Thunder

With all the problems with educating children in the traditional school system. It 's no wonder parents are turning to homeschooling children. Also with non traditional students in colleges and Universities online schools are on the rise. Do you think soon traditional school are going to extinct and children are going to have a short commute to schools at home in their residents? Do you think it will work and have a lower drop out rate or will the rate of drop outs increase with all the interferences in the home?

Tom

As an expecting father I've already found myself wondering if I'll want to home-school my child. Being a product of both private and public high-school education it kind of seems to me that the system is just broken at this point. Maybe I'm overly-optimistic envisioning a place where kids enjoyed learning in a safe environment but that is really what I'm hoping for my child.

On the other hand will I have any other choice than to send my child to school? If at that point in time either myself or my wife are not able to stay home my options will be limited.

There are obvious benefits to the social interaction public/private schools offer but I'm not sure if the associated risk is worth it.

__________________
Parenting Forums

mamab

I homeschool my kids, but I don't think public schools will ever be completely done away with. There's no other way the government can "control" the future workforce, which seems to be their main objective. They want everyone to think the same and act the same. If they can make everyone learn the same things (and the things "THEY" want them to learn) they can reinforce their ideology.

As far as social interactions, they're man-made requirements. There's never been a point in history where a person is just with people their own age. One room schools were used extensively in our early history. And I would hazard to guess that the students then learned more than what kids currently learn.

You need to be able to relate to people of every age in various life situations. Personally, I don't want my kids stuck in a room with children their own age all day long. I want them to be able to talk to me without being whiny, backbiting, or hateful. It seems that's the attitude you get from many public school kids. Bless the teachers for having to be stuck in the same room with them for 7-8 hours a day!!

Nope, I don't think public schools will be done away with. There definitely needs to be changes made, however, for them to remain a viable option in educating children. I think more and more parents will jump on the homeschooling bandwagon. And, I'm here to help if anyone needs it.

Tom

Hehe I really like some of the things you said but this part is particularly thought-provoking for me.

__________________
Parenting Forums

theglyphon

I think the strength of any society is in its diversity. There has always been a mainstream of education. On the whole it produces children who are acceptably numerate, literate and socialised. Then there have been alternatives. If anything there are somewhat fewer alternative now than 20 or 30 years ago but there are still different types of school, Steiner, religious, etc. Then there is home based schooling.

One of the strength so home-based schooling is that you have to make an effort to get into it. Parent who home school are particularly well informed and dedicated. They also then to have more educational and financial resources than average. If home schooling became somehow manditory I predict it would be as (un)successful as traditional school--and quite probaby an even greater disaster because the school environment is where a lot of kids get what their homes don't offer.

So the bottom line is that I don't see a revolution coming in the mainstream of education, nor do I particlarly see the need for it. The mainstream of edication adequately prepares kids for the mainstream of employment and the current norms of our society. Nor do I see that as a totally terrible thing.

sweet_mayhem

i don't see the extinction of traditional schools happening soon. for one thing, it all depends on what works best for every student. it's a relative thing. what may be rigid and too restricting for some students may be very conducive to learning for others. also, some may find distance learning as ineffective for them. we always go back to the fact that students have various learning styles.

jmeyer3131

It's not possible for traditional schools to become extinct. Too many families have nobody at home to homeschool their kids during the day or to see to it that they do their online schooling. I think that we will continue to see more diversity, though, and that's a good thing.

It's popular to slam the current system, but there are still some good schools out there.

__________________
Janet
www.CanIChangeALife.blogspot.com