Year-Round Indoctrination?

Matt Lewis
Blogger, Townhall.com

President Obama wants longer school days and a longer school year.

Will more time at school = more time f or this???

Tags: Energy and Environment , Global Warming

Matt Lewis

Matt Lewis is conservative writer and blogger based in Alexandria, VA.

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Cicero9 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 3:04 PM

"We have public schools because it's what we've chosen to do as a society."

Of course, that's quite the oversimplication. What's more, if "we as a society" chose to have public schools we can also modify or abolish the system. As it becomes more evident to "us" just what a wasteland the public school system is, "we" shall do just that. Anne's complaint could be construed as evidence that "we" are in the process of doing it.

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anne301 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:58 PM

the fact that there are good ones in California does nothing to invalidate my point that students would benefit from school choice and that there are HORRIBLE school in California.

If I point out that all the spelling bee winners and geography bee winners are home schooled, does that mean home schooling is best?

No. It doesn't.

And why am I forced to subsidize the pathetic, failing public school in my neighborhood?

We could all spend all day listing reasons why home schooling, private school, religious school or public school is "best". And we all have anecdotes and examples. And we will all be right.

All students are different, parents should be able to send their child to whichever accredited school...

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Cicero9 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:48 PM

"I'd put my public school kid up against any homeschooled kid in any subject."

I'm sure you would, since you obviously don't know the meaning of embarrassment. Several of us have demonstrated that here time and again.

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SJA Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:41 PM

Well Kaboom just outed its self. Nice job.

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sceptyczny Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:38 PM

I'd put my public school kid up against any homeschooled kid in any subject.

People homeschool because they are afraid of the basic point of public schools--not to educate, but to essentially socialize our children to becoming part of the country, learning its history, its culture, its mores. Homeschooled kids are often socially inept and very, very narrowminded, at least in my opinion. Not much different from kids who go to religious based schools (other than those who go to jesuit run schools, where they often come out as skeptics and atheists).

I think that homeschooling was a turn for the worse in our country.

Frankly, summer vacations in public schools were created when kids had to help on the farm. As...

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Cicero9 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:27 PM

"Home schooling is for the fearful."

Home schooling is for the intelligent.

Just ask Sandra Day O'Connor.

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sceptyczny Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:20 PM

from age 2 thru high school (college too, if you count USC). My other son went to public from grade 2 through college. Each had about the same grades, board scores, admissions to colleges, etc. I think private school has about the same distribution of intelligent and not so intelligent kids, it is just a place where the parents think their kids are getting a better education. I see no difference in the education both of them received, except our retirement fund was obviously depleted by the 15+ years of private school tuition.

Home schooling is for the fearful.

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anne301 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 1:01 PM

... millions of kids to educate.

If public schools had to compete for their "customers" you can bet we would see an immediate improvement in their product.

The schools in California are really appalling. But what possible motivation does a school have to improve when they are guaranteed a customer base?

You shouldn't have to be rich enough for private school or have a super-smart kid who can get into TJ or its equivalents just to get a decent education for your kid.

And I'll define a "decent school" as safe and reading and math at grade level.

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Exeye Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 12:01 PM

Back a thousand years ago, we went to school for 9 months, had holidays off (the real holidays,not those made up ones), and were out by 3. And we did universes better in reading and writing and 'rithmetic and history and science than the students today. Wonder why that is? And, Bob, please, TJ? One of the most elite, exclusive scools in the country, that ONLY takes high scoring students from other schools, AFTER they pass an entrance exam? Nah, you're not being disingenuous, nah, not one bit.

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vladimir estragon Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 12:00 PM

Yes, our kids should be in school longer. They should do homework and tests, and then have the results reviewed shortly afterwards. That way they'll remember it, which is far less likely when they see the results two or three days later. And they won't have to bring home so much homework, which is mostly busy work and not a true learning experience.

I don't know if the school year should be longer (number of days), but it should be year-round. We really have to get rid of this idea that they get two and a half months off to help dad bring in the crops while they forget a third of what they learned last year.

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anne301 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 11:53 AM

It is impossible to have an intelligent discussion with you. I am really really trying here because I find this subject so important.

Many home schoolers have chosen that route because their children are challenged. And with 4 kids, trust me, we've got some of the less-than-desirable qualities you list in this house. And I am willing to bet that 20K a year tuition bill that they would be doing A LOT worse in public school.

And no matter how committed or empowered a parent is in my neighborhood, I'm willing to bet their kids aren't getting into the public school you noted with SATs north of 2100.

