Dayton-mass shooting

[KateMTx]

I think education is a matter of life and death.

Lack of education kills people. Stupidity and gullibility kill people.

As I said, I may be opposed in principle, but the public schools are so f----ed up in so many ways that I understand why people do home schooling.

I never said that I have a better answer.

I was home schooled and I think that education is not something that can be forced. It is something that has to be wanted and encouraged.

My siblings and I were taught to read, encouraged to do so, and then encouraged to think for ourselves about what we learned. Of course, we all had to learn the basics of reading, writing, history, math, and science, but we were allowed to choose what we enjoyed and learn more about those topics to focus on. We built things around the house, programmed computers, planted gardens, made model rockets, went hiking and camping, and did many other activities that my parents used to teach us about the world around us. Any time we did something, we learned the science behind it, the history of it, etc. - the bigger picture of how everything fits into the world. We spent very little time with "school" but most all the time we were learning. This is how I learned to love freedom and learning and saw first hand how the world works.

I believe that the problems is not what type of school children attend (whether public, private, or home school) but a lack of parental concern when it comes to learning and education. Parents who have the means and desire to home school their kids can and absolutely should do so. However, if the parents don't give a s--t about their kids' education, sitting in a one-size-fits-all school five days a week nine months out of the year isn't likely to inspire children to want to learn or succeed in the world.

 

[TexasFreedom]

I don't approve of home schooling in principle for a few reasons:

1) We go to professionals (like a physician) if we have a health problem, or a professional (like an attorney) if we have a legal problem.....and I believe that education is so important that it must be handled by a professional.
2) Parents are not impartial, and may have unrealistic expectations of their children.
3) It's important for kids to associate with other kids to learn about being a team player.
4) If there is abuse in the home, teachers are an important first responder who can recognize this and get the ball rolling.
5) There is a difference between education and brainwashing, and this distinction is sometimes lost on some parents.

Kevin, I think you're making the argument for home schooling better than I can! Every point you make applies more to public schools that home schoolers. Brainwashing? Public schools. Abuse? Like teachers having sex with the students? Team players, such as gang members in public schools? Impartial, like teachers who couldn't care less? And finally 'professional', like the school maximizing their grant money and passing kids along who can't read... sounds like prostitutes not professionals.

I often feel like the token liberal on this forum

Nope. Sorry, Brent has that job.

 

[Kevin L]

Kevin, I think you're making the argument for home schooling better than I can! Every point you make applies more to public schools that home schoolers. Brainwashing? Public schools. Abuse? Like teachers having sex with the students? Team players, such as gang members in public schools? Impartial, like teachers who couldn't care less? And finally 'professional', like the school maximizing their grant money and passing kids along who can't read... sounds like prostitutes not professionals.


Nope. Sorry, Brent has that job.

Please note that I indicated that public schools are so f----ed up, that I understand why people homeschool.

I'm opposed to the death penalty in principle......but when my ambulance company had a contract with the prison, I transported a psychopath who killed, sexually molested, and ate (yes, I said ate) several (over 15) little boys between the ages of 4 and seven. I can't be more specific, as I have legal obligations relating to patient confidentiality, even though this person (a term of convienence, if not entirely accurate) is dead from organ failure.

I will admit--to my great shame--that I was tempted to wonder how vigorously I would use my paramedic skills to save his life if a medical crisis occurred.

And as opposed as I am to the death penalty, I certainly think that we should have made an exception in his case.....and I'd be the first to throw the switch on the electric chair.

I may be opposed to something in principle, but that doesn't make me a hypocrite if circumstances back me into a corner and I compromise toward what I perceive as the lesser of two evils.

As to my example with the criminal I mentioned?

I want to believe that I'm a human first, and everything in me about being a human (forget human--just being a mammal) says that someone who does something like this must die.