15 ms·

Ah, yes, Peter Gray is the author of the article submitted here (which I think was submitted once or twice before, with no comments). I have read part of his re

Ah, yes, Peter Gray is the author of the article submitted here (which I think was submitted once or twice before, with no comments). I have read part of his recently published book, in which he extends his argument. Education policy is the issue that drew me to participate on Hacker News,[1] and I'm glad to see that so many participants, from the founder on to the new members from the last year or two, enjoy thinking about and checking facts on education issues. On my part, I chose the trade-offs of time, energy, and expense to homeschool our children so that they would be in a position to learn in freedom[2] and make a lot of decisions about their own education. So far the one child of ours who has grown up to live independently in the outside world (also an occasional participant here) is glad that he had that kind of education. He wrote to me for Father's Day, saying, "That has made it very easy for me to step into a leadership position and feel very comfortable in positions of responsibility." Some people survive the prison environment of school and go on to great things.[3] That doesn't mean that we have to organize schools as we now do. We should be sensitive to opportunities to organize schools in ways that promote young people having responsibility and freedom to grow while they are still minors. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4728123 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4728123 [2] http://learninfreedom.org/ http://learninfreedom.org/ [3] http://learninfreedom.org/Nobel_hates_school.html http://learninfreedom.org/Nobel_hates_school.html

