School Bells
As we in many parts of the United States begin or prepare for the beginning of a new school year, I am thinking about what I as a citizen, father of a former student of formal schooling, uncle, and friend of numerous people sending their children off to school or home schooling want educators to be doing. I am well aware that, increasingly, many school systems feel burdened by the job they think is expected of them. Many of the teachers to whom I talk feel as if they are to be teachers, mentors, clergy, and substitute parents. I am also well aware that many parents who are home schooling seemed to have given a lot of thought to what they want their children to learn. Additionally, I am aware that I undoubtedly know a skewed sample of individuals overall. Although I have had a varied caseload of clients in terms of income, education, and value systems, I know that both in my professional life and my personal life (I do not make as clear a distinction in these parts of my life as this sentence implies) I attract people who are creative, like to learn, and like to think outside the box. Most of the people I know and with whom I spend time are also very spiritual (not necessarily religious). By spiritual I mean they are very intentional about thinking about the values by which they want to live and which they want to share with children and/or others. They tend to care a great deal about other people and to take care of their own health. Even though many of the people I know have a lot of formal education, there are many who do not have many formal degrees but constantly challenge themselves to keep learning.
It I not surprising that many of the children who are home schooled are living in a two-parent family although a surprising number live in a one parent household. Obviously for a one-parent family to home school they have to have a job, which allows them to work from home, or they have to have some independent source of income. There may be a few who are able to get some sort of public assistance, but at that level of income it is going to be difficult to give the children the sort of education one wants. Just attempting to live on public assistance is going to zap the energy from most of us.
The few statistics I could find suggested as of 2012 and 2013 the following:
The new report concludes that approximately 1,770,000 students are homeschooled in the United States—3.4% of the school-age population. NCES said that among children who were homeschooled, 68 percent are white, 15 percent are Hispanic, 8 percent are black, and 4 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander. Sep 3, 2013 https://www.hslda.org/.../2013090...Home School Legal Defense Association
Seventy-three percent of homeschool parents say they do it not for religious reasons, but rather because they are nonplussed by their local school’s academic instruction.
Entrepreneur is one of the five most common jobs for homeschool parents (the others are accountant, engineer, doctor, and lawyer).
The number of homeschoolers has increased 75% since 1999. I like feeling that I’m part of a nationwide trend.
Education.penelopetrunk.com (2012 statistics)
Most of us in the United States are going to continue to send our children to public school. I found the following, which seems to be consistent with the reports of other studies I read:
Mar 28, 2013 - One in 10 U.S. students in grades preK-12 attends a private school ... tuition vouchers to parents who enroll their children in private schools. (huffingtonpost.com/…proportion-of-us-students…)
This means that somewhere between 86 and 87% of children in the United States are going to attend a public school. We know, of course, that not all public schools are created the same. I am acquainted with parents that moved to a specific school district because of the reputation of the school system in that district. For example, the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh which had a grade school with an outstanding reputation and which was in the magnet school district was one such district. Bethel Park (PA) was another with a stellar reputation. Sadly, the average housing cost of those districts with which I am personally familiar are very high. Consider:
The median home value in Shadyside is $327,700. Shadyside home values have gone up 7.9% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 3.8% within the next year. The median rent price in Shadyside is $1,375, which is higher than the Pittsburgh median of $1,200. (Zillow.com)
The median home value in Bethel Park is $177,900. Bethel Park home values have gone up 3.1% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.7% within the next year. The median rent price in Bethel Park is $1,095, which is the same as the Pittsburgh Metro median of $1,095. (Zillow.com)
Although there may be wonderful examples of good schools in more affordable housing districts often in my experience that does not seem to be the case. I am not implying a scientific cause and affect here but there does seem too often be a correlation, which just makes economic sense.
I am also well aware that there are those children who come from very economically and emotionally stressed families, live in a poor school district and end up attending and doing well in a top Ivy League school. At the same time I am aware of very challenged children going to an Ivy League school because of the connection of their parents.
On the whole, however, I think most of us would agree that most children would do better if we have a public school system where they can obtain a quality education.
Wait! I still have not even attempted to define a quality education. What do I think education entails? Does it merely mean a system for teaching children to perform well on standardized tests? What standardized tests we should be using? There is a lot of disagreement about this. This is also disagreement about the perceived amount of time children spend in school learning how to take standardized test.
