Does homeschooling leave children unprepared for the "real world?"
As noted in today's article, that's the implication you get from Wake District Court Judge Ned Mangum requiring North Raleigh mom Venessa Mills to put her kids in a public school. While he said the kids have "thrived" being homeschooled, he said they'd be well-rounded attending a public school.
"I think that it's great they've been able to spend a couple of years at home with you and do neat activities," Mangum told Mills at last week's court hearing.
I think that should all continue as far as your activities. I think you've done a good job of exposing them to parts of the world. But another part of this worid is to prepare these kids for the real world, college and work life when they're not going to be at home with you. While they're not old children, the next thing you know they're going to be going off to college and high school and they need to be able to also have the social interactions with people who aren't just of the same status as they are."
Advocates of homeschooling are quick to say that through support groups these kids are exposed to different kinds of people.
Listen to Mangum's decision at the end of this post.
Comments
Looking at all the
Mon, 11/15/2010 - 11:56 — user12345Looking at all the illiterate students my wife is given each year with up to 12 years of public education who sit in high school until they age out and probably go on to prison or welfare....., if I were the judge, I would not start an educational crusade forcing kids into public school.
btw, being "well rounded" is not a legal requirement in NC
Hi,
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 05:58 — EssayServiceHi,
I completely agree with you. It is better to get your children admit in the school as home schooling will not give them that confidence, which they get from normal schooling. Confidence will only develop when your child interact will other children of same age.
No home schooling...
Fri, 11/26/2010 - 00:07 — mairsh99Home schooling is only for the time when we are in crisis. In normal situaions, no one would go for it. http://www.urgentcustomessays.com
Say no to home schooling ...
Mon, 11/15/2010 - 18:13 — mairsh99Home schooling just give bookish knowledge which is far away from the practicle world. Just diploma certificate will not do enough. http://www.qualitycustomessays.co.uk
Say no to home schooling ...
Mon, 11/15/2010 - 10:12 — mairsh99Home schooling just give bookish knowledge which is far away from the practicle world. Just diploma certificate will not do enough.
the people
Thu, 12/31/2009 - 04:55 — DentalImplantsB...Homeschooling *might* hinder
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 23:58 — MariannaBellaHomeschooling *might* hinder a child's communication skills... if they were confined at home all of the time. When a kid is homeschooled and gets interaction from others, then they should be fine.
e cigarette
slightly OT-letters to the editor
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 07:53 — AngelaWhttp://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/
Wake Commissioner Harold Webb might wish to review the work of Paul Sniderman of Stanford University regarding "new racism" and of Roland Fryer of Harvard University on race and culture. Both conclude that it's not color that divides us, but culture. In fact, as Sniderman has discovered, whites will go out of their way to assist an African-American who displays white middle-class values (i.e., dress, education, marriage and family, language, etc.).
==================================
When children feel valued, higher productivity in learning and creativity can flourish. When students and teachers are able to see diversity as strength, it opens doors for our younger generation to an increasingly diverse world. The outcome from children going to school with children who are all the same creates children who grow up not fully understanding the world around them.
==============================
A better way
Letter:Steve Ford attempted to put a shine on his very old and tarnished "It's all about growth" argument with his March 8 column "New students, the old school shuffle." But who is he trying to convince?
Updated: Mar. 14, 2009 4:36 PM | Full story
WakeEd is maintained by The
Mon, 04/06/2009 - 06:31 — jimmybon0WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui Essay. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.
Dissertation Service
Flowery words and "feel
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 20:16 — AngelaWFlowery words and "feel good" theories are NOT graduating students. They are not raising test scores and they are not teaching good behavior through osmosis, this has yet to be proven. More often than not, and ask any middle schooler, the badly behaved students are the ones that get ALL the attention, good bad or otherwise. This Wake county of the 21st century IS diverse and Ms. Curtright, Mr. Webb, Ms. Gill et al need to get out to these schools, not just ones in their areas, districts and backyards and realize that ANY school can be "healthy" with proper funding, staffing and COMMUNITY involvement. Stop taking children away from their communities and encourage communties to get involved. Parents are less likely to donate time, money and effort to a school knowing that they may be ripped out of it the next year or forced to transfer because of unwanted MYR, or whatever else WCPSS dreams up to DIScourage families. Let's get real and figure out REALISTIC ways to improve our schools!