pekk 13y ago
This is not aimed at you, but at your wording. Controlling parents keeping their children isolated inside their own bubble, safely ensconced away from undesirable beliefs, classes and ethnicities, should take care not to be deluded that what they are offering their children is 'freedom'.
- tokenadult 13y ago
  Well, what you write certainly isn't aimed at me, because I don't do any of "keeping their children isolated inside their own bubble, safely ensconced away from undesirable beliefs, classes and ethnicities" in my culturally diverse, community-involved, intellectually curious homeschooling family. Most homeschooling families I know, and I know hundreds all around the United States, resemble my open and free family life more than they resemble your caricature of some unknown anecdote you've encountered.
  - HarryHirsch 13y ago
    There is the homeschoolers that you know, and then there is the families you encounter in "Jesus Camp". I have no idea how to get around the Dunning-Kruger effect, but to ignore is is dishonest. I haven't made up my mind about the Amish and Hasid communities either.
    - NoPiece 13y ago
      It is dishonest to ignore it, and it is dishonest to hold it up as representative.
      - ripter 13y ago
        It didn't sound like he was holding it up as representative to me. Just that he wanted to acknowledge that both ends exists.
        smokeyj 13y ago
        FTA: The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. So the worst case of homeschooling is better than the ideal model of public education? As long as we're on the topic of cultish practices, I'm not very comfortable with an institution that forces its "pupils" to pledge allegiance to flag on a daily basis. I hypothesize that people who are against homeschooling pledged to flags many of times, and are probably incapable of forming opinions that aren't regurgitated to them from a figure of authority. It's just a hypothesis.
        saraid216 13y ago
        > The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. This came as a surprise to me, so I looked it up: http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Protestant-Reformation.html http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Protestant-Reformation.h... Not the most authoritative resource, but the provided bibliography is at least impressive. > I hypothesize that people who are against homeschooling pledged to flags many of times, and are probably incapable of forming opinions that aren't regurgitated to them from a figure of authority. And this is why I'm not upvoting you.
- RougeFemme 13y ago
  I home-schooled my kids for a little while; wish I could have done it longer. I was definitely not isolating my kids in a bubble of any sort. As a matter of fact, my kids and I are ethnic minorities - different people have guessed different ethnicities, usually incorrectly. I didn't feel comfortable with 100% student-directed, but there was definitely much more freedom than in school. My kids got plenty of socialization outside of the home - and often inside - with plenty of other people from different belief systems/classes/ethnicities, etc. And they did extremely well, both socially and academically. Also, the reality is that many schools are segregated by class and/or ethnicity, so students attending those schools - for better or worse - see no more diversity than they might see at home or in their communities.
- sigzero 13y ago
  You have a very incorrect view of homeschooling.
- ripter 13y ago
  A lot of people are saying that your view of home schooling is wrong, that they of course don't protect their children in a bubble like you say. My personal experience with friends that where home school would agree with your view. They where all home schooled to 'protect' them from undesirable beliefs and ideas. The parents (of the kids I know) would also disagree with you. No one wants to think that they are over protective and hurting their children by protecting them. I wouldn't say all home schooled kids are like that, but I wouldn't say that none of them are either.
- argonaut 13y ago
  Do you seriously think that public schooling is actually going to give children exposure to this "undesirable beliefs, classes and ethnicities" that you speak of? That kind of public school is a mythology. Public schools are by and large 1) socioeconomically homogenous, 2) racially homogenous (among one or two groups), 3) class homogenous, and/or otherwise culturally homogenous. And even in schools that lean towards heterogeneity rather than homogeneity, it's not like all the kids are harmoniously integrated into one happy family. Schools are dominated by cliques and social circles, and stereotyping is rampant. A kid in a school with Asians is going to come away with the stereotype that Asians are nerds. A kid in a school with African-Americans is going to come away with the stereotype that African-Americans steal things. And while that might not be the case in all cases, I might argue that it is as representative as your belief that homeschooling parents are "controlling," etc. etc.
umsm 13y ago
Homeschooling a child can help but it can also harm them. It really depends on the parents, the child, the style of education. There is no one-size-fits-all in this case. One thing I fear for my children is that homeschooling may rob them of vital social skills that can't easily be taught at home. But with the right social network (large family / friends), this can also be addressed.
- Tactic 13y ago
  That is a common concern and as such easily avoided. Many homeschoolers get together for lessons, field trips and just socializing for this exact reason. They are also generally active in assuring their children have a social network of other children. From personal experience I think the only thing it lacked for my daughter was teaching her not the social aspect of school but how to navigate authoritarian hierarchies. I am not convinced this is a bad thing.
- RougeFemme 13y ago
  And some of those social skills can be learned through other organizations outside of the home - sports, church, interest groups, etc. And some of those social skills are social skills that you might not mind delaying - such as how to deal with bullies. That's a skill that's needed in the broader world, but your kids will be just fine if they don't have to learn it at the age of 5.
- sigzero 13y ago
  "There is no one-size-fits-all in this case." Exactly that!
- andrewflnr 13y ago
  Not homeschooling a child can help but it can also harm them. It really depends on the school, the parents, the child, the style of education. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the "socialization" I got while homeschooled was far superior to that I got at public school, mainly due to the quality of the other kids I was dealing with.
livestyle 13y ago
I thought this amazing infographic on homeschooling would be beneficial to the conversation. --> http://www.topmastersineducation.com/homeschooled/ http://www.topmastersineducation.com/homeschooled/ Fyi. Sites like brillant.org and khanacademy have been instrumental in our homeschooling success.
- jonlucc 13y ago
  That infographic is pretty unclear. Most of the statistics do not compare to the general population. Furthermore, the ones that do are unclear as to whether they have corrected for other major factors such as family income or parental education level. For example, students who are home-schooled are more likely to attend college than their non-home-schooled peers. Are they more likely to attend college compared to similar non-home-schooled peers (in the same socioeconomic status, race, parental education level, region of the country, etc)?
