last name and "RN, BSN," who wants to give the kids their yearly immunizatioins at home but says she'll have to "get out a book and see where the subcutaneous is."
You can't teach a kid everything they'll ever need to know -- you have to teach 'em how to think things through and figure out the answers. If you can't even put batteries in a flaslight, are you sure you want your kids heading out into the world with only your knowledge base?
I'm not bitching about the sensible, reasonable, problem-solving Homeschool Teachers; if they're doin' it right, there's no reason to question their decision. I just don't want the future of my nation resting in the hands of anyone who's ever attempted to use white-out on a computer screen.
And for the last time, a turkey carcass is a turkey carcass is a turkey carcass. It's a picked-over turkey carcass, it's garbage and that's all there is to it. No, we are not going to save that for "arts & crafts," and nobody's going to "make a sleigh" out of it, because it's garbage. Making little Christmas Trees out of painted pinecones is cute, making little sparkly ornaments with glitter and glue and fudgepop sticks is kinda cute -- but nobody makes a sleigh centerpiece with a turkey carcass, because it's a damn turkey carcass, Santa's eight tiny reindeer pulled a sleigh, not a turkey carcass, and nobody wants the Thanksgiving garbage in the middle of the table at Christmas!! Now, throw that damn smelly thing in the dumpster! NOW!!
More later... _\,,/
Like I've said in my iOnet "disclaimer" for years, I don't aim my ideas at a target of pissing people off.
When I bitch about the HoMeSkOoLeRz [tm], I'm not pitching a general bitch about all Homeschool kids. I hope the reading public understands I'm not throwing the same blanket over the whole bunch.
There are many, many families out there who are having great success with the Homeschool concept -- when I got back in touch with Andy (my Prom Date) a few years ago, one of the questions he asked as we stood in the middle of Wal-Mart catchin' up was how my brother's kid was doin'. I told him about how there were two kids now, and that I still worry about their mom getting killed or injured in a bizzarre household accident, and that they were HoMeSkOoLiNg [tm] and the whole idea scared the shit outta me.
Andy looked a little offended; "Hey, I was a Homeschool Kid!"
"Uhm, Yeah Andy, but your mom's a Teacher, their mom is an Airhead."
Andy and his mom did the homeschool thing while he was also attending Vo-Tech and working at a pretty decent job while still in highschool; best I can tell, it worked out quite well for him. He's got a good job, runs his own business on the side, makes decent money and is enough of a problem solver to make it through life's little rough patches -- I'd say he does alright, and even as his ex-girlfriend from way-way-back, I'm glad we ended up friends even if it took us a while.
Those successful intellegent Homeschool Parents and Kids aren't the ones I'm worried about. I'm worried about the eight-year-old who's puzzled by the reversible "Open/Closed" sign; of course it says "Closed" on the inside -- because we need the "Open" sign facing outside when we're Open. I'm worried about the twelve-year-old who can't read the "FRAGILE" sticker on the box that the UPS Man just brought in. I'm worried about the dad who can't spell the name of the motorcycle he wants to Google for, even though it's printed on the shirt he's wearing. I'm worried about the mom who can't spell "Area" when she's writing it on the whiteboard for the HoMeSkOoL [tm] math lesson of the day.
I, the chick who flunked out of PTA school, am worried sick about my sister-in-law -- the one who signs her name with My last name and "RN, BSN," who wants to give the kids their yearly immunizatioins at home but says she'll have to "get out a book and see where the subcutaneous is."
You can't teach a kid everything they'll ever need to know -- you have to teach 'em how to think things through and figure out the answers. If you can't even put batteries in a flaslight, are you sure you want your kids heading out into the world with only your knowledge base?
I'm not bitching about the sensible, reasonable, problem-solving Homeschool Teachers; if they're doin' it right, there's no reason to question their decision. I just don't want the future of my nation resting in the hands of anyone who's ever attempted to use white-out on a computer screen.
And for the last time, a turkey carcass is a turkey carcass is a turkey carcass. It's a picked-over turkey carcass, it's garbage and that's all there is to it. No, we are not going to save that for "arts & crafts," and nobody's going to "make a sleigh" out of it, because it's garbage. Making little Christmas Trees out of painted pinecones is cute, making little sparkly ornaments with glitter and glue and fudgepop sticks is kinda cute -- but nobody makes a sleigh centerpiece with a turkey carcass, because it's a damn turkey carcass, Santa's eight tiny reindeer pulled a sleigh, not a turkey carcass, and nobody wants the Thanksgiving garbage in the middle of the table at Christmas!! Now, throw that damn smelly thing in the dumpster! NOW!!
More later... _\,,/
posted by Debbie at 10:56 AM
1 Comments:
That's the same problem I have with home schooling. Well, one of the problems. :)
B. has a cousin with three biological kids and a hoard of adopted and foster kids. She homeschools. While she's an intelligent person, she doesn't have the educational background that a teacher has. Nevermind that she's trying to run a household, raise the kids, and teach the kids. I don't so how she can effectively do all of these jobs; there are too many of them and she's stretched too thin. While it's not good for her, the kids will be the ones who pay a huge price for it.
The home immunizations? Oh my God! Those poor kids.
You know, teachers, nurses, and doctors spend a lot of time and money on education to be able to do the jobs they do. Why in the world do people think they can do these jobs with their own kids without that background?
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