Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Homeschooling hits record numbers

reason.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 878 posts

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#231

Post by jorts »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #158
triceratops wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$28k doesn't go as far in San Francisco because of the insane cost of housing and everything else.

$28k per student is more than enough to run a school in San Francisco. Let's assume we cannot take advantage of the economies of scale available to SFUSD, and we're running a school with just one classroom: 22 7th graders. That would cost SFUSD $616k ($28k x 22). What would it cost us? Teacher (all-in cost): $150k Teaching assistant: $100k Rent for commercial space in SF (~1,200 sq ft): $60k Curriculum, books, suppli…

As the son of a teacher and a friend of several teachers, you're way underestimating their workload.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#232

Post by JoeAltmaier »

gtirloni wrote: post #85

I don't feel better prepared to teach at home than someone who actually went to college for the various topics covered in high school. How can I know all I need to teach about math, chemistry, english, physics, etc, etc, etc when I already have to learn so much for my own work? I think parents that think they can do a better job are delusional. Maybe the school _environment_ that a child has access isn't great, right…

At school, one teacher lectures to maybe 30 students. If all they did was give individual attention student by student, each would get maybe 10 minutes a day.

The first 10 minutes of your home-school day you've beat that statistic. After two or three hours, you're up to a month of class time.

Of course they don't do that; they just lecture. Which is something you can get online (Khan Academy).

It's all about the homework and tutoring, baby.

All you have to do is learn along with your home student, and validate their learning experience. Helps if you catch on quicker, but not even necessary.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#233

Post by adamredwoods »

Izikiel43 wrote: post #187
rossdavidh wrote: post #131

My daughter is in college now, but we used a variety of private, part-time, and homeschooling approaches prior to that. One thing is that there are a lot of resources (e.g. independent teachers for subjects you don't know, co-ops for socializing, etc.), and the more people are doing it, the more true that becomes. My parents were both public school teachers, and yet we found ourselves home- and alternative-schooling…

Seattle schools have that issue. After covid a bunch of kids were moved to private schools, and SPS (the organism in charge of school) complained and blamed parents on having money and not wanting to mix with the riff raff and other bs. When they actually asked the parents why their children weren't returning after covid, it was because SPS decided to axe the advance/gifted programs they had for kids, among other edu…

This is why I didn't move back to Seattle, but stayed in the nearby communities.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#234

Post by hereme888 »

The biggest misunderstanding I hear year-over-year is homeschoolers are "not exposed to the real world". Isolation exists for some, but my extensive interaction with homeschoolers is they are immersed in healthy communities, hand-picked by parents to keep away problem children. Who would plant a flower next to a sick or hostile one? Parents of healthy children should give 0 s*ts of societal/political pressure against this concept. Your kids are a bad influence for whatever reason? Not my problem to fix.

Homeschoolers are some of the most resilient and well-behaved people I know.

Modern academic life is only well suited to a small percent of the population. Those children who are truly happy and excelling in that setting.

So much time and resources, to produce what exactly? A piece of paper and fancy picture to stare at? Forced mass education was a good idea for developing societies, but personalized education has been possible for at least a decade now, at a fraction of the cost. And to add insult to injury, there's an increasing torrent of deranged ideologies teachers and professors share with students.

Here's a famous song on the topic for those who know how to "chew the meat from the cud": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xe6nLVXEC0&list=RD8xe6nLVXE...

* It's fascinating to watch the points on my comment go up and down a ton. Very controversial issue. I believe it highlights pressure from social and political structures in society, and/or personal experiences. They vary so much.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#235

Post by mikece »

Izikiel43 wrote: post #214
sparrish wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll gladly stand up my 7 homeschooled kids next to any public school kids. All tested above grade level on state mandatory testing throughout their schooling. Two graduated early (some with college credits). My adult children (4 sons, ages 19-25) have gainful employment, living on their own (2 own their own homes), and standing on their own. One is married (I got a grandkid!), all have friends, communities they're i…

> 7 homeschooled kids Wow that's a lot, how did you manage?

Only seven? :-)

(My wife and I have had 9.)

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#236

Post by dfxm12 »

broof wrote: post #78
biophysboy wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parents side with their kids all the time in pass/fail battles; they're not objective. Name the left values; don't beat around the bush. Observing remote education is not good visibility into pre-covid teaching. I think we have a responsibility to have educated citizens.

One example is in high school I had an excellent literature class that also covered a lot of philosophy. It wasn’t until later that I realized that the various philosophies we studied were the philosophies that are often foundational for Marxism, atheism, and general left of center academia. Probably the best class I had in high school but I wish it had also covered things on both sides, or been more transparent that…

"Both" sides? If you suggest Marxism is one side, what is the other? Also, it's hard to take such a vague comment at face value when you consider the long list of Marx's influences. For example, there are right and young Hegelians...

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#237

Post by BeetleB »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #15
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

One of the key issues in school is classroom size. A teacher with 30 kids is handicapped as a teacher compared to one with a smaller class. Let's say your family has four kids. As a family, that's large. But as a classroom size, it's really small . That gives you an advantage as a homeschooler over a public school teacher.

I used to think this way, but some experiences made me realize it's not so cut and dry.

When you have a class size over 20, teachers are forced to be a lot more systematic, which can improve the effectiveness of their teaching. Good teachers make heavy use of social proof. When I tried to teach my kid at home, it was a struggle. But when the kid is around his peers in a classroom, and they are going along with the teacher, he naturally falls in line with no cajoling, etc.

If there were only 5 students, the likelihood he'll just go along with things is much lower.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#238

Post by mikece »

yanslookup wrote: post #192
sparrish wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll gladly stand up my 7 homeschooled kids next to any public school kids. All tested above grade level on state mandatory testing throughout their schooling. Two graduated early (some with college credits). My adult children (4 sons, ages 19-25) have gainful employment, living on their own (2 own their own homes), and standing on their own. One is married (I got a grandkid!), all have friends, communities they're i…

Assuming you are Mormon, is home schooling sort of another form of virtue signaling Mormon families employ or is it more of a way to ensure your families don't get excluded? Like, did you really have a choice in the matter once you realized you either go full Mormon or leave the church entirely?

Mormons aren't the only people with large families. Ultra-conservative Jews, Muslims, and many Christians have large families. What I don't think I've ever seen is a couple who is non-religious or atheist and has a large family.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#239

Post by BeetleB »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #81
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

Is there an answer for athletics, music, robotics, and all the other after school teams? How does that work?

To me, this question highlights the whole problem: This is not what schools are for.

Yes, it's great if they provide these things, but it's a distant secondary concern. I'd rather my kid get a great education and miss out on these things, than get a poor education but have access to all these.

But of course, as others have pointed out, it's a false dichotomy. You can have both.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#240

Post by mikece »

buellerbueller wrote: post #160
sparrish wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll gladly stand up my 7 homeschooled kids next to any public school kids. All tested above grade level on state mandatory testing throughout their schooling. Two graduated early (some with college credits). My adult children (4 sons, ages 19-25) have gainful employment, living on their own (2 own their own homes), and standing on their own. One is married (I got a grandkid!), all have friends, communities they're i…

we are discussing on HN. The population of commenters here is likely very different than the homeschooling population.

And yet there are many homeschooling parents in this discussion thread (including a single-income dad of 9 whose kids are homeschooled). But I'm quite aware that I'm the exception on HN.
Post reply on HN