12-09-2018, 12:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-09-2018, 12:54 PM by cookderosa.)
<<It makes a difference when you're paying over $6,000 for your kids to teach themselves. They can do that at home. Where does that $6,000 go? To pay for electricity?
Don't homeschooling parents always complain about how school districts teach to the test? If the students didn't take the prerequisite courses that they need to do well in college-level courses, then it doesn't matter how high they scored on the ACT. The ACT doesn't even cover calculus, which is probably why one of their STEM majors is failing in college. The ACT also only includes 40 questions on basic science.>>
Well, to be clear, I'm not disagreeing with the notion that children should be educated. I differ slightly in my opinion as a mother (which is not to say I think the world should operate as I believe) but my opinion is that it is the parent's privilege and obligation to assure their child is educated - but I don't think parents have to "do" the teaching, they can hire / delegate that to someone (public school, private school, tutors, etc.) and I also do not share the opinion that certain subjects must match an arbitrary grade number or be taught at a certain time (thus "on grade level" in my opinion is a garbage assumption). So... all that being said, I am never ok with parents blaming a poor education on the deliverer of that education - step in, step up, and act.
Parents were paying $6,000 because they believed the promise of the school to get their kids into college. It doesn't matter if it was $6/yr or $60,000/yr (and there are many prep schools residential and day schools that cost in that range) Unfortunately, that is the goal of most parents. I've said it over and over and over - the goal should not be getting our kids IN to college, it should be on getting them OUT, which is no small task for anyone - no matter where they went to college. Even the public school system (which by default has become the "measure" by which success is evaluated) fails to produce a product (student) that will both get IN and then get OUT of college better than half the time. The secret sauce, as they say, is something else. So, that a few kids are not successful in college isn't really enough for me to say the school is failing (though it may be, but that isn't really a solid point since that happens in many schools.)
I won't speak for homeschooling parents, but as one, I do think teaching to the test is a poor use of childhood. Testing and learning are different things, and in my home, we do both- they test for credentials and state requirements, but learning is separate and apart. If you're applying to a college that places a lot of weight on an ACT or SAT score, then yes, you need to be able to reach that benchmark. That's never been a goal in my home with my kids- so it's not something we give any attention to. That said, I'm not an idiot- my kids are white middle class with parents that can provide tuition and resources that the kids at Landry don't all have. It's not the same demographic to apply my approach to a school like that. If I were running that school, it would take me a good number of years to readjust and relearn how to pull success out of those kids and what kinds of things THEY needed to succeed. I'm only an expert at raising MY kids.
Still, I find this kind of case study very interesting, and I do hope these kids don't end up with too big a mess.
Don't homeschooling parents always complain about how school districts teach to the test? If the students didn't take the prerequisite courses that they need to do well in college-level courses, then it doesn't matter how high they scored on the ACT. The ACT doesn't even cover calculus, which is probably why one of their STEM majors is failing in college. The ACT also only includes 40 questions on basic science.>>
Well, to be clear, I'm not disagreeing with the notion that children should be educated. I differ slightly in my opinion as a mother (which is not to say I think the world should operate as I believe) but my opinion is that it is the parent's privilege and obligation to assure their child is educated - but I don't think parents have to "do" the teaching, they can hire / delegate that to someone (public school, private school, tutors, etc.) and I also do not share the opinion that certain subjects must match an arbitrary grade number or be taught at a certain time (thus "on grade level" in my opinion is a garbage assumption). So... all that being said, I am never ok with parents blaming a poor education on the deliverer of that education - step in, step up, and act.
Parents were paying $6,000 because they believed the promise of the school to get their kids into college. It doesn't matter if it was $6/yr or $60,000/yr (and there are many prep schools residential and day schools that cost in that range) Unfortunately, that is the goal of most parents. I've said it over and over and over - the goal should not be getting our kids IN to college, it should be on getting them OUT, which is no small task for anyone - no matter where they went to college. Even the public school system (which by default has become the "measure" by which success is evaluated) fails to produce a product (student) that will both get IN and then get OUT of college better than half the time. The secret sauce, as they say, is something else. So, that a few kids are not successful in college isn't really enough for me to say the school is failing (though it may be, but that isn't really a solid point since that happens in many schools.)
I won't speak for homeschooling parents, but as one, I do think teaching to the test is a poor use of childhood. Testing and learning are different things, and in my home, we do both- they test for credentials and state requirements, but learning is separate and apart. If you're applying to a college that places a lot of weight on an ACT or SAT score, then yes, you need to be able to reach that benchmark. That's never been a goal in my home with my kids- so it's not something we give any attention to. That said, I'm not an idiot- my kids are white middle class with parents that can provide tuition and resources that the kids at Landry don't all have. It's not the same demographic to apply my approach to a school like that. If I were running that school, it would take me a good number of years to readjust and relearn how to pull success out of those kids and what kinds of things THEY needed to succeed. I'm only an expert at raising MY kids.
Still, I find this kind of case study very interesting, and I do hope these kids don't end up with too big a mess.
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