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Homeschooling hits record numbers

(reason.com)
216 points bilsbie | 5 comments | 21 Nov 25 00:31 UTC | HN request time: 0.803s | source
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kylehotchkiss ◴[21 Nov 25 19:26 UTC] No.46007963[source]▶
I can't say my public school experience was great, I was bullied and didn't really click with the popular kids, but being around a cross section of actual American kids in my age group (my school district mixed middle class with lower class neighborhoods) helped me shape my worldview and learn to deal with people who didn't look or talk like me. I frequently saw fights, so I learned that you just stay away and watch your mouth around specific people. I learned that the BS American value of "popularity" doesn't translate into successful futures.

I worry this move to homeschooling and micromanaging children's social lives just creates bubbles and makes children incapable of interacting with those outside of them.

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ecshafer ◴[21 Nov 25 20:14 UTC] No.46008461[source]▶
My kids are not school age yet, and I am not sure on if I will home school or not. But I do think its possible to get good socialization exposure while homeschooling. There is the neighborhood kids, you have sports and clubs kids can join, religious groups.

Plus not all homeschooling is just a student staying at home all day. Some people "homeschooling" I know are groups of parents getting together to educate their children together in small groups of ~5 kids to share the responsibility, and hiring a tutor to fill in the gaps. Monday they go John's house, his mom has a philosophy degree and teaches them. tuesday they go to Janes house, her dad is a Mathematician and teaches them. etc.

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1. wildzzz ◴[21 Nov 25 21:20 UTC] No.46009118[source]▶
You don't need a degree in math to teach children age-appropriate math topics. Teachers don't become teachers just because they have a degree in that subject, they have been taught the methods on how to teach. Having prior knowledge of the subject is almost irrelevant. Teaching is really just applying solid methods on how to build knowledge from the most basic concepts as well as having the patience in dealing with humans who are not fully formed in their emotions.
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2. JoshTriplett ◴[21 Nov 25 23:00 UTC] No.46010082[source]▶
> Having prior knowledge of the subject is almost irrelevant. Teaching is really just applying solid methods on how to build knowledge from the most basic concepts as well as having the patience in dealing with humans who are not fully formed in their emotions.

I would disagree with this. Those are necessary but not sufficient. It is necessary to have enough knowledge and joy from the subject to convey that to students.

3. chongli ◴[22 Nov 25 03:06 UTC] No.46011700[source]▶
I have a math degree. I have been volunteer tutoring high school kids in math for 9 years. When a student comes to me for help I can always tell if their teacher has math anxiety. They teach the students extremely rigid methods and refuse to allow alternative approaches to solve the problems. They enforce this with grading and penalize students who don't toe the line.

Some of the methods these teachers use are incredibly awkward, bespoke approaches that baffle me for their obtuseness. It's incredibly frustrating to deal with and it has a negative effect on the students.

My approach has always been to try to find the method that makes the most sense to the student, and work with them on that. I don't have any issues adapting my style to the student's needs. I only struggle when the spectre of one of those bad math teachers looms over our shoulders.

4. WalterBright ◴[22 Nov 25 03:28 UTC] No.46011816[source]▶
Why do 3rd grade math Teachers' Edition books have an answer key in them, I asked a 3rd grade teacher. She replied that many of the teachers couldn't do arithmetic.
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5. ethbr1 ◴[22 Nov 25 04:08 UTC] No.46012022[source]▶
It's a funny joke, but I'd be very surprised if that held at any grade school math level.

Someone would have to be numerically illiterate (with a college degree!) to be unable to do grade school math they've been teaching for multiple years.

Year 1, possible. But eventually it rubs off on even the teacher.