A "friend's friend" attacks homeschooling on facebook

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I bet even a dentist doesn't fill his own teeth! (It's kind of hard to see and get your hands in the right positions. . .):D

 

I have a handyman friend that epoxied his own broken tooth together years ago. He still has the tooth. I spent $300 having mine filled. Boy, do I look stupid.

 

K

[DarlaS]

Really I am just irate with the comment. It's below:

 

Mother posts:

Any words of wisdom from you homeschoolers out there? Tomorrow's my first jaunt into this arena, with my daughter, who's a 7th grader. Just hoping I won't be a flop of a teacher--or worse--a flop of a mother!

 

and one of her "friends" says:

Most people wouldn't fill one of their own teeth, build an addition to a house, represent themselves in court, repair their own car, but when it comes to educating a child which is infinitely more complex than any of these, parents always assume they have the necessary expertise. Even to raise a vegetable garden, one needs the right tools, education, and years to experiment with plenty of failures along the way.

 

and then someone else challenges him and he replies:

I'm a teacher and a parent,

 

Oh, and I know I've read this bolded part somewhere else. This teacher is plagiarizing some article somewhere. It's just too familiar to be his own words. It's a tired old argument someone else has already used. :glare:

[Macrina]

I am not sure what the mom did with her "friend", if she deleted him I wouldn't know since I blocked him from any of my views for ever and eternity. But she DID delete the status thread. And her new status update?

 

"<name> is practicing her peacekeeping skills :)"

 

Good for her. Fortunately she is a VERY strong Mama, I don't think he derailed her from her plans.

[Scuff]

Most people wouldn't fill one of their own teeth, build an addition to a house, represent themselves in court, repair their own car, but when it comes to educating a child which is infinitely more complex than any of these, parents always assume they have the necessary expertise. Even to raise a vegetable garden, one needs the right tools, education, and years to experiment with plenty of failures along the way.

 

I find it funny that he thinks it acceptable for us to give our children to years of experimentation. No thanks! You can do your years of experimentation with plenty of failures to become an awesome teacher on someone elses children.

[silvermine]

Huh. I would build an addition on the house and repair a car.

 

Doing you own filling would be hard, though. ;)

[Oak Knoll Mom]

I don't "do" social networks, and this provides yet another reason to avoid them, frankly.

 

It's not facebook's fault that this guy is a jerk.

[Orthodox6]

Of course it is not the fault of Facebook. I have no interest in social networking websites because of what one encounters/reads on them, that which is posted by the users.

 

It's not facebook's fault that this guy is a jerk.

[Laura Corin]

Very often' date=' these are exactly the kids that thrive on homeschooling. For so many of them, school is about waiting on everyone else.[/quote']

 

Calvin learned pretty much nothing at school - the poor teacher was working so hard to bring the bottom half of the class up to some basic standard that those at the top end were just ignored. After home educating for five years, Calvin aced his first high school exam at age 11.

 

Laura

[PineFarmMom]

While she has some sorry friends, I think the fb poster kind of set herself up there. I specifically ask advice of those who either homeschool or are supportive of it. In a venue like fb, I think it would be too dangerous. I believe there are way more people in the world who don't support homeschooling than those who do. My suggestion to her would be to be more careful who she asks!!

[BikeBookBread]

Oh no! How did this happen? Now I'm worried about my private FB page. Eeeep.

 

It took some figuring out, but I did... I had set up an app to import my blog posts into a note form. I had NOT set the security on those specific notes, so as the notes were posted to my wall, friends of friends could read the blog posts AS NOTES. My dh's co-worker read the blog-post-posted-as-a-note and was able to comment on that specific note.

