First, I feel bad for your children. An education provided by you, with your limited grasp of facts and unwillingness to see any perspective other than your own would not equip them to think critically. Nor would your espoused belief that religion is the only correct path in life help them get a broad view of the world.
Second, you (and many others) that talk about how much it costs on average to educate our children and how cheaply they can do it themselves overlook a huge factor in the costs public schools face; that of the special needs children. As a grandfather of a blind autistic child I can tell you public schools providing the special care these kids require is a need, not a want. If we strip the public schools of funding by allowing the ridiculous Free Stater voucher program to continue unchecked (exponentially outstripping the costs projected by its proponents), the public school system will struggle to provide this legally required support. The public school system has many costs that don't decrease because a chunk of kids decides to take another route.
You never address the main point. You always revert to character assassination. How does my support for school choice turn into an unwillingness to see any other perspective? Logic would lead to the opposite conclusion. You can educate your child any way you see fit. You just happen to agree with the current ideology permeating public education. Fine - that's your choice. Why can’t I make my choice and avail myself of public funding just like you? I have never advocated the end of public education. I just want an end to the monopoly. My facts are confirmed by the 2024 NAEP. Public education has failed the overwhelming majority of our kids. What about them? Do you really think giving public schools more money is the answer? We have done just that for the past 30 years. The scores have never been lower, the cost in real dollars has never been higher. My critical thinking skills would lead me to believe something is wrong with this model.
These are the most current stats on Conway Schools' staggering performance:
-Elementary Schools (K-8): 47% of elementary students were proficient or above in reading, while 30% were proficient or above in math.
-Middle Schools: Middle school students had the same proficiency rates as elementary students: 47% in reading and 30% in math.
-High Schools: High school students showed higher proficiency in reading at 64%, but similar proficiency in math at 31%.
Let Mike use his "critical thinking" skills and explain how these numbers square with the bloated administration, student-teacher ratios, or the dollar per student calculation.
I genuinely feel bad for Mike's grandson, but public schools have been crutching on "special programs" for the last few decades to increase budgets and staffing. I know this firsthand from experience with my children, as we were asked to keep them in programs {with a "special teacher"} that they no longer needed once they were brought up to grade level.
Clearly, Conway Schools are failing to provide the services the taxpayers are paying for. In the private sector, this would be a breach of contract for services not rendered. Financial recompense would be required/demanded. There would be consequences and firings.
These numbers and performance aren't just unacceptable, they border on gross negligence.
The arguments Mike uses to denigrate homeschooling just don't stand up to any legitimate scrutiny.
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(3) comments
First, I feel bad for your children. An education provided by you, with your limited grasp of facts and unwillingness to see any perspective other than your own would not equip them to think critically. Nor would your espoused belief that religion is the only correct path in life help them get a broad view of the world.
Second, you (and many others) that talk about how much it costs on average to educate our children and how cheaply they can do it themselves overlook a huge factor in the costs public schools face; that of the special needs children. As a grandfather of a blind autistic child I can tell you public schools providing the special care these kids require is a need, not a want. If we strip the public schools of funding by allowing the ridiculous Free Stater voucher program to continue unchecked (exponentially outstripping the costs projected by its proponents), the public school system will struggle to provide this legally required support. The public school system has many costs that don't decrease because a chunk of kids decides to take another route.
You never address the main point. You always revert to character assassination. How does my support for school choice turn into an unwillingness to see any other perspective? Logic would lead to the opposite conclusion. You can educate your child any way you see fit. You just happen to agree with the current ideology permeating public education. Fine - that's your choice. Why can’t I make my choice and avail myself of public funding just like you? I have never advocated the end of public education. I just want an end to the monopoly. My facts are confirmed by the 2024 NAEP. Public education has failed the overwhelming majority of our kids. What about them? Do you really think giving public schools more money is the answer? We have done just that for the past 30 years. The scores have never been lower, the cost in real dollars has never been higher. My critical thinking skills would lead me to believe something is wrong with this model.
Let's do this again, but with feeling:
These are the most current stats on Conway Schools' staggering performance:
-Elementary Schools (K-8): 47% of elementary students were proficient or above in reading, while 30% were proficient or above in math.
-Middle Schools: Middle school students had the same proficiency rates as elementary students: 47% in reading and 30% in math.
-High Schools: High school students showed higher proficiency in reading at 64%, but similar proficiency in math at 31%.
Let Mike use his "critical thinking" skills and explain how these numbers square with the bloated administration, student-teacher ratios, or the dollar per student calculation.
I genuinely feel bad for Mike's grandson, but public schools have been crutching on "special programs" for the last few decades to increase budgets and staffing. I know this firsthand from experience with my children, as we were asked to keep them in programs {with a "special teacher"} that they no longer needed once they were brought up to grade level.
Clearly, Conway Schools are failing to provide the services the taxpayers are paying for. In the private sector, this would be a breach of contract for services not rendered. Financial recompense would be required/demanded. There would be consequences and firings.
These numbers and performance aren't just unacceptable, they border on gross negligence.
The arguments Mike uses to denigrate homeschooling just don't stand up to any legitimate scrutiny.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.