More children going to school at homeI'm not going to refuse a parent's discretion to do whatever he or she is best for their child, but by and large, I don't agree with the practice of home schooling. Excluding extreme cases of specific health or learning disabilities, I believe students should be in a real classroom, with real teachers, and real classmates. Home schooling, at its best, can be adequate; but at its very worst, it can be detrimental to the child's development and grossly irresponsible. The article mentions that the state has no set standards for curriculum -- that's terrifying. It should be considered criminal that a parent, if they were so inclined, could theoretically teach their children that the Eiffel Tower was built by space vampires, or that the 8th president of the United States was Batman, or that 2 + 2 = banana. Educating others, be it at the primary level or secondary level or whatever level, should not be taken lightly. It isn't a whim, something you frivolously take a stab at. The level of competence (or lack thereof) our state demands from our public school teachers is definitely debatable, but these people are still hired professionals. And as hired professionals, they at least deserve the benefit of the doubt that they can accomplish the task at hand, no different than how you would give your plumber the benefit of the doubt that they can fix the sink. The mere technicality of birthing a kid doesn't automatically award you the wherewithal to teach them. And the article mentions an end-of-the-year exam that all home-schooled children must take and pass, as if that were some kind of deterrent to sub-par teaching. If the kid passes the test, fine; if the kid fails the test, they just wasted an entire calender year.
"While still a tiny fraction of public school enrollment, home schooling is definitely growing. Broward County's total of 2,975 students is up 8 percent in a year. Miami-Dade's total of 2,504 is virtually flat to a year ago. Palm Beach County leads the state with more than 4,000 students. Statewide growth was 6 percent in a year." -- the Miami Herald
And even if we assumed that the parent (or, a personal instructor, if the person so chooses) does an amazing job teaching their child, that doesn't even address perhaps the most important aspect of schooling -- socializing. In the article, a University of Miami child psychologist argues that this kind of set up "does not necessarily inhibit social development." She points to friendships the student can have outside of the house, after school hours. She also mentions group functions that parents of home-schooled children arrange so their children can get together and hang out. That's alright, I guess. But that seems alarmingly oblivious to the unique group dynamics that can only be replicated by an actual classroom. Children bully, mock, embarrass, and pick on each other. No one wants to see their kid get beat up, but facing those kind of challenges are essential to their longterm health. Kids have to learn how to defend themselves; figure out what kind of people and personalities they do and do not want to associate themselves with; and yes, learn how to feed on the weak and separate themselves from the slower, dumber of the pack.
And speaking from a completely biased and unscientific point of view, I can say that the kid down the street who was taught by his parents was a strange, creepy child. He wasn't a bad kid (he was actually pretty good at kickball, had a strong kicking leg), but he was weird. Really maladjusted and awkward. I haven't seen him in a decade, but I'd bet anything he grew up to be a creepy adult. I have a hard time believing that public school would've done him any more harm than home schooling did.
I'm sad to see him go. Forget about defense winning championships and controlling the clock with the running game and all those overused sports cliches; I like my football played up and down the field, high-scoring, fun n' gun. And that's why I loved watching Steve "Air" McNair play. He was like Dan Marino or Brett Favre, a gun-slinger that liked to pass the ball more than hand it off, liked to throw the long bomb on the go-ahead route, liked to take chances by threading the ball between two defensive backs. That style of play is exciting, and the NFL just got a little less fun with McNair around. I'll remember him for that amazing Super Bowl against the Rams, and winning Co-MVP honors the year I graduated high school. And when it comes to name-dropping great black quarterbacks, guys like Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick (well, y'know, BEFORE the dog-fighting) and Vince Young are always mentioned, but Steve was way better than all of them. In the pantheon of legendary black quarterbacks (the most PC thing would be to not make the distinction between white and black players, but PC is boring and uptight), his name belongs all the way up there with Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham. McNair was the complete package, he could make game-winning plays in the pocket, or on the scramble.
And let's not forget those fly #9 powder blue Tennessee Titans jerseys everyone used to wear in the early '00s.
Kids on beach stumble on skeleton"Authorities say a group of kids playing ball on a beach discovered an adult human skeleton in the back yard of home near Daytona Beach.The sheriff's office in Volusia County says Saturday's find in Port Orange is being investigated as a suspicious death. The person had been dead for a few months, but it's not clear if the remains belong to a man or woman." -- the Miami Herald
Okay, I know this for sure: either these kids were irreparably traumatized, or they were completely f'ing stoked.
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