Texas

[wlhtx]

You make some really good points.  I agree--education should be valued by society so the educators are paid well enough that they stay in the profession.  I suspect if society supported teachers by paying them well, we would have the best teachers staying to teach, and the lousy teachers would be weeded out.  Nothing can be more important than educating our children.  It does seem that the good educators get the heck out of the teaching because of all the things you've mentioned.

This has a LOT to do with it. What they pay teachers is a joke. I honestly don't know how some get by on what they pay teachers. Thankfully, we are not dependent on my husband's salary, and he is able to do it just because he loves it and wants to help better out community.

And yet, at the same time, he is expected to work a lot of hours teaching regular world history, honors world history, PE, and football, not to mention serving as a mentor to young men, teaching ethics, manners, life skills to all, oh and acting as a bouncer - both in protecting kids from each other AND now from any potential crazy person that feels inclined to storm a school. And then there's all the supplies we but out of our own pocket because there is no money in the budget, etc., etc...

I get it that the public school system is broken. But let's not knock it too badly, please. There are a lot of good people working in public schools doing the best they can with what they have to work with. I get it that parents who home school are trying to better their own children, but what about those kids that don't have parents so inclined? I'm sorry - someone said something about God giving kids to parents because he knows that the parents are capable of teaching them (I'm paraphrasing, and probably doing it badly) - but I cannot agree with this. Many parents, sadly, do not give a darn. Maybe some of these poorly skilled educators are not doing the same quality job teaching others that you were able to give your own children in the controlled environment of your own home, but at least they are there...

 

[LBejaran]

I've seen some really nasty teachers and some really bad parents! I had a teacher growing up who did nothing in her class but talk of her children and husband and how perfect they were... Totally BS behavior. She was our English teacher.
I used to date a guy whose mother was really a piece of work she let her daughter back talk the teachers because they didn't respect her! She's 6 respect is earned people! Grrr that whole subject makes me mad! She was and still is a snotty nose brat! I dumped him because he thought this behavior was ok. Didn't want to pass that belief to any of my future offspring!!

I hate teachers who don't teach! It took the school district 15 freaking years to fire an incompetent teacher who refused to let the kids read fictional books because of her religious beliefs! She was absolutely insane, a total loon, and she tried getting her job back. Kept the school board until past midnight in an appeal meeting. May she rot for being a Beepity beep beep.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I get it that the public school system is broken. But let's not knock it too badly, please. There are a lot of good people working in public schools doing the best they can with what they have to work with. I get it that parents who home school are trying to better their own children, but what about those kids that don't have parents so inclined? I'm sorry - someone said something about God giving kids to parents because he knows that the parents are capable of teaching them (I'm paraphrasing, and probably doing it badly) - but I cannot agree with this. Many parents, sadly, do not give a darn. Maybe some of these poorly skilled educators are not doing the same quality job teaching others that you were able to give your own children in the controlled environment of your own home, but at least they are there...

Well said!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Below is the Texas Homeschooling Law:

https://www.homeschool-life.com/sysfiles/member/custom_public/custom.cfm?memberid=506&customid=4580

A home school may have whatever curricula the parents decide upon in whatever mode they choose, provided the curricula cover the five basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, math, and a study in good citizenship, and that the curricula are followed in a bone fide way (not a sham).

Are there no minimum standards for home schooling?

I can teach math, spelling, grammar and good citizenship at a Grade 1 level forever. Will the state not get involved if kids don't progress past Grade 1? If it takes 3 years to do what is a normal one-year curriculum, does the state intervene?

 

[mandaleigh1981]

All I can say to this is, that both my brothers and my sister in law are teachers. The one brother and his wife are retired and glad to be. They didn't suffer from not having enough money. They got to hate teaching because it has gotten to be such a problem. You can't do anything much to make the kids behave, and the many that are being raised with no respect for others just undermine any attempt at teaching the teacher can do. Then you've got the BS from the school board and everywhere else to deal with. Teaching isn't teaching any more, it's battling the hierarchy.

Point being, pay alone is not what will keep a good teacher. I kept a job for 30 years that I just hated every minute of, for the money alone. And some of the crappiest workers there were doing the same thing.

This is my whole issue with public schooling. My mother is a middle school math teacher. And you would not believe the stuff she puts up with in class. These are 6th graders mind you, and she has caught one boy "playing" in the back of class alone, if you know what I am getting at, and there have been numerous children kicked out for lewd behavior in the bathrooms. If you try to discipline a child, the parent is up there yelling about their baby, and how the teacher is SO mean. My issue that I had WAS NOT an issue with a teacher teaching one of my children. My children behave or they get a spanking, and they know that.
Many of the good kids are lost in the shuffle if there are too many kids that are not behaving, and no one learns a darn thing.
As to standards, if I homeschool I will keep in mind that my children will need to get high SAT and ACT scores in college. I scored a 1340 on the SAT and never took the ACT because my SAT was high enough and I got a scholarship offer to the school I wanted to attend.
My husband's partner was homeschooled. He graduated at 16 and got into Texas A&M and was also accepted into the vet program, though he declined to go since he was working with the fire dept and that is what he really wanted to do.
I may not be a genius, but I did graduate from college with a 4.0 GPA and a BS in chemistry, so I am not an idiot either. "State requirements" are so low there may as well not be any. Teachers now just teach to pass what ever B S testing system the state is using at the time. When I was in school it was TAAS. Now its STAAR and TAKS. And none of the kids learn real world skills, they learn the "tricks" on how to pass a test. That is beyond stupid!