Angela.... you are correct.
Mon, 03/16/2009 - 07:27 — rr77rr99Angela.... you are correct. It seems, from what I have witnessed as a parent/volunteer and the information I get from my kids and even some teachers, the bad kids suck the life out of teachers. By "bad" I refer to those with "issues" that need to be attended to yet can't be due to over stressed staff, lack of proper medical services on campus,and lack of adequate counseling services.
If WCPSS insists on putting children in classrooms that need "extra assistance due to emotional instability" or "issues at home" or the fact that they are just looking for attention... then they must reinforce the staff and the administration at each facility must be prepared to deal with the consequences. Having kids act up in school, sending them to the principal for a "friendly lecture" and then sending them right back into the classroom for the teacher to deal with is not doing anyone .... including that child ... any good.
My children come home all the time with "stories" about the same kids who act up in class on a daily basis.
When did the school system become an institution that must try to evaluate and rehabilitate those that obviously are suffering from some greater issues than can be deal with by a teacher, administrator or even counselors who lack the proper training to deal with out of control behavior?
Real world?
Sat, 03/14/2009 - 13:19 — SDR256I think it depends on your definition of the real world and how you want to create that for your child. Real world is a matter of your own perspective. Bill Gates' real world is hardly my real world and so it goes.
I think if children grow up in a protected environment learning that people are kind and respectful, then that is what they will foster and expect in their own realities. Wouldn't that be a good thing?
Instead, I have heard of too many examples of how public school environments and interactions teach anti-social behaviors to previously model kids.
Just because there is crime and despair in the world doesn't mean I think my child should become 'used to it' at a young age. Perhaps, being exposed to this at a young age will rob them of appropriate outrage and passion later on.
OT-good read
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 21:12 — AngelaWBusing For Diversity in Wake Not Making the Grade (page 12)
http://www.johnlocke.org/acrobat/cjPrintEdition/cj-march2009-web.pdf
Wake county public schools
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 21:01 — lilybugWake county public schools is not much of an example of the real world. It's actually a very artificial, created world that does not resemble the way most people live and work. Lots of different kinds of people certainly EXIST in the world-but they don't hang out together.
Amen
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 22:11 — Voice_of_Reason_Anybody who has seen the real world would have to agree. Those that think that our kids need this to survive in a global economy is sipping Kool-Aid. People with common interests or goals hang out, that's the way of the world.
Seriously?!?! What is right about this?
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 14:10 — me_mcadamsCan this judge do this? I thought it was a parent's right to homeschool. I've got two rising kindergartners. Although I've never seriously considered homeschooling, it is sounding better and better the more I hear about the WCPSS. I hope I would have that option. Unless things change with this next school board election, my children will NOT be attending a WCPSS school.
In some situations
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 20:15 — Bob_SconceThe context here is that the couple is getting divorced, the father doesn't want them homeschooled and the mother does. When parents disagree about how their kids should be raised, the Judge has to make his/her decisions based (at least in part) on the "best interests of the child."
There are clearly places where this sort of decision would be right -- where, for example, the mother was either not actually homeschooling the kids or was completely unqualified to do so. In that case, the kids need an education and forcing them to be put in public school makes sense.
The root problem here, I think, is that the judge somehow views homeschooling as being inferior to public school -- the view is that he has a bias that he's enforcing in his court room. (I don't know if this is true or not, but I think it's why homeschooling advocates are upset.)
OT Alert!!
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 13:37 — choice4allhttp://www.raleighteaparty.com/ http://taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty.html
City: Raleigh
When: April 15, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Where: NC State Capitol (Tentative, Waiting on Permit Approval); One East Edenton Street Contact:
EMAIL P. 919.523.5217 Other Info:www.raleighteaparty.com
I might add that these are being held Nationwide
Blog Cop said the permit was granted
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 16:10 — Voice_of_Reason_I got another e-mail that said the same from another organization. I'll be there, I don't believe in robbing from my grand-kids even if the stimulus bill could stop a bit of relatively short term economic pain.
No we'll all pay soon
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 20:00 — kmisegadesThe cost is already there. The government's borrowing allows it to unfairly compete with free markets. Printing more money leads to inflation, and soon. Poor leadership in DC and Raleigh makes businesses nervous so they layoff people and stop investing. This is not something that will affect future generations alone - it's here and now.
