Home Schooling is facing new legislative initiatives to control when and how parents can home school their children. Some states have passed legislation requiring that students be home schooled by a certified teacher. Other states are making more hurdles that must be jumped before a parent can choose home schooling. Is this to help protect the student?
"I think the vocal minority is holding a lot of "issues" hostage and I don't know when this craze will end."
For many generations educators (including me and most of the teachers I have known over the 40 years I have been an educator) have worked to help students learn by being taught. It seems to me that this generation of young people are not interested in being taught. They want to immerse themselves in learning and develop their own understanding. The job market they will be facing in the future is looking for people who can think outside the box and can work collaboratively. The traditional classroom, where the teacher is the “sage on the stage”, is no longer appropriate for educating this type of thinker.
Unfortunately, most instructors were trained to be that sage. A few are learning to move to the side and act as a coach or facilitator.
"We have a paperless high school in my school district. All of the students have laptops. They access all of their textbooks online and their assignments online. Whatever is needed for a paperless school, this school has. Of course we had help funding it - Bill Gates. Now, it's up to us to maintain the equipment and related resources.
I guess if money is being saved on textbooks, paper and the usual school supplies, then, the school will have money in its budget to upgrade and to replace lost or broken laptops.
Will this "paperless" school idea filter to other schools in the district? I can't say; but, it would be a costly venture. Then again, if we go paperless, then perhaps parents can buy the laptop for their child/ren since they will not have to buy school supplies, as such. Yes, I am aware of the expense; however, we do have resources for parents to get computers at a reduced cost. Maybe they can rent them. I don't know; but, I think that it can be done with some creative financial assistance where needed.
True - I might be a tad optimistic; but, the reality is that we are in a technology age and technology is growing leaps and bounds. Are the schools going to stay in the stone age of technology? I doubt it!"
