5 ms·

> The top-down authoritarian school system is completely antithetical to Western values So you want to take the kids out of an environment where they get to se

> The top-down authoritarian school system is completely antithetical to Western values So you want to take the kids out of an environment where they get to see other perspectives and instead leave it up to their parents to not create what is effectively a social, cultural, and intellectual bubble? That seems incredibly naive.

joeclark77 10y ago
In what world is normal life in society a "bubble" but rigidly-structured conformity to professionally-designed programs in a walled-off institution not a bubble?
- justinlaster 10y ago
  Your responses are exceedingly worthless and snarky, try actually putting forth some kind of substantive statement instead of following me around. A student that is placed into a public school has many teachers, with many other student peers from all walks of life that will offer their own perspectives on anything from social issues to academic subjects. Your disingenuous hyperbolic claim that this environment is somehow "walled off" is ridiculous non-sense.
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    > with many other student peers from all walks of life That strongly depends on your school district. Chicago's shittier schools aren't likely to have too many cultures represented. My high school in Texas had a grand total of four black students throughout all four years, and three immigrants - one of whom was me. The rest was white and hispanic southern kids.
    - dpark 10y ago
      How many immigrants do you suppose most homeschooled kids interact with?
      - pavel_lishin 10y ago
        I don't know, but I imagine that it would be easier to explicitly expose your kids to other cultures as a homeschooler - you can take a day off to visit some particular community center that has outreach programs without worrying about state attendance records. But your point is well made - I don't know if that's the sort of thing most homeschooling parents work on.
        justinlaster 10y ago
        >you can take a day off to visit some particular community center that has outreach programs without worrying about state attendance records. Honestly, I would love for this to be a thing. But I feel that it is far, far too optimistic. Most people tend to shy away from others that don't fit within their socioeconomic circle if given a choice. "Kids would you rather stick around the neighborhood today, go to the zoo, or go into the city to a youth outreach program and meet some new friends!" I'm being a bit too unfair with your point, but the thought of that conversation happening within a family who home schools is pretty hilarious, and unlikely, in my opinion.
  - joeclark77 10y ago
    I think that by "different walks of life" you mean different skin colors, right? Real diversity to me means people who come from different places, have been through different experiences, do different kinds of work, have read different books, have different ideas, and so on: exactly what public school can't offer.
    - justinlaster 10y ago
      >you mean different skin colors, right Not really. >have been through different experiences, do different kinds of work, have read different books, have different ideas, and so on: exactly what public school can't offer. That's exactly what it offers.

joeclark77 10y ago

In what world is normal life in society a "bubble" but rigidly-structured conformity to professionally-designed programs in a walled-off institution not a bubble?

justinlaster 10y ago
Your responses are exceedingly worthless and snarky, try actually putting forth some kind of substantive statement instead of following me around. A student that is placed into a public school has many teachers, with many other student peers from all walks of life that will offer their own perspectives on anything from social issues to academic subjects. Your disingenuous hyperbolic claim that this environment is somehow "walled off" is ridiculous non-sense.
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  > with many other student peers from all walks of life That strongly depends on your school district. Chicago's shittier schools aren't likely to have too many cultures represented. My high school in Texas had a grand total of four black students throughout all four years, and three immigrants - one of whom was me. The rest was white and hispanic southern kids.
  - dpark 10y ago
    How many immigrants do you suppose most homeschooled kids interact with?
    - pavel_lishin 10y ago
      I don't know, but I imagine that it would be easier to explicitly expose your kids to other cultures as a homeschooler - you can take a day off to visit some particular community center that has outreach programs without worrying about state attendance records. But your point is well made - I don't know if that's the sort of thing most homeschooling parents work on.
      - justinlaster 10y ago
        >you can take a day off to visit some particular community center that has outreach programs without worrying about state attendance records. Honestly, I would love for this to be a thing. But I feel that it is far, far too optimistic. Most people tend to shy away from others that don't fit within their socioeconomic circle if given a choice. "Kids would you rather stick around the neighborhood today, go to the zoo, or go into the city to a youth outreach program and meet some new friends!" I'm being a bit too unfair with your point, but the thought of that conversation happening within a family who home schools is pretty hilarious, and unlikely, in my opinion.
- joeclark77 10y ago
  I think that by "different walks of life" you mean different skin colors, right? Real diversity to me means people who come from different places, have been through different experiences, do different kinds of work, have read different books, have different ideas, and so on: exactly what public school can't offer.
  - justinlaster 10y ago
    >you mean different skin colors, right Not really. >have been through different experiences, do different kinds of work, have read different books, have different ideas, and so on: exactly what public school can't offer. That's exactly what it offers.