Do you think that school transfers even things out or spread inadequate education?

This is one issue I can't decide on in the no child left behind act. I see how providing inter district transfers balances resources better between poor performing schools and those with higher test scores, but at the same time the kids having to be shipped off to the resource as opposed to the resource being in their own community is wrong. For a child to travel hours on a bus to attend school in 'the good neighborhood' diminishes a sense of belonging, community and importance. So while I feel like it's a step in the right direction I think they need to go a step further and ship the funds instead the kids.

 

there is also the issue of schools that were once high performing having lower test scores after increased enrolment and over crowded classrooms. it's hard because you want things to equal out but not take decent education away from kids even if they have a clear geographic advantage.

 

This might be off topic, but I think all public school education in America is inadequate education. This is why I think all parents should homeschool their children.

High school students in Hong Kong, Finland, and South Korea did the best in math among 40 countries surveyed. The US was ranked 28th in math and 18th in reading. These results are disgusting, especially when compared to the Czech Republic, which spent only one-third as much per student as the US did, and was one of the top ten performing nations in the study. I think it's a sign of how flawed the US public school systems are.

 

I think you're right as long as kids are properly socialized and parents are properly educated home schooling produces some pretty bright kids. i would never in a million years send my kids to public school but I wouldn't home school them either. They have some really great alternative schools out here that don't make kids sit for hours on end and promote critical thinking. They are relativley inexpensive too the only problem is that the teachers usually just have a liberal arts degree and lack teaching credentials.

 

Once again I agree with Rat here. I plan to homeschool my children because I do not trust the public school system any longer to properly educate. It is very sad. I think that education is the most important thing, and should be our main priority in this country, but killing people is more important to the powers that be.

Regarding the original question, here in Delaware you can choose any school that you want to go, but there are waiting lists out the ass for certian schools. If the school that you want to is in your home district, then you get first choice. I was lucky to live in a district with a really good public high school. There are also a few charter schools here which are amazing, but the waiting list for these is 2-5 years and it is by random drawing after your child has passed the entrance exam. And then you have to provide transportation.

I think all schools should be up to par. I don't think that parents or students should have to fight for education. The educational system in this country is lacking in so many ways, that I can't even begin to describe them right now. They need to overhaul the whole system in my opinion. We desperately need much more money for education.

 

There would be a problem with everyone homeschooling their kids, see there are a lot of stupid people out there and it wouldn't do the kids any good.

Another thought: why don't we ever hold the student accountable, it would be nice if all students took their schooling serious but alot of them don't, and right away we want to say that the system is broken,(i don't think so) do you want to know why kids in the Chezh Republic do well in school, because they don't have the distractions that our kids have.

 

Kids aren't psychologically prepared to be held accountable for their education when they are entering school. Parents and schools need to be held accountable.

 

The point of the no child left behind act is very simply to destroy what's left of the public school system. Despite what you might read in the papers, there is still such a thing a quality public education in this country. But this moronic legislation is putting a stranglehold on good schools and teachers.
Why would Bush do this?
Simple: so he can privatize education and covert the system into a more secular one.

 

My god Kilgore you took the words right out of my mouth. The problem is, is that Public Schools are now under funded because of the No Child Left Behind Act. Ive gone to public school my whole life and the only change Ive seen are in the students. If you go to school wanting to learn you will get an education. I graduated with a 3.8 from my local public high school are you going to tell me that I recieved a bad eduacation?

Two things about the homeschooling.

Rat, please tell me how many people in America can afford to have one parent stay home all day to teach their son(s)/daughter(s). A lot of familys have to have two incomes to survive. By cutting off one of those incomes its a huge blow to the family atmosphere. Public school gives these familys an outlet. Where as private schools you have to pay tuition.

If public schooling is so bad for your education, all the would be parents graduating from public schools ,in this generation, would by default be teaching their kids a bad education. So when you say everyone should homeschool their kids you pushing your opinion a little to far.They can only teach them what they learned from public schools (which apperently is a horrbile education).

 

Well, my opinion is that if you can't bring children up the very best that you can, you shouldn't have kids, especially this day in age.

So you're saying that further, real education cannot occur outside the system? Please.

 

Haha, well, unfortunately, the people who realise this will always be outbabied by people who don't. It's funny, but studies have shown that there is an inverse correlation between the education level of parents and the number of their offspring. More intelligent, educated people tend to only have one or two kids, while the rest of society is quite likely to pop out half a dozen little clones. Well, at least the smart people will always have someone to pick up their garbage.

 

I think the problem is that school levys are one of the very few taxes citizens can vote against, so they do...

i think there needs to be a lot of changes regarding the funding...equal and higher funding from the federal government would be a good start..


