Teachers and parents will say goodbye to public schools in 2022?
In LinkedIn's 29 Big Ideas that will change our world in 2022, released today, they say "Teachers (and parents) will say goodbye to public schools". What do people think? Do you agree? Disagree?
80 comments
Shocked at some of these parents' responses regarding their sweeping characterization of public schools vs private schools. I despise this public vs private school debate since its just too broad of a scale. Given the reliance of American public education on local property values you have plenty of astonishing public schools. Unfortunately, a handful of miles down the road in the next neighborhood you may also have decrepit underfunded schools.
When deciding where to live find a neighborhood that values education and takes pride in its school district. Unfortunately this may come at the cost of higher real estate values, but fundamentally the school your child attends will be one of the most defining aspects of their childhood. The local public schools here compensate their teachers significantly more than the private schools in the area. Furthermore, their average test scores are about a percentage less across all standardized tests while allowing of all backgrounds instead of having the ability to choose their student body like the private schools.
I attended a public school but had many close friends in some of the private schools around me. In terms of college outcomes my friends from school and friends from the private schools attended similar pretentious schools. However, I feel that had I attended a private school I would have spent all my formative years in the same bubble of snobby traditions and deciding where to summer. My high school had plenty of astonishingly wealthy students but our culture was much more actively unimpressed when peers bought an s-class for their 16th or took their race car to school.
When deciding where to live find a neighborhood that values education and takes pride in its school district. Unfortunately this may come at the cost of higher real estate values, but fundamentally the school your child attends will be one of the most defining aspects of their childhood. The local public schools here compensate their teachers significantly more than the private schools in the area. Furthermore, their average test scores are about a percentage less across all standardized tests while allowing of all backgrounds instead of having the ability to choose their student body like the private schools.
I attended a public school but had many close friends in some of the private schools around me. In terms of college outcomes my friends from school and friends from the private schools attended similar pretentious schools. However, I feel that had I attended a private school I would have spent all my formative years in the same bubble of snobby traditions and deciding where to summer. My high school had plenty of astonishingly wealthy students but our culture was much more actively unimpressed when peers bought an s-class for their 16th or took their race car to school.
People are definitely buying better schools for real estate and it's pricey.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/housing-costs-zoning-and-... https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/propert...
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/realestate/your-address-a...
https://www.brookings.edu/research/housing-costs-zoning-and-... https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/propert...
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/realestate/your-address-a...
I think all these negative responses come from those who can afford a private school for their kids.
As someone who has taught in private schools that cost upwards of 50k, I don't think they are all that great. Teachers are generally paid the same as in public schools and it's still slightly smaller classes of kids who have way too much homework, are taught using the same curriculum and have little freedom to direct their own learning. At Dalton, kids regularly get 4 hours of tutoring every day after school to help them do homework and the teachers come to expect that and teach to the extra support. I doubt that all the families who dislike public school here are rich. An increasing number of low-income families are pulling their kids out of school and homeschooling. Others are sending them to lower-cost private schools, parochial schools. You don't have to be rich to value and spend on education. In fact, education is one of the first things lower-income families will spend on (though it's been shown to be a poor investment). One of the things this article talks about is how more Latino and Black families are homeschooling than ever before.
I think a better term may be those trying to “justify” their school choice. After their home one of the next largest choices, both financially and as a parent, is where to educate your children. Paying 50,000 a year and people will definitely justify it after the fact. Just because you have the disposable income doesn’t mean you should only like at private schools because that’s the expected thing to do.
I'm a private school teacher; my kids attend the school I teach at. Some random thoughts:
* First, there's enormous variation in private schools. A whole lot of sectarian schools are utter crap and worse than public schools when you control for the neighborhoods they're in.
* But there are also a lot of private schools with significant structural advantages: students who want to be there with systemic support from all families and faculty who just want to see how far they can run in a supportive environment.
* I teach in a crazily idyllic environment. There's been no fights in literally decades. It's cool to be a nerd or a jock. It's happy and green. I am sad that this is such an exception and not the rule.
