encounter with a fundie homeschooler today - just sharing

[Ravenshire]

Home schooling has very little oversight in most states.  I know, because I home school.  Not for religious reasons, obviously, lol.

My daughter has to pass a test at the end of 3rd, 5th and 8th grades.  And by pass, i discovered it means she must score above 17%.  I'm not even joking.  Some states are much worse and do not even require minimum testing.  some states are harsher, and require you to submit the cirriculum for approval, and even how many hours per day your child does schoolwork.

I can't understand why home schools aren't held to a decent standard.  Is it because of religious fundamentalism in the local and state boards?

I just read so many awkward stories of unprepared, unsocialised home schoolers going out into the world unprepared and failing dismally.

And seriously: 17% to pass?

The worst part is the inconsistency. Sure a home schooler in a place where there are some decent standards may be ok, eventually. But where the standards are low the kids are brought up thinking they meet the standards so they must be ok.

[Aroura]

Home schooling has very little oversight in most states.  I know, because I home school.  Not for religious reasons, obviously, lol.

My daughter has to pass a test at the end of 3rd, 5th and 8th grades.  And by pass, i discovered it means she must score above 17%.  I'm not even joking.  Some states are much worse and do not even require minimum testing.  some states are harsher, and require you to submit the cirriculum for approval, and even how many hours per day your child does schoolwork.

I can't understand why home schools aren't held to a decent standard.  Is it because of religious fundamentalism in the local and state boards?

I just read so many awkward stories of unprepared, unsocialised home schoolers going out into the world unprepared and failing dismally.

And seriously: 17% to pass?

I know, it is horrible.
But homeschool also has a pretty bad rap from a small percentage of people doing a terrible job.  Mosthome schooler, even those doing so for religious reasons, actually do a very good job, and overall kids from homeschool families are actually better prepared for college and work than their PS counterparts.

The problem is, those that do a bad job just do a REALLY bad job. It becomes a form of child abuse.  Of course these are the cases that make the news, not the 90 some percent that come out normal or above average.

It should have much better oversight, federally mandated, not state by state.  I don't actually advocate is has the same standards as public school, because that sort of takes away a lot of the point of homeschooling. But you should have to be able to indicate your child is learning a certain minimum.

And yes, 17%.  Stupid, right?  The reason given when I asked is because a lot of parents home school because they have kids with special needs, so the standards are lowered for those kids to be able to continue homeschooling.  Of course those kids should be allowed to homeschool, but can't we just get different standards for kids that are special needs?  

School in general is just not taken very seriously in America.  Anti-intellectualism at its finest.

[abaris]

but that we have a huge collection of literary classics.  That apparently made her happy.  She checked out quite a few books.

Should have given her the collected works of Marquis de Sade. Alistair Crowley probably would leave an impression too.

[brewer]

Home schooling assessments by state. This is really scary. Scroll through the categories under "HOMESCHOOL LAW". I guess the world needs ditch diggers also.

http://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/...ervention/

[The Valkyrie]

Home schooling assessments by state. This is really scary. Scroll through the categories under "HOMESCHOOL LAW". I guess the world needs ditch diggers also.

http://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/...ervention/

On occasions when I encounter and get into an argument with someone who screams that evolution isn't real I always say to them, "If we meet on a professional basis let me just answer the question you'll be asking me: Yes, I do want fries with that."

Pisses them off.

[KevinM1]

I feel sorry for the kids.  They have no chance.

Not much of one, no.  And, of course, that's by design.  Fancy book learnin' and computer learnin' is for people who don't simply want to breed and create more little Christian Soldiers.  We call those people femi-Nazi-commie-gay-agenda-loving heathens.

[Alex K]

There is such a thing as Christian Computing?! You learn something new every day!
But good job, drfuzzy, sounds like you might have made a real difference for those kids.

[The Valkyrie]

There is such a thing as Christian Computing?! You learn something new every day!
But good job, drfuzzy, sounds like you might have made a real difference for those kids.

Yeah, you pray hard and hope the keys press themselves.

If they do, it's a miracle.  If they don't, god works in mysterious ways.

[KevinM1]

"Thank you for this bounty, RNGesus"

[Nihilist Virus]

So, I work in a rather unusual library.  It's State-funded educational materials.  We rarely see patrons - we usually ship things out. But there was a meeting on campus, so I had more guests than usual.
  A woman comes in with her three kids. The kids are home-schooled.  She starts in by saying that her 9-year-old needs books to read.  GOOD books.  She's looking for wholesome, Christian stories. She proceeded to tell me that most of the new young adult books are filthy - just filthy.  When she stopped to breathe, I told her that we don't categorize fiction (other than western, fantasy, science fiction - and I got the death stare at "science fiction"  ) but that we have a huge collection of literary classics.  That apparently made her happy.  She checked out quite a few books.

Then she asked how she can get books shipped to her. I showed her how to search the online catalog. She didn't like it, she wants to keep her kids away from computers and the internet.  I got gutsy and told her that literacy now means computer literacy - and that her kids probably won't be able to get jobs or college degrees without it.  She bristled at this, but I quickly pulled up a list of Christian computing/parenting websites.  She liked the list of Christian kid sites and "how to set restrictions" section. <sigh>  

She was visiting from Topeka, KS.  I think a tattooed lesbian atheist just helped a Westboro Baptist Church fundie find books for her kids.    

Sounds like something out of Moral Orel, lol.