GroshLink

Here's an excerpt from an excellent Op-Ed piece regarding differences of educational perspective (what is taught, how, toward what end, and at what price).  Note: in the fall, our three oldest children will be in public school with some playful exploration of additional educational opportunities at home, in our local congregation, and through summer programming.  Wish we could do it all, but there are limits to our time, energy, finances, and resources.  Any thoughts on the article from friends who have decided to invest in homeschooling, charter school, or Christian school?

Cognitive ability, personality and motivation come mostly from home. What happens in the classroom can have some effect, but smart and motivated children will tend to learn to read and do math even with poor instruction, while not-so-smart or unmotivated children will often have trouble with those subjects despite excellent instruction. If test scores in reading and math are the measure, a good school just doesn’t have that much room to prove it is better than a lesser school.

As an advocate of school choice, all I can say is thank heavens for the Milwaukee results. Here’s why: If my fellow supporters of charter schools and vouchers can finally be pushed off their obsession with test scores, maybe we can focus on the real reason that school choice is a good idea. Schools differ in what they teach and how they teach it, and parents care deeply about both, regardless of whether test scores rise. -- Why Charter Schools Fail the Test (Charles Murray. NY Times Op-Ed, May 4, 2010)