* I have the utmost respect for public school teachers. I'm well aware, in many ways, that my job is "easy mode" for education. I think it's great that we have a diverse system, and having the public system exist and able to provide a quality education to people of all backgrounds is an essential public good.
* My children are mathy, somewhat introverted kids. Being able to pick an educational environment where they're expected to present often, do drama and the arts, etc, has made them grow into much broader individuals than they would in other places. This kind of choice doesn't often exist in the public school system.
* First, there's enormous variation in private schools. A whole lot of sectarian schools are utter crap and worse than public schools when you control for the neighborhoods they're in.
* But there are also a lot of private schools with significant structural advantages: students who want to be there with systemic support from all families and faculty who just want to see how far they can run in a supportive environment.
* I teach in a crazily idyllic environment. There's been no fights in literally decades. It's cool to be a nerd or a jock. It's happy and green. I am sad that this is such an exception and not the rule.
* I have the utmost respect for public school teachers. I'm well aware, in many ways, that my job is "easy mode" for education. I think it's great that we have a diverse system, and having the public system exist and able to provide a quality education to people of all backgrounds is an essential public good.
* My children are mathy, somewhat introverted kids. Being able to pick an educational environment where they're expected to present often, do drama and the arts, etc, has made them grow into much broader individuals than they would in other places. This kind of choice doesn't often exist in the public school system.
This description reminds me of my public school. My point is that there's enormous variation in both private schools and public schools. I think there should be more nuanced terms for public schools than lumping them all together.
In high school I described my public school as faux-public given that the school district was dependent on local property values (yes, definition of public school) while support from the state was negligible to the overall budget.
In the four years I was there we had maybe a fight (more of a tussle) about once a year, our football team won a game about every two years, and our science olympiad or other extra curriculum program placed nationally every year. If students were working on projects it wasn't surprising if the teacher left to make photocopies or do other things while we worked. In terms of outcomes, in my math/hard sciences about 75% attended ivies. There are many great private schools in the area but given that they have the same test scores (while being able to choose their student body) and same college outcomes I would not recommend discrediting a school simply because it is public
In high school I described my public school as faux-public given that the school district was dependent on local property values (yes, definition of public school) while support from the state was negligible to the overall budget.
In the four years I was there we had maybe a fight (more of a tussle) about once a year, our football team won a game about every two years, and our science olympiad or other extra curriculum program placed nationally every year. If students were working on projects it wasn't surprising if the teacher left to make photocopies or do other things while we worked. In terms of outcomes, in my math/hard sciences about 75% attended ivies. There are many great private schools in the area but given that they have the same test scores (while being able to choose their student body) and same college outcomes I would not recommend discrediting a school simply because it is public
There's a huge variety in private and public schools, but it's rare that the school is not 9-3pm or 8-6pm. A few exceptions like Fusion Academy do 1-1 tutoring. We need a more modular approach to education that's not all teaching kids the same curriculum during an uninterrupted block of hours. .
I think that most parents make decisions out of fear, rather than what they really think is best. A friend of mine used to work at Noodle and said that they did a study there which showed that most parent's primary reason for choosing an elite private schcool is for their own networking purposes, rather than the quality of their child's education. I have not seen that to be true in the parents I've met who send their kids to private school, but it's still striking.
Schooling, whether private or public, is so universal that there's endless different cases and motivations. The area I grew up in this was definitely a contributing factor. A lot of families sent their children to the same private school, belonged to the same country club, summered in the same places, and attended the same religious organizations. They were all culture aspects that fit together for this particular community. This can quickly lead to people spending their lives only ever in one extremely privileged bubble.
I sort of hope so. Starting my child in Kindergarten this year has soured me to public schools somewhat. Nonsensical mask/distancing/sanitation protocols for people at low or no risk with no end in sight and seemingly dictated by the teachers' unions. Rudimentary and remedial math and reading education my child already learned in preschool just to catch every kid up to a common core. Cancelling fun holiday traditions in the name of equity and replacing them with bland, institutional versions (Halloween banned and replaced with a November "disguise day"). Most days my child comes home complaining how boring everything is and it kind of breaks my heart. I thought it'd be this inspirational learning center and instead it feels patronizing and mildly indoctrinating. Not sure there are other options though, so we'll make the most of it.
