I do homeschool my son at this point. But he is three… (course he is just learning to read! so… I guess I have taught him something). Anyway, ultimately this decision in our household will be left up to my husband, whom I will follow after dilligently.

My experience in public school (even a really good school in the top thirteen in the nation) was HORRIBLE… I got into all kinds of nasty situations, was harrassed, physically beat up, etc… even here locally I just heard of a small town’s school having a shooting!

I don’t really think private school is too much better. Perhaps it is physically safer by way of guns, but drugs alcohol and sex are all rampant in those schools too.

My two cents,
Mrs. Meg Logan

and i like your last comment there MIN, I totally agree…

Quick example: Creation/Evolution. There’s no definitive research that can prove 100% either way. Since “religious views can’t be taught” we have to teach the worldview that is anti-thetical to Creation, even though Evolution takes a degree of faith and belief since “no one was there.” A truly neutral way would be ignoring the historical evolutionary standpoint altogether or presenting multiple views– we’ve seen where that has gotten us.

Another example is Social Studies and Economics classes. These can easily be bent to stress the teacher’s basic ideals. Kids/teens are not equipped to debate the finer points of different economic and social theories, so if the teacher spends more time on what he believes he replicates himself multiple times– every school year.

This is why it is important to know who the teachers are, what they teach, and definitely why homeschooling is a good option.

A lot is going to depend on your community and your school board. A lot of public schools are going to reflect the values of the community and if your community has high moral standards (standards that you agree with) then sending children there is probably not going to be a problem.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with many other schools. They still will reflect community values, but generally the values of the most outspoken members of the community. If those values are liberal than home or private schooling is essential. Sure the children lose some opportunities, but it’s far better to have children taught beliefs that you agree with than to spend hours being taught what you oppose.

For instance, one of the schools in my area has banned giving gifts with Christmas wrapping paper (no green or red wrapping paper only blue and other non-Christmas colors). Seems kind of preposterous to go to that length to avoid having any religion displayed in the school doesn’t it? But if that is what your community wants, it will happen. If you keep your children in that school, you have to ask yourself, “Am I spending enough time teaching my values to my kids at home to counteract what they learn at school?” and most of the time the answer is No. If this is the case, do you have any option other than private or home schooling?

That would be great in a perfect world where one could count on human beings to remain objective.

Right thinking, and by that I mean conservatism, promotes true diversity, a respect for culture (as opposed to deceptive multi-culturalism) and life. Far left thought promotes a degradation of traditional values, cultural anhiliation and death. This isn’t about Democrat vs. Republican and whether or not we should scrap Social Security or fully fund it. This is about the survival of our culture.

And as far as your views on the far left goes, why do you think far right thinking is any healthier besides raising children with the same beliefs you hold?

As for the idealized view of non-partisanship in schools, it assumes that one idea is just as good as the next, and not being a post-modernist, I don’t buy it. Far left ideology is dangerous and allowing it to be taught in public schools is cultural and societal suicide.

Yes I meant to say it gives parents, not student, a choice. However, i’m not entirely clear as to what you are getting at as far as the options parents should have. If its an option that involves religion, then thats not an option that should be available. And its really not as if private school are any better teaching-wise since private schools have even less standards for teaching licenses.

You mention attacks from the far left as well. Its not the job of a school to be Conservatists. Perhaps i’m not entirely clear on what you are getting at, but I dont believe that teaching children to think for themselves should be conveyed through conservatism. They get all the US history lessons they need to draw those conclusions.

If you want to teach you child to reject any “liberal” ideas or whatever else you disagree with, you are more than welcomed to (or send your children to private schools). I don’t understand why the school has to do that for you. It takes away your choice because you never had it in the first place.

Even if that were true, it wouldn’t be a good thing. Education isn’t about choices that the kids make, it’s about teaching them what they need to know. Leaving it up to them is not the best idea. Now, if you meant to say that it gives parents the choices they want, that’s not true. Public schools have been increasingly uniform since the 1920s when the Supreme Court first began “selective incorporation” of the Bill of Rights. There was a time when “Congress shall make no law” applied to “Congress”. Now it applies to every level of government including the school district. And it was a decision of the courts not the voters and tax payers.

Parents who choose public schools have no choice but to have their children indoctrinated. At best, they may get a teacher who bucks the system and teaches them to think anyway, but that teacher’s influence will be watered down by four or five others. At worst, and even more likely, they will have to deal with far left attacks on traditional morality plus sexual abuse and degradation.