Sam returns to public school in two days....

I certainly don't have as heavy a heart as when she started high school two years ago, and I enjoyed the unexpected blessing (despite the injuries that led to it) of having her home for most of her sophomore year. I still believe it's possible to secure a better education at home than in public school, given a motivated student, a wide and excellent range of resources and opportunities. Family life and relationships are greatly enhanced but public-school friendships dwindle. Holding onto TIME is a huge benefit. Public school seems to dominate and control all our time from the first day till the last day of school, everything must be planned around what the school is doing and requiring. At home, there's as much actual "schoolwork" but you are in charge and when you have downtime, it's because you've chosen it and it's not imposed upon you because you're waiting for a bell to ring or the auditorium isn't large enough to accommodate the whole school so you have to sit and wait your turn, etc.

Then there's the "lies of "the world, the flesh, and the devil" (Truth Project lingo) that you're pummeled with. I especially wish she could be doing AP US History with PA Homeschoolers, which was the best course Alexa ever took in any academic setting. Already, with the summer work for APUSH, the emphasis is not on learning and exploring but reciting back material from the text. I know nothing about her teacher; hopefully, he will direct the course in a stimulating, engaging, and open manner and prepare all his students for collegiate-level work. There are some truly great teachers at Freeport!

Was cleaning out some files on my desk and found this little ditty:

Public School Scam

Train them in order to manage them in large groups (or herds)
--use bells where necessary
--use rewards and punishments to achieve desired behavior
Guarantee everyone passes w/or w/o learning the material
Monopolize their time and keep them removed from parental
influence as much as possible
Sleep deprive them and return to home exhausted
Entertain them and confuse them to believe they are
being educated
Make them dependent on one another so they do not realize
that learning takes place through personal effort
and application