Is homeschooling a good solution?

[Fair&Balanced]

Public schools aren't *quality*.

That's a generalization. There are some good public schools.

Actually it's not the schools that are better, it's the parents that are better. In upscale neighborhoods the parents are educated professionals who are motivated for their children to learn. Most of what children learn is taught by their parents. Schools simply put a rubber stamp on it.

That's simply not true. There are plenty of good parents in the zip codes with struggling schools. The problems are many and not easily boiled down to bumper stickers. Schools are underfunded, racially segregated (Which still happens, see Lincoln parish in Louisiana that was forced to desegregate in 2015), or the cost of living is high enough that both parents work multiple jobs.

I think though we can both agree that having a failing public school is simply unacceptable. I think a lot of the rancor stems from the idea of how you fix it.

The sad fact is public schools will continue to struggle as long as teachers' unions continue to have a stranglehold on the purse strings, regardless of whether the federal government is involved or not.

I'm not sure. I think that without Teacher's unions a lot of qualified folks would leave the field and leave us all the poorer for it. I've got friends in Wisconsin and right after Walker instituted his changes school boards in a lot of districts went pretty draconian on their teachers. In response, many left the profession. A good teacher can make more money doing other things and if pushed, they will. A bad teacher is more likely to stick around because they CAN'T do something else. And good luck firing them when your school is already 5-10 teachers short meeting the need for teachers in their school.

If we wan to abolish things like tenure or the teachers unions, we will have to be willing to pay more just to draw in folks to teach.

You say that, but it's not true. The only ones who would leave the profession are the ones we would want to leave. We have entirely too many teachers who are teachers simply b/c it is a comparatively easy degree to obtain and is a pretty sweet gig with decent pay and sweet hours. Shouldn't we strive for more? Shouldn't we strive to hire the teachers who WANT to teach? And the pay is more than adequate in most areas. In fact for 2012=13 the average starting pay in the US was $36K a year, which no you aren't going to get rich earning that, but it isn't chump change either, especially considering the hours etc etc.

2012-2013 Average Starting Teacher Salaries by State

 

[boilermaker55]

While there are sub standard workers in every en devour of business and life.
What happens with them? You know full well that even sub standard CEO's keep a job and are given
their large extraordinary golden parachute packages. Which cost the consumer billions.
So there is a big controversy about all of this that isn't so easily figure out.

The fix is not to point fingers at one particular aspect involved in a child's education. Look at all the factors and investigate then work with the primary problem.
It is to easy to find one bad instructor and blame the entire system.
But the right wingers find this as an easy way out.

Public schools aren't *quality*.

That's a generalization. There are some good public schools.

Actually it's not the schools that are better, it's the parents that are better. In upscale neighborhoods the parents are educated professionals who are motivated for their children to learn. Most of what children learn is taught by their parents. Schools simply put a rubber stamp on it.

That's simply not true. There are plenty of good parents in the zip codes with struggling schools. The problems are many and not easily boiled down to bumper stickers. Schools are underfunded, racially segregated (Which still happens, see Lincoln parish in Louisiana that was forced to desegregate in 2015), or the cost of living is high enough that both parents work multiple jobs.

I think though we can both agree that having a failing public school is simply unacceptable. I think a lot of the rancor stems from the idea of how you fix it.

Oh, I'm not suggesting teachers are the only problem, merely that it's a large problem.

Think about how much better a school could be if they could get rid of all the bad students and the bad teachers. As a teacher , of course why should we pay you to be substandard at your job? And as a student, why should we be forced to spend resources educating you if you don't care about your education?

 

[boilermaker55]

It is?

That's a generalization. There are some good public schools.

Actually it's not the schools that are better, it's the parents that are better. In upscale neighborhoods the parents are educated professionals who are motivated for their children to learn. Most of what children learn is taught by their parents. Schools simply put a rubber stamp on it.

That's simply not true. There are plenty of good parents in the zip codes with struggling schools. The problems are many and not easily boiled down to bumper stickers. Schools are underfunded, racially segregated (Which still happens, see Lincoln parish in Louisiana that was forced to desegregate in 2015), or the cost of living is high enough that both parents work multiple jobs.

I think though we can both agree that having a failing public school is simply unacceptable. I think a lot of the rancor stems from the idea of how you fix it.

