Dr. Melissa Clouthier: California Requires Certified Home School Teachers But Private School Teachers Can Be Anyone

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

California Requires Certified Home School Teachers But Private School Teachers Can Be Anyone

Betsy has more on this infringement on rights.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Melissa, is this article saying that a private school does not necessarily hire someone that has a college certification in teaching?

I assumed any where a teacher would teach, they would have to be certified.

One thing I think would be a good idea is for parents themselves to become certified on some level. That would make some, perhaps, a bit more serious about the task that lies before them.

I just had a conversation with a parent that home-schools and I asked how things were going and she said: "Well, this week was a good week. We made a birds nest out of shredded wheat and put some M&M's in it for eggs. I want the children to have fun."

These children should be 2nd and 4th grade level.

I filled in for sunday school for someone and had these same children in my class. They were the worst behaved, disruptive children in the whole class. They had absolutely no structure or sense of group dynamic. It was really sad...and it keeps confirming to me that SOME should not be homeschooling their children. Nothing can be done though with them exercising their "freedom of choice." With freedom comes a lot of responsibility.; 7:28 AM
Anonymous said...: I think they probably just mentioned something fun they did... why would you talk about the tedium? I certainly don't bore my friends with talk about my children's workbooks and how many pages they've completed. Sometimes I'll tell them about the cool science experiments we do but a lot of the other stuff is not so interesting.

There is also an element of "getting up to speed" that occurs when homeschooling. But once you do it's not difficult to keep pace with the learning that occurs in public schools. The main factors for that are because 1) you can teach to you child's learning style (something a teacher with 20+ kids can't or won't do). 2) There is an unbelievable amount of "busy" work that occurs in public schools. 3) Once you get into the mode of being responsible for your children's education you really do teach them 24/7... it's a matter of just explaining things to your kids and talking to them all the time... making life experiences a learning lesson. Yes anyone can do #3 but I think it's more natural for home schoolers.

It sounds like you are seeing some of the negative home schooling experiences out there... As with everything in life there are pro's and cons... good examples and bad examples. But there is a reason why home schoolers are over represented at winning national academic competitions.

Also having been a poorly behaved, disruptive child myself I can tell you it was my curiosity that drove everything. When I was a kid they called it "being a boy". One of my sons is the same way which is one reason we home school him... in the public school system he would be diagnosed with ADD and then when we refused to drug him to slow him down we could be reported for medical neglect.; 7:12 AM
Anonymous said...: kman, thank you for your response to my observations. Please know that I am not against home-schooling whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I had considered it myself. I also have a close friend who home-schools and she does a marvelous job with her kids. She would be my model should I ever go that route. Melissa would be another one who I am convinced does a superb job teaching her children.

Yes, my husband and I often discuss the 3 or 4 families we know that home-school who's children seem totally miserable and seem to be lacking. There is no real schedule as they do work when there is "not much going on." This particular case that I sited in my previous comment is a usual response from this mom. Most of the time there is "too much going on" to really have a regular schedule for her and the kids to school.

While ultimately this is none of our concern, it is our right to note it, discuss it, and certainly to give the education of children some serious thought.

Mine are in public school at the moment...2nd and 4th grade. We have often discussed private school or home-schooling should public school disappoint us. So far it has been fine. We will see how it goes.

Thank you again!; 7:30 AM