GeBo's comment on my posting about the start of school in Plano raises more questions and thoughts than can be covered in a reply. Maybe more than can be covered in a single post. But here 'goes.
Gebo wonders why we can't home school our kids to a Harvard degree. My first thought is that we can — just look at W's degree at Yale. :-)
Okay, enough with the jokes. The first question that really comes to mind in this is what kind of diploma do home schooled kids get when they "complete" high school? The answer probably varies from state to state, but in Texas the answer is none. In fact, Texas considers home schools to be private schools and does not regulate them in any way! There are no attendance requirements, no test requirements, no curriculum requirements — nothing!
So when your home schooled child "graduates" from home school they only get a diploma if you print one or order one from the internet. Their "transcript" is whatever you type up.
So now I have to wonder, if my kid's public school performance sucked, can I just claim that they were home schooled on the college applications? How would the university check? Could they check?
So, back to the home schooled university degree. Since home schooled secondary school students don't get a diploma from the state or the local school district I can't claim a home schooled PISD degree. Similarly there is no reason to expect to be able to claim a home schooled university degree from any particular university.
Of course, everyone seems to be offering "distance learning" programs where you "attend" a university via the internet. So I could get a degree from many institutions without ever darkening the doorway of any building on their campus.
But that is playing by their rules and I'm into local control and want to protect my precious children from the corrupting influences of outsiders.
So what, really, is preventing me from home schooling my kids' college educations? Well, nothing, I suppose. Except the acceptance of that education by employers.
So, Gebo, school away. 'Course you'll have to have kids first.
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3 comments:
as to your last point: okay, I'll go down to Deep Ellum and buy a kid. You can get everything else needed in life down there, so why not offspring?
secondly, you have GOT TO BE KIDDING about home schooling in Texas! Seriously? There's no curriculum? So if'n I want to spend 12 years teaching my youngun' how to play the banjo, I can call that a Home School Education - and get away with it? Hmm .. this begs a hyperlink to snopes.com or The Straight Dope or an equally credible (!) source. Maybe the THSC can shed some light (from above)?
You are right, of course. Again.
According to Chapter 25 of the Texas Education Code, specifically 25.086(a)(1), a child is exempt from compulsory attendance requirements (i.e. doesn't have to go to public school) if the child "attends a private or parochial school that includes in its course a study of good citizenship."
So there you have it. The entire required cirriculum is a course in good citizenship. There are other vague references to "basic educational programs", which I have seen defined in various non-authoritative sources as reading and math.
So all you need is reading, math, and good citizenship. Which is really all that the SAT and such cover, right?
Oh, and you need a chair. And this lamp.
reading, arithmetic and good citizenship?? First (Frist?) why didn't "writing" get included? You have to be able to READ The Good Book (no other textbooks made The List) and Cipher the number of Loaves needed to feed a multitude, but you ain't expected to Right (Amendment)? Hmm.
Second (PMI!) but what exactly constitutes a passing grade in good citizenship? I nosed around the THSC site, and the description sounds more like the result of a drunken driving conviction:
"at least forty hours (40) of volunteer work in any combination from the following areas: Voter Registration, Political Party Process, Campaign Process, and Legislative Process"
Looks like to only have to Show Up (like Dubya did with his National Guard service) and not be tested on anything. Well, maybe they have a quota on how many God Fearing Republicans you sign up during a voter registration?
PLUS I just love the cute names they give these Good Citizenship Certificates: "Alamo, Ranger, Lone Star, and Republic" ... sounds like a promotion at the local Day-Ree Queen. Heck, you don't even have to be able to do Really Important Stuff .. like name the defensive positions on a Football Team, or the flavor combinations of a Blizzard™!!
Yep, this'll turn out Productive Members of Society, fer sher. Oy vey, my head's spinning ...
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