I think where you and I differ is our opinion of parents. I agree that some are unqualified. So what? You deny ALL parents...

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anne301 Wrote: Sep 29, 2009 11:07 AM

But would you match a random sample of public high schoolers to a random sample of home schoolers to a random sample of private schoolers to a random sample of parochial high schoolers? Say 10% of each?

Your comment implies that it is the commitment and involvement of parents that make all the difference.

So why not empower parents who have the commitment and want to be involved but lack the funds? Why not school choice for everyone?

Parents are the only ones qualified to decide which environment is best for their kids. I say let them choose regardless of where they are located (say, outside the school boundaries of TJ)or whether they can afford the tuition at a private or parochial school.

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homer noble Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 10:03 PM

"Seriously, the only reason we have a "summer vacation" was because back in the day, when 90% of our population lived on farms, you needed those kids to work the feilds."

I grew up in farming area of the Red River Valley of MN and ND and we didn't have any feilds there but in our schools we did have one hour a week devoted to specifically to spelling. We learned that handy rule about i before e except after c or when sounded like a as in neighbor and weigh. Handy rule to know when you don't know how a spell checker works.

During the fall potato harvest, my school would excuse us from classes to go out into the fields and pick potatoes until the harvest was in. I don't recall what we were paid but we also got free...

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anne301 Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 9:49 PM

I went the private (parochial) route with no regrets for my four.

and Bill ...

I tell my friends that my dream is to vote for a home-schooled president before I die.

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Bill1895 Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 9:12 PM

All that I have met are well mannered and intelligent.

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foxmustang Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 9:09 PM

to beat this failure of our failed urban public schools.......
You can also send your kids to private school where......guess what?......THEY GET A COMPLETE EDUCATION.

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anne301 Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 9:00 PM

with longer school days and longer school years. There are some charter schools that have adopted a long calendar and had some real success.

Assuming, of course, that the extra time will be spent on math and grammar and vocabulary; you know, subjects where you have to come up with the same answer twice in a row.

If the time is spent in "conflict resolution" seminars, sex education, "tolerance studies" (I made that last one up ... I hope), then forget it.

A friend home schooled her five kids. All the kids scored north of 2,100 on their SATs. They were involved in scouting, sports, volunteer work and had part time jobs starting in their teens. And there was plenty of time for extracurricular activities because she was...

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homer noble Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 7:48 PM

under NEA unionized teachers has failed us:

"...complete clusterf*&k of wrongheadedness."
~Spittooneous the Academic

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sloandog Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 7:30 PM

This is just a bone for the NEA,who BTW bears some of the responsibility for the country's education woes.

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sceptyczny Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 7:19 PM

and not in the public school. The indoctrination that tells them that jesus died for their sins, but that public school meanie teacher doesn't talk about jesus all the time.

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Careful with that axe, Eugene Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 7:16 PM

Seriously, the only reason we have a "summer vacation" was because back in the day, when 90% of our population lived on farms, you needed those kids to work the feilds. Now we don't do that anymore. So we have a lot of kids hanging out on street corners doing nothing all summer.

Kids would get a lot of advantage out of a full year round education. You wouldn't have to spend a month getting them back up to speed about what they learned the previous year, for instance.

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Molotov2 Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 7:14 PM

"they need schools that concentrate on education, not indoctrination."

What indoctrination are you talking about, exactly?

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Charles Wesley Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 7:13 PM

Our public educational standards and expectations are deplorable. Our kids need more schooling and they need better schooling. That does not mean more liberal schooling but more core academics. They come out of high school with very weak educational foundations. I would also think that they would benefit from mandatory work time in hospital and elder care. They have way too much free time to squander on wasteful and sometimes destructive behaviors. Get them accustomed to learning, growing and working. They can still have fun and I'd wager it would be more enjoyable and productive fun at that.

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Spontaneous Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 6:46 PM

Do it now. Our classrooms are too full anyway, and the fewer kids per teacher the better.

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Spontaneous Wrote: Sep 28, 2009 6:43 PM

The Party that brought us "is our children learning" would be against giving our kids an edge in the world education picture. Just like Hitler, eh? Man, if you guys weren't so ridiculously marginalized now for your crazy, hateful blatherings, you can BET that you will be further reviled as a result of this complete clusterf*&k of wrongheadedness.

Picture this: Our country rates among the lowest in the industrialized world in math. This is not good. The current school schedule in America is based on an agrarian society - how many kids do you know who need to hit the farm before dark to bring the crops these days? Keeping kids in school and learning, creating and thinking is the BEST we can do to give them a step up. To think that...

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