The sad fact is public schools will continue to struggle as long as teachers' unions continue to have a stranglehold on the purse strings, regardless of whether the federal government is involved or not.

I'm not sure. I think that without Teacher's unions a lot of qualified folks would leave the field and leave us all the poorer for it. I've got friends in Wisconsin and right after Walker instituted his changes school boards in a lot of districts went pretty draconian on their teachers. In response, many left the profession. A good teacher can make more money doing other things and if pushed, they will. A bad teacher is more likely to stick around because they CAN'T do something else. And good luck firing them when your school is already 5-10 teachers short meeting the need for teachers in their school.

If we wan to abolish things like tenure or the teachers unions, we will have to be willing to pay more just to draw in folks to teach.

You say that, but it's not true. The only ones who would leave the profession are the ones we would want to leave. We have entirely too many teachers who are teachers simply b/c it is a comparatively easy degree to obtain and is a pretty sweet gig with decent pay and sweet hours. Shouldn't we strive for more? Shouldn't we strive to hire the teachers who WANT to teach? And the pay is more than adequate in most areas. In fact for 2012=13 the average starting pay in the US was $36K a year, which no you aren't going to get rich earning that, but it isn't chump change either, especially considering the hours etc etc.

2012-2013 Average Starting Teacher Salaries by State

 

[Fair&Balanced]

While there are sub standard workers in every en devour of business and life.
What happens with them? You know full well that even sub standard CEO's keep a job and are given
their large extraordinary golden parachute packages. Which cost the consumer billions.
So there is a big controversy about all of this that isn't so easily figure out.

The fix is not to point fingers at one particular aspect involved in a child's education. Look at all the factors and investigate then work with the primary problem.
It is to easy to find one bad instructor and blame the entire system.
But the right wingers find this as an easy way out.

That's a generalization. There are some good public schools.

Actually it's not the schools that are better, it's the parents that are better. In upscale neighborhoods the parents are educated professionals who are motivated for their children to learn. Most of what children learn is taught by their parents. Schools simply put a rubber stamp on it.

That's simply not true. There are plenty of good parents in the zip codes with struggling schools. The problems are many and not easily boiled down to bumper stickers. Schools are underfunded, racially segregated (Which still happens, see Lincoln parish in Louisiana that was forced to desegregate in 2015), or the cost of living is high enough that both parents work multiple jobs.

I think though we can both agree that having a failing public school is simply unacceptable. I think a lot of the rancor stems from the idea of how you fix it.

Oh, I'm not suggesting teachers are the only problem, merely that it's a large problem.

Think about how much better a school could be if they could get rid of all the bad students and the bad teachers. As a teacher , of course why should we pay you to be substandard at your job? And as a student, why should we be forced to spend resources educating you if you don't care about your education?

Why would I possibly care if a company hired and retained substandard employees, unless I was a shareholder or a customer in that company? Answer, I wouldn't.

In contrast to school teachers (and other government employees) with whom I AM both a customer, and a shareholder.

Do you have any other apples to horseshoes comparisons to make?

 

[Dr.Traveler]

\

You say that, but it's not true. The only ones who would leave the profession are the ones we would want to leave. We have entirely too many teachers who are teachers simply b/c it is a comparatively easy degree to obtain and is a pretty sweet gig with decent pay and sweet hours. Shouldn't we strive for more? Shouldn't we strive to hire the teachers who WANT to teach? And the pay is more than adequate in most areas. In fact for 2012=13 the average starting pay in the US was $36K a year, which no you aren't going to get rich earning that, but it isn't chump change either, especially considering the hours etc etc.

2012-2013 Average Starting Teacher Salaries by State

Frankly, you're wrong. I've seen it first hand and there are articles on it. When Wisconsin broke the teacher's unions backs and the School Boards cracked down it was the good teachers that left. They either moved to schools with better working conditions or just left entirely via early retirement or moving to other industries.

To use a real world analogy: If you take over a company and immediately tell the employees you think they've had too easy a time of it and intend to crack down on them, what do you think will happen? Once you do make the working conditions harder, the first people to leave will be the first ones that always leave: the employees of high quality who can get hired somewhere else. The ones you get stuck with are the ones that are either loyal to the company or who are so bad they can't leave easily, and of the two loyalty only goes so far.

