NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/arts/books/23562

Text File | 1992-12-31 | 2.5 KB | 53 lines

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!torn!watserv2.uwaterloo.ca!watsci.UWaterloo.ca!msmorris
From: [e-mail] (Mike Morris)
Subject: Re: Homeschooling
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Waterloo
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 17:20:07 GMT
Lines: 41


                                 Thursday, the 31st of December, 1992

Evelyn Leeper writes:
  If one believes (as I do) that a society benefits by educating all its
  members, than for people to say, "Well, the school system is bad, so
  rather than work to fix it, I will pull my kids out."  I certainly
  believe that parents should be concerned about their children's
  education, but it seems to me that this can be done in addition to
  sending them to public school, rather than in place of.  If you take your
  children to museums, or talk about history, or do any number of things,
  you can add to the public school system, not replace it.
  [rest of article deleted]

But, even though I am committed to homeschooling, I *am* deeply concerned
with public education. I just don't see that pulling my own out of the public
schools hurts anyone. I still pay the same property taxes. There should be
more to go around for others, not less.

When I read in Milwaukee (where we own a home, and have a good chance
of living for awhile) that high school English teachers not only
despair of getting students to read *anything*, but that there are
rebellions by the students when they have to watch the video of the book
in black and white, or when I have been told that the elementary schools
are down to a couple of hours a week of math instruction, or when I
read yet another person with a degree in ``Education'' asserting how
the ``socialization'' function of the schools is far more important than
precisely what gets taught, there is just no way that I am going
to expose my kids to that in the faint hope that the sacrifice of
hours every day of their boredom will allow me to slay the dragon
and bring about excellence singlehandedly in public education. The risk
is that they will be taught to mediocrity in the meanwhile, and the
risk isn't worth it.

Call it selfish or shortsighted if you want, but I intend to vote with
my children's feet, as it were. And I consider it quite a public-minded
political act.

                     Mike Morris
            ([e-mail])