mathattack 13y ago
One of the smartest executives I know is homeschooling his kids. I also know an uber-religous politician doing similar. Both for different reasons. To do it right, it seems to help to have a parent with an education degree or mindset, or some heavy duty financial resources.
- RougeFemme 13y ago
  You don't really have to have an education degree or even what I think you mean by an education mindset. But many people do feel like they're stepping outside their comfort zone, at least initially. When I did it, I felt pretty comfortable. And my financial resources were limited at the time.
  - mathattack 13y ago
    In a sense I have to admit that I'm envious! I would love to dedicate a lot more time to educating my kids. (I give an hour a day to it now.) Unfortunately I couldn't pay the rent doing it.
- Dewie 13y ago
  > To do it right, it seems to help to have a parent with an education degree or mindset, or some heavy duty financial resources. I would imagine that many people want to homeschool in order to avoid the mainstream (as used in schools, as taught to new tutors) education mindset...
  - mathattack 13y ago
    That's why I separate degree from mindset. By education mindset I mean understanding education and wanting to teach.
- jacalata 13y ago
  I'm curious, how does he manage that? I would have expected that an executive position involved a lot of time at work, and that it would be difficult to combine that with being an involved homeschooling parent. Or is there some version of homeschooling where the parents aren't spending much more time with their kids than they would if at school?
vacri 13y ago
It's worth noting that a lot of the Nobel discussions of school involve boarding schools and corporal punishment, neither of which common in today's systems. Interesting also that that page also finishes with an 'if you like school, then you're a paedophile' angle. "I can't find statements of medicine or physiology winners who said they didn't like school... but one of the ones who said he did like school was a child molestor!". Sounds like the deck was stacked to me.
- richardjordan 13y ago
  as someone who spent 7 years at boarding school, they're not synonymous with corporal punishment either - if you have parents with jobs that cause them to move a lot (military) it can provide stability and a great education... loved it
simonebrunozzi 13y ago
I just want to say that as soon as I opened this page, and started reading tokenadult's comment (without noticing the author), I thought: this should be tokenadult. And I was right!!! I have read this same thing a few days ago, and today I have experienced it for the first time. And of course I mean a lot of good things by saying this. Kudos.
jonmrodriguez 13y ago
I also had a very positive homeschool experience as a kid (2nd through 7th grade). Here are some tips about what worked well for me: Few actual classes. The only recurring subjects were: World Geography and Culture, Math, and Writing. As one-offs, I had one year of Electronics (because I requested it) and two years of Spanish. Other than that, I spent the rest of my time mostly working on whatever projects I wanted to. It was amazing! I learned programming from a book and an old DOS machine, I learned basic electronics from a family friend, and I learned a ton of handyman skills such as carpentry from my Grandpa. And I built projects in all of these fields. The projects were open-ended and entirely informal (just for fun). I would typically work on one project for between 3 days and 3 months. Other than that, I also spent quite a lot of time outside with my brothers (we had a nice backyard, and lived near a creek), and we spent a full day at the library every week, which I enjoyed immensely. Also, I was not allowed to watch TV or play video games. But we had a ton of good books.
- FatalBaboon 13y ago
  Homeschooling is not a solution massively applicable, you cannot rest on the assumption that every parent is good teacher or can give reasonable access to the learning material required. The diversity of people kids meet and clashes of opinions are important and cannot be fully experienced in a small scattered community of people that think alike. I learn a lot more from my ennemies than my friends. Your comment read a lot like: "I was super privileged and it was great!" So great, in fact, that you forgot about your neighbours.
  - euroclydon 13y ago
    I agree with you that home school is not scalable, but for different reasons. We certainly cannot rest on the assumption that every teacher is a good teacher, and with a $40 internet connection and $500 computer, reasonable access to learning material is virtually guaranteed. Furthermore, I don't think the presence or absence of diversity will have much impact on the most desirable measurables of child rearing, which in my book are: ability to support one's self, being a good citizen (not stealing or hurting people), reading ability, and grasp of basic primary school subject matter. The reason why home schooling is not scalable is that parents of under-performing students are predominantly poor, and are either single parents or if there are two of them, both need to work to make ends meet.
tomlu 13y ago
Homeschooling is pretty common in Australia, so I've met a few people that have gone through that process. So prepare for anecdata! Some of these kids have been somewhat inept in the social department. It's not that they are asocial, more that they are sometimes ignorant of the many small rules of social interaction that I presume we pick up naturally in school. Do you recognise this as a potential problem, and if so, what do you do to teach your kids social skills?
wybo 13y ago
There are alternatives to home-schooling if one wants freedom (& without making every parent a teacher & both my parents had been teachers - not at my school when I was there -, so they could have). Montessori, or Jenaplan (a Dutch/German thing, which was the one I went to). There was a bit of 'prison' in that there was a certain number of fixed tasks to complete each week in areas such as Math, Dutch and English. But one could pick which, and mostly even check them oneself. Once done, the rest of the time was free to work on projects and things just like you described above (the carrot :-). Often by Wednesday afternoon I was done. It thus worked wonderfully for me, though it may not be for everyone. But when I have kids they are definitely going to a Jenaplan-type school. As it never felt like a prison to me and instilled a love of learning, and ability to plan and reward myself (besides other positive things such as a sense of equality towards others, including bosses & profs) School != School. Shop around before you reinvent.
- JulianMorrison 13y ago
  "Unschooling" beats home-schooling (and is less work for a parent, they are a facilitator not a teacher).
- tokenadult 13y ago
  School != School. Shop around before you reinvent. I've studied the Dutch regulatory model of schooling quite thoroughly since the early 1990s, when I first learned about it. Few Americans have the pervasive power to shop for different varieties of schools that all Dutch parents have by the Constitution of the Netherlands. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED316478 http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED316478
  - wybo 13y ago
    True. It is a nice system we have (no school districts + full government funding for all schools based on nr of pupils they attract; also for denominational & other types of education on an equal basis (as long as test-results are okish)). Allows 'the market' for good education to operate, without bringing money into the equation.

