"/etc" wrote in
news
On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 14:25:59 -0400, when the end of the tunnel became
apparent, Scout posted:

Frank and Ronnie,
I believe Katy was using tongue-in-cheek there, and knows exactly
what I meant, which was, only by the careful selection of literature
can students have the exposure to correct models of language use. It
is precisely because of the reasons you've given that literature is
so important. Choosing that literature is the job of the schools, who
work under the auspices of the community at large via school boards
and departments of education. With my own kids, I chose to add more
by reading constantly to them at home. As soon as they were able,
they read on their own too. In my previous post on this subject, I
tried to summarize a mountain of research, including thousands of
case studies, in just a few short paragraphs. I'm not saying the
formal rules of language should be or are kept from students, what
I'm saying is that memorizing them is all but impossible and focusing
on them only turns off would-be learners. Other than impressing
people at a boring party, what good did memorizing all those
prepositions do anyone? Do you really need to memorize a list of
irregular verbs, or do you think it might sink in deeper if you saw
them used properly a number of times?
My wife and I have raised 3 children and we've been reading to them
since they could speak. We are both teachers now (my second career).
Even so, I would not have home-schooled-only my own children unless
it was unavoidable. In other words, there is no doubt that parents
participation is essential for developing attitudes toward learning,
work ethics, and study habits, but I would not have deprived my
children of the tens of great teachers who gave them so much that I
could not have given. It doesn't matter that I'm certified in a
number of areas either. Each science teacher contributed some unique
portion of my kids' education, so did each English teacher, math
teacher, and so on. My daughter scored a perfect 800 in the verbal
section of her SATs - I believe her success was in part due to her
school teachers, and yes, in part to her home teachers : ) I also
feel obliged to tell you that some of the worst cases in my school
were kids who were previously homeschooled. I'm not saying it can't
be done, I just hope, for your kids sake, that you really can do what
you hope you can. I couldn't do it all. With that said, if I can help
you in anyway, let me know. You used sailing as an analogy, but you
got my part wrong. I'm sure as heck not saying the learner achieves
competence by aping someone who is incompetent. I'm saying just the
opposite, that the competence will come from aping a competent
writer. There's a big difference between the two analogies.
Again, I'm not offering this as my opinion, I'm saying a boatload of
hard data backs this up. You should research it a bit more. And don't
assume the problems within our schools are the fault of talentless,
uncaring teachers. If only that was the problem! I'm afraid the real
problem is much closer to home.

What a lot of lines to expose yourself as an imbecile.

Give him credit, he is a pretty big imbecile.

Bertie