Image via Flickr CC
I am a product of our society’s public education system, with a bit of private Christian education at the end (using the same model as the public schools but with Bible class and school uniforms thrown in.)
To be honest – I loved school in my elementary and middle school years. I was totally the class nerd, usually known as one of “the smart kids”. I wasn’t all that popular, but I took great pleasure in earnestly doing my assignments and receiving top grades with little effort.
Due to a series of circumstances, I ended up at 3 different schools during high school, including a cross-country move with my family the summer before grade 12, which made things tough. Despite this bump in my education, I managed to go on to a 4-year bachelor of arts degree, majoring in Philosophy, graduating at the top of my class with distinction.
I guess you could say that I was an intelligent kid with lots of potential and a love for learning. So what happened? Well, it’s a bit of an anti-climactic ending: I grew up, got married, had 3 kids, and am enjoying a completely fulfilling life as a homemaker and writer, with no end of dreams and hopes for the future. Awesome, right?
Image via Flickr CC
Unfortunately not all children emerge as relatively unscathed as I. With the institutionalized system of education as it is now, there is little room for variation. The system is set up to churn out replicas of the “ideally educated student” instead of unique individuals with a wide variation of creative expressions of their gifts and abilities. As Sir Ken Robinson points out:
Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not — because the thing they were good at at school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized.” (TED: How schools kill creativity)
There are so many finer points of the educational system today that concern me. I am disturbed by several things, including:
– The homogenized classrooms of same-age students (not a natural phenomenon in the rest of society, and certainly not even effective, given that children all develop at different rates in different areas)
– The immense burden of homework placed on kids as young as the first or second grade effectively ending free play time altogether.
– The serious lack of exposure to the outdoors (this is a grave injustive expounded upon by this excellent book)
– The ridiculous and rigorous standardized testing that students are forced to endure (which does nothing to benefit them and is a terrible way to measure success considering that not all are “good at” taking tests which clearly skews results anyway)
– The lack of breadth of subjects covered (who decided that math, science, history and reading were the most important and that the arts, handicrafts, nature study, creative free play, foreign languages, handwriting, and character training were somehow inferior?)
Image via Flickr CC
You may think of me as one of the lucky ones, having graduated from the system with a love for knowledge and a creative spirit still intact. I contend, though, that I emerged this way in spite of my education, not because of it. I wonder what expressions of my gifts and talents went undeveloped because I was too busy dutifully working my way through twelve long years of state-mandated curriculum created by a group of nameless, faceless “experts”.
Now for a disclaimer: I resolutely believe that there are some wonderful school teachers out there that work hard, love the kids, and are doing incredible things in those kids’ lives. Sadly, I think they are doing this in spite of the system, not because of it. I know that homeschooling is not an option for everyone – some have no choice but to send their kids to public school for various reasons – and I believe that it is certainly possible to flourish in that system. I just think that the odds are against it.
Once I understood the overarching philosophy of education as instituted in our current society, it was undeniably clear that I wanted something different for my kids.
This TED Talk, given by Sir Ken Robinson, is an absolutely mandatory piece to this conversation. If you have not yet seen it – I implore you to do whatever it takes to watch it as soon as humanly possible.
Vanity Fair described the talk with astuteness:
If there was a moment when our crisis in education hit critical mass it may well have been the date Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk went up on YouTube. In just 19 minutes his wry but eviscerating presentation gave voice to what so many of us are living through: our schools are failing to recognize creativity; we’re failing to prepare the next generation for the challenges that lie ahead.”
In his book, Sir Ken Robinson says:
The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed — it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.” ― Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Links & resources that have inspired and convicted me?
Can Too Much Homework Make Your Child Sick? Study Finds ‘Clear Connection’ Between Students’ Stress and Physical Illness | The Daily Mail (on a scholarly study published from the Stanford Graduate School of Education)
Thirty Minutes Tops | The Huffington Post (a brilliant piece of satire – not to misunderstood as being aimed not at the teachers, but in fact at ‘the system’ of industrialized education.)
