For the last couple of days an instance of school bus violence has dominated education news and blogs. Basically, a white student got on the school bus and no one would allow him to sit down next to them. (There where both white and black kids on the bus refusing him.) The driver yelled for the kids to sit down so he moved the book bag of a black kid and sat down. Other students began to instigate and the black boy who he sat next to attacked him. A few minutes later it appeared that the first attacker had … Continue reading →

Let me begin by stating that I do not believe for a second that by homeschooling my kids that they will not be exposed to swine flu or a similar kind of yuck. Just this year, we have experienced more yuck episodes than in the last few years. Our drama club was a hot bed of germs. We had stomach viruses. We had the flu. We had a second round of stomach viruses, and a little bit of strep come our way. Let me tell you, if you were in our particular group of homeschoolers, or remotely related to us, … Continue reading →

I just read an article by the education blogger about a family who felt humiliation might be the key to get their child to try harder in school. The family punished their kids for bad grades by making him stand on a corner for six hours with a placard announcing his bad grades and that his “future=shaky”. As homeschoolers we also have times when we feel a child is not putting forth his or her best effort academically. The thing is that lack of academic effort is usually a symptom of a bigger problem. As parents we must ask ourselves: … Continue reading →

Were you aware that students print cheat sheets in a very small font, then tape them to the inside of a water bottle label. The water magnifies the text, and walla! They get an easy A? Were you aware that students scan a coke label, and then edit in a graphic design program to have information on the exam instead of the ingredients? Neither did I? Did you know that you can purchase a pen that you can tape cheat information in and each time you click the barrel, it reveals more information? I am amazed. Did you know you … Continue reading →

Reports of an increase in students cheating has caught America by surprise. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey. In addition, 36 percent of students admitted to using the Internet to plagiarize an assignment compared to 33 percent in 2004. Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that “when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than … Continue reading →