Comments on: Schools Change Rules to Exclude Homeschoolers From Geographic Bee

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:18:54 +0000

I’m lazy and rely on blog authors to ‘sift and winnow’ the source information so I don’t have to read the entire thing, just the good & accurate parts.

This cuts my blog surfing by hours OR lets me read more blogs instead of just a few.

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:34:55 +0000

Yeah, I was so peeved about being misled by your analysis that I had to come back and give you a virtual spanking.

***Spank***

The type of BEE was the minor infraction. The worse one was your analysis. The rules weren’t changed after the fact.. which your summary stressed was the case.

I’m peeved because I railed on my co-worker, who is a liberal, but not a lesbian (joke on Kerry), about this and if he knew that my story was this flawed it would reinforce his position that all my sources are biased.

You’re still kidding! Why are you relying on me? I was giving my opinion. That’s why I link to sources, which you are free to examine. Good grief. This day is not going well for me. But I still say that’s way they suddenly implemented the new rules. That’s my OPINION, by the way. – Admin

By: La Shawn

La Shawn — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:17:23 +0000

You’re kidding? I misread the article that badly? It’s a Geographic Bee, not a Spelling Bee. Embarrassed…

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:14:03 +0000

Two things after reading the source.

This is a Geography Bee not a Spelling Bee.

They didn’t cheat this kid after-the-fact. They changed the rules way before this, but did it for this new year (which is why nobody knew about it). Basically there were kids that couldn’t compete in other schools sponsored bees because their own school doesn’t sponsor their own bee (I think this is to pressure more schools to run their own darn bee). Thus they excluded solo entrants… and worked to shore up the rules to exclued solo home schooled entrants.

In sum, this is fair… but it still sucks for the kid.

By: Army NCO Guy

Army NCO Guy — Tue, 22 Mar 2005 19:41:00 +0000

I don’t really have a problem with public school for the… er… “masses”. I don’t see much of a way to get around it, America’s just too huge of a country. What I do have a problem with is the extremely low level of excellence that is accepted in schools today, and the fact that the government makes it harder than necessary for parents to either homeschool their kids or send them to private schools. My parents sent me to a Christian school for most of my elementary school days, but it got to the point where they just couldn’t afford it. My oldest (just turned three) will be starting preschool soon, in a school my church just started last year. I’ll find a way to keep all my kids in that school, to make sure they’re educated properly. But I really don’t think it’s fair that I’ll be paying taxes as if my kids were going to public school, and then having to pay for their real education over and above that.

By: firebird

firebird — Tue, 22 Mar 2005 17:27:53 +0000

Its time to eliminate the dept of education and do away with the NEA, my guess that the rotten public schools dont want one of those home schooled kids being able to spell words the dumb idiots in the public schools put out

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:12:52 +0000

“Godcidentally*”
I like that! NCO
BTW my father retired from the USASF a Sergeant Major, he homeschooled me a bit before he passed on!

By: The Things We Say But Don't Do

The Things We Say But Don't Do — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:02:23 +0000

More Monday News….
So much for being inclusive! An under-publicized rules change has excluded home-schooler Matt Savage, the 2004 winner of the state’s National Geographic Bee, from competing in this year’s competition. Officials claim, however, the rules change was un…

By: Mark La Roi

Mark La Roi — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 18:37:51 +0000

Homeschooled kids will be the coming generation’s leaders. I learned the depth of my knowledge at my mother’s knee. The public schooling was mostly just a framework, though I did have SOME good teachers.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:38:49 +0000

The rationale, presumably, is that kids in the public schools have to attend regular classes 8 hours a day whereas, theoretically, home schooled kids could do nothing but cram for the spelling bee.

It’s similar to the rules in some (many? all?) states that keep private schools out of sports competitions. The grounds there is that public schools have to draw from students living in a specified geographic area whereas privates could recruit athletes from anywhere.

By: Army NCO Guy

Army NCO Guy — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:55:28 +0000

La Shawn, I do work for the government. And no, you’re not reading too much into this. None of my kids will ever go to public school. I decided that years ago, when I was wasting my time in public school. Godcidentally*, my wife decided the same thing for the same reason long before we met.

Oh, and Dave- touche.

*-something my old chaplain used to say. I don’t believe in coincidence, but I do believe in design.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 15:48:22 +0000

our children are schooled at home…and are unable to spel very wel….I’m at a los to figure out why.

By: Mary Nusbaum

Mary Nusbaum — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 15:28:52 +0000

Um … either you can spell a word correctly, or you can’t. And you’re either a certifiable student or not (as home-schoolers are). This math is easy enough even for me )

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 15:17:36 +0000

This was in our paper yesterday:

Top Colorado speller emerges from duel
Words buzzed back and forth before new bee champ crowned

By Ann Carnahan, Rocky Mountain News
March 21, 2005

The 12-year-old home-schooled boy who won Saturday’s state spelling bee entered the contest on impulse just a few weeks ago.

Josiah Hamill, of Franktown, began studying in early February, although many contestants prepare for months or even years. He nailed stupefacient, meaning “bringing about a stupor,” to win the 65th annual competition, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain News.

*****
I’m a public school teacher. I am the only staff member that is pro-homeschooling. In fact, when I praise it, I am met with looks of shock and disbelief. How this is possible from other teachers locked into the system we are in, is beyond me.
Sadly, we have received kids into our school who have been “homeschooled”, but who were never actually taught anything. When done well, it can be incredible; when done poorly, it makes the entire system look bad.
Ironic, isn’t it, that the few poorly homeschooled students make other teachers think homeschooling doesn’t work, but the number of kids who have always been in public school who are failing, never seems to make the teachers reflect on the schools in a negative way. Just a thought.

By: hirez

hirez — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:45:50 +0000

All my kids homeschool, and I think this is just a weak way to try to hide the general failure of the public schools in aggressively educating our youth up to their potential. We now in the schools train for mediocrity, when even the “honors” classes are not very difficult.

It is to bad the school system won’t really critique itself and see where the failings are and fix it…