Our old friend and ex-HEM blogger Daryl Cobranchi gave me a heads-up on this opinion piece by USA Today founder Al Neuharth, who writes: “My concern about our educational system is for those who aren’t part of it — these home-schooled:
* An estimated 1.7 million to 2.5 million will be taught at home by a parent this year.
* They are tied to their mother’s apron strings or father’s bootstraps.
Not letting kids try out their own wings after we’ve provided the right roots will disadvantage them later in life.”
And he bases that little piece of his mind on what? He doesn’t say…
He does say this, which is of much more interest (to me, anyway): “In the olden days, the first day of first grade was when parents felt the most trauma. Now, nearly all 6-year-olds have had one or more years of preschool or kindergarten, so first grade is not as big a deal.”
So why is it admirable to truck four and five year-olds off to preschool and kindergarten, but it’s putting kids at a “disadvantage” when their parents care enough to take control of their education themselves?
The only bright spot in Mr. Neuharth’s unwarranted rant was the comment by homeschooling’s own Laura Derrick, President of the National Home Education Network: “Children can’t fly if they aren’t free, and they aren’t free if the conformity of a classroom is the only acceptable path to education.”
Helen
mark
david
[...] UPDATE: My old boss Helen Hegener chimes in here. [...]
[...] UPDATE: My old boss Helen Hegener chimes in here. [...]
This will really apply. Basics are very important. In a career like aviation, one cannot afford to just skip to the advanced stage since aviation involves lives.