School Starting Age: The Evidence | The University of Cambridge Research Department
Nurturing Children: Why Early Learning Doesn’t Help | Institute of Marriage and Family Canada
Why Are Finland’s Schools So Successful | The Smithsonian Magazine Online
America’s Dumbest Idea: Creating a Multiple-Choice Test Generation | The Guardian
When an Adult Took Standardized Tests Forced on Kids | The Washington Post (and the follow-up interview)
I read that last piece when it first was published a couple of years ago, and loved it so much. The school board member who took the test had this to say:
I won’t beat around the bush. The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a ‘D,’ and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.
It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate. I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities….
It might be argued that I’ve been out of school too long, that if I’d actually been in the 10th grade prior to taking the test, the material would have been fresh. But doesn’t that miss the point? A test that can determine a student’s future life chances should surely relate in some practical way to the requirements of life. I can’t see how that could possibly be true of the test I took.”
The undeniable truth is that the public system of education (as it is in North America) is failing to empower our children to find and live out their passions and gifts. Tragically, in many cases, it kills the inherent love for learning and creativity that exists in every child, and is producing generations of unfulfilled automatons in the cogs of society.
While I believe that there are excellent teachers who are doing amazing things, and that the system can, in fact, turn out success stories, I believe that it’s an uphill battle. It’s a battle that I do not want to fight, and so my husband and I have chosen to educate our children at home with the hopes of nurturing their creativity, uniqueness, and love for learning.
This has been a five year journey of coming to these conclusions and figuring out the path we want to take. Along the way, I’ve finally reached a conclusion for what I *do* want my children’s education to look like, and so I will be publishing (have published…) a follow-up to this post called “The Homeschooling Philosophy That Finally Captured My Heart“. I finally found the answer to that question last summer, and I have been learning and preparing since then.
At some point soon we will dive into official homeschool lessons for our oldest child (currently 5.5 years old), and I cannot wait to tell you all about the philosophy that has won my affections – it’s exciting and inspiring!
What was your educational experience? Do you feel that it served you well?
AN UPDATE (2015/2016 school year):
Although we felt passionately about our homeschooling decision when we made it, our family recently came to the conclusion that public school – while not our ideal – was our best option in this current season of our family’s life. I wrote about that decision in this post. We continue to feel that homeschooling is the best option in an ideal world, but like I said above – there are many reasons why it doesn’t work for some families. We are currently acclimatizing to the school system, and figuring out how to best support and supplement our kids’ education in it. I hope to write more about this soon!
Margo, Thrift at Home
I am a certified high school English teacher, so I know all the problems with the school system that you pointed out. I agree with those problems, but my husband and I are choosing a different solution for our family. Our kids go to the neighborhood elementary school downtown in our little city. We are connected to our city and the people we see around town. We appreciate the diversity on many levels that our family is engaged with by being part of a public school. We talk A LOT about this as our kids encounter different ways of doing life. And at home, we are deliberately teaching our kids the skills and attitudes that the school is leaving out. Every year, my husband and I toss this decision up in the air again, so the homeschooling option is not off the table (several of my dear friends are homeschoolers). We don’t think of ourselves as missionaries at the school or in our neighborhood, but we believe deeply that communities function best with all kinds of people and if all the concerned, involved parents pull their kids out of public schools, that is a slap in the face to the parents who don’t have our choices. However, I respect the choices of each individual family and who knows how our hearts will change and our children will grow. . .
Beth
I totally get what you’re saying. And I agree with so much of it! My husband and I have often considered doing what you are doing as well, due to the fact that I have to work part-time, and fitting homeschooling in is quite the challenge. Honestly, it’s not one that I’m doing well at right now. We’re working on that actively in the next month or two, and hopefully getting into some new grooves.
It’s a tough thing to figure out the right path for your family, for each unique kid, and for your community involvement! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!!
Sarah
I am so happy that my children are able to attend Montessori through our…public school system in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My children attend a great school and Montessori allows for learning to be shaped around the individual child’s needs and interests. The success of our school in our city brings light to a method of education that “follows the child” and values grace, courtesy and community. Access to public Montessori has been growing and hopefully more families will consider it as an option to for their children.