> Nonsensical mask/distancing/sanitation protocols for people at low or no risk
I'm a teacher. I really don't want to catch COVID from a kid and bring it to my immunocompromised dad. So, irrespective of the risk to students (which is not high but I would not characterize it as low either), there are additionally risks to students' families and faculty.
I'm a teacher. I really don't want to catch COVID from a kid and bring it to my immunocompromised dad. So, irrespective of the risk to students (which is not high but I would not characterize it as low either), there are additionally risks to students' families and faculty.
I agree. Masks are so effective at stopping the spread of disease. As a former teacher/tutor/sub who moved around a lot, even before COVID-19, I got sick all the time. Little kid diseases are often less apparent in the little kids than adults, and teachers are just surrounded by runny noses, kids couching and sneezing, touching stuff, picking their nose, etc. It's nice to have a little protection. Hand sanitizer I don't think is as effective, but washing hands for sure.
I don't want your dad to get covid either. But every single school child and teacher has access to a vaccine at this point and teachers who feel they are at a special risk have access to KN95 masks. Instead, everyone has to wear some kind of cloth mask to show that "wearing is caring". We now have almost two years of data to look at. The risk to children is absurdly low.
Wearing masks is also about keeping schools open.
Yes, the risk to kids is low, but they are unvaccinated so outbreaks can and do happen. Substitutes are hard to get right now in most school districts and if you have an outbreak and even 5 percent of the teachers are home sick it is a very real possibility there won’t be a substitute to cover. In my local school district principals and administrators are covering classrooms for sick teachers because there are not enough subs. Teachers would traditionally just go to school sick, because they don’t get much sick time and even if they are sick they have to write a lesson plan for the sub, but now what do you do? Do you go to school even though you have a cold that could be covid? Do you write sub plans for a sub that might not be there?
Bus drivers are also opting out because many are elderly and at high risk and the pay sucks so the risk reward isn’t there even if they are vaccinated. Same with lunch ladies, janitors, you name it. There is a staffing crisis in education right now. Teachers are burned out and those that can retire are at a higher rate than before. It is a mess.
So no, children, even unvaccinated, aren’t likely to have complications from Covid, but wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating.
Yes, the risk to kids is low, but they are unvaccinated so outbreaks can and do happen. Substitutes are hard to get right now in most school districts and if you have an outbreak and even 5 percent of the teachers are home sick it is a very real possibility there won’t be a substitute to cover. In my local school district principals and administrators are covering classrooms for sick teachers because there are not enough subs. Teachers would traditionally just go to school sick, because they don’t get much sick time and even if they are sick they have to write a lesson plan for the sub, but now what do you do? Do you go to school even though you have a cold that could be covid? Do you write sub plans for a sub that might not be there?
Bus drivers are also opting out because many are elderly and at high risk and the pay sucks so the risk reward isn’t there even if they are vaccinated. Same with lunch ladies, janitors, you name it. There is a staffing crisis in education right now. Teachers are burned out and those that can retire are at a higher rate than before. It is a mess.
So no, children, even unvaccinated, aren’t likely to have complications from Covid, but wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating.
This is a really good point, too: coverage for classes is hard. I've got a great workplace and we've not really had attrition, but when it comes time to find a sub we're facing a crazy marketplace: lots of teachers have left the profession; lots of people that would sub before are not bothering; and everyone needs more subs than the previous baseline.
It's gotten worse and worse. There was just an article published in NPR at how schools are closing again on really short notice due to staff shortages. That said, when I was a sub in NYC, it was incredibly hard to get certified (really long training process and quite challenging test), and then when we did start working, we only got paid $150/day. The only reason I could even apply to sub was because I was a bilingual educator. Otherwise, they weren't taking new applications. So finding qualified people through a rigorous vetting process and then only paying them $150 is not a great recipe for having a plethora of substitute teachers around. https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1057979170/school-closures-me...
