As we homeschool, we continue to battle a highly ingrained system of “the right way” to do things. Since most of us were educated by the government system, part of that education consequently led us to believe that the methodologies used were the “best” if not the only way to properly educate children. Only a minimal amount of research (if one is willing to challenge the sacred cow of public education) reveals that much of the approach of government education is not only academically inferior, but meant from the beginning to “dumb down” the public.
No subject is perhaps as controversial as this one. I recently got a very heated email from a pastor’s wife “lashing” me for “the wound I inflict” on parents who send their children to public school. I’ll be honest, I felt a bit shocked simply because of where my intentions lie. Be assured…I’d rather be guilty of inflicting “the faithful wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:6) than to offer a “deceitful kiss as an enemy” for the sake of being liked and avoiding strife. I don’t speak about this subject for ANY reason than to communicate what I believe is truth, the only loving thing I can see to do. There is no condemnation except what one may find in discovering the facts.
Additionally, in discussing the issue of public school, though it may seem so, I am not “against” the individuals–schools, teachers, administers–who make up the real arenas. (I’m related to many of them and love them dearly!) It’s the system–a long-standing agenda–with which I disagree. I pray you hear my heart.
I will be writing several more posts on this topic after Christmas, when we return from Colorado (Merry Christmas to you all!!)…but the following excerpt from an article in the Washington Post is a great, thought-provoking beginning to our conversation:
“A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading tests for 10th graders, and said he’d make his scores public.
“The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a “D”, and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.
It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.
“I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities.
A test that can determine a student’s future life chances should surely relate in some practical way to the requirements of life.”
For more about a “lifestyle of learning”, you will want to read my ebook, 