Show HN: Great Books Homeschool beta program • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Great Books Homeschool beta program

#71

Post by 4dayworkweek4u » Fri, Mar 24, 2023, 12:47 AM UTC

bitlax wrote: post #61

syzarian wrote: post #44

I have a question about home schooling in general. I'm a teacher with 20+ years of mathematics teaching experience at a community college. I don't know how to teach physics, chemistry, literature, reading, grammar, biology, etc. I especially don't know how to teach such topics to children. I don't know how to spot a learning disability except in an extreme case or to know if a student likely needs special education.…

> What makes parents with no specialized training think they can do better than the public school system? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAzsJt1Q7Jc

lol

Re: Show HN: Great Books Homeschool beta program

#72

Post by 4dayworkweek4u » Fri, Mar 24, 2023, 12:51 AM UTC

all2 wrote: post #12

myself248 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Mostly" is not everyone, and frankly I tend to forget the religious weirdos even exist. All the homeschooling families I knew were doing it because the local schools sucked; even those with "gifted and talented" programs couldn't keep up. If this scratches an itch for some homeschoolers, it's valid and useful. There will always be others for whom it is not interesting, but so what?

> religious weirdos I fall into that category in that I find the public education system extremely lacking in terms of (and especially) moral development. I don't appreciate the characterization of "weirdo", though you are welcome to it. Just know that the majority of the people in the space you aspire to serve are fundamental Christians of various stripes and colors and you will lose that segment of business very qu…

>though you are welcome to it.

No. They are not! We're offended and will not tolerate hate speech.

# Learn intolerance from the left (until we can peacefully separate)

Re: Show HN: Great Books Homeschool beta program

#73

Post by 4dayworkweek4u » Fri, Mar 24, 2023, 12:52 AM UTC

bequanna wrote: post #68

snotrockets wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the chance you really don’t know “Great Books” in some contexts is a racist trope, referring to a list of so called pinnacles of civilization, even if they are often read literally and not critically, without placing in context. Not that they’re bad books, mind you. But it’s like reading “The Merchant of Venice” and assuming Shylock represents a Jew, and not the xenophobia of British society at Shakespeare’s time.…

I've never heard of this. So, the below is considered by some to be a "racist" organization? https://www.greatbooks.org/

Everything is the r-word... you didn't know that? It's lucrative biz!

Re: Show HN: Great Books Homeschool beta program

#74

Post by jkmcf » Fri, Mar 24, 2023, 4:35 PM UTC

dabbledash wrote: post #53

syzarian wrote: post #44

I have a question about home schooling in general. I'm a teacher with 20+ years of mathematics teaching experience at a community college. I don't know how to teach physics, chemistry, literature, reading, grammar, biology, etc. I especially don't know how to teach such topics to children. I don't know how to spot a learning disability except in an extreme case or to know if a student likely needs special education.…

>> What is it about teaching that makes people with no training think they can do better than trained professionals? Teaching one or two students whose home situation supports you 100% is a much much less daunting proposition than trying to teach a class of 30 kids (or several such classes). The idea that teaching things to your own children (which all humans have done forever) requires specialized training and crede…

Public schools are a recent creation. Historically, few people were educated about anything outside their immediate needs, e.g. reading, writing, history, science, math, philosophy, etc.

If you were taught anything extra, it was from a private school or tutor -- the majority of humanity is clothed in ignorance.

Children were taught what they needed to survive, e.g. farming, fishing, etc.

My spouse homeschooled our daughter during the first school year of Covid, and it was challenging. You are completely reliant upon the materials you source, and there's no definitive curriculums.

Personally, I cannot realistically conceive of many people actually teaching their kids any science, literature, or critical thinking skills.

Re: Show HN: Great Books Homeschool beta program

#75

Post by 1123581321 » Fri, Mar 24, 2023, 10:16 PM UTC

syzarian wrote: post #44

I have a question about home schooling in general. I'm a teacher with 20+ years of mathematics teaching experience at a community college. I don't know how to teach physics, chemistry, literature, reading, grammar, biology, etc. I especially don't know how to teach such topics to children. I don't know how to spot a learning disability except in an extreme case or to know if a student likely needs special education.…

Your question quickly progressed from polite inquiry to decidedly confrontational and personal. I kind of loved it. :) I'm sorry about what happened to your sister's disabled kids.

The general reason parents can confidently provide primary education is that a) good educational materials are easy to research and acquire, b) the benefit of education closely tailored to a child's strengths and weaknesses meets or exceeds the benefit of institutional pedagogical theory and classroom management skills.

In secondary education years, access to material and closely meeting needs still factors, but the parents' operating principle is increasingly about pulling in the best sources available. That often means community college or part-time high school classes.

There are also a lot of homeschool co-ops, pods, and other resource and skill-sharing arrangements. Lots of variety.

All your examples of authority figures are trained to be effective over a high volume of lower trust interactions with the general population, relying on professional incentives to perform. They are needed but they're most effective when complementing and backing up parents who cannot for whatever reason provide care, correction and education at home.