"If they bring home one more coloring sheet, we're pulling them out!"

Recently a friend of mine did me a huge favor- she enrolled her homeschooled kids in a good public school.  This social experiment on her part saved me the trouble of doing it myself, as I can now glean all of her newly-acquired wisdom about education in America. Or, at least, in South St. Louis County.

Her husband was the one pushing for this social experiment. He had never felt comfortable with homeschooling and was unsure why his wife insisted on it.  After almost 5 successful years of their children learning at home, he finally talked his wife into trying the local public school, so they signed up their 9 year old twins for the winter semester.

Oh my, the kids had fun. They quickly made friends and were endlessly distracted at school by the parade of plays, recess, snack breaks, and so forth that make up 4th grade in South County. The school worked hard at integrating my friend's children into class and school culture with a 'no tolerance' position on bullying or teasing.

So... I asked... why are you guys going back to homeschooling now? Because the dad was insisting: "If they bring home one more coloring sheet, we're pulling them out!"  Because while the parents were pleasantly surprised at how much the kids enjoyed school, how nice one (just one) of their teachers were, how nice the school was, they were even more horrified at the actual education the children were receiving. Coloring sheets in fourth grade? Social studies programs that consist mostly of  'Indians lived in tents and wigwams' with a diorama thrown in for good measure? Simplistic math two years behind what their children had already mastered?  But the kids were learning- that boys don't play with girls, that parents shouldn't be around much, that old friends are supposed to bullied and that learning is dull. The kids who had loved to read before going to 'school' suddenly stopped reading, only a couple weeks into the semester. But even beyond all that- what the entire family learned was the point of schoolwork: not to get the right answer, but to give the answer the teacher was searching for, whether right or wrong.  They learned that grades and doing well on standardized tests are the true goals of education, and that analyzation or application get you big fat 'F's.

The kids now have mixed feelings about coming back home. What nine year old doesn't want to hang around with their friends all day?  But I hope they have the maturity and intelligence to understand their parents' decision and even appreciate it in the long run.