Thursday, October 08, 2009

Public School Rant - Beware

My posts have been fairly mellow for a while now. I have been keeping a fairly low profile and have not been in any fights for a long time. That doesn’t mean I won’t fight. Old habits are hard to break. I have waded in (put my 2 cents in) on someone else’s battle on another blog – something that always makes me go into battle mode – the public school system. I wonder if anyone will come here to check out who made the comments. If anyone does show up, I just want you to know that when we gave up the public school system (and I fought that battle for a long time), we gained peace in our life and our kids got a superb education.


My son finished college with a Masters in Economics. He graduated with honors paying for much of his education with scholarship money received for his hard work. And he did it all in five years. He has passed two parts of the CPA exam and just took a third test last Tuesday. He has married a beautiful woman, who was also homeschooled and is now homeschooling my GGs. GBN1 is five and she is reading up a storm. Both she and her two-year-old sister know more ASL than I do.


My daughter has an associate’s degree plus many hours towards her bachelor’s and has a 4.0 GPA. She has often expressed a desire to get her bachelor’s degree, but she makes plenty of money and has a great job with Halliburton. She does occasionally take a class in that direction, but if she went for an Bachelor’s, she would have to take all sorts of crap classes that take up time and money (that’s how The System works). Since her other desire is to be a wife and mother (she would like a house full of sons), we encourage her to wait patiently for the Lord to bring her a godly husband who wants a strong wife and maybe a few boys (girls are good too).


If you wonder about "socialization" I will say you should worry. Public school kids are definitely taught to be socialists. In fact, your kids will be taught that mediocrity is acceptable and actually better than excelling. Although they will learn to read, they will not be expected to do so on their own, and this will cause lots of problems if they go onto college. They are more likely to be taught that disobedience toward their parents is normal. Fighting, bullying, teen pregnancy, and drugs are all just part of the norm. Your kids will be subjected to these things in elementary school. Hopefully, you will have provided them with the tools to deal with such issues, because public school teachers will not provide those tools – they don’t have time. Each of the three ladies I paint with have children who went through public school. Some of their children have eventually had "success" in life, but all three ladies have children who have had to do time with counselors and psychiatrists and some are still struggling. Is that the fault of public school "socialization"- I don't know - I'm just sayin'.


If you have any questions about homeschooling, feel free to ask. It was not always easy. It is not for everyone. All school systems have their failures – homeshoolers have their share. For us, homeschooling was joy and peace in our lives.

5 comments:

Nancigail said...

I'm so happy there are more & more of us thinking the same way! Eventually who, pray tell, will be left in the public schools ~ where our tax dollars are going?? Should we start movement called "Mothers Against Socialization"? I would be happy to be a charter member! Our children & grandchildren deserve better from Washington & Texas....especially since we are paying for it anyway! Thank you for the rant.

Buck said...

I couldn't agree more, Lou. There was a big segment on McNeil-Lehrer last night on violence in public schools, brought on by the murder of yet another kid in Chicago. Our Very Important Gub'mint People were all there... pontificating and throwing lots of tax dollars at The Problem, while looking very Grim And Serious. It's the same ol', same ol'...

FWIW... TSMP pulled SN3 out of public school yet again this year and is going the home school route, with my full support.

Bag Blog said...

Nancigail, it is always good to hear from you. Feel free to rant here anytime.

Buck, SN3 is very smart - he will do well with homeschooling.

It seems that the Gub'mint has been bailing out the failing schools for a long time before they started bailing out business.

Unknown said...

excellent post...my daughter is working through this decision. My oldest grandgirl has Epilepsy, which has caused a good bit of difficulty in her Language skills. My daughter has taught her to sign, as one means of communication. The county isn't sure what to do with her, so my daughter is homeschooling pre-k...I'll keep you posted. thanks for always being such a fine inspiration!
~AM

Bag Blog said...

AirmanMom, Please do keep me informed. Federal law says that public schools must meet the needs of all handicapped children, but they do not always want to do this. A friend of mine had to get a lawyer involved, but the schools certainly stepped up at that point and did what they were supposed to do. It all depends on if you want their involvement or not. Home School Legal Defense Association
could possibly help you with any State laws - like public schools working with a home schooling parent to meet the needs of the child.

http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1