Quote: "Also, what do you make of the statistics that say that homeschooled children are academically above their peers? Despite not having 'experts' teach them, they are achieving at higher levels; I'm curious what you make of that."
I can tell you exactly why. Low salaries and ridiculously low qualification standards for teachers these days. You really should go online to the education school at your local university and look at the required courses for teachers these days.
I think this is the bottom line. I think teachers want to teach. They want to give that extra attention and find ways to encourage the children's minds to blossom, but the school systems shut them down. I've done some grant work for organizations that are trying to prevent teacher burnout. The fact that so many teachers go on year after year working so hard and accomplishing so much is a testament to their character and dedication. If our society truly valued teachers, paid them enough, funded their programs, and got out of their way, our schools could be outstanding.
My husband's cousin is a third grade teacher, and if she wants her kids to have paper, pencils, crayons, glue, etc., SHE HAS TO BUY THESE THINGS OUT OF HER OWN POCKET. She works in a poor school district. There shouldn't be any such thing as a poor school district.
