Can I post a HS'ing related newspaper article here? - Page 2

[oldcrunchymom]

More proof that the $$ allocated "per student" is not actually spent on THE STUDENTS. Otherwise what difference would it make whether your HSers enrolled? What a bunch of BS.

[urklemama]

This kind of nonsense is making me lose what shreds of respect I retained for people in the system. I really want to believe that most of them have the best interests of the children *somewhere* in their pointy little heads, but I'm losing the faith.

Look, public education ain't for everyone. Period. And public education is currently funded per capita. That means that parents who recognize that their children have needs which cannot be met by public education are in fact hurting children who remain in the system. So isn't the obvious answer TO CHANGE HOW THE SYSTEM IS FUNDED? Isn't that what these districts should be agitating for? Oh, no, let's harass homeschoolers instead, cause we're so fat and lazy from slurping at the government trough we can't look up to see other possibilities.

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by urklemama

That means that parents who recognize that their children have needs which cannot be met by public education are in fact hurting children who remain in the system.

I was thinking that, with this logic, they should be harassing people without children as well--"Do your part, procreate so your children will be counted and our budget will grow."

Of course, if there were more kids in the schools then they'd need even MORE money for teachers and supplies...

And the biggest issue: Money won't fix what's wrong with the system.

[sunnmama]

If the school is hosting a homeschooler pt (in band, pe, etc), the school should get some sort of stipend for that child. Maybe that would solve this problem? It sounds to me that the schools resent homeschoolers taking select classes, when the school won't get "credit" (money) for that child. So shouldn't there be a way to report serviced extended to homeschooled children, and for schools to be credited (paid) accordingly?

I do not mean the homeschooling family paying, of course. That is what taxes are for. I am talking about the state and federal govt.

[Brisen]

I was going to post similar to what sunmama said. I don't think the school wanted to enroll completely uninterested hsers, but hsers who were making use just of the expensive programmes. If the school isn't getting extra money for the student, but the student is taking up space/using resources in the most costly programmes, then I can see why the admin wouldn't like it, to be honest.

My dad had a contract with a city several years ago for a few years to do all of their tree removals. All trees, of any size. He was paid a set amount to do this. All of the big, difficult, dangerous trees that he had to do were offset by all of the little, easy, quick trees. Then he found out that the city was giving most of the little, easy, quick trees to a different contractor. This meant that my dad was doing just the more difficult trees that took longer, and that meant he was getting paid too little for the work he was doing. I can see how the school board sees the hsers taking select classes similarly.

I don't at all agree with the school board trying to resolve this problem by getting the teachers to sway the hser kids to want to come to school -- no way is that right. But my opinion of school tax money isn't that you are paying it so your kid can go, or else my parents would no longer be paying those taxes, and neither would any childless people ever pay them. So IMO, the argument that since a home school family is paying taxes, they have a right to the school doens't make sense to me, unless I have a right myself to join a high school band, or take a math course. Of course, where I live there is no gov't money or help for home schoolers, and very little intereference, and I like it that way. I would expect this kind of trouble if I tried to get help from the school.

[laralou]

Here's a link to the article.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/04....ap/index.html

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by Joan

And the biggest issue: Money won't fix what's wrong with the system.

Well the copy I had on my computer kind of vanished lol, but that was part of the point of the letter I wrote in response to the article.

[UnschoolnMa]

But don't school districts get some $$ for homeschoolers who participate in things like band or sports through the school? Here in Oregon, homeschoolers who want to do that have to test every year instead of the every few years other homeschoolers do. I guess I thought that was due to a funding thing. I could totally be off here though. Hmmm..

[urklemama]

But see, if they work on getting some $$$ for the students who "cherrypick," then they lose the total control.

[Greaseball]

"Do your part, procreate so your children will be counted and our budget will grow."

:LOL That should be someone's sig!

Well, I went and posted this article just now but I see it has already been intensely discussed. Here are my thoughts:

- The school district thinks it can convince parents to send their kids by offering more interesting classes, like wood shop or something. But most likely, homeschooling parents whose kids want to take wood shop have already found a way to incorporate that into the home education. So now are they all going to say "Oh, you mean the school could be teaching them this?!"
- Many people seem to think money will fix what's wrong with the schools, and homeschoolers are urged to "get involved" (read: bake things for bake sales) to raise money for the school instead of just pulling their kids out. Money is the last thing I find wrong with public schools.
- If schools want to attract the students of some homeschooling parents, they could try doing things like eliminating standardized tests, letter grades, homework, textbooks, curricula, and several of their rules, but I don't see them doing that because it's not about pleasing the parents or students.
- I don't see anyone writing a similar article on how the students at the local private schools like Ashbrook, Waldorf, Montessori or the Christian schools are hurting the system. The only kids hurting the system, apparently, are those not in "real" school.

Unschoolin ma, do you have a link explaining the rules about using public school services? I was considering it but it sounds like a bad idea if it means more testing and possible "recruitment" efforts.