Best way to educate your children

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   bankscottageposted 13 years ago

   What do you think is the best way to educate your children?  My sons (all adults now) attended public, private, and one even attended a New England boarding school.  Charter and on-line schools were not an option for them (didn't really exist).  We have friends that home schooled their kids and we think we would have liked to try that.

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   1. 58

      A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It probably doesn't matter as much where you educate children as it matters how you educate children.
      
      Teaching them critical thinking skills and having them question everything is key to their development. Indoctrinating them into believing something without question only manages to destroy that development and they wind up with brains of mush.

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      1. 87

         bankscottageposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You are correct.  Many people don't want to think.  They are happy to take someone's opinion on tv or the internet and make it their own.  That is what the politicians want.  They want you to accept their political ads and not do the research yourself.
         
         Often in school, and particularly in college, students only receive one side of an issue and they maybe criticized for challenging that opinion or expressing an opposing view.
         
         Thanks for commenting.

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2. 82

   kerrygposted 13 years ago

   Homeschooling is not for everybody, but when it works, it works great.
   
   The benefits of private and charter schools depend entirely on the private or charter school. One of my nephews goes to public and one to private school and I haven't noticed that there's a substantial difference, except in tuition. However, we're excited about the private high school the older one will attend next year - it's one of the best in the city. As for charter schools, there was a national study out last year or the year before that suggested that the majority don't do any better than public schools and a pretty substantial minority do worse.
   
   Personally, I think the attitude of parents towards education usually has much more effect on educational outcomes than any school, good or bad.

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   1. 87

      bankscottageposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely, the role of parents in educating children is critical.  I also think all of the methods will work well if the parents are engaged in the process.  You can't send the kid to school or put them in front of a computer all day and expect someone else to do all of work (or the child to do it on their own). 
      
      Home schooling certainly requires hands-on, engaged parents.
      
      Thanks for commenting.

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