The Energon Pub

Homeschooling? hmm i find it very hard to see the benefits of that, speaking for m a technical point of view it hardly even counts as a schooling system-although granted if u have exceptionally dedicated and knowledgeable parents results would be fantastic-but only if u take ur interpretation of school as meaning "Stuffing childrens heads with knowledge and getting them ready for exams", as an educator i gotta say that the most important things u learn in school are not found in the books, large scale social interaction with peers be it positive or negative is far more useful in a board sense than any facts or figures.

Of course that is just my opinion, although i have given it some serious thought-having said that undoubtedly home school works for some-but i wouldnt recommend it.

My mother taught three children for a number of years before she burned out. I am glad she didn't teach me! She yelled at them more than she taught, lol.

Ahh school, good times, good times. Wait, no it wasnt, not even a wee bit. I was half homeschooled, by which I mean I went to school, then was taught a load of junk by my parents after school too. I read books too, coz im a nerd.

People moan about school, but its unavoidable, and without it I guess I would have even worse people skills than I do now. And I wouldnt have learnt how to hide my dyslexia from the world, so its not all bad. Also, dont forget they dont actually teach you things anymore, just how to answer the Exam questions correctly.

Collage is far funner, and, if you wanna do something really fun after collage, do Art Foundation. Easiest, thing, ever.

Just what is so dang fun about college?

Hmm...I never did keg parties or dated a lot (was with my then bf the entire time). I wrote for the paper, which was kinda fun. Back then cell phone use in public annoyed me, and nobody talks more on cells than college students. I also hated how you could be late with no repercussions, which meant folks were ALWAYS late. I also didn't have any direction, so that wasn't fun either.

Leonardo wrote:School is the best bloody thing that will ever happen to anyone.

My girlfriend will argue vehemently with you on that one. You may have enjoyed your schooldays; mine were okay. But don't assume that the old adage of "your schooldays are the best days of your life" applies to everyone, because it really don't.

As an example of her school; her younger sister, upon leaving school, was the only girl in her year who hadn't attempted suicide. Can't have been that good.

My school life was alright; I don't really remember it with tremendous fondness, nor with particular dread. I never really had any issues with bullies; the only guy who tried to punch me cracked his knuckles on my face, which I found quite amusing. I had one teacher (for metalwork) who my dad had to come in about (threats were made), but frankly, that git hated kids and should never have been a teacher in the first place.
I sort of breezed through lessons; I tended to do pretty well in most subjects without trying too hard. Art was always my favourite subject, but maths came close second, and was my best subject. And my maths teacher was a top bloke.

I don't know about the States system, but in the UK it's like several have already said, they don't really teach you anything useful anymore except how to pass the exams. Kids don't learn to read and write, they learn how to do well in literacy and numeracy tests, and then their parents are surprised (if they notice) when they get to secondary school and still can't string a sentence together...

And of course there's all the red tape. Lessons have to be taught as they're laid out in the curriculum, whether it works or not. A teacher friend of mine got in trouble once when, after taking her kids to a petting zoo, she got them to write about their day there instead of studying a "shared text" as in the curriculum.

My girlfriend's got the right job; she's doing what teachers should be allowed to do - working with kids who've dropped out of the education system for one reason or another, teaching them what they need to know using whatever methods get the job done.

I left education with four GCSEs at grade C, some at worse grades, a comfort eating problem, Paranoia, Depression, a Social Anxiety Disorder, and at one point honestly believed it was my place in the universe to feel like **** to balance out other people's happiness because it was the only way I could justify my continued existence.

School was **** wonderful.

Moonbase2 wrote:Just what is so dang fun about college?

Hmm...I never did keg parties or dated a lot (was with my then bf the entire time). I wrote for the paper, which was kinda fun. Back then cell phone use in public annoyed me, and nobody talks more on cells than college students. I also hated how you could be late with no repercussions, which meant folks were ALWAYS late. I also didn't have any direction, so that wasn't fun either.

Ahh yes, American college is like Uni here. College here, I dont know what the American equivilent is...High School? It's all so confusing. I should be in Uni now, but im doing an extra year of art. Art Foundation = Lol.

