I think that's the biggest thing to me. I mean, I'm the smartest dude I know...but I would never teach my kids. I couldn't do it.
My wife has told me this thousands of times and I think she might be right. She says we are born with a natural level and capacity of intelligence, everybody's not being the same. She believes we can optimize the intelligence we are born with but a person born with average intelligence cannot work their way up to a higher level of intelligence. She says that is why she doesn't buy into the "Everybody can be anything they want if they work hard enough at it." She says she has never and will never tell one of her students "You can be anything you want to be if you try hard enough" because she says that simply isn't true.I think that's the biggest thing to me. I mean, I'm the smartest dude I know...but I would never teach my kids. I couldn't do it.
And having been in the real world, it's not all about brains anyway. Really, brains are a fairly small ingredient of the success cake. Unless you are in certain types of fields that absolutely require it.
Which brings up another thought. Intelligence, in my mind, can't be taught. Social skills can. Which is better in the long run?
Now I do agree here with you. Homeschooling puts the responsibility on the parent. It requires the parent to be engaged in their child's academic setting, whereas in the public school setting parents do not engage as much or show as much interest. It is hard when both parents are working, other than helping a tad bit with homework, to have the time to get so involved. I know there is always the exception but most families, especially when both parents work, trust the public school system to work(alot of times have to rely on it), and as long the kid is making good grades do not question it.
Actually I believe the reason for the sliding scale is more of a demographic concern. Certian demographics expressed concern that the requirements were discriminating because test score were racially biased. They lower the standards to accomodate the concern. Studies have proven that students from certian social groups or income levels are not given the support or resources as others to successfully obtain the higher scores on the tests like the ACT or SAT. So the NCAA created a sliding scale and siad if the GPA is higher the test score can be lower or vice versa.
Exactly why HS Co-ops are growing. Let the local schools determine what is needed. Get rid of the micromanagement from the state and federal levels. It is funny that the increase in homeschooling or alternatives have seen the largest increase since 1980. In 1980 the US Dept of Education opened its doors and determined established a national policy for education.
Oh yeah. I know. Before my wife started teaching in a magnet school she taught in a regular public school setting. She basically had to teach to the level of "Little Johnny" who cared nothing about school, who's parents cared nothing about Little Johnny's education yet she could not progress forward with the other students because it wouldn't be "fair" to Little Johnny. So for the sake of the one, the other's had to be subjected to intermediate level teaching which caused them to lose interest and they started becoming behavioral problems because they were bored. Once you start teaching to the weakest link it all goes down hill from there and in the words of Merle "Like a snowball headed for hell..."
Oh I understand why the scale is in place I was just explaining that a student who didn't participate in sports has more time on their hands to excel than a student that did. It's tough putting in hours worth of training and practice then having to hit the books. The body and mind is telling you "I WANT TO GO TO BED!!!" LOL!!!
That happens when you got your "Adult Entertainment" tab next to the "TF" tab.
I blame politicians and administrators that have lost touch in the class room and parents trying to be their kids' friends and not their parents.
No, because there is still a college professor on the other end...you know, someone who knows what they're talking about versus someone who is playing school.