Some school age children who are not doing well in a traditional school setting see that most people they know are: working a job in a setting they find miserable (over 70% if recent studies are to be believed): seem to focus on accumulating things; and, and are living in a world which one is encouraged to be part of a US invading force, carry a concealed weapon, and pay taxes only to find that many public officials are corrupt. Of course this is a skewed look at society. Still there are some important pieces of truths in these beliefs.
There have been many experimental models of education used in some US Schools. One such model was:
Summerhill School is an independent British boarding school that was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than the other way around. It is run as a democratic community; the running of the school is conducted in the school meetings which anyone, staff, or pupil may attend and at which everyone has an equal vote. These meetings serve as both a legislative and judicial body. Members of the community are free to do as they please, so long as their actions do not cause any harm to others, according to Neill's principle "Freedom, not Licence." This extends to the freedom for pupils to choose which lessons, if any, they attend.
The variations of this model, which I observed, focused on relationships. That is, it was posited that the only purpose for learning certain skills was to explore ways to create a more just and workable community. Students were not expected to learn just for the sake of learning. Whether it was poetry, music, math, or engineering the focus was on how these areas of study could enhance the life of the individual and the community. I am not sure how extensively this and similar models were used. Sadly in the school setting I observed, the students were largely Native American and the teachers were Caucasian. The teachers seemed to have little respect for the students or their historical traditions/beliefs. Obviously a relationship model did not work well in this setting.
As a parent, an employer, a consumer, and a community member who is concerned about the quality of life, I would like all of us to learn, at a minimum, the following:
· To color/think outside the lines.
· To learn basic system theory and how it applies to our individual bodies, the family, the community and the world at large.
· That we (bodies, souls) are all sacred and part of a whole, sacred universe(s)
· That there are skills we can learn for creating food, housing, art (music, paintings, dance, pottery, etc.) health care and other ways of enriching our life experience as individuals and as groups.
· To laugh, dance, eat, and play together in a joyful, equal manner.
· That successful people make many mistakes.
· That we are our brothers and sisters keepers.
I am eager to share this blog and learn what others are expecting of the educational system in this country.
As we in many parts of the United States begin or prepare for the beginning of a new school year, I am thinking about what I as a citizen, father of a former student of formal schooling, uncle, and friend of numerous people sending their children off to school or home schooling want educators to be doing. I am well aware that, increasingly, many school systems feel burdened by the job they think is expected of them. Many of the teachers to whom I talk feel as if they are to be teachers, mentors, clergy, and substitute parents. I am also well aware that many parents who are home schooling seemed to have given a lot of thought to what they want their children to learn. Additionally, I am aware that I undoubtedly know a skewed sample of individuals overall. Although I have had a varied caseload of clients in terms of income, education, and value systems, I know that both in my professional life and my personal life (I do not make as clear a distinction in these parts of my life as this sentence implies) I attract people who are creative, like to learn, and like to think outside the box. Most of the people I know and with whom I spend time are also very spiritual (not necessarily religious). By spiritual I mean they are very intentional about thinking about the values by which they want to live and which they want to share with children and/or others. They tend to care a great deal about other people and to take care of their own health. Even though many of the people I know have a lot of formal education, there are many who do not have many formal degrees but constantly challenge themselves to keep learning.
It I not surprising that many of the children who are home schooled are living in a two-parent family although a surprising number live in a one parent household. Obviously for a one-parent family to home school they have to have a job, which allows them to work from home, or they have to have some independent source of income. There may be a few who are able to get some sort of public assistance, but at that level of income it is going to be difficult to give the children the sort of education one wants. Just attempting to live on public assistance is going to zap the energy from most of us.
The few statistics I could find suggested as of 2012 and 2013 the following:
The new report concludes that approximately 1,770,000 students are homeschooled in the United States—3.4% of the school-age population. NCES said that among children who were homeschooled, 68 percent are white, 15 percent are Hispanic, 8 percent are black, and 4 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander. Sep 3, 2013 https://www.hslda.org/.../2013090...Home School Legal Defense Association
Seventy-three percent of homeschool parents say they do it not for religious reasons, but rather because they are nonplussed by their local school’s academic instruction.
Entrepreneur is one of the five most common jobs for homeschool parents (the others are accountant, engineer, doctor, and lawyer).