 

If I remember correctly, you have to go to the applications menu, click on security for specific applications and set all of them separately (I'm going off of memory, though). For all of you who think FB is private, IT ISN'T. It is not all it's cracked up to be. My dh printed off the entire user agreement - they can do what they want. I was outta there... :auto:

 

Besides, their whole business model is based on targeted marketing and advertising, so they want as much information about you as possible. They gain it through the games you play, the sites you post about, etc...it's a giant hairball waiting to explode. But that's just my humble opinion! :tongue_smilie:

[amsunshine]

I am new here! This is our first year homeschooling and I am new to this forum. This video was shared with me by another homeschooling mom. This is for your friend. :001_smile:

 

 

 

 

Aww -- that was cute! Very upbeat. I like it!

[Perry]

She needs constant stretching and intellectual challenges to nurture her gifts. .... but as a teacher I spend every waking moment trying to think of ways to get the exceptional ones to reach a little higher and look a little deeper, it's not a part-time pursuit. Teaching is a calling.

Not in my world. Know what my gifted 15 yo dd did in her "Business for Teens" class today?

 

She flat ironed her hair.

 

Stretching and intellectual challenges. Ha!

[KidsHappen]

It took some figuring out, but I did... I had set up an app to import my blog posts into a note form. I had NOT set the security on those specific notes, so as the notes were posted to my wall, friends of friends could read the blog posts AS NOTES. My dh's co-worker read the blog-post-posted-as-a-note and was able to comment on that specific note.

 

If I remember correctly, you have to go to the applications menu, click on security for specific applications and set all of them separately (I'm going off of memory, though). For all of you who think FB is private, IT ISN'T. It is not all it's cracked up to be. My dh printed off the entire user agreement - they can do what they want. I was outta there... :auto:

 

Besides, their whole business model is based on targeted marketing and advertising, so they want as much information about you as possible. They gain it through the games you play, the sites you post about, etc...it's a giant hairball waiting to explode. But that's just my humble opinion! :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Yeah, I have been unable to figure out exactly how FB works. Let's say I have friend A and friend B. I can see all comments made to friend A even if they are made by people who are not my friend. But for friend B I can only see comments made in response to me or my friends. It seems that most friends that fall into the A category are teens and most of the friends that fall into the B category are adults. I can't figure out if it's just that teens and adults are using different security settings or just that the adult post less in general.

 

One particular incidence that I remember was a person posted a commet on my dh's wall. It didn't show up on my wall but did show up on my brother's. I can't figure out why. :confused:

[mommylawyer]

Well, I homeschool, breastfeed, and I'm planning on a home birth. I suppose some people think teachers, cows, and OBs could do better, but I decided I'd give it a whirl!

 

I just un-friended a "friend" who kept making snarky comments to things I posted on Facebook - my posts regarding my pregnancy and breastfeeding. I decided to cut that person off after the second time that person posted something. If people are going to get snarky on my FB posts, they're CUT OFF! (Funny thing is, if you un-friend someone, they don't get a message that they're cut. Nice and discreet.)

[KidsHappen]

Not in my world. Know what my gifted 15 yo dd did in her "Business for Teens" class today?

 

She flat ironed her hair.

 

Stretching and intellectual challenges. Ha!

 

Mine cared for her sick boyfriend but I haven't quite figured out how to credit that. I am thinking of including it in her well rounded home ec elective. :)

[Scarlett]

Well, I just took my 15 yo to the CC for placement testing today. He scored 97/100 on both reading skills and English. He also placed into his choice of three math classes (Trig/Precalc or Discrete Mathematics). If in PS he would have three years left. I think I'll keep "experimenting" with the younger 3. I hope I can similarly "ruin" them.

 

Love this!!!

[Orthodox6]

Are there really people who believe that FaceBook has any privacy? I'm surprised to read that. All I have to do is "google" (oh, those horrid denominatives !) anybody's name, and if the name is a hit with a FaceBook link, I can sail right on in and read the page. (I just cannot navigate away from that page to read anything else unless I log in -- which of course I can't do.)