Hey, I'm going to be there too!!
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 19:15 — fiestamomI'll be surprised if the n&O covers it though. I'm trying to think of a clever sign.....
I'm going for the same reason you are, VOR. Well, I don't have grandkids, but the grandkids that won't be born for 20 years, and my kids are going to be paying for this stuff. It's scary!
I don't have grandkids either
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 22:07 — Voice_of_Reason_If I do, they will be paying, that is if we have a country left. The politicians are spending out of control. WE THE PEOPLE, the taxpayers, outnumber them, we need to make our voice heard. This spending is unsustainable, a child knows that. Its just like I going broke, I might as well max out my credit cards and live it up a little before I go bankrupt. We need to get back to basics.
Oh by the way, those that think you can ride this out because you don't make much, think again. Printing all this money will lead to inflation like we have never seen before, I believe it will make the Jimmie Carter Era look good. And guess what, that safety net will rip open.
Ridiculous
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 12:46 — Lisa_BWhat a shame. I know a lot of homeschooled children who are MUCH BETTER SOCIALIZED than many in public schools. They attend "Home School Field Trips", play on "Home School Sports Teams", and the parents also do a team-teaching where 1 parent might teach science to several families, 1 teaches math to all of those kids, etc... so they are socialized with other children.
While I agree that public schools are definitely more like the "real world", there are things my children have been exposed to in public schools that I sure wish they had not been exposed to so soon.
In the end, we support sending our children to public schools for our own reasons, and I see NO reason to keep this mother from homeschooling her children. Sounds like they are THRIVING to me.
Osmosis, I think. Start
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 12:39 — shearertwOsmosis, I think.
Start by "shaking their brains" up on a 1hr bus ride. Place pre-shaken brains of F&R kids and AG kids in the same room. The pre-shaken brains leach out and mix with each other, especailly if you raise the temperature of a YR classroom by 1 degree in July.
No Picnic for Me Either’
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:58 — AngelaWhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/opinion/13brooks.html?_r=1
One of the Park scholars
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:51 — hattiecatOne of the Park scholars just selected for NCSU graduated from a homeschool. My child goes to UNC and says she has met several students there who were homeschooled..
"I think that it's great
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:15 — RWT"I think that it's great they've been able to spend a couple of years at home with you and do neat activities," Mangum told Mills at last week's court hearing.
I think that should all continue as far as your activities. I think you've done a good job of exposing them to parts of the world. But another part of this worid is to prepare these kids for the real world, college and work life when they're not going to be at home with you. While they're not old children, the next thing you know they're going to be going off to college and high school and they need to be able to also have the social interactions with people who aren't just of the same status as they are."
So I guess that he'd also like to close down the private and parochial schools, since they are also not reflective of society? My guess is no, sense that would mean that his kids would have to attend public schools.
My kid in public school
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:12 — shearertwMy kid in public school can't talk in class, can't talk in the bathroom, can't talk at lunch and the lazy teacher hates going outside for recess so she cuts into that everyday with various excuses. The've banned parties or celebrations of any kind....
When exactly does she get more socialization in public school?
It's policy children get 30
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 13:42 — rr77rr99It's policy children get 30 minutes of recess everyday (unless it's PE day). If it is true your child's teacher is robbing them of recess time, I'd look into that. That truly is the only time of the day they can get their energy released.... as they should... out on the playground.
Wow- Exacty how is...
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 12:31 — Voice_of_Reason_Exactly how is the economic diversity policy supposed to work? How is it great for these kids and yours? Is this the reason it is failing?
Note: this is sarcasm before someone thinks I'm serious.
Judge has no clue
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 10:31 — kmisegadesThis judge needs to get out more. Home schoolers have formed amazing communities and even have regular classes in school buildings these days. An NCSU recruiter I spoke with a few years ago said of home schoolers :"We can't get enough of them!". All US military academies have accepted them with open arms for decades. The Home School legal folks are going to chew this judge up and spit him out. Good thing he wasn't around when other home schoolers were young, like George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt.
If you look at it you could
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 13:45 — rr77rr99If you look at it you could say WCPSS should be THRILLED parents are pulling their kids out and homeschooling them, but look closer, because homeschooling , private schooling, whatever alernative there is, truly screws up WCPSS and their "scores" because the smarter the kid is and pulled out of the stastical mix, well then who is around to increase the overall test score percentages?