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Are there no minimum standards for home schooling?

I can teach math, spelling, grammar and good citizenship at a Grade 1 level forever. Will the state not get involved if kids don't progress past Grade 1? If it takes 3 years to do what is a normal one-year curriculum, does the state intervene?

If you had to generate your own curriculum I would understand you feeling inadequate to teach, but since there is great curriculum out there designed for home schooling, there is no reason for any parent to feel this way. All the parent needs is the desire and willingness to be devoted to teaching their child. There is an abundance of help out there to help parents these days. You don't have to know everything to do it, you just need the want to.

There is an old saying that goes like this, "We teach best, what we need to learn most." In other words, if you want to learn something well, try to teach it. As a parent that has home schooled two children (both of which are way smarted and better prepared for life then many of their peers that went to public school), I can tell you that I have learned a lot of new information from their school work as I taught them.


As far as there being a minimum; while the state does not mandate regular testing, if you are ever question about it, you had better be able to prove you are teaching your kids. I kept all of my kids school work in storage, so that if I was ever questioned by the state, I could show them that I was really home schooling them and requiring them to a achieve a high standard ( A average). The benefit of home schooling it that you can accommodate a child's own learning curve. If they are struggling in an area, you can give them more time and help to get caught up, or additional tutoring in that area. My daughter was very smart and a great student. I allowed her to learn at her pace and as a result she was two years ahead of her peers going in to Texas Tech at age 16. She graduated TT with a double major in Chemistry and Biology and is now in her 3rd year of med school at UTMB Galveston. My son on the other hand struggled and hated to study. I had to find creative way to help gain interest in learning. He is now in his first year of paramedics school in Abilene, and is assistant director of the Red Cross for our area. He saved a couple lives just in the last week as an EMT working for the Haskell County Hospital. He graduated at the top of his class from EMT school and is now being paid to tutor students that are in EMT school.

Why am I telling you all this. Because I did not have the privilege of a public school myself growing up. I was raised in the jungles of Central and South America and my mom taught me with whatever books she could get her hands on. I also had a learning disability as a child that I had to learn to overcome (dyslexia). In spite of all this, at age 14 I was a certified Malaria microbiologist at an outpost clinic in the Amazon jungle, where I saved many lives. The most valuable thing my mother ever taught me was reading comprehension. She always said, "Son, I am sorry I cannot offer you the best education, but if you can learn to read and understand what you read, you can learn anything you want and do anything anyone else can. I have instilled this same confidence in my children and they too are very successful in their lives.

 

[TexasLisa]

Are there no minimum standards for home schooling?

I can teach math, spelling, grammar and good citizenship at a Grade 1 level forever. Will the state not get involved if kids don't progress past Grade 1? If it takes 3 years to do what is a normal one-year curriculum, does the state intervene?

Does the state intervene when a student is passed from grade to grade in public school when they can't read or write? NO. I had some great teachers when I was growing up. There are teachers out there today that care and go above and beyond for their students.

I do not have a college education. I taught both of my children. My son went to kindergarten and 1st grade before I started homeschooling. My daughter didn't step foot in a public school until she started college. Both have graduated from college, have well paying jobs, and live on their own.

The beauty of homeschooling is if your child doesn't understand the lesson, you can stay on it until he gets it. In the public schools, they don't have that luxury. You move at your child's pace. Most days, my children were done by lunch time. Yes, we covered every subject. That gave us time to do chores, go to the library, field trip, etc. We had the whole world at our fingertips!

Colleges want homeschooled children. Children who are homeschooled know how to write, they know how to study on their own, and are more involved in their communities. It has been estimated 1.73 to 2.35 million children (in grades K to 12) home educated during the spring of 2010 in the United States.

Lisa

 

[jajeanpierre]

If you had to generate your own curriculum I would understand you feeling inadequate to teach, but since there is great curriculum out there designed for home schooling, there is no reason for any parent to feel this way. All the parent needs is the desire and willingness to be devoted to teaching their child. There is an abundance of help out there to help parents these days. You don't have to know everything to do it, you just need the want to.

There is an old saying that goes like this, "We teach best, what we need to learn most." In other words, if you want to learn something well, try to teach it. As a parent that has home schooled two children (both of which are way smarted and better prepared for life then many of their peers that went to public school), I can tell you that I have learned a lot of new information from their school work as I taught them.