> Substitutes are hard to get right now in most school districts
> wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating
I think those are great points and I often try to look at it from the perspective of my child's teacher, not to mention the regulatory nightmares the administration goes through. I am friends and family with many public school teachers. I also think that's the point of the article though. It's hard to get a sub because teachers are quitting, not because of being out sick.
> wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating
I think those are great points and I often try to look at it from the perspective of my child's teacher, not to mention the regulatory nightmares the administration goes through. I am friends and family with many public school teachers. I also think that's the point of the article though. It's hard to get a sub because teachers are quitting, not because of being out sick.
> I don't want your dad to get covid either.
Welp, students in my classes wearing their masks is a big part of how I'm still able to see my dad and not kill him.
> Instead, everyone has to wear some kind of cloth mask to show that "wearing is caring".
Because it's one of the most effective measures we have. Research (both observational and based on aerosol modeling) implies that surgical/cloth masks and getting windows open each reduces risk of infection about 4-5x, and they stack on top of each other for a ~20x total reduction. That's enough, with vaccination, to make me comfortable seeing my dad (masked).
> The risk to children is absurdly low.
About 70k kids hospitalized in the US so far-- so that's not absurdly low. And, again, the risk to children's families and faculty (and faculty families) counts too.
Welp, students in my classes wearing their masks is a big part of how I'm still able to see my dad and not kill him.
> Instead, everyone has to wear some kind of cloth mask to show that "wearing is caring".
Because it's one of the most effective measures we have. Research (both observational and based on aerosol modeling) implies that surgical/cloth masks and getting windows open each reduces risk of infection about 4-5x, and they stack on top of each other for a ~20x total reduction. That's enough, with vaccination, to make me comfortable seeing my dad (masked).
> The risk to children is absurdly low.
About 70k kids hospitalized in the US so far-- so that's not absurdly low. And, again, the risk to children's families and faculty (and faculty families) counts too.
There is a huge risk to kids. My friends Jeremy Howard and Rachel Thomas recently compiled research on this topic. Especially of concern is long-term effects of COVID on children.
Rachel says, "research shows we downplay long-term effects of Covid on children" https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1454242957259800578 https://twitter.com/jeremyphoward/status/1420981223535517696
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01935-7
Rachel says, "research shows we downplay long-term effects of Covid on children" https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1454242957259800578 https://twitter.com/jeremyphoward/status/1420981223535517696
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01935-7
Who knows, right? As the Nature article you cited points out, the research we have now is poorly controlled and hopelessly confounded and pointing in many different directions.
My personal belief is that COVID-19 and influenza are probably similar in children. But even that is more risk than people generally realize: a whole lot of permanent impact happens from influenza in children, but we just accept it and shrug it off as inevitable.
And, of course, while the average risk to kids may be moderate, there's also the much higher risk of cases communicated by children to their family, faculty, and the community at large.
My personal belief is that COVID-19 and influenza are probably similar in children. But even that is more risk than people generally realize: a whole lot of permanent impact happens from influenza in children, but we just accept it and shrug it off as inevitable.
And, of course, while the average risk to kids may be moderate, there's also the much higher risk of cases communicated by children to their family, faculty, and the community at large.
Those protocols are theater, and have no demonstrable effect on reducing transmission.
Actually, we have a number of studies-- showing lower transmission rates in schools using mitigations (ventilation improvements, screening, teacher microphones, and masking)-- and we have aerosol-model based physics providing justification for why this works -- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.23.21253503v...
And, anecdote: I'm at a school with windows open & masking. We have a fair amount of mandated testing, and there's been no transmission at school detected despite several primary cases. Compare to other schools with a lot of transmission detected.
I don't financially need to work. I find teaching rewarding, but I'm not willing to kill my dad for it, kthx. I'm glad to be at a school which is making a reasonable compromise in this area.
And, anecdote: I'm at a school with windows open & masking. We have a fair amount of mandated testing, and there's been no transmission at school detected despite several primary cases. Compare to other schools with a lot of transmission detected.
I don't financially need to work. I find teaching rewarding, but I'm not willing to kill my dad for it, kthx. I'm glad to be at a school which is making a reasonable compromise in this area.