The number of homeschoolers has increased 75% since 1999. I like feeling that I’m part of a nationwide trend.
Education.penelopetrunk.com (2012 statistics)
Most of us in the United States are going to continue to send our children to public school. I found the following, which seems to be consistent with the reports of other studies I read:
Mar 28, 2013 - One in 10 U.S. students in grades preK-12 attends a private school ... tuition vouchers to parents who enroll their children in private schools. (huffingtonpost.com/…proportion-of-us-students…)
This means that somewhere between 86 and 87% of children in the United States are going to attend a public school. We know, of course, that not all public schools are created the same. I am acquainted with parents that moved to a specific school district because of the reputation of the school system in that district. For example, the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh which had a grade school with an outstanding reputation and which was in the magnet school district was one such district. Bethel Park (PA) was another with a stellar reputation. Sadly, the average housing cost of those districts with which I am personally familiar are very high. Consider:
The median home value in Shadyside is $327,700. Shadyside home values have gone up 7.9% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 3.8% within the next year. The median rent price in Shadyside is $1,375, which is higher than the Pittsburgh median of $1,200. (Zillow.com)
The median home value in Bethel Park is $177,900. Bethel Park home values have gone up 3.1% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.7% within the next year. The median rent price in Bethel Park is $1,095, which is the same as the Pittsburgh Metro median of $1,095. (Zillow.com)
Although there may be wonderful examples of good schools in more affordable housing districts often in my experience that does not seem to be the case. I am not implying a scientific cause and affect here but there does seem too often be a correlation, which just makes economic sense.
I am also well aware that there are those children who come from very economically and emotionally stressed families, live in a poor school district and end up attending and doing well in a top Ivy League school. At the same time I am aware of very challenged children going to an Ivy League school because of the connection of their parents.
On the whole, however, I think most of us would agree that most children would do better if we have a public school system where they can obtain a quality education.
Wait! I still have not even attempted to define a quality education. What do I think education entails? Does it merely mean a system for teaching children to perform well on standardized tests? What standardized tests we should be using? There is a lot of disagreement about this. This is also disagreement about the perceived amount of time children spend in school learning how to take standardized test.
Some school age children who are not doing well in a traditional school setting see that most people they know are: working a job in a setting they find miserable (over 70% if recent studies are to be believed): seem to focus on accumulating things; and, and are living in a world which one is encouraged to be part of a US invading force, carry a concealed weapon, and pay taxes only to find that many public officials are corrupt. Of course this is a skewed look at society. Still there are some important pieces of truths in these beliefs.
There have been many experimental models of education used in some US Schools. One such model was:
Summerhill School is an independent British boarding school that was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than the other way around. It is run as a democratic community; the running of the school is conducted in the school meetings which anyone, staff, or pupil may attend and at which everyone has an equal vote. These meetings serve as both a legislative and judicial body. Members of the community are free to do as they please, so long as their actions do not cause any harm to others, according to Neill's principle "Freedom, not Licence." This extends to the freedom for pupils to choose which lessons, if any, they attend.
The variations of this model, which I observed, focused on relationships. That is, it was posited that the only purpose for learning certain skills was to explore ways to create a more just and workable community. Students were not expected to learn just for the sake of learning. Whether it was poetry, music, math, or engineering the focus was on how these areas of study could enhance the life of the individual and the community. I am not sure how extensively this and similar models were used. Sadly in the school setting I observed, the students were largely Native American and the teachers were Caucasian. The teachers seemed to have little respect for the students or their historical traditions/beliefs. Obviously a relationship model did not work well in this setting.
As a parent, an employer, a consumer, and a community member who is concerned about the quality of life, I would like all of us to learn, at a minimum, the following:
· To color/think outside the lines.
· To learn basic system theory and how it applies to our individual bodies, the family, the community and the world at large.
· That we (bodies, souls) are all sacred and part of a whole, sacred universe(s)
· That there are skills we can learn for creating food, housing, art (music, paintings, dance, pottery, etc.) health care and other ways of enriching our life experience as individuals and as groups.
· To laugh, dance, eat, and play together in a joyful, equal manner.
· That successful people make many mistakes.
· That we are our brothers and sisters keepers.
I am eager to share this blog and learn what others are expecting of the educational system in this country.
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