RE: [seul-edu] Home schooling question: parents better than

["Downes, Stephen" <Stephen.Downes@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca>]

Hiya,

My point, which was unfortunately misunderstood, is that many factors 
other than the home schooling could - and probably do - contribute to 
the SAT results.

It was on this basis that I suggested that the probable implicit 
conclusion - that home schooling is superior - is incorrect, on the 
grounds that if these other factors were not considered, then it 
followed that parents are better teachers  than teachers, which is 
implausible.

I should note that you cannot respond by saying that I did not consider 
the other factors. It is just this lack of consideration that I am 
complaining about.  That's why I argued that IF these factors were not 
considered, THEN the improbable conclusion results.

I am very aware that the home schooling environment is different from 
the classroom environment. In fact, my point was that certain salient 
features of this environment - which were not measured - may well have 
been implicated in the test results.

The suggestion that my reasoning is incorrect because it is "subjective" 
is disingenuous, to say the least, because my complaint just is that the
factors I cite were not measured in the data described.

When I complain that certain measurements have not been made, you cannot
accuse me of subjectivism on the grounds that the factors I mention have 
not been measured.

Finally, as for betting big money, I can only observe that it is 
fascinating how many people employ the Ramsey interpretation of 
probability theory without having the slightest idea what it is.
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Ramsey.html

This is especially ironic when contrasted with the complaints about
subjectivity.

-- Stephen

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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Leon Brooks [mailto:leon@brooks.fdns.net] 
> Sent: June 25, 2003 10:56 PM
> To: seul-edu@seul.org
> Subject: Re: [seul-edu] Home schooling question: parents 
> better than professionals?
> 
> 
> On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 08:28, Downes, Stephen wrote:
> > Well, if the conclusion implied by the argument below holds, that 
> > home-schooled children in the SATs do better because they were 
> > home-schooled, then it follows that parents - who typically have no 
> > professional or teaching credentials whatsoever - are 
> actually better 
> > at teaching that professionals who typically undergo years of 
> > university education in order to qualify for the same position.
> 
> You make the same mistake that you condemn. The educational 
> environment 
> is NOT just the teacher - it's a very long way from being just the 
> teacher. There are a whole swag of other factors which go into it.
> 
> For example, how many teachers know every one of their students from 
> birth right through their academic years to graduation? How is a 
> teacher to know that some non-academic factor (a romance, acne, a 
> hobby, who knows?) might be vastly helping or hindering a student's 
> performance in one or all areas? Who taught the children to speak, 
> dress themselves etc before they arrived at the school gate? Are 
> teachers free to give a despondent student a big bear-hug? If one 
> student takes an interest in lepidoptery, is it practical to stop the 
> whole show every so often and cart 30 students off into the wilds for 
> the day with butterfly nets?
> 
> The whole environment is different. The few studies which 
> have directly 
> addressed the issue hint that professional teaching qualifications do 
> not help and may on average *hinder* in a home-based educational 
> environment. I'll bet big money that's not a result you expected. (-:
> 
> So, as with the statistics, directly comparing not so much 
> apples with 
> oranges as apples with apple pie is dangerous. Kneading 
> doesn't help an 
> apple, and eating a pie as soon as possible only gets you burnt lips.
> 
> As I mentioned in my previous post to the topic, there will 
> be bias in 
> the SAT scores, but they are at least notionally objective. Your 
> statement was entirely subjective.
> 
> Cheers; Leon
>