Home Schooling Versus Public Schooling

Editorial: City schools must stop 'Us vs. Them' policy tactics

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You might think that, with the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School having completed its first year and moving forward with up to 200 students in the fall, city school officials would now be seeking ways to work with the city's new public, independent school to enhance their own programs.

No such luck, of course.

A year after an embarrassing flap — telling some students in the All-City School Band they'd be barred from participating if they went to the charter school — city school officials are now poised to essentially cast that misguided policy in stone.

The School Committee is expected to vote Wednesday on a policy change that would block students outside the city-run public schools from participating in any district extracurricular, city school activities.

Outside students currently enrolled in city school programs would be "grandfathered" in for the fall. And, in addition to students at Gloucester Community Arts, the policy would also bar participation in the school district's after-hours programs by students who attend St. Ann School and Eastern Point Day School as well.

But it doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out that the prime target is the charter school, which city school officials and some parents continue to fight tooth and nail, rather than seeking ways to adapt to it as an alternative choice for parents.

There is, to be fair, a context to the School Committee's move.

The policy change, city school officials say, is designed to emphasize what Gloucester's public schools have and others don't in what seems to be a more and more competitive fight for public school students — and, of course, the real concern, the state funding that comes with them.

It's important to note that Gloucester's competition isn't just the charter school, St. Ann, or any of the private schools that also attract Gloucester students and their parents. Under the state's "school-choice" policy, Gloucester schools — while drawing some students from other districts — continue to lose ground there as well, covering the $5,000-per-student tuition costs for more than 200 students who chose to attend other public school districts this past year.

The Top 10 Steps To Success In Homeschooling Children | Homeschooling

Homeschooling has become very popular in recent years, but it’s not for everyone. Some parents and children do extremely well in a homeschooling environment, while others seem to struggle. So what characteristics are needed for parents to be able to successfully homeschool their children? Here are some of the most important steps that lead to homeschooling success.

1. First of all, you will want to make sure that you have a good relationship with your children and enjoy being around them quite a bit of the time. If you have lots of emotional and behavioral difficulties in interacting with your children, homeschooling may not be the best choice for you.

2. As far as academic requirements are concerned, just be sure that you know how to read, write, and handle basic math such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.

3. Having good communication skills is also vital to being a good parent teacher, so try to develop your listening and speaking skills as much as possible.

4. One important quality to cultivate in order to be successful in homeschooling your children is patience. Unless you’re an extremely impatient person, you should be able to develop this quality to the point where you can successfully teach.

5. Developing observational skills is important to successful homeschooling as well. You need to be able to determine when a child needs extra help and attention in certain areas by simple observation.

6. Of all the qualities needed for homeschooling, perhaps the one that has more of a bearing on your success is developing a sense of humor. You need to be able to keep the daily lessons as fun as you can, and be willing to laugh at yourself, not taking yourself and the children too seriously.

7. Being persistent in the face of opposition can be very important to homeschooling success as well, as many families face resistance from family or friends that can sometimes be very discouraging. At the same time, perseverance in the face of this opposition can oftentimes cause them to accept your decision later on.

Be sure to understand this informative article rather carefully, the challenge and the options have many differences. 8. Having the ability to organize and prioritize your daily schedule and activities is a very big ingredient for success in homeschooling. It’ll often seem as if there is not enough time in the day to get both your schoolwork and housework taken care of. The better your organization skills in this area, the better results you will usually get.

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