pekk 13y ago

This is not aimed at you, but at your wording. Controlling parents keeping their children isolated inside their own bubble, safely ensconced away from undesirable beliefs, classes and ethnicities, should take care not to be deluded that what they are offering their children is 'freedom'.

tokenadult 13y ago
Well, what you write certainly isn't aimed at me, because I don't do any of "keeping their children isolated inside their own bubble, safely ensconced away from undesirable beliefs, classes and ethnicities" in my culturally diverse, community-involved, intellectually curious homeschooling family. Most homeschooling families I know, and I know hundreds all around the United States, resemble my open and free family life more than they resemble your caricature of some unknown anecdote you've encountered.
- HarryHirsch 13y ago
  There is the homeschoolers that you know, and then there is the families you encounter in "Jesus Camp". I have no idea how to get around the Dunning-Kruger effect, but to ignore is is dishonest. I haven't made up my mind about the Amish and Hasid communities either.
  - NoPiece 13y ago
    It is dishonest to ignore it, and it is dishonest to hold it up as representative.
    - ripter 13y ago
      It didn't sound like he was holding it up as representative to me. Just that he wanted to acknowledge that both ends exists.
      - smokeyj 13y ago
        FTA: The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. So the worst case of homeschooling is better than the ideal model of public education? As long as we're on the topic of cultish practices, I'm not very comfortable with an institution that forces its "pupils" to pledge allegiance to flag on a daily basis. I hypothesize that people who are against homeschooling pledged to flags many of times, and are probably incapable of forming opinions that aren't regurgitated to them from a figure of authority. It's just a hypothesis.
        saraid216 13y ago
        > The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. This came as a surprise to me, so I looked it up: http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Protestant-Reformation.html http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Pa-Re/Protestant-Reformation.h... Not the most authoritative resource, but the provided bibliography is at least impressive. > I hypothesize that people who are against homeschooling pledged to flags many of times, and are probably incapable of forming opinions that aren't regurgitated to them from a figure of authority. And this is why I'm not upvoting you.
RougeFemme 13y ago
I home-schooled my kids for a little while; wish I could have done it longer. I was definitely not isolating my kids in a bubble of any sort. As a matter of fact, my kids and I are ethnic minorities - different people have guessed different ethnicities, usually incorrectly. I didn't feel comfortable with 100% student-directed, but there was definitely much more freedom than in school. My kids got plenty of socialization outside of the home - and often inside - with plenty of other people from different belief systems/classes/ethnicities, etc. And they did extremely well, both socially and academically. Also, the reality is that many schools are segregated by class and/or ethnicity, so students attending those schools - for better or worse - see no more diversity than they might see at home or in their communities.
sigzero 13y ago
You have a very incorrect view of homeschooling.
ripter 13y ago
A lot of people are saying that your view of home schooling is wrong, that they of course don't protect their children in a bubble like you say. My personal experience with friends that where home school would agree with your view. They where all home schooled to 'protect' them from undesirable beliefs and ideas. The parents (of the kids I know) would also disagree with you. No one wants to think that they are over protective and hurting their children by protecting them. I wouldn't say all home schooled kids are like that, but I wouldn't say that none of them are either.
argonaut 13y ago
Do you seriously think that public schooling is actually going to give children exposure to this "undesirable beliefs, classes and ethnicities" that you speak of? That kind of public school is a mythology. Public schools are by and large 1) socioeconomically homogenous, 2) racially homogenous (among one or two groups), 3) class homogenous, and/or otherwise culturally homogenous. And even in schools that lean towards heterogeneity rather than homogeneity, it's not like all the kids are harmoniously integrated into one happy family. Schools are dominated by cliques and social circles, and stereotyping is rampant. A kid in a school with Asians is going to come away with the stereotype that Asians are nerds. A kid in a school with African-Americans is going to come away with the stereotype that African-Americans steal things. And while that might not be the case in all cases, I might argue that it is as representative as your belief that homeschooling parents are "controlling," etc. etc.