Natalia
Everytime I read an article giving ample information for why homeschool children succeed & there are ample statistics and articles out ther; It never fails that someone has to say “yeah but I met a (many) homeschooler once (often) and he (she or they) was (were) weird, unprepared for life, not very smart, (or other…insert ***worry*** here) ”
Would anyone like me to list the people that I, my husband, my siblings, my husband’s siblings, etc… went to school with that are weird, not ready for life, living in mom’s basement playing videogames, over thirty years old & a drain on society, not smart, underachievers, lazy, trouble makers, drunks, addicts, deadbeat mothers and fathers, well…the list goes on and on and on & if you don’t believe me just take a look on Facebook for all the people I graduated (or they almost graduated) with 12 years ago, or my sister graduated with 20 years ago or my oldest brother graduated with 24 years ago.
Some people fail at their life in spite of the education they are given, they are also “weird” in spite of the education they are given. As far as unprepared for life, I’ve never met a generation such as today’s who is more unprepared for life or for reality especially so in the public school system. The public schools, where everyone gets an award for showing up & only sweet & encouraging things are allowed to be said & where the teacher can’t give the child a fare appropriate grade because mommy and daddy will come to school to harass the teacher, principle, superintendent, etc…if their precious snow flake doesn’t get that ‘A’ they think they deserve even though they never did their work, never attended class and never tried.
Yup, sounds like they’re being prepared for life. Uhm…not really.
The true issue is parents, they’re lazy, selfish & they coddle their children because their children are an extension of their egos. That’s an issue in public schools, homeschools as well as private schools. Parents aren’t preparing JR for life because they’re too busy running to the store to buy Jr the latest clothes, gadget, movie, etc… They’re too busy running JR ragged from one activity to the next, from one social interaction to the next. Anything and everything to avoid spending the needed time a parent needs to with their own child to pass on wisdom and truths that will prepare that child for life away from mom & dad. Parents can’t set their phones and electronics aside for a second to interact with their children. Moms are so worried about filling their “me” tank that they don’t see their rolls as vital, beautiful, a blessing, & enjoyable. Instead they count the hours they’ve “put in” & begrudge every minute of their lives.
Society as a whole is the problem. Until we die to self & find joy in serving others we’re all headed for ugly things.
Danielle
Hi, I am looking into home schooling my two daughters ages 6 and 7. I was wondering if you have any websites that you can recommend. Thank you!
write for kindle
My sister advisable I could such as this web page. Your dog used to be totally right. This particular article really created my personal working day. You cannot envision basically how a great deal time period I’d used in this data! Appreciate it!
Jennifer Jones
Love this, Beth! Kellen and I have decided to take the homeschooling route as well. I look forward to reading about your plan and homeschooling adventures!
darcee n
After homeschooling my 2 youngest for almost 3 years I finally had to admit defeat. When we first started, me and my husband were excited, prepared and continued having great ideas to help our girls learn and progress in their education. Our girls were excited. Then we moved to a new state. Although we searched, we were unable to find homeschooling groups or co-ops. It was important to us that the girls had social interaction with other home schoolers. My girls were lonely and although they did well, homeschool became a source of frustration and upset for them. They wanted to be with other childen their age. My husband and I finally decided after many months of prayers and tears (my tears) we would send them back to public school. My girls are happy and have adjusted very well. I wish it could have turned out differently.
Naomi
After homeschooling for first grade, it was public school all the way for me too (I ended up majoring in Philosophy as well!). I really really enjoy and agree with Robinson’s talk, unfortunately homeschooling isn’t really possible where I live. Or, at least, it takes a whole lot of hoops and red tape. Besides that, my children need to function in the language where we live, which I can’t provide. I hope as they get older we can switch, however, as the options after grade 9 are either super academic (and stressful) or lean a trade (without that broad education I would wish my kids to have).
I’m interested in what education philosophy you adhere to! There seem to be so many that have so many good points (even when they contradict each other).
Belle
Well said! I’ve been homeschooling my munchkins for 13 years now… and I have learned one thing for sure. 🙂 Just like parenting, education isn’t a one size fits all solution! I’m a pigeon-holer by nature but when I look at the beautiful creation that each of my children are, I find that I can tailor things to each of them and their needs and interest as well as lead them to a solid understanding of the basic needs…… I hope. 😉 My oldest is in high school still…. so we’ll see. As a blanket statement I would say that I am heavily weighted to the classical education mind-set with a twist of Charlotte Mason and blanketed by un-schooled hands on exploration and discovery! Hehehe, how’s that for explaining myself?
