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Homeschooling hits record numbers

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Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#641

Post by DANmode »

only-one1701 wrote: post #567
JoshTriplett wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They're more awkward around kids their age, but far less awkward around adults. They know how to speak and act, in large part. This is another argument that "by age" is not the best way to find one's academic or social peers. Some people in 2nd grade should be in high school. Some people in high school should be in 2nd grade. (And, academically, sometimes that's different by subject; some people need to be in 2nd g…

This is one of the most insane comments I’ve ever read on a hackernews story. Age is very much important when finding one’s social peers as a child.

Why?

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#642

Post by WalterBright »

ethbr1 wrote: post #627
WalterBright wrote: post #605

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do 3rd grade math Teachers' Edition books have an answer key in them, I asked a 3rd grade teacher. She replied that many of the teachers couldn't do arithmetic.

It's a funny joke, but I'd be very surprised if that held at any grade school math level. Someone would have to be numerically illiterate (with a college degree!) to be unable to do grade school math they've been teaching for multiple years. Year 1, possible. But eventually it rubs off on even the teacher.

It's funny, but not a joke.

An interesting thing about 3rd grade math - I was taught long division. When implementing the standard C library for the PC, I implemented the same algorithm in assembler, and then again for the floating point divide emulator.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#643

Post by mmcclure »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #530
mmcclure wrote: post #517

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My original point in this subthread was that SFUSD is NOT underfunded. Do you believe it IS underfunded? Your original point was not that it's "not underfunded," it was that it's overfunded (and substantially so, based on other comments). Your top(ish) comment on this thread to the $28k per student average: I'm saying it's a lot. My only argument here is that I don't think $28k is unreasonable, particularly when view…

Your original point was not that it's "not underfunded," it was that it's overfunded Here's my original comment. I didn't say it was overfunded: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46007623 (But I do think it's overfunded.) My only argument here is that I don't think $28k is unreasonable, particularly when viewed against the cost of private alternatives. OK, so we agree SFUSD is not underfunded ? We go to our attend…

Yes, it was extremely clear that your position is that it’s overfunded.

    OK, so we agree SFUSD is not underfunded?
No, we don’t, I just wasn’t trying to make that point. There’s absolutely debates to be had about SFUSD, including how they spend their budget (personally I would make big cuts at the central office and redistribute to the schools), but the thought that $28k/kid is too much in SF just isn’t grounded in reality.

    two thirds of students are behind grade level in math, and there's no opportunity to be grouped with kids in other grades.
This type of broad statement is true, but also obscures the realities of the student population SFUSD is mandated to serve. That high level number includes special education, non-English speakers, etc. Generally speaking, the data for kids with a similar socioeconomic background to the one I suspect your kids have are doing fine in SFUSD, particularly in K-8.

For example, a low key popular school with “bad scores,” Flynn[1]. ~30% of the student population met or exceeded the standard for math. That number jumps to 65.4% for kids with college-educated parents, and 81.3% for grad school. Race is an unfortunate proxy here, but it’s 70.8% for white students.

Not trying to convince you to send your kid to public school, of course, just calling out that there’s nuance required when comparing outcomes and what can work for families.

[1] https://caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/DashViewReportSB?ps=true...

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#644

Post by whiddershins »

ethbr1 wrote: post #617
jhawk28 wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the most common myths about homeschooling. In reality, the kids at public school sit at a desk most of the time. They don't get to socialize. Most activities are structured. Homeschoolers have CO-OPs, field trips, weekly PE visits, real interactions with adults, and actual free time. They are the most socialized kids in the US. The diversity in the homeschool relationships is quite large which you can see whe…

You're straw-manning the worst public school experience against the best possible homeschool experience. > They are the most socialized kids in the US. Bullshit. You know how I know? Because on average parents are terrible at exposing their kids to Things Not Like Them and Things They Don't Approve Of. There are great homeschooling parents and crazy ones, but maybe it's not the worst idea to give kids a few hours a d…

How many conservatives do you socialize with regularly?

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#645

Post by arjie »

ranbato wrote: post #384

Didn't homeschool here but started a charter school instead. Some of our neighbors did homeschool and I have mixed feelings about it. Some did very well, some not so well; but of course the same can be said of all of the kids in the area no matter which way they went. A few things I'll note: - educational spending has almost zero correlation with outcomes - the number one indicator of educational success is parental…

Do you have a blog or any work where you talk about what you did to start a charter school?

