Larry asks:
Could you have become a "marketer/advertising writer" if you'd spent YOUR
childhood at sea on correspondence courses?....

Easily. Much more easily than a typical product of the US lower/high
school system could. Our university system is pretty good, however.

and...
or would you have become one
of those poor slaves hauling out someone's nasty engine from the bilges?

Like the employees at the local fast-food place whose math skills are
so pitiful that they can't make change? These people are called "high
school graduates." Same as that poor grunt hauling your oily engine or
grinding your fouled bottom for negligible compensation.

Define "success" for me and we can have an interesting discussion about
that. I'll bet my definition differs greatly from yours. For instance,
mine includes "fun" as one of the more important components.

Stephen, I like what you're saying and I wanna comment on this:

You said: The key problem on a boat is the child needs to have
opportunities to
explore what interests them. This could present some major challenges
to
the homeschooling parent on a boat.

Hey! Drop the phrase "on a boat." This is the key problem for a
homeschooling parent in New York City, suburban San Diego, or East
Podunk. It's also the key problem for any kid, schooled by any method,
in a school or otherwise.

As for it being a challenge for a homeschooler on a boat, that's
certainly true; but that's what the www is for. However, it's just as
true for a kid sitting at his desk in P.S. 101, prepping for the latest
round of "standardized testing" when what he wants desperately to
investigate is plate tectonics. The difference is that the homeschooler
can tell his folks that and off they go on an exploration of the world
of plate tectonics. Meanwhile, the kid at P.S. 101 is still stuck at
his desk learning how to give the "correct" answers on the latest
"measurement device" (test) to ensure funding under the "no kid is left
behind" extortion scheme. Behind what, I'm not sure.

Frank wrote:

Stephen, I like what you're saying and I wanna comment on this:

You said: The key problem on a boat is the child needs to have
opportunities to
explore what interests them. This could present some major challenges
to
the homeschooling parent on a boat.

Hey! Drop the phrase "on a boat." This is the key problem for a
homeschooling parent in New York City, suburban San Diego, or East
Podunk. It's also the key problem for any kid, schooled by any method,
in a school or otherwise.

As for it being a challenge for a homeschooler on a boat, that's
certainly true; but that's what the www is for. However, it's just as
true for a kid sitting at his desk in P.S. 101, prepping for the latest
round of "standardized testing" when what he wants desperately to
investigate is plate tectonics. The difference is that the homeschooler
can tell his folks that and off they go on an exploration of the world
of plate tectonics. Meanwhile, the kid at P.S. 101 is still stuck at
his desk learning how to give the "correct" answers on the latest
"measurement device" (test) to ensure funding under the "no kid is left
behind" extortion scheme. Behind what, I'm not sure.


Yeah, you're right.

Stephen

--
Stephen

-------

For any proposition there is always some sufficiently narrow
interpretation of its terms, such that it turns out true, and
some sufficiently wide interpretation such that it turns out
false...concept stretching will refute *any* statement, and will
leave no true statement whatsoever.
-- Imre Lakatos

"Stephen Trapani" wrote
Frank wrote:
snip

After all the comentary and back slapping nobody responded to Larry's
challenge:
"In other words, name 4 very successful people you know who were home
schooled at sea by correspondence course".

I've done a lot of hiring for well-paying jobs. Employers want credentials.
Your home-schooled kid may be better educated than the product of PS101 but
do you have a paper that says so, or that (s)he has any education at all.
And if I'm to compare several candidates I want to see scores on
standardized tests.

Vito wrote:

"Stephen Trapani" wrote

Frank wrote:

snip

After all the comentary and back slapping nobody responded to Larry's
challenge:
"In other words, name 4 very successful people you know who were home
schooled at sea by correspondence course".

I've done a lot of hiring for well-paying jobs. Employers want
credentials.
Your home-schooled kid may be better educated than the product of
PS101 but
do you have a paper that says so, or that (s)he has any education at all.
And if I'm to compare several candidates I want to see scores on
standardized tests.



I did answer him, but maybe you'll like this better:

http://www.home4schoolgear.com/famoushomeschooler.html

or this:

http://users.safeaccess.com/olsen/famous.html

or this:

http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm

Even on these very incomplete lists you can see there have been plenty
of successful homeschoolers, no matter how you measure "success."

I'm an employer also. What matters most to me is past work experience
and some indication from the person that they can do what I want them to
do. Their schooling is one of the least important things I consider. And
a "standardized test" is worthless unless performance on the test
somehow relates to their prospective job duties. Anyway, most
homeschoolers would do well on such tests. Why wouldn't they?

--
Stephen

This is just stupid. What kind of people invest in a yacht, anchor it
in a foriegn cove, and go to sleep leaving their important items all
over the place and things unlocked, as if they are in their livingroom?
And what kind of people commit this idiocy, and then spend all night
and the next day calling "mayday", and thinking it is something the
local police can, or even ought to try, to investigate & solve? But
worst of all, what kind of people go further and propagate all this
stupidity and ignorance all over the world?

Yep, it sure is getting dangerous - the increasing danger of idiots
with crusing boats, that is...

rhys wrote:
Thanks for this. Normally, I don't post salty language, but I've just
added Venezuela to my list of ****ing dumps I won't be visiting by
sail.

So far:

Indonesia
All of the Red Sea
Venezuela
Parts of Brazil
Parts of Africa
Parts of Central America (Costa Rica's still OK, and possibly Belize)
U.S.A. if the jumped-up mall cops running "Homeland Security" think I
might visit Cuba at some undefined point and decide that's reason to
steal my boat.

One wonders whether this miscreant may have realized that a great many
of the residents of these countries consider his own to be a ****ing
dump, too, except for it's inestimably greater & more universal
arrogance that tempts everyone to rip its vacationers off by any means
available?

People like this guy HELP CAUSE piracy.

Frank wrote:
Oh, yeah, gotta ditto this. Yes, even the part about the U.S., despite
my status as a citizen of said entity. We're getting ready to start
cruising toward the Caribbean in a coupla months (as soon as we get the
new boat ready). We'll be flying a "world" flag from our stern.

"Homeland Security!" Snort! A bureau name (and philosophy and tactics)
straight out of the Third Reich. And is there anything more
"unamerican" than the soi-disant "Patriot" Act? Lately, however, I've
been hearing rumors of impeachment. I can only hope. Guess I'd better
keep a U.S. ensign with the other courtesy flags. Just in case.

But to move away from politics... Homeschooling at sea! I can't wait!
The kids are pretty excited, too.

I hope you are keeping them far from the WWW & TV and teaching them the
Mandarin they will soon need to survive in the coming reich.

Another Frank
Former Homeschooler

Vito wrote:
snip

And if I'm to compare several candidates I want to see scores on
standardized tests.

The results of standardized testing provide only at best a simplistic
and at worse, an irrelevant answer to the question you're asking.
I'm always surprised when I see/read people comments indicating that
these blunt instruments have some sort of validity.