I am an educator who has taught elementary school for the last 13 years. I've enjoyed teaching up until the last few years, when our government started mandating the "
one size fits all" mentality in education. Those in states with more money may see things differently, but in my neck of the woods, I've seen our state and district "
dumb" kids down and expect less of students so that they can say - "
Wow! Look how smart our kids are! They're all around the 70% average mark!" I found this past year that even though my own kids were in school for 6-7 hours per day, I still supplemented with my own time, money, and resources to make sure that they were up to level, challenged and successful in school.
It seems that schools do not have children's best interests at heart anymore. My 14-year-old son had the option of taking a diesel mechanics class to learn a trade for after high school, because mechanics is huge where we live. Schools are required to pay tuition if the student opts to learn a skill like this. But during an appointment with the counselor, we were bullied in attempts to get him to take something else that would be easier on the school's pocketbook. Once the counselor found out that I was an educator and knew all the options available, he backed down. I wondered if other parents and teachers were treated in the same manner - as though I didn't know what was in the best interests of my child.
That's why, even as an educator, I am now a strong advocate for homeschooling for anyone able to consider it as an option for their family.
A Teacher
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