Katherine
I’ll be interested in reading about your philosophy and your homeschool plan. My background is in education. I’ve taught in a variety of schools in a couple different states. I completely agree about the problems our public education system has. Although I don’t think homeschooling is the answer. The problem with public schools goes much deeper than the schools themselves and is a result of society. I would assume most parents want their children to be able to function well in society. I’ve not met many homeschooled children who don’t grow up and have more challenges than necessary due to being homeschooled. Education can not be a one size fits all. That’s one of the problems with public education and it can easily happen being homeschooled. I’m very close with a family who has homeschooled all four of their children. All of them had challenges getting into college. One of them seems to do really well and be really sucesseful. Another one has difficulty making decisions and has trouble expressing themselves and communicating with people. Of course I can go on and on about the things I’ve noticed. The point is your child will be an adult one day and need a job. They might have to work in an environment that isn’t ideal. School prepares them for this. They learn social skills and problem solving skills that won’t take place in a homeschool environment. I think it’s beneficial if children go to public school and have strong parent involvement outside of school. Parents can fill in the gaps in the evenings, on the weekends and over the summer. The problem is very few parents do that or even feel they have time to do that. The main point is Children need a variety of learning avenues and we need to think about how this will impact their future chances of getting into college, getting a job and functioning well in society.
Jennifer
I completely agree. This has always been my concern with the children who are home schooled. My kids go to public school and my middle schooler has learned to not only get along with her classmates and how do work with them, but also 9 different teachers with 9 different teaching styles/expectations. She is learning what works and what doesn’t. I feel that this, more than anything else, will prepare her for the real world. Not what she learns in the classroom as much as what she learns about dealing with others who are not in line with her own thinking. The people I know who home school their children do so because they don’t want their kids to be mixed with children whose beliefs don’t align with theirs. This is a large mistake in my opinion. How “tolerant” are they going to be of co-workers and bosses that don’t have beliefs that line with theirs? IF they don’t ever learn from anyone else besides mom and dad, I fear for how long they will last in the work force
JC
Awesome post! I’ve been homeschooling for a few years now. Sadly I didn’t get to do this from the beginning but I did get there eventually. I too am a product of a public education. I fit well into their system and ended up with a Masters degree in Molecular Biology. I’ve worked in Academia most of my adult life either doing scientific research or teaching at the local University. Eventually I realized I would never make enough money to make it worth working outside the home (Working harder than almost any professor on campus my take home pay was 1,000 a month at most), especially after having my son. My older two children (adopted) went to both public and private schools before we brought them home and all that accomplished was give them a dislike for learning. We still struggle because they have little motivation to learn. They have little interest in the possibility of going to college. In the meantime my 7 year old is very independent and would hate school by now if he had ever gone. He likes to do things his way instead of “the right way”. He does everything with humor and a lot of talking. He wouldn’t last a week in public school. I am just thankful we still have the freedom to do this in our country. I really always thought my kids would go to public school but thankfully God had a different plan for us and my kids have the benefit of an individual education and they would not have it any other way! I know sadly many do not have this option but I think if enough people could do this our system would have to change.
Kmarie
It depends on how you define success in adulthood. In order to homeschool you have to also change your whole opinions on life in adulthood and what makes success? Is it really too fit in, get a standard job and be assimilated? Is college really the answer to happiness?Most adults I know are unhappy, unaware, restless, discontent and still searching for their meaning. Even if they are in fields they love or graduated top in their class. I have different goals for my children. I want them to grow up self aware. We teach them about handling emotions, differing faiths, cognitive therapy (a word they know well), yoga and meditation for self healing, boundaries in relationships…and to live in the NOW. I tell them that they already are WHO they are in this moment. They do not have to wait to be a “grown up” to experience life. They do not have to answer the stupid question,”What do you want to BE when you grow up?” I tell them to BE NOW. When they are hopefully old and grey, I KNOW they won’t look back and say, “Boy am I ever glad I took the job in that firm.” or “Those years of expense in school were worth every penny and the lack of time I had with the people that mattered.” Instead I want them to say, “Life is tough and beautiful. From the time I was young I learned this but I also learned that I mattered. To stay connected and compassionate, from childhood I learned to engage in the outdoors, with the few people who mattered, and with myself. I lived well despite what work I did or did not do. The wisdom I gained was not just for knowledge’s sake and I learned to be comfortable with myself no matter where I was. I lived in the NOW with meaning.”
