iquilt Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Just watched this yesterday from Netflix and have found myself reverting back to my teacher training days and wondering how true this movie really is today. I trained back in the early 90's and was super gung ho about the whole "I'm going to change the world of education" spirit. I joined the NEA right away only to discover that I had just joined a huge political entity that I disagreed with on many points. Am I ruining the future education of other children by staying home and teaching my own?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Am I ruining the future education of other children by staying home and teaching my own?? No. It's great that you care about the bigger picture, but it is 100% appropriate that you put your own kids' best interests first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Yeah, I feel that way every once in a while. My 9 and 8 yro are great kids - extremely well-behaved, very eager to learn, score very high on standardized testing. However, my kids aren't a social experiment and they're not the property of society. They get one shot at a childhood. We get this one little window of time to teach them, work with them, do things with them, have them play and explore... They're free to be themselves, have their own identities and be happy. I went to ps for 11 years and it definitely made me the person I am today. :glare: I just didn't want that for my kids. FWIW, several of my friends from college became ps teachers. I have absolutely nothing against teachers. You could make a movie out of some of the stories they've told me. I did see the movie. A few homeschooled kids going back to ps aren't going to have any impact on a trend like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Am I ruining the future education of other children by staying home and teaching my own?? Over your lifetime, you can do both: Educate your kids at home and 12 years from now go back to teaching, if you want to help the future of other children. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I guess I need to see that movie. :tongue_smilie: I'm also a teacher-turned-homeschooler, and every once in awhile when I first started homeschooling, I used to get that "I could be helping LOTS of other kids" feeling too, but the reality is that I cannot have the profound influence on all of them in the same way that I can with my own children. I am shaping them to be able to influence other people, and in that way, I multiply my effectiveness. I guess this goes along with the broader vs. deeper dilemma: I can influence a lot of people just a little bit, OR I can influence a few people a LOT. I choose the latter, and I know that eventually, they'll "pay it forward", so that increases my sphere of influence in the long run. Does that make sense? (And as another poster suggested, you can always go back to teaching once your own children have graduated from homeschool. I plan to do that--but I don't really want to go back into the PS; my plan is to homeschool or tutor small groups.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Christina, I'm not a degree'd teacher but I can empathize with you on the feeling of wanting to do more, include others, be a part of something bigger than yourself...and I follow some of the same things you do concerning education... Honestly I struggle with it. I love children, I love helping and I've not found the right balance in my life. It's always out of whack and has been since day 1 of being a mom. I want to do my part in society and do not want to sacrifice in my primary duties either. If you find the answer on this one, I'm all ears..lol. You certainly aren't alone on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Just want to point out that not everything in Waiting for Superman is 'true'. There are scenes recreated etc. It has an agenda that you may or may not agree with. It is fine if you do and fine if you don't but know what it is before you swallow the film whole. And certainly don't let it dissuade you from homeschooling, either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We watched that movie, and I was all riled up to start a school with dh in Detroit. :D Maybe someday... I have read a lot about the projects going on in NYC, as well as the KIPP schools, and it is exciting that someone is willing to tackle the hopelessness. Our hearts lie with inner city education, which is where dh started and where I have volunteered. He has since found another calling in special education innovation and advocacy, but I plan to use my math/comp science teaching degree to work in at-risk populations once I am done homeschooling my own. If you do feel a call, there is plenty you can do while (tutoring, for example) or after homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Over your lifetime, you can do both: Educate your kids at home and 12 years from now go back to teaching, if you want to help the future of other children. :001_smile: Thanks for this, I was stuck in a loop that didn't give room for the broader perspective. I also did some more research on the origins of the film, etc., and I feel that I can see the agenda for what it is and put the film into the proper place. I've never seen a lottery like that before for charter school places and that was interesting but obviously played for sympathy and the "ultimate tears moment". Still, my bil and sil live in a big city where charter schools play a huge role in the education choices available to their family. They cannot afford private school and do not want to send their oldest (entering K) to the public school that they are zoned for in their neighborhood. They entered 2 lotteries for charter schools and she was accepted into their second choice. They are not altogether confident in this option but are not the type of family to homeschool either, so it has given me some new perspective on school choices. I appreciate the feedback and do continue to look