One last thing: The folks who think teaching is easy pay are clueless. Completely clueless. They're in contact with students 8-10 hours a day. Once the students leave the teachers have to do paperwork, grading, and lesson prep that CAN NOT BE DONE during school hours, meaning they take home another 4-8 hours of work each day easily on top of the time spent at work. Call a teacher at 10pm and ask what they're doing. Nearly every teacher I know is still up grading or doing less prep.

The argument that being a teacher is easy work based on when the school is open is like arguing a minister's job is super easy. After all, he only works Sunday right? Anyone at all familiar with a clergyman's job would laugh you right out of the room if you made that argument. The same is true for teachers.

 

[Markle]

Homesvhool is a legit option for a parent who stays home who is Willi g to ensure at least 7 hours of direct instruction per day 5 days per week. If I went back and homeschooled, my kids would be well aware of the countless faults of America.

Seven hours of instruction per day, 5 days per week is far, far more than they receive in government schools.

Parents can and do work and homeschool. Fortunately, most people who homeschool are not Socialists. Socialists believe in government doing everything for them and certainly DO NOT believe in personal responsibility.

 

[koshergrl]

\

You say that, but it's not true. The only ones who would leave the profession are the ones we would want to leave. We have entirely too many teachers who are teachers simply b/c it is a comparatively easy degree to obtain and is a pretty sweet gig with decent pay and sweet hours. Shouldn't we strive for more? Shouldn't we strive to hire the teachers who WANT to teach? And the pay is more than adequate in most areas. In fact for 2012=13 the average starting pay in the US was $36K a year, which no you aren't going to get rich earning that, but it isn't chump change either, especially considering the hours etc etc.

2012-2013 Average Starting Teacher Salaries by State

Frankly, you're wrong. I've seen it first hand and there are articles on it. When Wisconsin broke the teacher's unions backs and the School Boards cracked down it was the good teachers that left. They either moved to schools with better working conditions or just left entirely via early retirement or moving to other industries.

To use a real world analogy: If you take over a company and immediately tell the employees you think they've had too easy a time of it and intend to crack down on them, what do you think will happen? Once you do make the working conditions harder, the first people to leave will be the first ones that always leave: the employees of high quality who can get hired somewhere else. The ones you get stuck with are the ones that are either loyal to the company or who are so bad they can't leave easily, and of the two loyalty only goes so far.

One last thing: The folks who think teaching is easy pay are clueless. Completely clueless. They're in contact with students 8-10 hours a day. Once the students leave the teachers have to do paperwork, grading, and lesson prep that CAN NOT BE DONE during school hours, meaning they take home another 4-8 hours of work each day easily on top of the time spent at work. Call a teacher at 10pm and ask what they're doing. Nearly every teacher I know is still up grading or doing less prep.

The argument that being a teacher is easy work based on when the school is open is like arguing a minister's job is super easy. After all, he only works Sunday right? Anyone at all familiar with a clergyman's job would laugh you right out of the room if you made that argument. The same is true for teachers.

"“The test results show higher scores for students in the Parental Choice Programs,” Jim Bender, President of School Choice Wisconsin said. “Previous research has showed higher test scores, higher graduation rates and college acceptance rates. More recently, with research showing lower crime rates after graduation, the Parental Choice Programs are showing success on multiple measures.”*

School Choice WI :: Students In Parental Choice Programs Score Higher

 

[koshergrl]

"In Wisconsin, 41,398 high school juniors and seniors in the state took Advanced Placement exams this May, an increase of about 8 percent from last year. Those students took a cumulative of 70,007 exams.
"About 70 percent of the state’s test scores qualified for credit at most colleges, surpassing the national average of 58 percent."

"Wisconsin high school students were also recently recognized for their achievement on the ACT college prep exam: The state’s average score ranks second in the nation."

Looks like Wisconsin is doing even better than they were.

Go figger, lol.

AP Test Scores In Wisconsin Rank Above National Average | Wisconsin Public Radio

 

[koshergrl]

".. the overall quality of education in the state has improved slightly over the past few years, according to a pair of new reports.
"Education Week’s 2016 Quality Counts report, which measures on overall educational quality, had Wisconsin’s score increasing from 78.9 in 2015 (a C+) to 79.8 (a B-). The state ranked 11th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Wisconsin also tied for first with Minnesota among Midwestern states."