I couldn't believe this when
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 09:41 — rr77rr99I couldn't believe this when I read this! How come judges are not ruling that public schools are not safe places for children to be "socialized"? Oh wait, maybe that's the next court case.
Is the whole world going insane or what?
OT alert
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 08:23 — AngelaWChild hit at Cary school bus stop
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1441015.html
Unreal. Passing a stopped
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 09:38 — rr77rr99Unreal. Passing a stopped school bus? What gives? Oh wait, I see it done more often than you think. ...right in my own neighborhood, too.
Its a shame!
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 10:26 — gunfamIt gave me chills when I heard the report today. Sadly I have seen it in my neighborhood too - to me! Luckily I was looking and the car was not going so fast that she couldn't stop, but still. My MS daughter says she sees cars go by her bus when they are stopped on 55 all the time. So sad...
societal "norms" would have
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 08:18 — AngelaWsocietal "norms" would have us all believe that public school is the be-all and end-all. that's crap, pure and simple crap.
life itself is an education and far and away can teach more than what can be learned in a "brick building".
judge has and needs too focus on all aspects of case.
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 08:16 — WhalerCaneListening the Judge is doing his job. All should keep thier own political agenda's out of this case.
The problem is the Judge
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 09:09 — vsheehanThe problem is the Judge brought in "socialization' as one of the reasons for putting them in public school. The Judge sets precedent with that therefore opening a big can of worms that will effect many other families. All the Judge had to do is say the parents disagreed on homeschooling so the kids had to go to some type of school . The dad could pay for the kids to go to private. Instead the Judge had to bad mouth homeschooling in a ruling leaving a legal mess for the rest of families to worry about.
I agree. I think the can
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 13:52 — rr77rr99I agree. I think the can is now open then for public school parents to sue. I don't think my children are being properly socialized in public schools. My middle schooler is being asked if they want to buy some pot, my very young elementary kid wants to know why little Frannie can spit and kick and call kids "bitches" and not get suspended from school (my child was told said child has "problems at home and we all just must be a little more patient with said child.)
How come public school kids in high school can wear their jeans down around their knees and mini skirts and tight shirts with their boobs hanging out? and those damn flip flops? Can you really dress like that now when you have a job in the "real world"? I may have to ask my boss. I'd like to wear dime store flip flops to work. Save me a bundle on buying shoes.
"socialization" canard
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 08:09 — fiestamomIf I hear the 'homeschoolers are unsocialized" line one more time, I'm gonna hurl.
Let's take a look at Wake County Schools in the last year, kids getting shot on the bus, kids getting robbed in the parking lot, a kid brutally beaten at Wakefield High school, a defendant on trial for 1st degree murder attended Millbrook High School. This is all in the last year at Wake County schools. If that's 'socialization" , then no wonder such a huge percentage of parents homeschool their kids here!
The next time you're out and about, take a look at all of the businesses that offer special homeschool classes for homeschool kids. Karate, gymnastics, dance, horseback riding, etc. These places all get quite a business from homeschool parents who want their kids "out and about".
And back to my first paragraph. If we had shootings, drugs, bullying at work, or with people we associated with, we (as adults) would not put up with it. If I was being bullied at work, I would be in the human resources office pronto. So why do some consider it "normal" socialization when our children have to put up with it in school?
This Judge is nuts. He put
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 07:13 — vsheehanThis Judge is nuts. He put them in public school for no good reason. Many Ives take Homeschoolers now and they wouldn't if they thought they were not well rounded. When we homeschooled my kid had more time to socialise then he has now. Actually my son is on break and no one else in the neighborhood is. Will this Judge step in and force WCPSS to offer the same curriculum at all WCPSS schools so that my son does not need to go to a Magnet. Going to a magnet is hurting him socially so Judge step in and help or let these kids Homeschool.
The real world
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 06:52 — RWTI really don't see how childhood interactions with different peer groups is going to create more tolerant adults, particularly if those interactions have the net effect of causing instability in the school environment.
"Sweetie, your friends were assigned away from our school because our school needed more poor students, and your friends' new school needed more middle-class kids." Now my kid wants to run for school board and fire the administration. Too bad he's only 9.