Wednesday, November 11, 2009

School in North Carolina sells test points but this homeschool won't

A little blurb on Fox News caught my eye today. A middle school in North Carolina is selling test points to students. The principal is on board with the idea as well as the school's parent advisory council. Twenty test points for twenty dollars. The students who buy the points can add them to any two tests. The principal rationalizes this by stating that it is not enough to impact a students overall grade. I don't know how accurate that is since the purchased points can bring two failing test scores up to a passing score.
What message does this send to the children who can't afford to spend twenty bucks on a better grade?
Does this encourage students to work harder and study more diligently?
This idea came about since the school's chocolate selling fundraiser failed. I don't think that is the only thing that failed at that school.

The State Department of Instruction thinks this is wrong and so do I.

Read the original article on Fox here.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

There Is No Substitute

Recently I was having brunch with some other mommies whose children were in elementary school. They were discussing what the qualifications were for a substitute and the chaos of their child's classroom when their teacher had been temporarily replaced.
As the only homeschooler in our group I didn't have much to add to the conversation but as I sat and listened I realized just how glad I was that I was in control of my child's education. Not to say that there isn't occasional chaos in our home, there is but it is a controlled chaos. Two children and one mom is a far cry from 25 children and one unfamiliar stand in who doesn't know they schedule or even their names.
For our family there is no substitute for homeschooling, we love it but there are times too that I am not feeling well or am totally overwhelmed. That is when I call in my substitute, Grandma!