I'm speaking mostly about SFUSD covid guidelines[1], which prominently mention hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, gloves, and gowns. AFAIK we have no evidence of those being effective at reducing indoor transmission.
Re: risk, I think that is a completely reasonable position for you to take. I also think it is reasonable for parents to prefer an environment that they feel is optimized for their kids needs.
[1] https://www.sfusd.edu/covid-19-response-updates-and-resource...
Re: risk, I think that is a completely reasonable position for you to take. I also think it is reasonable for parents to prefer an environment that they feel is optimized for their kids needs.
[1] https://www.sfusd.edu/covid-19-response-updates-and-resource...
> I'm speaking mostly about SFUSD covid guidelines[1], which prominently mention hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, gloves, and gowns. AFAIK we have no evidence of those being effective at reducing indoor transmission.
That just says those supplies will be available. They're available at my workplace, too.
This is the one thing that we've de-emphasized this year:
> Staff will clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces like door handles, desks, countertops, phones, keyboards, light switches, handles, toilets and faucets at least once daily.
OTOH, I do run a lab and now wipe down the frequently used tools a couple of times per day. It may or may not make a difference for COVID, but it probably will reduce the transmission of stomach bugs and influenza.
That just says those supplies will be available. They're available at my workplace, too.
This is the one thing that we've de-emphasized this year:
> Staff will clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces like door handles, desks, countertops, phones, keyboards, light switches, handles, toilets and faucets at least once daily.
OTOH, I do run a lab and now wipe down the frequently used tools a couple of times per day. It may or may not make a difference for COVID, but it probably will reduce the transmission of stomach bugs and influenza.
Hi Stolenmerch, I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through. As a parent, there's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your child is not loving learning. I really do feel for the people trying to organize education at scale for 55 million kids across the US and maintain some level of base performance, but honestly the whole thing does not work. As you've experienced, in lieu of having values, everything has turned into a bland disguise day so no one is offended. That (btw) is kind of a metaphor for everything. I was a teacher in public, private school and a private tutor and rarely saw a school that was able to individualize learning for kids in the way that was needed. In public school, there is huge pressure on everyone to perform well on standardized tests, and in private school, there's huge pressure to get kids into Ivy League schools (so that they will get more donations). Worst of all, as you point out is the patronizing attitudes to parents. There's this attitude that you don't know what's best for your child which is total BS. If you like, I'd be happy to talk you through some options, modular learning, homeschooling, various learning apps, starting a learning pod, other alternatives. Of course, it's always a balance of childcare and education, but there are some really exciting options sprouting out there - and there is hope for you. If you want to chat, you can email me at manisha[at]modulo[dot]app. I've seen it all and I love talking to parents about alternatives, it also helps me learn as I'm working on building a decentralized school system, so it's great to hear about people's hopes, fears, constraints and see if there are ways I can be of support.
> Nonsensical mask/distancing/sanitation protocols for people at low or no risk with no end in sight and seemingly dictated by the teachers' unions.
The US Teachers union causes a LOT of problems. But mask, distancing, and sanitation are not one of them.
You wouldn’t like living in Asia. Here it’s the norm. The only people who get upset are westerners. But atleast I feel like my daughter is safe, and my in laws are safe.
The US Teachers union causes a LOT of problems. But mask, distancing, and sanitation are not one of them.
You wouldn’t like living in Asia. Here it’s the norm. The only people who get upset are westerners. But atleast I feel like my daughter is safe, and my in laws are safe.
It %100 is indoctrination. I have my own gripes with the public school system that go against woke culture but there is literally nothing I can do except pony up for a private education.
What's stopping you from pulling your kids out of school if you hate it so much? Genuinely curious..
is it childcare, a fear that you don't know how to teach, how to get started, worries about social learning? A lot of families are doing homeschooling, modular learning, microschooling...
Also as someone who has taught in public and private schools, I will tell you that even the most elite private schools are not that much better. It's still a group of kids in one class doing way too much homework and very little freedom to pursue their own interests.