I'm against home schooling for the most part, I think learning social skills is an important part of growing up

 

If and when I have kids, I will send them to public school, but I will also spend as much time with them as I can at home to teach them the things they won't learn in school. These days, too many people expect society to raise their kids, but society can never really raise your kids, only parents can do that. I will treat school like what it is, free daycare, a place to learn about socialising, and ideally a place to build the foundation for a proper education, but I will not expect it to teach my kids morals or a good way to live, those are for mom and dad to teach, and I will suppliment his/her education in academics and skills however I can.

Damn, I would probably have to cut down on the irish whiskey, I'm in no hurry to start the wonderful nightmare of parenthood quite yet

 

I don't think it matters where you go to school. I've gone to some.........below par(to be nice about it) schools, but I think I did well with what I was given. It's about what you want to learn, and about the effort you'r willing to put into it. Anybody can learn amply given even mediocre supplies so long as they try.

 

haha

I couldn't have said it better.

 

Hmmm, that may be true some of the time. My IQ is in the stratosphere, (Not bragging, just stating fact) and I am, if anything overeducated, (A BS and two Master's) and I have FOUR kids. I think it depends. If you look at La Leche League members, you see VERY educated, intelligent womyn, with a larger number of children than the general population. These are, however, womyn who really value motherhood and doing what is absolutely best for their children. They are no strangers to sacrifice in order to do what is best for their kids. You also see a LOT of home schooling in this population. I wonder how parents like this skew the stats on "uneducated" parents?

 

The real question is why some schools get higher test scores than others. A problem student in a bad school won't always become a good student in a better school. Sometimes the problem is with the student and not the school.

If I had to go "hours" to school and back, I'd be too worn out to do well in school.

 

I didn't know that about you.I think that's awesome that your so educated and thought about yourself and education first before setteling down.

 

Oh I forgot all women plan their pregnencies.

As opposed to the unreal education, that is public schooling. Apprenetly you cant get real education at public schools, because their a figment of my imagination.

 

Hmm some very interesting points have been raised. First of all allow me to clarify for some of those who are unaware. Home schooling is not like it used to be. Many studies have been done recently that prove that children who are home schooled are very well adjusted individuals and do have ample social skills. This is of course assuming that the parent actually provides a way for his/her child to obtain those skills. Keeping a child locked up for 18 years with no outside influence would be a completely different story, and I don't know of any parent who does this. Home schooling has come a long way, and I suggest that more people at least consider it, or find out more about it before judging it so harshly. Also, I don't believe that everyone should home school their own children, because as someone pointed out not everyone has the luxury of staying home and not having that second income (how capitalistic of you to put wealth and belongings above your children, I'm sure they'll thank you in the future) and also because there really are some incompetent people out there, and it would only perpetuate the lack of education in this society. Therefore, the only conclusion I can come to is that the public school system needs more money, more love, more accountability, more parent involvement, less politics and less apathy. I mean this should be one of the easiest problems to correct in this country, yet no one bothers to whether it is because they have their own agenda (the congress) or because we don't deem education as important, or as important as other countries do. What is going to happen when the rest of the world surpasses us, because they are well on their way?

I went to both private school (from 4th to 10th grade) and public school for the remainder of my education. The reason that I wish to home school my children is because I want them to learn what I want for them to know, not only what a school thinks is appropriate, or “good enough”. Yes, I am well aware of the standards that one must comply with in order to home school, but I just feel that I would go about it a bit differently than many schools would. I mean there are things that public and many private schools just simply do not teach anymore. I've seen some curricula of the schools in this area, and in my opinion it is lacking. Of course again, this could also be corrected simply by being an involved parent, but apparently, that isn’t in the job description for a parent anymore. There are pros and cons to each type of education and I personally think parents should consider all options, including home schooling.

I really feel that I learned as much as I could in public school, more than I ever could have in the small private school that I attended. I was lucky, as I stated before, to be in a school district that was affluent. We had very good teachers who cared, many diverse programs to help students choose a career path, and we had ample and new materials.

Because I also worked for a non-profit organization in the public school system for 2 years helping underprivileged high school student receive the tools that they deserve to survive in this country, I also know the other side of the coin. And no matter how hard these students try; they are told at every turn that they will not be able to succeed, whether it is by teachers, administrators, by society or by their own parents. I had a 4.0 in both schools, so I'm not certain if the school makes any difference. What did make a difference, however, are my parents. They had such high expectations of both my sister and I that anything less than my absolute best was completely unacceptable. This could be where many families are lacking. Holding a student completely responsible would be difficult at best, but a parent, they should know better (again, not all do). To reiterate, the answer is quite simple: spend less money on killing one another and spend more on education. Make that a priority over making money and being greedy and things will fall into place. I’d rather be intelligent than wealthy any day, but that is just me. Our priorities in this country are very out of place in my opinion, particularly when major league athletes make millions of dollars a season and our educators are lucky to be able to pay off student loans in 20 years making $30,000 a year (and that is being gracious in some states).