umsm 13y ago

Homeschooling a child can help but it can also harm them. It really depends on the parents, the child, the style of education. There is no one-size-fits-all in this case. One thing I fear for my children is that homeschooling may rob them of vital social skills that can't easily be taught at home. But with the right social network (large family / friends), this can also be addressed.

Tactic 13y ago
That is a common concern and as such easily avoided. Many homeschoolers get together for lessons, field trips and just socializing for this exact reason. They are also generally active in assuring their children have a social network of other children. From personal experience I think the only thing it lacked for my daughter was teaching her not the social aspect of school but how to navigate authoritarian hierarchies. I am not convinced this is a bad thing.
RougeFemme 13y ago
And some of those social skills can be learned through other organizations outside of the home - sports, church, interest groups, etc. And some of those social skills are social skills that you might not mind delaying - such as how to deal with bullies. That's a skill that's needed in the broader world, but your kids will be just fine if they don't have to learn it at the age of 5.
sigzero 13y ago
"There is no one-size-fits-all in this case." Exactly that!
andrewflnr 13y ago
Not homeschooling a child can help but it can also harm them. It really depends on the school, the parents, the child, the style of education. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the "socialization" I got while homeschooled was far superior to that I got at public school, mainly due to the quality of the other kids I was dealing with.

livestyle 13y ago

I thought this amazing infographic on homeschooling would be beneficial to the conversation. --> http://www.topmastersineducation.com/homeschooled/ http://www.topmastersineducation.com/homeschooled/ Fyi. Sites like brillant.org and khanacademy have been instrumental in our homeschooling success.

jonlucc 13y ago
That infographic is pretty unclear. Most of the statistics do not compare to the general population. Furthermore, the ones that do are unclear as to whether they have corrected for other major factors such as family income or parental education level. For example, students who are home-schooled are more likely to attend college than their non-home-schooled peers. Are they more likely to attend college compared to similar non-home-schooled peers (in the same socioeconomic status, race, parental education level, region of the country, etc)?

mathattack 13y ago

One of the smartest executives I know is homeschooling his kids. I also know an uber-religous politician doing similar. Both for different reasons. To do it right, it seems to help to have a parent with an education degree or mindset, or some heavy duty financial resources.

RougeFemme 13y ago
You don't really have to have an education degree or even what I think you mean by an education mindset. But many people do feel like they're stepping outside their comfort zone, at least initially. When I did it, I felt pretty comfortable. And my financial resources were limited at the time.
- mathattack 13y ago
  In a sense I have to admit that I'm envious! I would love to dedicate a lot more time to educating my kids. (I give an hour a day to it now.) Unfortunately I couldn't pay the rent doing it.
Dewie 13y ago
> To do it right, it seems to help to have a parent with an education degree or mindset, or some heavy duty financial resources. I would imagine that many people want to homeschool in order to avoid the mainstream (as used in schools, as taught to new tutors) education mindset...
- mathattack 13y ago
  That's why I separate degree from mindset. By education mindset I mean understanding education and wanting to teach.
jacalata 13y ago
I'm curious, how does he manage that? I would have expected that an executive position involved a lot of time at work, and that it would be difficult to combine that with being an involved homeschooling parent. Or is there some version of homeschooling where the parents aren't spending much more time with their kids than they would if at school?

vacri 13y ago

It's worth noting that a lot of the Nobel discussions of school involve boarding schools and corporal punishment, neither of which common in today's systems. Interesting also that that page also finishes with an 'if you like school, then you're a paedophile' angle. "I can't find statements of medicine or physiology winners who said they didn't like school... but one of the ones who said he did like school was a child molestor!". Sounds like the deck was stacked to me.