"While Laning’s statement seemed to suggest that Walker has left the schools all but penniless and unable to function normally, that’s hardly the case.
"Wisconsin ranked 22nd, and slightly above the national average, in per-pupil spending, according to the Education Week report. And that amount of money was seemingly enough to provide quality instruction for most students.
“On academic achievement, the state ranked above the nation in most areas,” the Journal Sentinel observed, based on the Education Week report.
"Wisconsin also improved its score and remained tied for third in the nation in the K-12 graduation rate, according to PoltiFact Wisconsin.
"The state has a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2013-14, which is apparently the last school year measured by federal officials. In 2012-13 that figure was 88.0 percent."

Ouch.

The truth stings lying progressive moonbats.

Report shows Wisconsin schools doing more with less | EAGnews.org

 

[Dr.Traveler]

\

You say that, but it's not true. The only ones who would leave the profession are the ones we would want to leave. We have entirely too many teachers who are teachers simply b/c it is a comparatively easy degree to obtain and is a pretty sweet gig with decent pay and sweet hours. Shouldn't we strive for more? Shouldn't we strive to hire the teachers who WANT to teach? And the pay is more than adequate in most areas. In fact for 2012=13 the average starting pay in the US was $36K a year, which no you aren't going to get rich earning that, but it isn't chump change either, especially considering the hours etc etc.

2012-2013 Average Starting Teacher Salaries by State

Frankly, you're wrong. I've seen it first hand and there are articles on it. When Wisconsin broke the teacher's unions backs and the School Boards cracked down it was the good teachers that left. They either moved to schools with better working conditions or just left entirely via early retirement or moving to other industries.

To use a real world analogy: If you take over a company and immediately tell the employees you think they've had too easy a time of it and intend to crack down on them, what do you think will happen? Once you do make the working conditions harder, the first people to leave will be the first ones that always leave: the employees of high quality who can get hired somewhere else. The ones you get stuck with are the ones that are either loyal to the company or who are so bad they can't leave easily, and of the two loyalty only goes so far.

One last thing: The folks who think teaching is easy pay are clueless. Completely clueless. They're in contact with students 8-10 hours a day. Once the students leave the teachers have to do paperwork, grading, and lesson prep that CAN NOT BE DONE during school hours, meaning they take home another 4-8 hours of work each day easily on top of the time spent at work. Call a teacher at 10pm and ask what they're doing. Nearly every teacher I know is still up grading or doing less prep.

The argument that being a teacher is easy work based on when the school is open is like arguing a minister's job is super easy. After all, he only works Sunday right? Anyone at all familiar with a clergyman's job would laugh you right out of the room if you made that argument. The same is true for teachers.

"“The test results show higher scores for students in the Parental Choice Programs,” Jim Bender, President of School Choice Wisconsin said. “Previous research has showed higher test scores, higher graduation rates and college acceptance rates. More recently, with research showing lower crime rates after graduation, the Parental Choice Programs are showing success on multiple measures.”*

School Choice WI :: Students In Parental Choice Programs Score Higher

Not sure what that had to do with my post, but I will say this. If you want to really do an honest comparison of Private vs. Public or Homeschool vs. Public you do a quartile by quartile comparison. Public schools, unlike private schools or homeschooling parents, have to accept all students. Parents that fail at homeschooling can (and I assure you have) dumped their kids into the public schools and private schools have proven they are not above dropping low performing students from the roster to keep up averages. Publics schools can't do that.

You see the same phenomenon when you look at regional state college institutions vs. private liberal arts institutions. When you have to accept all applicants from the region, your completion rate, employment rates after graduation, etc, all tank despite the fact the students enjoy lower tuition and often comparable class sizes. When you are able to filter out the weak students you can boast higher numbers that drive higher tuition thanks the aura of success and eliteness.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

".. the overall quality of education in the state has improved slightly over the past few years, according to a pair of new reports.
"Education Week’s 2016 Quality Counts report, which measures on overall educational quality, had Wisconsin’s score increasing from 78.9 in 2015 (a C+) to 79.8 (a B-). The state ranked 11th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Wisconsin also tied for first with Minnesota among Midwestern states."