Lauren
Well said my friend! You handled this with grace and truth :0)
reb
aw, kindred spirits. totally unrelated to the main topic of your post: i moved across the country in the middle of my freshman year of high school and i majored in art history in college where i graduated top of my class. 🙂
Lia
Beth
What a wonderful article. You express everything I believe about the system. I have seen the Sir Ken Robinson TED talk just recently. So inspiring. Unfortunately homeschooling is not an option for us right now. My son will be attending a STEM magnet school next year for K. We will wait and see how it goes.
Tracy Spangler
Thank you so much for posting something so important and again, relevant to my life as well! I really enjoy your blog!
My eldest daughter is 7-years old. Due to family pressures she attended a Christian preschool part-time although we are more Buddhist in our view of life. After that she attended public school for kindergarten and half of first grade. We made the decision initially to have her do online schooling due to a couple reasons. The first was that she was getting sick very frequently, which was alarming considering how healthy she usually is. When I questioned the school about it I was told they do their best to encourage hand washing, but there’s not much they can do. I understand teachers are busy and funding is tight, but I would have been happy if there were at least hand sanitizer bottles available( even though it’s been proven they’re not that useful- something has to be better than nothing!), or a brief lesson given on how to cough into your elbow, not onto other kids. After my daughter caught lice, the stomach flu, then a respiratory infection, one after another each time we sent her back to school, even she was fed up. I was also frustrated by the stereotypical gender roles that were enforced, knowingly or not, by staff and the other children. When my daughter was younger she loved playing with cars, dinosaurs and her favorite color was blue. Once public schooling began my husband and I heard more and more often that she could no longer like certain things as those were only for boys. We’d do our best to encourage her to like what she liked and be true to herself, but she was already feeling peer pressure to fit in.
We’ve tried online schooling and it has been a disaster! The programs seem more intent on teaching children as little as possible , while making sure parents are always a step behind on keeping up with the mandated four hours a day of learning. We were told online learning would combine classic reading and homework with minimal computer usage. Once my daughter was enrolled we learned that despite being sent seven large boxes of paperwork for my daughter and ourselves, textbooks and books and even an air filled globe (!), all of the learning for 4 hours each day was supposed to take place on a computer. Have these teachers ever tried to get a seven-year old to sit in one place for even an hour?!
Online schooling is absolutely not for us. I was also dismayed that the computer time did not involve any interaction with students her age which is what we were told. So, moving on – we are now going to homeschool! Initially we avoided homeschooling because my husband was homeschooled in a strict Christian fashion, by a (I’m sorry to say it) lazy mother, and it did nothing to endear him to homeschooling. Luckily, by reading the statutes required by our state and county I’ve learned that we can wait until our daughter is 8 years old to begin homeschooling. I like that idea. Not only does that give us time to prepare lesson plans and such, but that gives her much needed time to work on her art, run outside with the chickens and dog and just be a kid. I loved school, and made friends with librarians, but my daughter is not me and she needs a different model of teaching and learning to fit her unique personality and needs. I don’t want her, or her younger sister to spend their years in school trying to act like their peers, as my daughter was already doing in kindergarten. I want to encourage her to be herself, teach her while at the park and encourage a love of learning for all things, not just the core curriculum public schools have mandated.
I can’t wait to read your next post on the homeschooling philosophy you’ve chosen! Again, thanks so much for posting something with so many useful posts, and writing about this important decision we get to make as parents.
Tracy S.
Rachel
I am saddened by how awful the public school system has become and understand everything you had to say. I totally respect your perspective and actually have to answer this question all the time as a public school [substitute] teacher married to another public school teacher. Thankfully our daughter is still a toddler so I don’t have to take one action or another right this minute.