richardjordan 13y ago
as someone who spent 7 years at boarding school, they're not synonymous with corporal punishment either - if you have parents with jobs that cause them to move a lot (military) it can provide stability and a great education... loved it

simonebrunozzi 13y ago

I just want to say that as soon as I opened this page, and started reading tokenadult's comment (without noticing the author), I thought: this should be tokenadult. And I was right!!! I have read this same thing a few days ago, and today I have experienced it for the first time. And of course I mean a lot of good things by saying this. Kudos.

jonmrodriguez 13y ago

I also had a very positive homeschool experience as a kid (2nd through 7th grade). Here are some tips about what worked well for me: Few actual classes. The only recurring subjects were: World Geography and Culture, Math, and Writing. As one-offs, I had one year of Electronics (because I requested it) and two years of Spanish. Other than that, I spent the rest of my time mostly working on whatever projects I wanted to. It was amazing! I learned programming from a book and an old DOS machine, I learned basic electronics from a family friend, and I learned a ton of handyman skills such as carpentry from my Grandpa. And I built projects in all of these fields. The projects were open-ended and entirely informal (just for fun). I would typically work on one project for between 3 days and 3 months. Other than that, I also spent quite a lot of time outside with my brothers (we had a nice backyard, and lived near a creek), and we spent a full day at the library every week, which I enjoyed immensely. Also, I was not allowed to watch TV or play video games. But we had a ton of good books.

FatalBaboon 13y ago
Homeschooling is not a solution massively applicable, you cannot rest on the assumption that every parent is good teacher or can give reasonable access to the learning material required. The diversity of people kids meet and clashes of opinions are important and cannot be fully experienced in a small scattered community of people that think alike. I learn a lot more from my ennemies than my friends. Your comment read a lot like: "I was super privileged and it was great!" So great, in fact, that you forgot about your neighbours.
- euroclydon 13y ago
  I agree with you that home school is not scalable, but for different reasons. We certainly cannot rest on the assumption that every teacher is a good teacher, and with a $40 internet connection and $500 computer, reasonable access to learning material is virtually guaranteed. Furthermore, I don't think the presence or absence of diversity will have much impact on the most desirable measurables of child rearing, which in my book are: ability to support one's self, being a good citizen (not stealing or hurting people), reading ability, and grasp of basic primary school subject matter. The reason why home schooling is not scalable is that parents of under-performing students are predominantly poor, and are either single parents or if there are two of them, both need to work to make ends meet.

tomlu 13y ago

Homeschooling is pretty common in Australia, so I've met a few people that have gone through that process. So prepare for anecdata! Some of these kids have been somewhat inept in the social department. It's not that they are asocial, more that they are sometimes ignorant of the many small rules of social interaction that I presume we pick up naturally in school. Do you recognise this as a potential problem, and if so, what do you do to teach your kids social skills?

wybo 13y ago

There are alternatives to home-schooling if one wants freedom (& without making every parent a teacher & both my parents had been teachers - not at my school when I was there -, so they could have). Montessori, or Jenaplan (a Dutch/German thing, which was the one I went to). There was a bit of 'prison' in that there was a certain number of fixed tasks to complete each week in areas such as Math, Dutch and English. But one could pick which, and mostly even check them oneself. Once done, the rest of the time was free to work on projects and things just like you described above (the carrot :-). Often by Wednesday afternoon I was done. It thus worked wonderfully for me, though it may not be for everyone. But when I have kids they are definitely going to a Jenaplan-type school. As it never felt like a prison to me and instilled a love of learning, and ability to plan and reward myself (besides other positive things such as a sense of equality towards others, including bosses & profs) School != School. Shop around before you reinvent.

JulianMorrison 13y ago
"Unschooling" beats home-schooling (and is less work for a parent, they are a facilitator not a teacher).
tokenadult 13y ago
School != School. Shop around before you reinvent. I've studied the Dutch regulatory model of schooling quite thoroughly since the early 1990s, when I first learned about it. Few Americans have the pervasive power to shop for different varieties of schools that all Dutch parents have by the Constitution of the Netherlands. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED316478 http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED316478
- wybo 13y ago
  True. It is a nice system we have (no school districts + full government funding for all schools based on nr of pupils they attract; also for denominational & other types of education on an equal basis (as long as test-results are okish)). Allows 'the market' for good education to operate, without bringing money into the equation.