The public school system vs homeschooling
The educational system today hasn’t changed its model for hundreds of years.
Sitting on a desk in an overcrowded classroom is a tired teacher who is doing her best with the limited resources that she is given. Everyone must look at the board and do the same thing. Like little machines.
Having said that, it is not unheard of that a teacher would have over 35 students in her charge.
This system was created in the early 1900s. This was a very different time, with very different mindsets and needs.
In 1900, only 17% of all jobs required so-called knowledge workers, whereas over 60% do today.
The system at the time, taught students in batches, the same way, to prepare them for factory work. Everyone adhering to the same rules, everyone doing the same thing, everyone thinking the same way. A hundred years ago, this system might have worked fine in preparing youth for the workforce, but today, not very much so.
There are other factors that hinder public school students as well. There are those who have language barriers, as the school that they are attending isn’t in their native language. There are those afflicted with mental health disorders, there are the slower learners vs the faster learners, etc.
The current teaching style of creating “future factory workers and followers” no longer applies to today’s world.
Not everyone has the privilege of sending their kids to private schools
The next best thing, in my opinion, is to homeschool. When you homeschool, you can tailor the teaching methods to fit your child’s way of learning. Not everyone is made to sit at a desk and stare at a board for half a day. Some people learn best by doing, others by seeing, and others by hearing. Some kids have a hard time sitting down for long periods of time and others love it. Everyone has their own learning pace. When you homeschool, this pace is respected, nurtured. They will never experience the terrible anxiety and trauma of bullying, drugs, tired teachers, overcrowded classrooms. The child’s learning pace is no longer “a problem”. You can nurture their strengths and gently work on their weaknesses. your child is no longer a number in a system of " learning by batches". From my own experience, homeschooling revitalizes the joy of learning, reading, writing and research. Yes, some adjustments have to be made in terms of work scheduling. Successful homeschooling is a team effort with the adults around the child’s life. Some parents opt to hire tutors, and others opt to choose jobs where they can work from home. Some parents team up with other homeschooling parents to help each other out. It might sound like a hassle at first, but essentially, once you get organized, it becomes a new normal. A normal that provides children with a safe and healthy environment. It’s all about lifestyle choices.
Why not teach children to enjoy learning itself? Why not teach them that learning doesn’t stop when school is out?
Education should be something that kids enjoy doing because of their curiosity about the world.
Kids have a natural motivation to want to succeed. All kids have the potential to lead someday. As adults, it is our job to nurture it.
This attitude of “school is out for summer, let’s burn all the books”, is one that will breed a way of thinking that learning stops when school is over. This is simply not true.
As previously mentioned, because of outside factors, I made a decision to homeschool my kids. Their mental health and learning success depended on it. Through this experience, I discovered that learning doesn’t stop during the summer. Books are not thrown out, they are kept.
Learning is fun and never stops.
As long as they keep asking questions, every question they ask is a great opportunity to learn something about the world.
This will have a ripple effect on their minds when they reach adulthood. They will always continue to want to learn more as opposed to stopping the learning curve as soon as they graduate. We no longer live in the era of factory work, the best and most important jobs out there require people to keep doing continuing education, get updated on the newest trends and discoveries. Learning doesn’t stop just because you got a job, finished school or have the summer off.
Learning is not a chore when done right
Does Homeschooling mean that kids will lack social skills?
Homeschooling doesn’t mean that the kids are home all day and never interact with anyone. It’s quite the opposite. Because teaching your kids is a one on one event, there is no need to take the whole day for school curriculum. There are no distractions, no waiting times, no other kids who disrupt the learning process. Usually, I start in the morning and by lunchtime, we have done more than enough material for the day. This leaves tons of room for healthy social interactions, sports, outdoor times, outings and so on. I can even schedule some time for work. When you homeschool, you take every opportunity to teach children. Besides the adult outings and day to day interactions, there are tons of science, space, art museums and sometimes they give discounts to homeschooled kids. There are homeschooling groups in almost every city which also provide great social interactions not only for the children but for the parents to meet like-minded people as well. You create a community for yourself where learning takes on a whole new meaning.
Bullying, another failure of the educational system
National Bullying Statistics
(According to stop bullying.org)
- The 2017 School Crime Supplement (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice) indicates that, nationwide, about 20% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying.
- The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicates that, nationwide, 19% of students in grades 9–12 report being bullied on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Bullying has long term effects on children’s mental health, way into adulthood.
According to the archives of disease in childhood, a study of the long term effects of bullying has been conducted and it was found that Children who were victims of bullying have been consistently found to be at higher risk for common somatic problems such as colds, or psychosomatic problems such as headaches, stomach aches or sleeping problems, and are more likely to take up smoking. 3940 Victims have also been reported to more often develop internalizing problems and anxiety disorder or depression disorder.
The problem of bullying is still rampant within the school system today.
http://hackeducation.com/2015/04/25/factory-model
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mouse-man/201504/what-are-learning-styles
https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/facts
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4552909/
The powerful lady-pharaoh that ruled over ancient Egypt.
More in Interesting
-
Where does Boxing day come from?
Dec 26 2020
On the second day of Christmas, the store owner gave to me, one large discount! Boxing day is celebrated on the second day of Christmas. On that day, Prices are slashed, shopping malls open their doors wide and crowds of shoppers rush to their favorite stores hoping to find an amazing deal. But did you know that boxing day used to have an entirely different meaning? It started a long time ago, during the times of kings, queens, the monarchy, and their servants.
-
Strangest Earth phenomena you don’t want to get caught in without being prepared
Dec 22 2020
Many of us live in relatively stable environments, The sun rises in the morning, and sets at night. You go to work, grab a bite to eat, and go for a bike ride in between. You would not expect frogs to start falling from the sky, would you? Yet these places on earth do exist and you would not want to get caught in the middle of these strange phenomena.
-
Chess before the Queen's Gambit, where did it all begin?
Dec 19 2020
The Real Queen’s Gambit The real Queen’s Gambit is a wonderfully written fictional story based on a novel written in 1983 by Walter Tevis. While the Netflix version does not exactly stick to the book, the characters share many similarities. But what about Chess? When did it all begin? Chess has been around for a very long time. Its roots can be traced back to nearly 1500 years ago. The first records of an early version of chess began in India.
-
Is Santa-Clause the impostor who replaced Odin, the Norse God?
Dec 18 2020
The story begins a long time ago, with a celebration called Yuletide (or Yule). An old Pagan, Celtic celebration observed by the Germanic people during the Roman Era. Yule is in fact a celebration of the winter solstice. It is the time of the longest night and shortest day of the year. During this celebration, The pagans danced, cheered, drank, and prayed for the return of the light after darkness. The ritual often involved meal and gift-giving.