I’m a firm believer in a well rounded education. I think people, especially kids, should be exposed to as much as possible & that there should be minimum competency’s for a few core subjects like math, science, language & history. All are important.
Parents do need to shoulder the burden of responsibility for many “life” skills though, or be able to seek assistance if they are unable to provide themselves.
This year my wife and I pulled our son out of the private Catholic school he was attending & enrolled him in a hybrid homeschool charter program. He attends school two days a week & homeschools the rest. Core subjects are more advanced than his private school & we provide his “life” subjects of art, finance, cooking, sports, etc... These courses are all graded by monthly projects he completes for his home room teacher.
We’ve found that the amount of “busy” work that schools are providing was just ludicrous. My sons worst subject is still two grade levels above his current grade level & he has far more free time to play & learn than he did previously. He enjoys being accountable for his own work & the rewards & freedom that come with that accountability.
If you were to take a look back at what school was in the 16th & 17th centuries & the reasoning behind their methods, education was simply meant to expose developing minds to a wide breadth of knowledge & experience. The goal was to develop a well rounded person with the ability to think for themselves. In the end, that is our goal with educating our son. He will gravitate towards his strengths later on in life but should have the basic skills to succeed no matter where he is.
So what should schools drop? Any political fluff class & any political motives behind individual subjects. Present factual information & let the kids form their own opinion. Challenge them & play devils advocate every step of the way. Have them explain the reasoning behind their work(how they came to their conclusion) & drop the busy work. Less volume & higher quality should be the goal here.
Parents do need to shoulder the burden of responsibility for many “life” skills though, or be able to seek assistance if they are unable to provide themselves.
This year my wife and I pulled our son out of the private Catholic school he was attending & enrolled him in a hybrid homeschool charter program. He attends school two days a week & homeschools the rest. Core subjects are more advanced than his private school & we provide his “life” subjects of art, finance, cooking, sports, etc... These courses are all graded by monthly projects he completes for his home room teacher.
We’ve found that the amount of “busy” work that schools are providing was just ludicrous. My sons worst subject is still two grade levels above his current grade level & he has far more free time to play & learn than he did previously. He enjoys being accountable for his own work & the rewards & freedom that come with that accountability.
If you were to take a look back at what school was in the 16th & 17th centuries & the reasoning behind their methods, education was simply meant to expose developing minds to a wide breadth of knowledge & experience. The goal was to develop a well rounded person with the ability to think for themselves. In the end, that is our goal with educating our son. He will gravitate towards his strengths later on in life but should have the basic skills to succeed no matter where he is.
So what should schools drop? Any political fluff class & any political motives behind individual subjects. Present factual information & let the kids form their own opinion. Challenge them & play devils advocate every step of the way. Have them explain the reasoning behind their work(how they came to their conclusion) & drop the busy work. Less volume & higher quality should be the goal here.