en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/681415 Comments by terry_freeman http://direct.mises.org/preview/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools#IDComment266544656 Even with multiple children, the kids get far more one-on-one time with their parents. Also, older ones often teach the younger. My daughter (who was home-schooled) is teaching five children. I once watched my granddaughter teach her younger brother the alphabet; she was 3 years old at the time, he was 18 months old. In fact, every time I visit, I hear somebody teaching somebody else. They love learning, and they love teaching. As John Holt mentioned, the most important thing is that the home is not a school. There are no formal classes; no desks; no clocks - nothing that gets in the way of learning. On one visit, I noticed a grandson poring over a map of the States. I asked him to find where I lived. I then asked if they had a globe, and very briefly showed how the paper map corresponded - and did not correspond - to the globe. (Alaska and Hawaii were shown on the paper map in different places than they were on the globe.) I asked him to locate New York City on the globe. It took him just a few seconds. While doing so, he explained the idea of correspondence to his elder sister. He was 5, and she was 7. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:34:19 +0000 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools#IDComment266544656 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools#IDComment266538441 You may think home-schoolers only get the easiest students, but you'd be wrong. Very often, students who don't fit into the traditional mold - the ones which cause teachers to tear their hair out - are removed by caring parents, who are motivated to find an approach which works. The problem may be simple boredom. Don't you ever question a theory which says that all children of a certain age must learn everything at the same pace? There are many home schoolers with autistic students. While you ask for "combat pay", their parents figure out what works. I know of one in particular, who is now three years old. One "expert" patiently explained that he was "mentally retarded." Another "expert" diagnosed him as autistic (probably on the mark) and prognosticated that he'd never be able to speak; he'd be using a book of picture cards for the rest of his life. Well, his mom taught him the alphabet; he learned to read, and now speaks English, Russian, and ASL. He also counts by 2s and 5s, sings with perfect pitch, and plays music by ear. He's 3 years old now. Learning the alphabet, reading, and speaking in that order might be highly unusual, but it worked for him. Every home-schooler is different. Many are "average", but many others would drive the average teacher stark raving mad; government schools are unable to deliver on the promises of "universal education;" to do so would mean dedicating a single teacher to one or a few students. This would be highly inefficient, when the students already have a motivated parent. Government schools are also unable to adequately teach the gifted. I have a grandson (a 2nd generation home-schooler) who, by the age of six, enjoyed playing with negative numbers, decimals, fractions, division, exponents, binary arithmetic, and cryptography - hardly your typical first-grade topics. Now, at the age of 9, he studies algebra, trigonometry, and computer programming. In a regular class, he'd be bored out of his gourd, and probably drugged into a compliant stupor. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:23:55 +0000 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools#IDComment266538441 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools#IDComment265878644 The socialization argument stems from thinking that home schools must be like government schools, but in a smaller box. Home schools are very, very different. When a teacher wishes to take children out of the government- or private-sector box, it is a complicated process - the field trip must be approved by upper management, permission slips must be obtained, transportation must be arranged, chaperones must be recruited, and so forth. When parents wish to undertake field trips, the process is much simpler: take a walk or pile into the minivan. Therefore, field trips are frequent; children have many opportunities to explore the world and to mingle with others of all ages. When home-schooled children go to the museum or other destination, they are usually part of a small group and interact one-on-one with a large variety of competent adults. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:25:36 +0000 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools#IDComment265878644 http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2012/01/06/the-three-faces-of-jon-huntsman/#IDComment257838397 What if it was posted by a 3rd party, seeking to cause trouble for both the Paul and Hunstman campaigns? An Obama or Romney operative, for instance? Just sayin'. Cui Bono? Sat, 7 Jan 2012 18:16:55 +0000 http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2012/01/06/the-three-faces-of-jon-huntsman/#IDComment257838397 http://author.blog.heritage.org/2011/12/29/voters-in-iowa-new-hampshire-say-federal-budget-deficit-is-no-1-issue/#IDComment253653833 I'm still googling, but can't find the actual poll results, only 2nd hand reports. Any help appreciated. Thanks! Tue, 3 Jan 2012 10:47:24 +0000 http://author.blog.heritage.org/2011/12/29/voters-in-iowa-new-hampshire-say-federal-budget-deficit-is-no-1-issue/#IDComment253653833 http://c4ss.org/content/9260#IDComment244692580 I have had a long-running dispute with Georgists for several reasons. One, it practically requires a State, which is a negative in my opinion. I do not want a State collecting the so-called "full land rent" for their nefarious purposes. Second, if they achieve their goal of making all land equivalent in cost, there will be no basis to compute the best use of land. Third, as you have mentioned, the problems attributed to landlords are largely problems which should be laid at the feet of the State. Lastly, even in a Lockean world, provided that there is no State, absentee landowners would bear the full cost of defending their property. If it isn't worth defending, they'll stop occupying it. The Georgists' major objection will simply vanish. