Right now, pretty much anyone can provide a public education. The parents are left with many choices on how to educate their children. Ria said it best in her post about parents having the right to decided what is best for their child's education, whether it be public, private, charter or homeschooling. Hess even states that it is not clear that public schooling needs to have restrictions on who provides services. Those parents who choose to homeschool have that right. Jen told us in her presentation that between 1.5 and 2.4 million kids are homeschooled. There is no way of knowing what these kids are learning at home and if they are receiving a rich education.
Mary also discussed the decline in private school education. Right now in this economy, public schooling is the better route. Again, it is ultimately up to the parents to decide. Public schools have no tuition, and if you are in a good community like River or Westlake, you know that their levies pass and that their test scores are high. They are great school districts. Mary also mentioned that the lack of enrollment in the private schools could be due to lack of faith. Which goes back to the economy as well. People are pressed for money. Times are rough, a lot of people have lost faith. There has also been a change in social values. Families have changed. Families don't sit down and have dinner together anymore. Everyone is on the go. Too many families are broken and have no structure. Times have really changed.
Public schooling is open to all in this country. There are no restrictions. Anyone can attend. It is the sole responsibility of the parents to decide what is best for their child when it comes to their education.
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Parents definately have the sole responsibility to decide what is best for their children. Like Mary said she has changed her kids 3 times because she felt she found better schools. This is why people want to live and learn in America. We have choice....we have choice starting in preschool and going until we are done with every degree we would want to gain. We just need to make sure parents are choosing what is best for their child and not what is best for them. If all schools were labeled public and no school needed tuition I believe more children would be able to gain a better education because parents then could send them to schools that fit the child best.
ReplyDeleteI like in the comment above how it's the parents choice but it should be based on what is best for the child. I think whether it's private school, public school, home schooling, or web based you need to decide what environment is best for the child to learn. In the end the goal is to produce a child with the skills and knowledge to be a productive adult and hopefully maintain a willing and desire to keep learning and growing. If a child is in a setting where they are stressed about learning or is not enjoying the experiences then they will struggle in becoming a productive citizen for they will not have the desire to grow and work hard to obtain goals. At the end of the day it's important to make sure the students is receiving as many tools and methods of learning that they can receive and are enjoying the learning process along the way. And these opportunities should be equally accessible for each child to have.
ReplyDeleteAnother choice to consider is the cyber-school. This often allows a child to move at his/her own rate of learning and can be individualized. I know of two children who are/have been "schooled" at home through the internet. Both have difficulties with the public school setting. One girl was so "homeschooled" when she was dealing with some severe depression issues and living with her grandparents (jr.high). She was unable to interact with her peers because of her severe emotional problems. The second child is a sixth grade boy who always has struggled with the traditional school setting, needing special help in various areas and individualized attention that wasn't always available (he was on an IEP). His mother is very pleased with how he is "interacting" with the internet and he is being very successful with the program. This has boosted his confidence tremendously. I do appreciate Jenn stating that even though these internet-based school "systems" are seen as homeschooling but are more geared to be equal to the public school curriculum. It is also interesting to note that these "schools" are money makers for the proprietors.
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