[Macrina]

Are there really people who believe that FaceBook has any privacy? I'm surprised to read that. All I have to do is "google" (oh, those horrid denominatives !) anybody's name, and if the name is a hit with a FaceBook link, I can sail right on in and read the page. (I just cannot navigate away from that page to read anything else unless I log in -- which of course I can't do.)

 

Not my sister's (16) you can't. You can't even find her if you search her by name or email ON fb. Can't friend request her either. I know, I tried! She had to find me in order for us to be friends. But she is on there, she;s just nearly invisible.

[FlockOfSillies]

"I was asking for words of wisdom from homeschoolers -- and your response meets neither requirement."

[Reya]

Super-catty here, but if school is "challenging," then the kid is either disabled, ill, or not that bright.

 

Seriously, now.

[Reya]

I don't know what to say.

 

I had a similar experience with Facebook recently. A friend posted a homeschooling article. One of her other friends posted that she doesn't agree with home schooling, but it is a parent's right to ruin her child's education. It took a lot of will power not to post something.

 

Jan

 

 

"Too true. It's a shame we must have public schools, but as long as parents make these decisions, well...."

[Reya]

1. Parenting is also infinitely more difficult than any of those things. Should we let the government train people to raise our children then?

.

 

You haven't read the health bill! Govt wants to send people out to train us to do a BETTER JOB.

[Mama Anna]

Okay, I haven't read all the replies, but this is what came to me early this morning. (I shouldn't read this board if I don't want to wake up wondering about things . . .) :)

 

 

and one of her "friends" says:

Most people wouldn't fill one of their own teeth, build an addition to a house, represent themselves in court, repair their own car, but when it comes to educating a child which is infinitely more complex than any of these, parents always assume they have the necessary expertise. Even to raise a vegetable garden, one needs the right tools, education, and years to experiment with plenty of failures along the way.

 

and then someone else challenges him and he replies:

I'm a teacher and a parent, they're different skills. When one of my dogs is sick I take it to the vet. When one of my children needs help, I get the best I can find for them. The last thing I want to do is experiment on my own child. I know <mother> as a bright and loving parent, supremely competent, but <daughter> is on the edge of genius. She needs constant stretching and intellectual challenges to nurture her gifts. Hey, this is an opinion. I'm not trying to impugn the royal society of homeschoolers, but as a teacher I spend every waking moment trying to think of ways to get the exceptional ones to reach a little higher and look a little deeper, it's not a part-time pursuit. Teaching is a calling. I'm not in favor of dilettantism. I know it's the fashion, but it's a bad fashion, and the victims are the kids. Part of helping your child to grow up is letting go. This is free advice, given in love, and worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

 

My response might be something like the following:

 

"While you're welcome to your opinion - being an American with the right of free speech - I must say that I disagree with you on a fundamental level. I heavily distrust the very specialization of careers that your statement assumes to be optimal. If I am utterly dependent on others to practice their specialities in my life, how can I trust them to have my best interests at heart? This would apply to everything from fixing my own car to being aware of bills that are passing through Congress. I feel that it is un-American to so ignore the legacy of the pioneers as to train my children to let others do their thinking for them - in auto mechanics, government, or anything else. While they will not each excel in every field, they must realize that they are responsible for the final outcome, whether effected by themselves or entrusted to a wise specialist. Being trained in an environment of blindly trusting the specialist will not give them this world-view."

 

Of course, this doesn't address the hs issue itself, but from what I've read, enough others have done that. :D

 

(Dh helped me with the wording - I said I'd give him credit. Just two hsing parents here . . . :))

 

Mama Anna

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

Not my sister's (16) you can't. You can't even find her if you search her by name or email ON fb. Can't friend request her either. I know, I tried! She had to find me in order for us to be friends. But she is on there, she;s just nearly invisible.

 

:iagree:

 

I have my settings set up so that only Friends can read stuff. The thing you have to remember is that if you post something on someone else's wall, their friends can see it, even if you are not friends with that friend. It takes some getting used to before you know what can and cannot be read by the "public."