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:06:00 +0000 http://c4ss.org/content/9260#IDComment244692580 http://c4ss.org/content/8610#IDComment235476276 It takes years of coercive indoctrination to produce those so-called "natural serfs." Sat, 10 Dec 2011 10:31:21 +0000 http://c4ss.org/content/8610#IDComment235476276 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5763/Fat-Tax#IDComment212997279 In addition to all the criticisms about the food taxes, they are shooting at the wrong target, at least in America. Shifting from neighborhood schools to mega-schools meant depriving children of the natural exercise of walking. While few of us "walked 20 miles, uphill both ways", it was very common for us to walk a mile or two each way, every day - a simple, effective exercise routine which helps keep weight down. When I visited Amish country in Lancaster County, I saw no fat children. There are no school buses to the Amish schools; children walk or use old-fashioned scooters. Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:50:17 +0000 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5763/Fat-Tax#IDComment212997279 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5743/Time-to-Start-Printing-Again#IDComment203903356 We need more money because it worked so well in the Weimar Republic and in Zimbabwe. I am fairly certain that Alan Weingarten was quite tongue-in-cheek, so I gave his post a thumbs-up. If widely-distributed monetary inflation really were "neutral", it would be pointless. Since it is not neutral, it leads to numerous negative side effects. It's real hard to find a good reason to counter the negatives. Thu, 6 Oct 2011 15:16:23 +0000 http://direct.mises.org/preview/5743/Time-to-Start-Printing-Again#IDComment203903356 http://c4ss.org/content/8270#IDComment202571762 Years ago, I came across a book called "My Story", by a distant cousin known as Paddy "the Cope" Gallagher. Paddy grew up as a very poor boy in a tiny town, much like the "company towns" we have been warned about; a few very powerful landowners, originally installed by the violent force of the Brits, tightly controlled access to the market. Paddy's innovation was to start up a co-op - a competing store which would sell goods at lower prices. It's a long story, but among other things, he bought and sold handmade sweaters from the local girls; he offered them higher prices than they had gotten before; he bought a ship and built a dock and got better prices in Britain for their handiwork. That town no longer was controlled by the big landowners; people had more choices, better wages and a higher standard of living, thanks the heroic efforts of a man who started with nothing more than his wits and will. He did all of this in spite of violent opposition from "gombeen men" (thugs) sent by the landlords to shut down his co-op. The police did what they usually do in company towns: nothing useful. I relate this story to relate that people do have choices, even in "company towns", even against the opposition of the government. Mon, 3 Oct 2011 14:25:51 +0000 http://c4ss.org/content/8270#IDComment202571762 http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/130510813.html#IDComment201731803 Gee, rather than respond to the core point, that the schools were not delivering the goods, you just had to go off on a political tangent. Was that your strongest argument? Home schoolers score, on average, 35 percentile points above their peers in government schools, on a wide variety of standardized tests. This is true even for those of "low socioeconomic status" - in sharp contrast with the disappointing results of government schools. All the research shows that one of the best indicators of success in a government school is "parental involvement" - which translates to spending about as much time with your child as a home-schooling parent would. A rational economist would ask whether the schools deliver any marginal benefits at all. A rational response by schools would be to accept that they have a problem and either fix it or go out of business. Sat, 1 Oct 2011 11:54:44 +0000 http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/130510813.html#IDComment201731803 http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/130510813.html#IDComment201730350 We no longer produce as many buggy whips or punched cards as we used to. If schools are losing students, it is because schools are not delivering what people want. Schools should either change their business models, or shut down and move on. Home schoolers have many reasons for their choices, but a large part is that children are not interchangeable cogs in a machine. Our existing schools do not do well with students who are outside the official "norms." I can give many examples, but let's focus on one area: math skills. I have a grandson, a 2nd generation home-schooler, who learned about negative numbers, fractions, decimals, exponents, and binary arithmetic by the age of five. He could multiply two-digit numbers in his head faster than you can punch them into a calculator. He's 9 years old now, and studying algebra, trigonometry, and computer programming. Even a "gifted" kindergarten would not have stimulated his intelligence at the age of 5; "gifted" 3rd or 4th grade classes won't do for him today. Yet, he is far too young for high school. Odds are that he'd be bored out of his mind, and taking Ritalin or some other drugs so that he'd be "manageable" in school. Wouldn't that be a waste of his unique talents? Scratch any "troublemaker" in school, and you'll often find a gifted mind which is not getting enough intellectual stimulation. Today's schools should stop whining about losing revenues, and consider whether to change or shut down. Sat, 1 Oct 2011 11:48:56 +0000 http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/130510813.html#IDComment201730350 http://original.antiwar.com/john-v-walsh/2009/08/09/an-antiwar-effort/#IDComment37923952 The war industry benefits a lot of people, who then find reasons to justify or rationalize their support. This makes it easy for them to believe myths about how vulnerable America is, and how dangerous her "enemies" are. Fri, 9 Oct 2009 04:10:32 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/john-v-walsh/2009/08/09/an-antiwar-effort/#IDComment37923952