[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel MacIntyre <daniel.macintyre@...>


I just put a homeschooling argument on my blog site here:

http://tinyurl.com/7hc5j

I thought some of you might like it.

---=-=-=-=-=-=-

I don't know how many of you went to Daniel's site to read this, but I
thought it was pretty funny! I've pasted it below for other lazies like
me! <g>
~Kelly
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A response to the NEA's Article - Home Schools Run By Well-Meaning
Amateurs

This article has been floating around various homeschool email groups
and I wanted to put in a few words on it.

Excerpt:



Home Schools Run By Well-Meaning Amateurs
Schools With Good Teachers Are Best-Suited to Shape Young Minds
By Dave Arnold

There's nothing like having the right person with the right
experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Certain
jobs are best left to the pros, such as, formal education.

There are few homeowners who can tackle every aspect of home
repair. A few of us might know carpentry, plumbing and, let?s say,
cementing. Others may know about electrical work, tiling and roofing.
But hardly anyone can do it all.

Same goes for cars. Not many people have the skills and knowledge
to perform all repairs on the family car. Even if they do, they
probably don?t own the proper tools. Heck, some people have their hands
full just knowing how to drive.



This is actually an old argument that pops up from time to time in
various forms. The most common one I heard is the "Surgeon" analogy.
You know - "You wouldn't want an amateur performing surgery on your
child, so why would you want someone untrained molding his or her
minds?" In every form it relies on false analogies that are easily
refuted. Usually, simply modifying the analogy to actually fit a school
situation is a very effective method of refuting it.

For example, the author started with the analogy of home repair, so
lets extend it to fit the situation.

1. For the author's analogy on home repair to apply to school, first
the "home repair expert" should be repairing thirty houses at once. He
will do this not by applying individual attention to the needs of each
house, but by instructing the owners to perform each task in unison
themselves with his instruction.

2. Each home repair will be conducted on every house whether the house
needs the repair or not. The owner will be punished for "failing" to
adhere to this. working ahead will be discouraged except possibly for a
selected few owners who will be allowed to have "advanced home repair"
for one hour a week.

3. Each home repair will be conducted within the same time frame and
the next repair will start whether the home repair has been finished or
not. Any resulting problems with this will be blamed on the home owner.

4. The scope and sequence of home repairs will be decided by
politicians and administrators who have not actually examined the
houses in question. This will be nationalized and local variables such
as climate and resources will not be taken into account.

5. The bulk of the "expert's" training will be in methods of
controlling the various owners to submit to this process - the actual
home improvement portion of his training will be a few general classes
on industrial construction and highway repair.

6. Any tests of the "expert's" knowledge of specific home repair will
show that it is no greater than that of the average homeowner. Any
efforts to mandate scores in this area would result in massive job
losses and will, of course be fought by the unions.

7. In addition to the regular course of home improvement, the home
owners will be subject to sociali... er.. "interior decoration" by the
other homeowners. This will result in - at best - interiors that
reflect the values of the other homeowners instead of the owner of the
actual home and at worst, vandalization and theft.

8. In an attempt to mitigate the worst of point 7, a counse... excuse
me - interior consultant - will be employed to whitewash any obvious
damage and - in extreme cases - refer the owner to a certified (and
expensive) interior decorator.

9. Any "unique" home designs will be discouraged since they are not
mainstream and therefore would make the "home repair" process more
difficult for the "professional."

10. If by some chance the results of the above results in a large
number of homes being "not to code," the home owners will be blamed and
the home repair industry will call for more tax money to be collected
and spent to provide adequate shelter for home owners. The
poor results will also be used to discourage any "do it yourself" home
owners by offering it as proof that home improvement is too difficult
to be handled by amateurs.


Oh, by the way - did anyone else notice that the actual author is "head
custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois?"
Probably not a leading expert on education in general. Sometimes, when
evaluating information, you need to consider the source.

Robyn Coburn

<<<<
I don't know how many of you went to Daniel's site to read this, but I
thought it was pretty funny! I've pasted it below for other lazies like
me! <g>>>>>

<<<< A response to the NEA's Article - Home Schools Run By Well-Meaning
Amateurs >>>>

This is a classic, as hilarious as the Home Kitchens a threat to Public
Kitchens article!

Robyn L. Coburn

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.9.6/59 - Release Date: 7/27/2005