"While Laning’s statement seemed to suggest that Walker has left the schools all but penniless and unable to function normally, that’s hardly the case.
"Wisconsin ranked 22nd, and slightly above the national average, in per-pupil spending, according to the Education Week report. And that amount of money was seemingly enough to provide quality instruction for most students.
“On academic achievement, the state ranked above the nation in most areas,” the Journal Sentinel observed, based on the Education Week report.
"Wisconsin also improved its score and remained tied for third in the nation in the K-12 graduation rate, according to PoltiFact Wisconsin.
"The state has a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2013-14, which is apparently the last school year measured by federal officials. In 2012-13 that figure was 88.0 percent."

Ouch.

The truth stings lying progressive moonbats.

Report shows Wisconsin schools doing more with less | EAGnews.org

Wisconsin’s Act 10 revisited: Budget crisis averted, but teaching shortage looms

As I said, fewer teachers available as the teaching environment worsens. There's countless articles on this. Walker's policy drove away teachers and continues to do so.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

".. the overall quality of education in the state has improved slightly over the past few years, according to a pair of new reports.
"Education Week’s 2016 Quality Counts report, which measures on overall educational quality, had Wisconsin’s score increasing from 78.9 in 2015 (a C+) to 79.8 (a B-). The state ranked 11th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Wisconsin also tied for first with Minnesota among Midwestern states."

"While Laning’s statement seemed to suggest that Walker has left the schools all but penniless and unable to function normally, that’s hardly the case.
"Wisconsin ranked 22nd, and slightly above the national average, in per-pupil spending, according to the Education Week report. And that amount of money was seemingly enough to provide quality instruction for most students.
“On academic achievement, the state ranked above the nation in most areas,” the Journal Sentinel observed, based on the Education Week report.
"Wisconsin also improved its score and remained tied for third in the nation in the K-12 graduation rate, according to PoltiFact Wisconsin.
"The state has a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2013-14, which is apparently the last school year measured by federal officials. In 2012-13 that figure was 88.0 percent."

Ouch.

The truth stings lying progressive moonbats.

Report shows Wisconsin schools doing more with less | EAGnews.org

Wisconsin’s Act 10 revisited: Budget crisis averted, but teaching shortage looms

As I said, fewer teachers available as the teaching environment worsens. There's countless articles on this. Walker's policy drove away teachers and continues to do so.

"In many cases, districts have instituted salary freezes, changed health insurance plans, and created merit pay programs"

Oh, the horror.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

"In Wisconsin, 41,398 high school juniors and seniors in the state took Advanced Placement exams this May, an increase of about 8 percent from last year. Those students took a cumulative of 70,007 exams.
"About 70 percent of the state’s test scores qualified for credit at most colleges, surpassing the national average of 58 percent."

"Wisconsin high school students were also recently recognized for their achievement on the ACT college prep exam: The state’s average score ranks second in the nation."

Looks like Wisconsin is doing even better than they were.

Go figger, lol.

AP Test Scores In Wisconsin Rank Above National Average | Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin ACT scores plummet

Yes, ACT test scores are going down. You're talking about the AP tests, different tests that are more focused on specific topics and tend to also be taken by only the top students.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

".. the overall quality of education in the state has improved slightly over the past few years, according to a pair of new reports.
"Education Week’s 2016 Quality Counts report, which measures on overall educational quality, had Wisconsin’s score increasing from 78.9 in 2015 (a C+) to 79.8 (a B-). The state ranked 11th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Wisconsin also tied for first with Minnesota among Midwestern states."

"While Laning’s statement seemed to suggest that Walker has left the schools all but penniless and unable to function normally, that’s hardly the case.
"Wisconsin ranked 22nd, and slightly above the national average, in per-pupil spending, according to the Education Week report. And that amount of money was seemingly enough to provide quality instruction for most students.
“On academic achievement, the state ranked above the nation in most areas,” the Journal Sentinel observed, based on the Education Week report.
"Wisconsin also improved its score and remained tied for third in the nation in the K-12 graduation rate, according to PoltiFact Wisconsin.
"The state has a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2013-14, which is apparently the last school year measured by federal officials. In 2012-13 that figure was 88.0 percent."

Ouch.

The truth stings lying progressive moonbats.

Report shows Wisconsin schools doing more with less | EAGnews.org

Wisconsin’s Act 10 revisited: Budget crisis averted, but teaching shortage looms

As I said, fewer teachers available as the teaching environment worsens. There's countless articles on this. Walker's policy drove away teachers and continues to do so.

"In many cases, districts have instituted salary freezes, changed health insurance plans, and created merit pay programs"

Oh, the horror.

