Home Schooling

@IreneVincent Here the students in school have a high study pressure. And this is why we think the American students are very lucky. By the way, I think sometimes learning in school can have a competition and it is also a drive to study.

@youless I understand that in China, the students have a much stricter curriculum and while you may think that American students are lucky, they do not usually get the excellent degree of education that is available to Chinese students. So, who really are the "lucky" ones? A good education is very valuable.

In the USA, many children are home-schooled and are tested regularly to make sure they can pass the standard tests also used to test children who go to school. As long as they pass the tests, they can continued their education at home. I agree that there are advantages and disadvantages and it does require a LOT from the parents who choose to home school their children. Patience is required, but it's also required of teachers and many teachers don't have patience any more than some parents. I had another person tell me that classroom conduct in China is exemplary. But, that is NOT the case in many schools here in the USA. Children can be very disruptive and little is done about it. That's why a lot of parents choose to home school their children. They can give their children more attention than teachers can in a classroom of 30 or more students who won't sit down and be quiet. And then the teacher sends home three or four hours of HOMEWORK, so the parents end up teaching their children at home anyway, because they couldn't learn anything in a noisy, disruptive classroom.

@IreneVincent Thank you for that in depth reply and I concur on all your points. But how do the parents know how and what to teach? Do they get it off the internet? I understand that they have a curriculum to keep to.

@jaboUK Yes, there is strict curriculum to follow but there are several DIFFERENT choices. Most home schoolers use both the internet and a specific package of books and instructions that they order for each grade level. To be honest, the parent has to be well schooled in order to teach the children, but does not have to have a license to teach. When I home schooled my son, the school board supplied not only the books for the child, but the teacher's manuals and it was all FREE in West Virginia. That is not the case here in Virginia.

I'm sure you are correct. Your schools will be very crowded, I'm sure, as will other countries to which the refugees are flocking in great numbers. It will be a challenge, I'm sure, to accommodate all those children with an education. I really had not thought about that. I appreciate that you shared that thought with me. Homeschooling is VERY popular in the USA and many have chosen this form of education for their children. A final diploma from a secondary school level for home schooled children, is acceptable for entrance into college. The children must pass all the tests that are given at the end of each school year. This testing is done by the government in each state.

In most home school situations, one parent works and the other home schools, or both work part time and both have a share in the schooling. Other situations also exist and the schedules have to be worked out. Because home schooling takes less time than the child going to school all day, it is possible to cover all the lessons in less than three or four concentrated hours. Some children spend an hour or more, just riding the school bus to and from school. Then, they are sent home with two or three hours of homework, so with home schooling, it's all just HOME work. In my case, my husband worked full time, but still spent some time in the evening with our youngest son, teaching him lots of things. I sold jewelry, mostly on Saturdays and on a couple evenings a week, so I was home every day to home school.

@IreneVincent That really interesting. Here part time jobbers are less.