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0 pointsNextgrid5y ago0 comments

> School is not mandatory; education is mandatory. Ask any home schooler.

Home schooling is not a suitable alternative IMO. Social contact with your peers is important too; having to forfeit that just to not be in a prison-like system seems like a bad deal.

> Choose some good coding/math/philosophy puzzles during the evening and work on them instead of paying attention in class

So in addition to wasting 8 hours per day in class you need to do extra work in the evening?

I think in both cases we need to fix the system instead of putting the burden onto students to put up with it or work around it with the solutions that you describe.

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throwawaygh5y ago

> Home schooling is not a suitable alternative IMO. Social contact with your peers is important too. having to forfeit that just to not be in a prison-like system seems like a bad deal.

This is why above-average students should just go to college after a year or two of high school. 16 year olds and 18 year olds are in fact peers (or can be without drawing arbitrary lines).

> I think in both cases we need to fix the system instead of putting the burden onto students to put up with it or work around it with the solutions that you describe.

The problem is that your suggestion is completely non-actionable for students.

It's also not particularly actionable for a parent trying to help their school-aged child today. Even if a parent does manage to change a huge entrenched institution -- highly unlikely! -- it'll be at least a decade after their own kid is out of the system.

So. Yes, I agree, you too should run for school board. But don't count on systemic change if you're trying to help someone currently in the system.

resonious5y ago

The idea that homeschooling is devoid of social contact is a bit naive I think. Of course different parents have different styles - it is entirely possible to close off your child from social contact. But most homeschoolers I know have their kids doing all kinds of things throughout the day. Sports, group lessons in topics where the parent's knowledge is lacking, and overall more free time to visit friends' houses and do things that are actually interesting. The real trade off of homeschooling is with respect to the effort required by the parents.

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