Isn't it an honor to have the POTUS encourage our children to excel in their studies?? And why, if the public option of healthcare is so unacceptable, is the public option of government schools okay?
Just seems incongruent on so many levels. I personally don't mind if the President addresses my child. He is the President and bibically we are called to honor him. If we disagree, that could lead to a great discussion comparing and contrasting what he says with our own beliefs. One problem is that this is being done during school hours not during familytime. Therefore the replacement parents(teachers) will be the ones steering the discussion and perhaps echoeing ideas contray to our own.
I'm more worried about what is being taught in the 55-60 hours a week our children spend in a government school (plus the 55 hours they spend watching TV). If parents are afraid the POTUS is going to give our children wrong ideas about Socialism and Democracy, they should ask themselves some tough questions about why they allow their children to be in that socialist breeding environment in the first place. Is it because they do not believe they can teach their own children, gifted to them by God? Is it so they can pursue their own goals, dreams, desires, achievements outside of the family. Is it so they can live at a certain level of attainment, keeping up with the Joneses mentality? Why do we abdicate our parental authority to the schools and later scratch our heads when our children don't share our family values?
I think it all boils down to your philosophy of what education truly is. That's why over the last several days, I hear Charlotte Mason's words ringing so clearly. She strived her entire career to define that question. What is Education? The fruit of her quest is what CMers continue to study and apply: "Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life." Her grounding belief that all children are born persons and are deserving of a rich education rings so true today. Just read the Educational Manifesto.
The government and public educators will tell you that happiness comes from getting a good education so you can get a good job and really "go somewhere" in your life. Most parents buy into to these goals of education. One of the true, main goals of American public education has always been to produce human resources for our workforce so America can compete in a global economy. It's all about money. Get a good education, so you can earn lots of money and pay your taxes. They preach that only money will make you rich and happy. But this is a false doctrine, a false gospel. Love of money is the root of all evil.
What about joy? What about contentment? What about being satisfied with doing a job well done? What about not joining the rat race, clawing your way to the top? Wouldn't you be lonely up there all by yourself? What good is it to own the world but be lonely and miserable because you spent all your time working rather than living? What about stopping to smell the roses?
How about investing your time in building relationships? We were created in the image of a triune God. We were created to have fellowship with Him. We were created to have a relationship with Him. As long as we are pursuing living an holy life before the face of God, do we really have to struggle to the top of man's ladder?
Sorry to be so long winded, I could go on and on but I know you have children to tend to, husbands to take care of, gardens to weed, music to listen to, life to enjoy.
I am so glad I found Charlotte Mason's teachings. She was right over a hundred years ago.
"Our aim in Education is to give a Full Life."~CM
I like Spunky's perspective:
SpunkyHomeSchool:
What if?: "Friday, September 04, 2009
Conservatives rightly decry the 'public option' in Obamacare but annually choose the 'public option' when it comes to their child's education. But what if....all the children of smart parents were “yanked off the premises” not just next Tuesday, but permanently. If this is the event that finally reveals to smart parents the truth of what this system is really all about, what if Sept. 8, 2009, marked the
first day of home-schooling for millions of American children? (Via Hot Air)
Obama's address to the nation's school children next Tuesday is
finally" .... Here's the rest of the story
Hi, Jennie, how ironic we are in "opposite" situations. Your daughter is homeschooling for the first time as a junior. My son is trying public schools for the first time ever this year as a junior. I am not thrilled about it, but, at seventeen, he is old enough to make some decisions with our input.
ReplyDeleteUntil I read the speech on Monday, I am not going to make any judgment about the speech. If the Presidents sticks to a speech to encourage children to get a good education, then I am okay if it only happens once a year. If he uses it as a chance to promote his education policies, then that is crossing a line. If it becomes a monthly address, that is a slippery slope, possibly leading to indoctrination by an all-powerful leader (a tactic of dictators occurring in North Korea and Venezuela).
What bothers me are questions at the Dept of Ed website:
Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor?
Why is what they say important?
What is the President trying to tell me?
What is the President asking me to do?
What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?
These five questions really bother me because they do not encourage critical thinking. We have had presidents and elected officials who have done very wrong things. While I would not go into all that with K-6 kids, I also think that we should not encourage them blindly follow any person! Why could they not leave the President out of it and come up with more neutral questions like . . .
What are the advantages of getting an education?
What are the consequences of not getting an education?
Think of someone you admire. How did an education help that person?
Who has inspired you to keep learning?
What ideas in the speech are new to you?
What do you think you should do about those ideas?
Suppose the speech claimed the only way to get a good education was to stay in public school. Well, we homeschoolers would disagree with that--education and learning happens outside of school all the time. Therefore, using critical thinking, we would reject what the President was asking us to do with our children.
I agree with Spunky mom about the concerns over socialism. My son is taking economics and government this semester. Meeting the teacher relieved my fears: he is very concerned about socialism as well and making sure students learn that socialism leads to loss of freedom and the ability to make decisions for oneself about personal matters.
Yes! That is interesting. Although it sounds like our underlying reasons are similar. My daughter decided for herself that she wanted to come home, which suits me just fine.
ReplyDeleteI am also concerned about the sspeech content less than the follow-up materials. Thanks for posting their questions. I haven't looked at that site yet.
I agree whole-heartedly woth your alternate questions. Those sound much better!
I will say that most of the teachers we ever had were not promoting a socialist agenda in their classrooms, I would even venture to say, all of them. Its really not the teachers. Most of them care about the students. I think we(parents in general) are confusing school with learning.
The school is merely a group of people who follow a particualr system toward education. The sytem is what promotes socialism simply because of the mass of students it serves. You have to uniformity, crowd control, compulsory attendance, national curricula, standardized testing to measure achievement and progress in such a setting.
Personalization in learning and individuality do not benefit the whole.
I'm glad parents are starting to see what's going on, though. Perhaps more parents will take back their God-given authority over their child's education rather than blindly follow what the professionals say is best.