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#646

Post by ecshafer »

prng2021 wrote: post #546
ecshafer wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kids are not school age yet, and I am not sure on if I will home school or not. But I do think its possible to get good socialization exposure while homeschooling. There is the neighborhood kids, you have sports and clubs kids can join, religious groups. Plus not all homeschooling is just a student staying at home all day. Some people "homeschooling" I know are groups of parents getting together to educate their c…

Everytime I see these kinds of arguments, it sounds like someone desperately trying to argue that a park playground is almost as entertaining for kids as an amusement park. Your example of 5 kids socializing with each other is definitely better than 1 kid at home. It’s also definitely worse than learning to socialize in a school of 500 kids each day. This is undeniable unless you have an argument of how a pool of 500…

The way I look at it if I were to end up homeschooling my kid wouldn't socialize with the ~5 kids in the co-op.

* co-op

* Ballet

* Fencing

* Gymnastics

* Math Circle

* Church / Fellowship

* Neighbors

* Family & Friends

That easily adds up to 50 children their age.

But my thinking isn't really about the numbers of socialization. Public school academics move at a glacial pace. They don't have a sufficient rigor, lack a decent education in mathematics, neglect the classics and philosophy, and have started to neglect the western canon in favor of contemporary literature which is poorly written and offers little value. There are also, even in the best schools, trouble students that disrupt classrooms.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#647

Post by drivebyhooting »

ecshafer wrote: post #646
prng2021 wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everytime I see these kinds of arguments, it sounds like someone desperately trying to argue that a park playground is almost as entertaining for kids as an amusement park. Your example of 5 kids socializing with each other is definitely better than 1 kid at home. It’s also definitely worse than learning to socialize in a school of 500 kids each day. This is undeniable unless you have an argument of how a pool of 500…

The way I look at it if I were to end up homeschooling my kid wouldn't socialize with the ~5 kids in the co-op. * co-op * Ballet * Fencing * Gymnastics * Math Circle * Church / Fellowship * Neighbors * Family & Friends That easily adds up to 50 children their age. But my thinking isn't really about the numbers of socialization. Public school academics move at a glacial pace. They don't have a sufficient rigor, lack a…

In my neighborhood:

* there is no co-op. Meeting another homeschooler is a whole day affair due to traffic

* ballet and other extracurricular are fine, but always after school hours when traffic is terrible

* math circle is so oversubscribed you have to test to get into it

* neighbors’ kids are locked in school all day and then doing their custom extracurricular. We never see them.

* family & friends, we have none.

Nonetheless we homeschool. We can cover 2 years of math and reading in 6 months.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#648

Post by bdangubic »

drivebyhooting wrote: post #647
ecshafer wrote: post #646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way I look at it if I were to end up homeschooling my kid wouldn't socialize with the ~5 kids in the co-op. * co-op * Ballet * Fencing * Gymnastics * Math Circle * Church / Fellowship * Neighbors * Family & Friends That easily adds up to 50 children their age. But my thinking isn't really about the numbers of socialization. Public school academics move at a glacial pace. They don't have a sufficient rigor, lack a…

In my neighborhood: * there is no co-op. Meeting another homeschooler is a whole day affair due to traffic * ballet and other extracurricular are fine, but always after school hours when traffic is terrible * math circle is so oversubscribed you have to test to get into it * neighbors’ kids are locked in school all day and then doing their custom extracurricular. We never see them. * family & friends, we have none. N…

and what does “covering 2 years of math and reading in 6 months” do for you? getting ready to send your kids to 9-5 grind when they are 12?

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#649

Post by drivebyhooting »

bdangubic wrote: post #648
drivebyhooting wrote: post #647

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my neighborhood: * there is no co-op. Meeting another homeschooler is a whole day affair due to traffic * ballet and other extracurricular are fine, but always after school hours when traffic is terrible * math circle is so oversubscribed you have to test to get into it * neighbors’ kids are locked in school all day and then doing their custom extracurricular. We never see them. * family & friends, we have none. N…

and what does “covering 2 years of math and reading in 6 months” do for you? getting ready to send your kids to 9-5 grind when they are 12?

I hope they’ll have more options than I did. I never wanted to be a SWE working in social media, but grad school in pure math showed me I wasn’t good enough. A common story.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#650

Post by arjie »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #97
rich_sasha wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose there are few talented, hard working people who want to teach, and they command a premium. Education is expensive and underfunded. As a parent/carer you probably are much more motivated than an underpaid teacher who wanted to do something else anyway, and you don't have to motivate yourself with money. By extension, IME, motivated and talented teachers in any school (good or bad) can do wonders. There just…

Education is expensive and underfunded. Expensive yes. Underfunded depends on where you are. San Francisco's school district has an annual operating budget that equates to $28k per student. I've heard people in San Francisco say that schools here are underfunded. When I ask them how much we spend per student per year, their guess is usually less than half of the actual amount.

Rahim, you should have a blog or other website where you write about your experience with schooling in the Bay Area. Considering that schools here have insisted that exothermic reactions produce oxygen and wood, I am not particularly inspired by them. There's no substitute for the actual experiences of parents here.
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