Why Not School?

Linda over at The Joyful Journey has some great insights about why she would never put her kids into public school. To add my own couple of cents to her statements:

1. Schools are institutions designed to educate the masses. They are not designed to meet either the emotional or academic needs of the individual. As such, they will most effectively reach "the average" student, often missing the needs of the lowest and highest performing children. The problem is that there is no such thing as an "average" student. Every person comes with their own strengths and weaknesses. No student is taught in such a way to play to their strengths or to strengthen their weaknesses. No wonder public school fails so many students all at once, rather than giving an actual education to them.

5. Schools are places where curriculum rich in revisionist history, environmental indoctrination and liberalism is often taught by teachers who share a similar agenda. Current teaching methods may stress "self-esteem" more than academic excellence. In much of today's curriculum, activities which require critical thinking are largely non-existent. It isn't just the "liberals" who are guilty of this. The problem is when other points of view are ignored or discounted as being wrong, or plainly ridiculous. Then when a new teacher/administrator moves in, the point of view switches, sometimes to something opposite from the last class. As a result kids are left with nothing solid to base their opinions on, nothing concrete to hold on to.


What do you think?