Just as public school students are being indoctrinated, so are private school students. Indoctrinated, perhaps into different systems. The elite want to keep their kids elite, so maybe they are being indoctrinated into becoming the future leaders of wall Street and tech companies - and the government wants to control its citizens (there are some good reasons of course, for that, but a lot of bad reasons). Oddly, a lot of public school systems like bells and desks are designed to prepare kids to work for jobs in factories, so I'm not even sure this indoctrination is successful because it's a bit antiquated. Just hard to change.
is it childcare, a fear that you don't know how to teach, how to get started, worries about social learning? A lot of families are doing homeschooling, modular learning, microschooling...
Also as someone who has taught in public and private schools, I will tell you that even the most elite private schools are not that much better. It's still a group of kids in one class doing way too much homework and very little freedom to pursue their own interests.
Just as public school students are being indoctrinated, so are private school students. Indoctrinated, perhaps into different systems. The elite want to keep their kids elite, so maybe they are being indoctrinated into becoming the future leaders of wall Street and tech companies - and the government wants to control its citizens (there are some good reasons of course, for that, but a lot of bad reasons). Oddly, a lot of public school systems like bells and desks are designed to prepare kids to work for jobs in factories, so I'm not even sure this indoctrination is successful because it's a bit antiquated. Just hard to change.
It’s a matter of time, for me. I would also be worried about socializing from homeschool.
I work full time and my wife uses the time the kids are at school to manage activities, the home, etc.
Home school would be explored if we had a live in nanny and perhaps someone to help design a curriculum.
I work full time and my wife uses the time the kids are at school to manage activities, the home, etc.
Home school would be explored if we had a live in nanny and perhaps someone to help design a curriculum.
How about homeschooling?
https://www.econlib.org/emergency-homeschooling-a-how-to-gui...
https://www.econlib.org/emergency-homeschooling-a-how-to-gui...
Or modular learning? I'm trying to advance the idea that there's a better word that better defines a decentralized approach to education which is not school at home, but school out in the world, drawing on the best resources available for each child's individual education https://manisharoses.medium.com/not-school-or-homeschooling-...
Well there's "unschool", if you want a term that emphasizes that it's not school, but the way it's done is way more important than whatever it ends up being called.
As Caplan mentions in the above post, he's troubled by unschoolers' subpar math skills, linking to a post citing a study. I don't think the blog post you cited addresses that point (among other points).
As Caplan mentions in the above post, he's troubled by unschoolers' subpar math skills, linking to a post citing a study. I don't think the blog post you cited addresses that point (among other points).
I've always been under the impression that schools are just glorified day cares. Even though research has shown later start times (and thus more sleep) improve learning, many governments still keep start times in sync with 9-5 work times.
School is only a glorified daycare for students when the desired societal outcome for them is to become a member of the 9-5 grind where the end goal is to eventually achieve a career akin to a middle-manager. It's no wonder America ranks 38th out of 71 countries in education[0] when public school funding has plateaued since 1997[1]... how do we expect students to explore and grow while they're relegated to learning whatever is left after every single soft-science related course and elective has been cut away?
As a sidenote, teachers in my state start at $35k... for a profession that requires a degree and special training, that is pathetic and deserves to be a national shame.
[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-student... [1]https://apps.urban.org/features/education-funding-trends/
As a sidenote, teachers in my state start at $35k... for a profession that requires a degree and special training, that is pathetic and deserves to be a national shame.
[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-student... [1]https://apps.urban.org/features/education-funding-trends/
I think later start times are good. On the other hand, if the typical student needs to get to care synchronized with the parents' work schedule, that's not going to get them more sleep.
yes. who says america doesn't have tax funded day care system.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/us/schools-closed-fridays...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/us/schools-closed-fridays...
Schools are also places of common suffering through which friendships may be formed.
Single data point. I pulled my kid out of public school due to the pandemic. Our big city public school system was frankly overwhelmed by the pandemic.
It was a very painful decision for my family as we largely believe in public school as a policy directive but submitting my kid to the idiocy for another year, and asking me to deal with it as well, was just untenable.
It was a very painful decision for my family as we largely believe in public school as a policy directive but submitting my kid to the idiocy for another year, and asking me to deal with it as well, was just untenable.