Anyway, college is just far better overall, teachers treat you like adults, rather than sheep, and you can actually ask them for help. The students are so much nicer and more tolerant too, my college is very, very cliquey, but there are never any fights or namecalling. Here High Schools are not like that, every lunch was like a whole new war in school, goths, emos, chavs and nerds in a big massive free for all. Teachers locked in storage rooms! And dont even get me started on Primary Schools.

School does suck, but if you continue with it up to College/Uni it does get more fun. And if you get the grades it does pay off...or so I hope....

Bumblebee-otch wrote:

Cyber Bishop wrote:

Senor Hugo wrote:Grade school sucked. College, on the other hand, rocks.

.
QFT!!

i don't know, i'm not liking college a whole lot right now

Booze, Clubbing, Cheap rates with student card, Tax free earnings below £5000, what's not to like?

The only thing I enjoyed about school and college was the learning, everything else was annoying.
I ended up walking out of college, despite having gotten to graduation, because I was sick to the teeth of all the small minded, self-limited idiots who could barely say anything without swearing every second word. Another day of that and I would have lost it on them.

So I prefer finding things to learn, anything that will be of actual use. I'm not allowed to work anyway what with being disabled and seen as a risk in the work place because of it, so I need to do something to pass the long days.
So far I've learned more by myself in a few years than I ever did in school and college.

Enjoy school while it lasts though, because once your education days are over, you're on to paying bills, a meaningless job, if you're lucky to find one that's not been taken by any one who's gone to your country because of the problems in their own country and doesn't realise they're being used as cheap labour by greedy bosses, and long days of trying to make ends meet in a greedy society.
So enjoy it, once it's done you've just got the next lot of problems. Isn't life great?

Tony.

tequila stu wrote:Booze, Clubbing, Cheap rates with student card, Tax free earnings below £5000, what's not to like?

Booze and Clubbing for instance

Vampir wrote:

tequila stu wrote:Booze, Clubbing, Cheap rates with student card, Tax free earnings below £5000, what's not to like?

Booze and Clubbing for instance

Ah, but get an awesome summer job that get's you £5k, plus a £4-5K student loan = more money to buy stuf from comic shops etc.

When people are homeschooled or drop ot of school, they can't go to collage. When you cant go to collage, you can't get into a high paying job. When you can't do that, you are stiing on the street the rest of you lives begging for money.

Let's look at it this way:

20 years of boring>80 years of living on the street

I don't think that's entirely accurate. Kids who are homeschooled I think usually still have to go to a school or college to take their exams.
And fortunately, at least now there are programmes to help people who drop out of school to get into work (as I discussed in my post earlier regarding my girlfriend's job), so they're not necessarily on the streets for the rest of their lives (unless there actually is nothing like that in the States).

You've gotta learn the basics somewhere. School is that place. You have the power to control your approach to school. You choose either like it or to not like it. The best outlook is to find your place, do your best, engage yourself in learning, and be open to challenging yourself.

The biggest problem with school is not the system or the teachers; it is the students. If the students learned and grew at the rates teachers hoped, school could be full of engaging and meaingful experiences. Unfortunately schools often have to cater to the lowest common denominator; therefore making school a rather mundane experience for those with the intelligence and motivation to better themselves.

Smokescreened wrote:So far I've learned more by myself in a few years than I ever did in school and college.

You know, I was amazed to find I actually have a passion for learning. I only realised that once I left school.

I can't tell you the countless hours of *cough* "fun" I've had researching for debates, scouring wikipedia for the answers to random questions I've come up with, or reading articles about whatever happens to be interesting at the time.

I honestly wish I could just find some textbooks with enough information, laid out in a straightforward manner, learn a course, and arrange to sit an exam at a local school.
I'm sure I'd have the qualifications I want in no time.

Omega Charge wrote:I still am in school-HOMESCHOOL. I suppose it's better than a public school, more attention and a faster time finish time ( I'm usually done by 2:00). I'm in high school classes in 10th grade and have never gone to "school" except for once during the F-cat. I will be going to a college though, maybe UF, or something...

UF is insanely competitive now. It's one of the most competitive public universities in the nation.

Entry level GPA is approaching 4.0 if not there already.

Still, I got both my degrees there. It's such a great place you should do everything possible to go. A little warning though, f' up your first semester or year and you will fail out.