for ideas on how to improve the education provided to our nation's children. I, of course, have very strong opinions on how children should be brought up but also understand that not everyone is me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 the KIPP schools My dd17 used to attend a school that was run by a guy who trained at the KIPP schools. It wasn't a KIPP school, but it was run like one. I really wasn't impressed. The discipline wasn't that great and, although the school talked a great talk, it didn't walk the walk. I feel the same way now about the high school my dd attends. It's run by a private university but is a public school whose focus is on getting kids to college who wouldn't get there without intensive intervention. Talks a great talk and sounds fab on paper, but then real kids and real teachers come in an screw it all up. :D My honest opinion is that most of the problems of schools can't be fixed in schools. There are issues inherent in concentrating kids in an intense environment and trying to mass educate that simply, imo, can't be surmounted, and I also feel that schools face a nearly Sisyphean task in trying to overcome the socioeconomic and personal issues that kids come to school with. Schools are not the answer to school problems, imo. ETA: Haven't seen the movie yet. It's next in my queue. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 It's not an all-or-nothing situation, though, where you are either helping scores of kids or 'only' helping your own. Even now, when you are at home with your own children, there are many opportunities to work with other kids if you want to do that. You can tutor, you can teach in a co-op setting, you can teach in volunteer settings (i.e. summer VBS or Sunday School or time-limited sessions where you teach kids a topic in your home like SAT prep or knitting or mental math, etc.) Also, as others have mentioned, you can always go back into teaching later. :) Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 When I was a new homeschooler, I received many negative comments and lectures about how I was letting down the schools and other children. I had been a teacher and administrator in some severely impacted public schools. My children are grown now and I am back in the fray in a small charter school. Your children are part of the big picture, your part. Your ability to contribute to the general good begins with your family. All children, even yours, deserve the best childhoods. The societal changes driven by the ever-increasing influence of homeschooling and innovative educational models are part of our contribution, a wonderful part. Our homeschooling is driving structural changes in public education, a big contribution. I started homeschooling when there were no charter schools in California and no district homeschool or independent study programs. Now there are hundreds of charters, and every district has an assortment of alternative models. Be more radical than the "Waiting for Superman" producers! Take education into your own hands and observe the change you drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I joined the NEA right away only to discover that I had just joined a huge political entity.... Am I ruining the future education of other children by staying home and teaching my own?? My dad was a public school teacher for 30 something years. He was basically a poster boy for the NEA and had a complete fit when I started homeschooling. That fit lasted a few years, but I'm stubborn and didn't let it get to me. Last year, I felt I had come to a crossroads for my homeschooling--the needs of my little ones were so great and the needs for my son with special needs were equally great and I didn't see how I was going to make it all work. So, with much trepidation, I asked my dad if he would help me out a few days a week. He now feels that what he is doing with my son is the greatest (most important) work he's ever done. What a turnaround! Formerly, my dad threw that "ruining the future of education" line at me all the time. Even then, I told him I am more comfortable ruining an abstract institutional entity [Education] than ruining my children. (Not saying all ps ruins kids blahblahblah, just that my kids are not best served at our ps) In fact, if homeschooling causes an education crisis, won't it be for the best to have that crisis addressed more immediately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 My dd17 used to attend a school that was run by a guy who trained at the KIPP schools. It wasn't a KIPP school, but it was run like one. I really wasn't impressed. The discipline wasn't that great and, although the school talked a great talk, it didn't walk the walk. I've read enough from people who spent large amounts of time in actual KIPP schools to think many are doing quite well. I can see how someone trying to just implement part of it could fail. especially if the ingredient they were missing was discipline. You see it all the time: something is succeeding, so people try to emulate it, but they miss key aspects. If I could ever talk dh into opening a school, discipline would be the first thing we established. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I had a pastor tell me that I was being selfish by limiting my "gift" to my children. Nevermind that I had taught 5 years inner-city, four years private school and now share my "gift" with other homeschool kids by offering classes. Charity begins at home. I can not imagine a greater injustice than to walk out my door every morning to pour my heart out to the other wonderful children while worrying about mine. I don't think I would be a great teacher anymore if my heart weren't in it. I will be 50 when my youngest goes to college. I will have many years left to share my "gift" with others, if that is God's plan for me. If you think you should be home; change the world from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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