From: Dana Hedberg (dah@signalinteractive.com)
Date: Thu Mar 16 2000 - 17:36:53 MST
EvMick@aol.com wrote:
[snip a little stuff]
> Home schoolers seem to be doing well. Irrelevant of the education of their
> parents they preform very well on national tests.....
>
> Why is that do you suppose?
>
> EvMick
> WildWood Florida.
I'd be interested in seeing a citation or web site for that statement.
But, if it's true I can venture a couple of reasons.
1. Parents deal with their children constantly. This results in a
deep(er) understanding of how best to relate new material to their child
for learning. If not explicitly, then perhaps intuitively.
2. Individualized attention. Another strong predictor of high grades and
scoring well on standardized tests is class size. The smaller the number
of students one has to teach, the more time spent with any one
individual student. Amount of time spent with a learner is a very strong
factor that soaks up a tremendous amount of variance in the distribution
of test scores. One of the arguments used against gifted programs that
generate better students is that it is merely a function of the small
class size on not the particulars taught.
3. It may be that parents teaching their children use methods that
worked for them when they were younger or when they attempt to learn
something new in general. It's possible that enough neurological
overlaps exists between child and parent that these learning methods are
better for the learning child's neurological architecture.
4. In general, apprenticeship-type programs are largely successful.
5. Parents who home school are much different than average parents in my
book. Their motivation and willingness to take something like this on is
probably indicative of a number of traits that will produce well scoring
children.
-Dana
-- ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* First freedom from, then freedom to.
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