 

I have a blog post that I'm working on for the OP to send to her friend. I'm just having it read over by hubby to make sure it is not offensive in any way to anyone. I overlook that sometimes. :001_huh:

 

Anyway, I'll post the link here, and she can feel free to link it on her FB if she wants to.

[Melissa in NC]

I did not read all of the replies but I would not mind if you posted my comments on Facebook.

 

I took my oldest to a Behavioral Pediatrician. He told me that homeschooling my daughter was the BEST option. An expert in children, education and development said homeschooling was best for this child.

 

When I visited my engineering college professor and told him that I was homeschooling my kids, he said he was glad I was doing that and he wanted to homeschool his kids. This man had a PhD is engineering and saw the results of public education every day. How about that for an endorsement?:thumbup:

 

Another story: My dh works at a university and one of the admission secretary made a comment about a student along the lines that he, the student, is a good student because he was homeschooled. She liked homeschooled kids because they were smart and responsible. She did not know we homeschooled so the comment was not solicited.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

http://allthatschool.blogspot.com/2009/09/homeschooling-qualifications.html

[MistyJ]

She needs constant stretching and intellectual challenges to nurture her gifts. Hey, this is an opinion. I'm not trying to impugn the royal society of homeschoolers, but as a teacher I spend every waking moment trying to think of ways to get the exceptional ones to reach a little higher and look a little deeper, it's not a part-time pursuit.

 

QUOTE]

 

Last time I checked, I spend every waking moment trying to improve my homeschool. And part-time? Does anyone here do this part-time?

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

She needs constant stretching and intellectual challenges to nurture her gifts. Hey, this is an opinion. I'm not trying to impugn the royal society of homeschoolers, but as a teacher I spend every waking moment trying to think of ways to get the exceptional ones to reach a little higher and look a little deeper, it's not a part-time pursuit.

 

QUOTE]

 

Last time I checked, I spend every waking moment trying to improve my homeschool. And part-time? Does anyone here do this part-time?

 

:iagree: I stated something similar in my blog post. :D

[Cricket]

Okay, I haven't read all the replies, but this is what came to me early this morning. (I shouldn't read this board if I don't want to wake up wondering about things . . .) :)

 

 

 

 

My response might be something like the following:

 

"While you're welcome to your opinion - being an American with the right of free speech - I must say that I disagree with you on a fundamental level. I heavily distrust the very specialization of careers that your statement assumes to be optimal. If I am utterly dependent on others to practice their specialities in my life, how can I trust them to have my best interests at heart? This would apply to everything from fixing my own car to being aware of bills that are passing through Congress. I feel that it is un-American to so ignore the legacy of the pioneers as to train my children to let others do their thinking for them - in auto mechanics, government, or anything else. While they will not each excel in every field, they must realize that they are responsible for the final outcome, whether effected by themselves or entrusted to a wise specialist. Being trained in an environment of blindly trusting the specialist will not give them this world-view."

 

Of course, this doesn't address the hs issue itself, but from what I've read, enough others have done that. :D

 

(Dh helped me with the wording - I said I'd give him credit. Just two hsing parents here . . . :))

 

Mama Anna

 

:iagree: I said something similar to dh last night. I remember graduating from high school thinking I knew so much. When I graduated from college, I realized how much I didn't know and somehow it was in my head that I couldn't do certain things because I didn't learn those things in school. There must be something about college that gives people this idea. Some of the most able, self-sufficient people I know didn't go to college and weren't "specialists".

[tex-mex]

Didn't J. Gatto say in Dumbing Us Down that in his 25 years of teaching, he has never once overheard teachers discussing the academic aspects of any students at all in the faculty lounge?

 

Every waking moment, indeed.

 

Sooo true! I know in my experience, it was all gumbling, venting, and BS-ing. Not one soul really voiced true concern for most students who needed help. Very sad. I usually avoided the Teacher's Lounge and ate with 1-2 teaching friends whom we prayed with for the kids and school.