Texas is seeing record numbers of students going to homeschooling

@valleyforge Doesn't sound good to me. Homeschooling is limited by the parents' knowledge I have the idea. And not every parent is smart. In fact, it could be a downwards spiral. Unless it's something different here?

@trinsec There are lots of group homeschool organizations where parents work together and have sports and stuff. I'm not very familiar with how those work although I'm sure there's lots of variance between them. Homeschool systems will probably be less effective at getting kids to memorize facts but I don't think that's what's important.

@valleyforge Considering the political climate over there, and that people don't seem to be able to think things through lately... I think it's a little bit more important than people realize. Of course, it'd require actual funding of education, which seems to be a bit of a problem somehow worldwide.

@trinsec why does test taking have to do with the "political climate"?

@valleyforge Well my understanding goes along like this:

If you're homeschooled, you basically don't really learn how to deal with a diverse amount of people. Those homeschool organizations likely will search likeminded people together. You won't learn about other cultures, other attitudes, etc. You're going to get stuck in your own bubble.

If you aren't really aware of how other people and/or cultures behave or react, and only see confirmation bias from your own peers, you're going to be quite stuck in your way of thinking. Your will becomes inflexible. This, in turn, can polarize a society if you're not willing to listen to other people's views.

This is Texas we're talking about. From what I read in the news about it, that's already quite a conservative state. So if those children/students are going to be homeschooled, that could be a downwards spiral right there in terms of accepting 'people who are not like you' in future generations.

So, possibly more polarization oncoming. It can become a toxic political climate for the whole country if this isn't done carefully.

@trinsec I don't really think there's much truth to this. And you're ignoring the downsides to public schools. I think a situation where the education can be tailored to each student is better than having fifteen to thirty students sitting in rows trying to memorize answers for a test.

@valleyforge Regarding the downside you mention, that is what I meant with having to fund education. Classes bigger than 15 I consider too big as well.

I did grow up in a public school, and our classes averaged 5. Granted, it was a special school, but I learned a lot. I feel like non-hearing people also deserve to have classes of max 15 pupils.

A good school also doesn't 'let their students memorize' and nothing else. It lets their students think critically so they can get to a logical conclusion on their own.

But again, that requires funding. And USA is sadly not very well known for funding education. I'd say, start funding the basis. Vote for your kids' future. Homeschooling is a symptom, not a solution.