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Magpie
Immortal
Sep 20 2014, 6:01pm
Post #76 of 80
(704 views)
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I'm not sure how useful it is to judge public school on the field trips they take.
If we're talking 'underpriviledged' kids it might be useful. But really... we're all talking about what we'd do with our kids.
And we took our kids to see all those kinds of things on our own time which is how I'd like to see things done.
If a homeschool family takes their kids to see those things, they can work it into a curriculum but it's of little greater advantage than those of us who take our public school kids to the same experiences. We aren't tying it into a curriculum but some things can be enjoyed for their own experience and be supportive of whatever curriculum they will get at some point in their schooling. I think it might almost be more enjoyable that way. :-)
My kids have:
toured half dozen mines - gold, lead, iron, and copper - for example
been to quite a few historic forts and trading companies and museums (where all that blacksmithing and candlemaking was taking place)
gone on nature hikes and earned badges and pins at a good half dozen or more National Parks and Monuments across the midwest
gone owling at night and butterfly hunting during the day
panned for gold
taken helicopter rides over the Black Hills
gone on steam train rides
visited fossil digs
visited modern and classical art museums including special exhibitions of works by Chiluly and Calder
seen numerous plays at respected playhouses including the Tony award winning Guthrie - these tickets were all courtesy of the public schools they were in
been to NYC, Chicago, and Washington, DC (on school field trips)
with their dad, helped design, build, and then compete with a remote control combat 'robot' (the competition was mostly adults and adult teams along with some professionally designed and funded 'bots)
I'm not asking the public schools to do any of those things (I was darn grateful for those tickets and travel opportunities, though). So, my kids didn't miss out on anything via going the public school route.
btw... kind of immaterial to this conversation but I was curious so I asked my oldest (who's 31) what he thought of his public school education and experience. He said he was fine with it. Basically, (its hard to summarize his comments) he never wished for either homeschooling or private school and didn't think either of those experiences would have been better for him. There were up times and down but he doesn't regret or fault his experience in any way.
I say that's immaterial to the conversation here but it is supportive of one point: every child is different and different approaches to education might, in fact, be better for individual children.
My only thought and point I like to make on that matter is that I'd like to see people making choices on what's best for their child and family and not so much on 'avoiding those awful choices' because... those choices we might discard for our child may be the best opportunity for another.
(This post was edited by Magpie on Sep 20 2014, 6:01pm)
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Sep 20 2014, 6:20pm
Post #77 of 80
(694 views)
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Our school does some cool stuff and we live in an area where there are all manner of experiences within a hours drive. My kids have churned butter and made rope and had all kinds of experiences that made history come alive. My son's have done some blacksmithing themselves through scouts. We live in farm country so there is always something to visit and do. Some is through our school, some through scouts and some on our own as a family.
I agree. I think it all depends on what will fit for the child, not necessarily what experiences we ourselves have had as children. Schools are so different now and there are different challenges and benefits to homeschool, public school and private school. I don't think we do anyone a favor by teaching our children to think of their experience as superior by putting others down, especially when actual experience with the other is limited. Better to give them as much of what they need in terms of scholarship, experiences and society as possible and leave the comparisons out of it.
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Arannir
Valinor
Sep 21 2014, 12:44pm
Post #79 of 80
(680 views)
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My only thought and point I like to make on that matter is that I'd like to see people making choices on what's best for their child and family and not so much on 'avoiding those awful choices' because... those choices we might discard for our child may be the best opportunity for another.
Only thing I might like to add: " ... those choices we might discard for our child may be the best opportunity for another." + Those choices that we might discard for ouselves might be the best for our own children.
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Spriggan
Tol Eressea
Sep 24 2014, 9:02pm
Post #80 of 80
(685 views)
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With the point that a teaching degree does not make a teacher, but I would argue for the professional status of the role and, for me, that is derived from experience (or functional mastery, if you like Gladwell).
Working with hundreds of students, five days a week, at differing levels, year upon year is a process of constantly understanding more about how learning works. It seems to me that it is from this that the professionalism is drawn.
Without making any comment on your personal situation, is it possible to shortcut this with innate ability? Possibly, but then I suppose it is also possible that someone without training or experience could turn out to be a good surgeon.
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