Curious...did you think about educating your children yourself pre-pandemic? And was this the straw that broke the camel's back?
No absolutely not. I honestly believe teaching is a capital P profesion and neither me or my wife has the training nor inclination to be full time teachers.
The final straw was the school districts covid protocols for the 2021/2022 school year which made it obvious that they weren’t optimizing for student health, student learning or parent convenience. Instead it was some mix of federal guidelines, school district convenience & teachers union edict.
Those things might be the most important thing for public policy but as a privileged participant I could opt out.
The final straw was the school districts covid protocols for the 2021/2022 school year which made it obvious that they weren’t optimizing for student health, student learning or parent convenience. Instead it was some mix of federal guidelines, school district convenience & teachers union edict.
Those things might be the most important thing for public policy but as a privileged participant I could opt out.
What exactly would you have done differently with regard to student health, student learning, and parent convenience?
interesting. Have there been any aspects to homeschooling that you've enjoyed or do you think you'll return to school once/if the protocols you're looking for come into place.
Private school was expensive, but my daughter learned a lot. As opposed to public schools which were overcrowded enough before the pandemic and didn't handle home learning well. Public school teachers were simply sending homework they found from Google every day, the private school ones put a lot of effort into things like activities and fun online quizzes.
My daughter (2nd grade) managed to memorize literally every capital city and flag. When I asked her who her geography teacher was, she said "We didn't have geography this year. I learned it from YouTube." Ironically, no classes made her more interested in the topic.
But you have to have class to have no classes. The kids were begging to go to school by the end of 2021, but didn't want to go early on. The absence of school made them want to learn even more. So I'm not sure if full home schooling is effective.
My daughter (2nd grade) managed to memorize literally every capital city and flag. When I asked her who her geography teacher was, she said "We didn't have geography this year. I learned it from YouTube." Ironically, no classes made her more interested in the topic.
But you have to have class to have no classes. The kids were begging to go to school by the end of 2021, but didn't want to go early on. The absence of school made them want to learn even more. So I'm not sure if full home schooling is effective.
There's a decent amount of evidence that early schooling variation doesn't correlate to future achievement once you control for IQ, income, etc. This is supported by your anecdote.
LinkdedIn's blog post https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/29-big-ideas-change-our-world... for reference
Awesome. Thank you!
Also I truly hope that an end to public school would not mean an end to public education. Given how poorly our country provides childcare to parents, that is not a given. Ever optimistic , I hope we can move to a more modular, decentralized, public education system that has better childcare and learning too and is better able to serve the needs of unique communities. As pointed out in these comments, some public schools are pretty great considering it’s still one class in one place learning the same things the same ways. Others more resemble prisons where no learning is happening and teachers, kids and admins are miserable and underserved. Public education is critical to taking care and nurturing
our children, exposing them to diverse ideas and scientific values, but that’s not happening in public schools for the most part today. Also the system itself is incredible stiff and slow to adapt to a changing world.
You pay for the children your children go to school with, and for their parents. You might do it with tuition, you might do it with property tax.
Maryland has one school system per county. In Montgomery County the schools are very different between the more prosperous and less prosperous areas. Years ago there was an eye-opening chart of the percentage grade needed get an A in algebra at various high schools.
Maryland has one school system per county. In Montgomery County the schools are very different between the more prosperous and less prosperous areas. Years ago there was an eye-opening chart of the percentage grade needed get an A in algebra at various high schools.
Sounds pretty terrible to me. Public schooling ensures that the citizenry have at least some modicum of education. Private schooling, homeschooling, and religious schooling, does not offer that same level of commitment to a science and history base education, because, well, they can teach whatever they want.
There is still no accountability in decentralized schooling, but that doesn't mean that there couldn't be. A lot of modular learners pull their kids out of school exactly because they want a deeper commitment to an education based on scientific inquiry and comprehensive, inclusive approach to history. You should check out SEA homeschoolers to see what they are doing. https://www.facebook.com/groups/seahomeschoolers
Instead of random comment post why not share link to that list and content beneath?
Where is this list of big ideas?
Where is this list of big ideas?
legerdemain(1)