Do the clubs once or twice and then get over it.

and join up with Butokukan Karate when you get there. They're rebuilding the number of students, but it's seriously the best martial arts education you'll find there.

You know, I was amazed to find I actually have a passion for learning. I only realised that once I left school.

I can't tell you the countless hours of *cough* "fun" I've had researching for debates, scouring wikipedia for the answers to random questions I've come up with, or reading articles about whatever happens to be interesting at the time.

I honestly wish I could just find some textbooks with enough information, laid out in a straightforward manner, learn a course, and arrange to sit an exam at a local school.
I'm sure I'd have the qualifications I want in no time.

Me too, self learning can be fun at times, but sometimes having some text books as a little help would be nice. Scouring the local library can sometimes be good for that, but not always.
If school had been a lot better and more focused on learning instead of how to be an idiot 101, then self learning would be less trial and error than usual.

Oh well, at least learning is fun since you never know what you'll learn till you find it and a lot of the time it can be quite rewarding.

Tony.

if you think school sucks, wait till you try LIFE! Wait till you're buying all your own foods, paying bills, rent, etc. and either trying to build a better life for you and your woman, or dealing with a crazy bee-otch at the same time. *(it's usually one or the other)

College, like i said before, I love it. Ok sure, it's a pain in the ass sometimes. But what isn't? College is where the real learning begins. I've learned more in one semester at college, than I did in 4 years of high-school.

It's a blast.

I had fun in college. Of course, I was the only one over 21 on my dorm floor so I was always being asked to buy beer or share mine (I did neither). As much as I hated high school, I loved college. I also discovered a new love there, college football.

Malikon wrote:if you think school sucks, wait till you try LIFE! Wait till you're buying all your own foods, paying bills, rent, etc. and either trying to build a better life for you and your woman, or dealing with a crazy bee-otch at the same time. *(it's usually one or the other)

Yeah, real life is a lot tougher. I went straight from college to parenthood, and the latter is much harder! Of course, if you're paying for bills and raising kids WHILE in college...well, just do one at a time!

muswp1 wrote:I had fun in college. Of course, I was the only one over 21 on my dorm floor so I was always being asked to buy beer or share mine (I did neither). As much as I hated high school, I loved college. I also discovered a new love there, college football.

That's why the uk system of 18+ owns the american system of 21+

Eradicator wrote:When people are homeschooled or drop ot of school, they can't go to collage. When you cant go to collage, you can't get into a high paying job. When you can't do that, you are stiing on the street the rest of you lives begging for money.

Let's look at it this way:

20 years of boring>80 years of living on the street

not necesserily, I know high school drop outs with their own businesses, on the flip side, i know people with masters who work at subway, it's not so much weather you get that peice of paper that gets you the job, it's how you go about doing things (damn, whatever it is I'm trying to say, attitude is everything i guess I mean)
besides, I kind of get the feeling most of the people who worked in the registrar's office back in community college were high school drop-outs, they managed to lose my registration twice now, then tell me the computer doesn't lie, then when i moved on to 4 year school, they sent the wrong transcripts, not even the right gender, or college, or similar name.

as far as high school goes, it's really not about educating anymore, now it's more to process you for a future in wal-mart, the trick is to get out of that line of thinking.
and as far as graduating high school, not that hard, I did it without ever doing any homework, or studying for tests (the joys of standardized testing)

personally, I could care less about a degree, i actually am going to college more to learn things I think are interesting, improve in art, and if I get a degree , so much the better I guess

i love school so much i keep going back for more degrees...

I've been done school for a couple of years now, and working full time.

I kinda miss school.

High school:
-I miss hanging out
-I miss the easy homework
-I miss the hot teachers
-I miss the 2 months summer holiday
-I miss the 2 week Christmas holiday
-I miss March Break

University:
-I miss the 4 month summer holiday
-I miss the 3 week Christmas holiday
-I miss 2-4 hour lunch breaks (between classes obviously)
-I miss cancelled class due to prof not showing up
-I miss grades can be negotiated on projects (effort and valid points/proof is a must obviously)

Now, at work:
-30 min lunch
-1 hr public transit time (I could drive but then it's rush hour so it'll be 30-40 min PLUS $10 parking)
-repetitive work
-3 week holiday in a year

Now tell me, why would you want to leave school?