Ok, if tomorrow your boss comes in and says that for forseeable future there will be no cost of living adjustments and your healthcare costs are going up, what would you do if you could easily move to a better paying position? Stay or leave? That's what's happening in Wisconsin right now. Any teacher who can leave for something better is leaving. Why stay if the working conditions have worsened?

 

[bripat9643]

It's no more BS than those claiming that in general home schooled kids to better than public educated children do. BOTH rely on slanted studies and anecdotal evidence to support the writer's preformed opinion

All I know is, the homeschooled students I have known were perhaps better mannered than the average kid but perfectly able to interact with peers. They were much better educated than their peers in public school. One-on-one instruction usually aces instruction in a large group. Most of these kids have siblings, neighborhood friends, and many are active in sports. At least none of the ones I've known were strange or socially lacking. I know that is anecdotal, but I am guessing your aversion to homeschooling is also based on one or two kids you have encountered somewhere along the way.

Also speaking anecdotally, the parents that do it right (Organized fieldtrips, sports, organized play dates/outings) raise children who are totally normal socially. They also raise children who are outstanding academically.

The parents who do it terribly usually give up and dump their kids back into public schools that by law have to take them in. That makes it hard to realistically track and compare test scores as failed homeschooled children end up in the public school testing pool. As I said though, if you can do it and do it well, you should. If you can't, don't. I work with my kids in the summer with a pretty rigid schedule on math, reading and writing. The personal cost to me is that it tanks my productivity in the summer to do it and the kids hate it. There's no way I could keep that up in the school year and work full time. Moral of the story: It wouldn't work for me full year.

I wish we had some way to track how homeschooled children are doing, once they've been taken out of public school, but there is no money in the budget or time in the day for school personnel to track and follow these kids. I've seen the 'dark side' of homeschooling, as well, when parents pulled kids out of school after the school reported abuse or neglect, or because the kid didn't feel like going and the parents didn't feel like arguing about it, or because the parent couldn't get out of bed to get the kid on the bus in the morning. I've also met parents so ignorant they can barely write their name, claiming they are "homeschooling." That can't be stopped, for some reason, and it is unfair to our kids. I'm quite sure that back in the 80's, there were rules that you needed a bachelor's degree in order to homeschool. That was overkill, but no follow up whatsoever is really a problem for some kids who aren't getting any education at all.

Home schooled kids can also take the same standardized tests the government schooled kids do to ensure they're on track. There simply is no reason motivated parents cannot give their children a quality education at home.

Of course. I was worrying about the ones who don't have motivated parents.

Parents who aren't motivated send their kids to government schools.

 

[Fair&Balanced]

".. the overall quality of education in the state has improved slightly over the past few years, according to a pair of new reports.
"Education Week’s 2016 Quality Counts report, which measures on overall educational quality, had Wisconsin’s score increasing from 78.9 in 2015 (a C+) to 79.8 (a B-). The state ranked 11th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Wisconsin also tied for first with Minnesota among Midwestern states."

"While Laning’s statement seemed to suggest that Walker has left the schools all but penniless and unable to function normally, that’s hardly the case.
"Wisconsin ranked 22nd, and slightly above the national average, in per-pupil spending, according to the Education Week report. And that amount of money was seemingly enough to provide quality instruction for most students.
“On academic achievement, the state ranked above the nation in most areas,” the Journal Sentinel observed, based on the Education Week report.
"Wisconsin also improved its score and remained tied for third in the nation in the K-12 graduation rate, according to PoltiFact Wisconsin.
"The state has a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2013-14, which is apparently the last school year measured by federal officials. In 2012-13 that figure was 88.0 percent."

Ouch.

The truth stings lying progressive moonbats.

Report shows Wisconsin schools doing more with less | EAGnews.org

Wisconsin’s Act 10 revisited: Budget crisis averted, but teaching shortage looms

As I said, fewer teachers available as the teaching environment worsens. There's countless articles on this. Walker's policy drove away teachers and continues to do so.

"In many cases, districts have instituted salary freezes, changed health insurance plans, and created merit pay programs"

Oh, the horror.

Ok, if tomorrow your boss comes in and says that for forseeable future there will be no cost of living adjustments and your healthcare costs are going up, what would you do if you could easily move to a better paying position? Stay or leave? That's what's happening in Wisconsin right now. Any teacher who can leave for something better is leaving. Why stay if the working conditions have worsened?