I have felt convicted lately about being a light to others in our community. Because of that, and the hypocrisy I couldn’t live with if we sent her to private school or homeschooled her, I am pretty sure she’ll go to public school. I am fully aware I’ll be ‘that parent’ who runs the school auction, spearheads the walk-a-thon, etc.
If there aren’t parents who care about their kids’ education in public schools, they are just going to get worse. And no, I don’t think I’ll be laying my children on the altar as a sacrifice but I do think that God is calling some of us to keep our families in the world as salt and light.
I know it’s not for everyone but prayerfully, that is the conclusion my husband and I have come to. Again, I know I might be among few who feel called to do this, but an article on Christianity Today inspired me to continue to consider sending our kids to public school (titled ‘Why we send our kids to the poorest public school’).
The real problem is parenting. If I didn’t have to be a parent, nurse, counselor, etc and just be an educator, there would be much less wrong with our public schools. Until I can fix THAT (she says with dejected sarcasm), I’ll be sending our children to public schools and supplementing their education at home.
Ashley P
There are many reasons why I want to homeschool my kids. (I currently only have 1, and he’s 8 months old, but I already have a curriculum picked out.)
While my creativity wasn’t squelched in either public or private school. Indeed, my 5th grade teacher is the one who encouraged me to write, and my English teacher in middle and high school (I had the same one for all 7 years) required me to submit my poetry to a statewide contest, resulting in my being published 4 times, and being one of the top of my state for my grade level 3 years in a row. But I was bullied. Horrendously. So was my husband.
I realize bullies are everywhere. I’m not so naïve to think that homeschooling will prevent that. I have another, bigger reason for homeschooling.
I was always one of the smart kids. I knew what a trapezoid and a parallelogram were in Kindergarten. I was given the opportunity to skip a grade when I was in 5th. But I didn’t want to give the bullies more ammunition to launch at me, and so I declined. I spent all of my time in a classroom with students who were slower than I was. And so I stagnated. I sat bored in class waiting for the other students to catch up, and so spent most of my time reading novels under my desk.
On the other hand, my husband was an average student and a slow learner. He had to read the text 2 or 3 times to understand it all. He was a hands-on learner. But once he grasps a concept, he never forgets it. His understanding runs deep. Very deep. He got mostly B’s and C’s and spent several hours doing assignments that only took me a few minutes. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just how he learns. He struggled to keep up as the rest of the class passed on to the next subject when he was only beginning to understand the last one.
Whether my children take after me or their father, I’ve seen what cookie-cutter classrooms do to children. I don’t want them stagnating like I did, and I don’t want them being left behind like my husband was. I’m still a fast book learner. And my husband can run circles around me on computer programs since he spent so much time with them hands-on.
Homeschooling provides opportunity for a student to learn on their own time and at their own pace. The curriculum we picked out is the same one my husband used the few brief years he was homeschooled. (He ultimately had to go back to public school when his mom couldn’t afford to not be working anymore.) He thrived when he was homeschooled, because he could spend as much time reading the text as he needed.
Not too fast. Not too slow. Children can learn on their time, at their own pace, and in their own way. That’s the reason we want to homeschool.
Laura Weymouth
I LOVE this, Beth! Seriously, I could have written this post myself. Our oldest is just shy of two now (with her little sibling still cooking in the oven) and I’ve been researching education systems and models extensively for the past year. I feel like I have a jump start on things since school is still a few years off for us, but I know there’ll be a lot of work to put in still before we get there, whatever we decide on!
What I want more than anything else is for my kids to grow up with a genuine passion for learning. I want them to be able to explore the things that pique their interest and to learn in ways that make sense to them and accommodate to their strengths and weaknesses. I especially DON’T want them dreading the beginning of the week when they’re only 6 or 7 years old!
Looking forward to hearing what the plan is for your kiddos 🙂
Lorina
Thank you for putting into words, the many thoughts I have had! I anxiously look forward to your follow up posts!
Kylie
We have similar public school experiences and I’m homeschooling my kids for many of these reasons as well. Another thing to realize is that teachers now have less freedom and flexibility in how they are even allowed to teach thanks to more rigid testing than when we were in school. I really feel for teachers these days. The environment they have to work in is really disheartening. I have met and read comments from several teachers, especially in the younger grades, who say after experiencing the public school system they will educate their own children at home. That says a lot.