What Makes People Think They Are Qualified To Teach Their Own Kids?

[TeamsterDem]

166. Which surgeon was home schooled on the art or surgery?

None of the modern-day US surgeons, that's for sure. And there's a big reason for that: A university is simply much better suited to provide that critical training (obviously, in the case of surgeons, that and a heaping ton of residency and other real-world application). However, aside from a few bailiwick-specific barriers to home schooling - for example - a surgeon, I suppose in some cases it might be possible (presuming one could come across cadavers ... legally). That is, if one's parent is a world-renowned surgeon (and with such fame one would assume a decent amount of capital with which to impart the more costly side of the training), yes, I'd bet that theoretically at least one could home school a surgeon. But does that mean it's advisable for the masses? I'd suggest not - mostly because we don't all have world-renowned (or, at least in my case, qualified) surgeon parents.

But I digress.

Whether a high school teacher is or is not a heart surgeon isn't the issue. What's at issue - what you're flailing about desperately trying to sweep under the rug - is that your dad didn't "know everything of any importance" because, of course, I can point to probably hundreds of very useful skills your dad doesn't have. Am I calling him stupid or under-educated? Absolutely not. I don't even know him. But without even knowing him I'm absolutely 100% sure that he doesn't "know everything of any importance" because no one does, sir. No one, despite your preposterous bombast to the contrary. And let's remember, it was YOUR bombast. I didn't put the words in your mouth. You did just fine doing that on your own. Here's a link in case you don't recall: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002378186#post61

What's also at issue is that you're the one arguing straw men, as the OP never said that no one anywhere should ever home school their kids. As she or he has already admitted in a response to my post (in which I said that I suspected their motives were more directed towards the anti-intellectual movement in this country and she or he agreed with me), the issue was the anti-education, anti-intellectualism running rampant in this country. So if you're so darned concerned about straw men I suggest you quit setting them up, for you're becoming the utter epitome - the manifestation - of hypocrisy at light speed.

Regarding parents being "qualified" to teach k-12, I see that once again - despite your stated disdain for "broad brushes" - you're once again the hypocritical Picasso. You cite literally no verifiable evidence of parents being qualified to teach k-12, yet inexplicably feel unbound to the regular norms of making arguments inasmuch as you simply state something - a rather dubious claim, no less - and offer literally nothing in support of it. Worse, though, is that you presume to know that - despite all of the myriad surveys showing adults becoming increasingly ignorant of things most of us learned in school (e.g. civics, mathematics, English, etc.), you somehow state that *most* are qualified to teach children. I've gotta tell ya, if you've ever been, say, outside of your house where you might interact with these beuts, you'd quickly realize that the average Joe/Jane is most certainly not qualified to teach ... to anyone about anything. I cite as evidence of that the percentage lacking *ANY* recognized teaching credentials of any kind. Perhaps in your world where pa' knew "everything of any importance," recognized teaching credentials are just "pieces of paper" and nuisances which stand in the way of the world's eventual recognition of your dad as knower of all knowable things, but the rest of us are a bit more grounded and would appreciate some sort of verifiable, independent analysis of said "qualifications."

With respect to unqualified homeschooling parents "generally" not doing so, I once again ask just where you're pulling this from. Dad again? The fear, I think, is that the anti-education, anti-intellectual bent of the current Republican Party MIGHT cause unqualified parents to teach their children, thus foisting upon society an unnecessarily under-educated group which - ironically considering the anti-social bent of the parent in this hypothetical - would then become effective burdens of the state, bound to welfare and legitimate (taxpayer-funded) training programs to make up for the shortfall - one needlessly created out of political paranoia. That is to say that while our current educational system needs to somehow churn out more competitive minds, tossing the keys over to a group which - by and large - barely has enough time to sleep and eat owing to work schedules isn't necessarily the answer either - unless the EXCEPTIONAL parent can adequately do so. And make no mistake, those who can adequately (or above adequately) home school their kids ARE the exception, not the rule. How do I know that? Well for starters, the number of dual income households is more than double that of single-income families with kids, so that alone makes one wonder just when this fantastic education would occur. I'd also point to the percentage of Americans lacking any formal training of any kind on education, obviously raising the question of just where in the world you're divining that they're "qualified" to do so.

Bottom line is this: If you want to home school your kids that should be your right. But let's not piss on each other's feet and call it rain, either. Just because YOU home school your kids doesn't mean you're actually qualified to do so, nor does it mean - simply by dint of you or some interested third party "interest group" saying so - that the education is either equal to or greater than a formal education. It may well be, and I'm sure that in some cases it is. But given that there are countless and sometimes immeasurable variables associated with education - not the least of which is productivity and capability in terms of job performance and socialization - let's just say that the jury's not quite as "in" as you'd like to pretend it is. In fact, the studies are still ongoing.