You guys don't seem to be getting the message. Perhaps it's one you
don't want to hear, but if you have kids and plan on home-schooling
them, *and* want your kids to have at least as good a shot as their
conventionally schooled peers, take it on board. The kids need the bits
of paper showing they've had an education to a certain standard. Home
schooling them is fine, as long as they can take tests somewhere
reputable.

I just went through applications for a job in my group. I culled all
those who didn't meet the educational quals before going any further
and making a shortlist to interview, then I check work experience etc.
One I culled might well be a lot better than the person I picked.
Life's like that and as long as the one I get is capable, I can live
with the outcome. Vito is 100% correct, interviewers aren't gonna go to
huge lengths to pay lip service to procedural fairness. Doesn't work
anyway.

The best programmer I ever had working for me was a 40+ woman with no
quals, who demonstrated what she could do while in another role. I
insisted she get the bits of paper and got her promoted, but she'd lost
20 years in a low paying spot by then, and she was lucky. A few years
later she was heading up a project I was interested in so I went to
work for her for a while. It's possible to overcome the lack of formal
quals, but it's a lot harder than getting them.

Personally I have little time for conventional education systems. The
number of kids on Ritalin etc for diagnosed ADHD is an indictment of
the teachers, IMO. Nonetheless, no paper, no interview with my group.

My daughters went to Catholic high schools. They're a lot better than
the public schools IMO, as far as focus on learning goes.

PDW

In article , Stephen Trapani
wrote:

Vito wrote:

"Stephen Trapani" wrote

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

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

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


All old & out of date - from times when everybody was home schooled.

Pardon my saying, but you seem to have a bias against homeschooling. Why
else would you snip out the third link I provided, which had more
modern examples? Why else would you ignore the plethora of twentieth
century ("the age of schooling") examples in the two links above?

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

.....

homeschoolers would do well on such tests. Why wouldn't they?


Homeschoolers may do well IF they take the tests in a proctored environment.
Do they?

Definitely. I have personal experience with a child who was entering
fourth grade after being homeschooled entirely previous to that. In
standard tests, for placement, he scored at or above his age group in
every category. He got straight 'A's the whole year in school. I've
heard numerous similar stories.

I believe most colleges want to see High School transcripts before admitting
students to degree programs. Is this not true? If so, where do
homeschoolers get them. Will colleges believe parents?

Many many colleges and universities accept homeschoolers aplenty. Here's
a partial list. Note Harvad, Yale and the like are on the list:

http://learninfreedom.org/colleges_4_hmsc.html


Most job req's I see begin with "A degree in XXX from an accredited
institution plus ..." Even sub-professional jobs want a high school diploma
or GED. I guess homeschoolers can begin with a GED but the assumption tends
to be that the candidate had a problem with school.

Some jobs do require college degrees. As you can see above,
homeschoolers who want such degrees shouldn't have any trouble getting
into good universities. And don't forget, for the majority of good jobs,
a college degree is superfluous.


Homeschoolers may be better educated but if I have five ap's for one job
(typical) I'll begin by interviewing the one who looks best- and, other
things being equal, that won't be the guy with a GED. If the 1st or 2nd
applicant seems good I'll hire him/her and send the rest dear john letters.
Tain't fair but .... That's why I believe you may be hurting your kids
futures by not getting them the credentials they'll need. If you can home
school AND get the credentials by all means do so.

It makes sense if you're excluding drop outs, but if you are excluding
those who are homeschooled, surely you are making a big mistake.


Stephen