Most teachers can't, or won't , leave the field. Either because they would be totally incompetent to be in another field, OR they accept the trade offs of salary versus lifestyle.

 

[jillian]

I don't believe liberal parents should be forced to make their children attend conservative public schools in red states and vice versa.

schools shouldn't be "liberal" or "conservative" they should simply teach.

that's why there are federal guidelines

 

[jillian]

All I know is, the homeschooled students I have known were perhaps better mannered than the average kid but perfectly able to interact with peers. They were much better educated than their peers in public school. One-on-one instruction usually aces instruction in a large group. Most of these kids have siblings, neighborhood friends, and many are active in sports. At least none of the ones I've known were strange or socially lacking. I know that is anecdotal, but I am guessing your aversion to homeschooling is also based on one or two kids you have encountered somewhere along the way.

Also speaking anecdotally, the parents that do it right (Organized fieldtrips, sports, organized play dates/outings) raise children who are totally normal socially. They also raise children who are outstanding academically.

The parents who do it terribly usually give up and dump their kids back into public schools that by law have to take them in. That makes it hard to realistically track and compare test scores as failed homeschooled children end up in the public school testing pool. As I said though, if you can do it and do it well, you should. If you can't, don't. I work with my kids in the summer with a pretty rigid schedule on math, reading and writing. The personal cost to me is that it tanks my productivity in the summer to do it and the kids hate it. There's no way I could keep that up in the school year and work full time. Moral of the story: It wouldn't work for me full year.

I wish we had some way to track how homeschooled children are doing, once they've been taken out of public school, but there is no money in the budget or time in the day for school personnel to track and follow these kids. I've seen the 'dark side' of homeschooling, as well, when parents pulled kids out of school after the school reported abuse or neglect, or because the kid didn't feel like going and the parents didn't feel like arguing about it, or because the parent couldn't get out of bed to get the kid on the bus in the morning. I've also met parents so ignorant they can barely write their name, claiming they are "homeschooling." That can't be stopped, for some reason, and it is unfair to our kids. I'm quite sure that back in the 80's, there were rules that you needed a bachelor's degree in order to homeschool. That was overkill, but no follow up whatsoever is really a problem for some kids who aren't getting any education at all.

Home schooled kids can also take the same standardized tests the government schooled kids do to ensure they're on track. There simply is no reason motivated parents cannot give their children a quality education at home.

Of course. I was worrying about the ones who don't have motivated parents.

Parents who aren't motivated send their kids to government schools.

spoken like someone who never had kids.

that's one of the stupidest posts I've ever seen

 

[Dr.Traveler]

".. the overall quality of education in the state has improved slightly over the past few years, according to a pair of new reports.
"Education Week’s 2016 Quality Counts report, which measures on overall educational quality, had Wisconsin’s score increasing from 78.9 in 2015 (a C+) to 79.8 (a B-). The state ranked 11th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Wisconsin also tied for first with Minnesota among Midwestern states."

"While Laning’s statement seemed to suggest that Walker has left the schools all but penniless and unable to function normally, that’s hardly the case.
"Wisconsin ranked 22nd, and slightly above the national average, in per-pupil spending, according to the Education Week report. And that amount of money was seemingly enough to provide quality instruction for most students.
“On academic achievement, the state ranked above the nation in most areas,” the Journal Sentinel observed, based on the Education Week report.
"Wisconsin also improved its score and remained tied for third in the nation in the K-12 graduation rate, according to PoltiFact Wisconsin.
"The state has a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2013-14, which is apparently the last school year measured by federal officials. In 2012-13 that figure was 88.0 percent."

Ouch.

The truth stings lying progressive moonbats.

Report shows Wisconsin schools doing more with less | EAGnews.org

Is Donald Trump right about what Gov. Scott Walker did to Wisconsin schools?

Wisconsin is falling in terms of student to teacher ratios as the article above points out. That's due to budget cuts and teacher shortages.

 

[bripat9643]

A general comment for everybody here who thinks that public education sucks: I'm becoming very thankful that my public education experience was good and that the taxes I pay to the schools in my area appear to be well spent. I truly pity the people who live in areas where the schools are as bad as they claim. Must be either low tax or inner city hell holes that I hope never to visit.

Spoken like a true minion of the government schools.