I was asking whether the state of Texas demanded some sort of standard for home schooled kids. I think it was Lisa who posted something about the requirements, but as I read it, I wondered if a home-school teacher could continue to teach at a Grade 1 level for years or would Texas step in and say, nope, you are not doing a good job. Where I grew up, the state demanded that the home-schooled kids be at a comparable level to the publicly schooled kids. I've known home-schooling parents who didn't do a good job and their kids are really at a disadvantage in life.

College presents it's own problems. My kids finished high school in the Virgin Islands where anyone not from the island went to one of four private schools or were home schooled. A public school wasn't an option for kids that weren't local. It was a safety issue. The private schools were very small and selective in who they took. Two of them in particular built the kids' egos up a little too high. The schools bragged about the prestigious colleges and universities their graduating students were accepted at and the scholarships they received. What they didn't mention is that their students were ill equipped to handle classes bigger than 10 and had an incredibly high drop out rate in the first year of college. I think home schooled kids will face those same challenges.

One school I sent my kids to in the Virgin Islands was set up by a couple of parents who were dissatisfied by the public schooling offered. They were both well educated and started home schooling their very bright daughter. Other parents sent their kids to them. (The Virgin Islands has some real issues as far as schooling is concerned.) One thing led to another and they grew it into a full fledged private school. Their daughter was accepted into a prestigious college, but last I heard was an utter failure with a severe drinking problem. I think her parents did her a disservice since they made it very clear to all (including the daughter) that she was just too bright and special to lower herself to a public/private school education. Home schooling was not her down fall. Her parents giving her an unrealistic view of her position/value in the world did.

I'm just really glad my kids are past high school.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Does the state intervene when a student is passed from grade to grade in public school when they can't read or write? NO. I had some great teachers when I was growing up. There are teachers out there today that care and go above and beyond for their students.

I do not have a college education. I taught both of my children. My son went to kindergarten and 1st grade before I started homeschooling. My daughter didn't step foot in a public school until she started college. Both have graduated from college, have well paying jobs, and live on their own.

The beauty of homeschooling is if your child doesn't understand the lesson, you can stay on it until he gets it. In the public schools, they don't have that luxury. You move at your child's pace. Most days, my children were done by lunch time. Yes, we covered every subject. That gave us time to do chores, go to the library, field trip, etc. We had the whole world at our fingertips!

Colleges want homeschooled children. Children who are homeschooled know how to write, they know how to study on their own, and are more involved in their communities. It has been estimated 1.73 to 2.35 million children (in grades K to 12) home educated during the spring of 2010 in the United States.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa.

I would not have been able to do it. My kids were such challenges to parent--both on the autistic spectrum, one quite severely--I needed them to be gone during the day to recover.

I know in the past, or at least in the past where I grew up, there was a philosophy in teaching starting in the 70s I think, that it was better to pass the kids on with their peer group rather than fail them.

Living in Saudi Arabia for 11 years, I was exposed to the British system. I found the kids to be much more rounded and worldly than any North American educated kids. They just knew more information about the world, had better math and language skills and were better science students. Yes, there was more rote learning, but they were just better educated.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

I get it that the public school system is broken. But let's not knock it too badly, please. There are a lot of good people working in public schools doing the best they can with what they have to work with. I get it that parents who home school are trying to better their own children, but what about those kids that don't have parents so inclined? I'm sorry - someone said something about God giving kids to parents because he knows that the parents are capable of teaching them (I'm paraphrasing, and probably doing it badly) - but I cannot agree with this. Many parents, sadly, do not give a darn. Maybe some of these poorly skilled educators are not doing the same quality job teaching others that you were able to give your own children in the controlled environment of your own home, but at least they are there...

I am the one that said that God gave children to parents and that it is the parents responsibility to educate their children, not the governments. But you absolutely right, we live in a very irresponsible, self centered and selfish society in which most parents do not take their responsibility of being parents seriously. The fact that many children are born without parents that care or any parents at all, is just evidence that we have not done enough to in our society to encourage the traditional family structure. Actually we have done the total opposite for several generations and that is why we are in the situation we are in. Take the whole entertainment industry for example. Every show on TV portray parents as complete idiots and the kids as the ones who know everything. All of the heroes these days are kids that are saving the world while their parents are bumbling idiots. No wonder teachers get no respect in the classroom.

I never said that there was not a need for group education or that going to a school was bad. I only said that, since God gave children to parents, it is ultimately the parents responsibility to teach their kids. Of course because we live in a very corrupt dysfunctional society, we have to make accommodations for those parents that do not want to take on their responsibility or just do not care, and that is where public school comes in. I was only saying that those people that preach public school as the "Superior" or "Best" way to educate your kids are ignoring reality and history and probably have a social agenda for believing that way.

I applaud every good teacher out there that has dedicated their lives to doing the job of teaching kids. I cannot imagine the love you must have in your heart to put up with the kind of kids society is turning out these days and putting up with all the political correctness junk that is thrown at you by the powers that be. No amount of money will ever truly compensate you for your effort and I pray God gives you a special blessing for being willing to take this enormous responsibility on. You are truly heroes.