While Factcheck.org rebuts some of the extreme Creationist positions ascribed to VP-candidate Sarah Palin it seems to have awakened the Dems on the potential education issues could have to move the needle.

The Republican position on the topic seems somewhat pro-forma, and their ability to get anything done with a Dem-controlled congress seems suspect, Obama, if elected, has the potential to really shake things up.

[W]e can't settle for schools filled with poor teachers.

Hard to know which way Obama is going to flop on this issue should he be elected, but it seems to me like it could be a really positive issue for him to support. At least if he wants to regain some momentum amongst independents.

Four boys under nine and homeschooling. Wow!

The secret of home-schooling, however, is that you don’t have to be a master teacher to do it well. Energy, dedication, and good materials are what you need. Your competition, meanwhile, is a system that by design and necessity seeks the median. Public (and many private) school students have to move along in all subjects at a similar pace, and in the same order. Outliers — the talkative, the energetic, the gifted, the struggling — are labeled and interventions (counseling, special classrooms, tutoring, medication) prescribed. The goal is not a full realization of the child’s potential, but rather the system’s smooth functioning.

While I can understand the reasoning of a factory-like model in the public school system -- there are a lot of kids to render after all -- one hopes that a more Socratic mentorship model (maybe without some of the teacher with "benefits" aspects, though that exists in the public schools too) might be a better educational experience for your kids.

I also appreciate that the writer, "Tony Woodlief" has "...a willingness to walk away from home-schooling itself if a better alternative emerges." If it isn't just a personal jihad against public schools with your own children as the hostages, homeschooling needs to be based on results. And if you can't get the results you are looking for; find alternatives. Even if you don't like them. It's not about you.

A tip of the hat to Instapundit

Sad but true.

According to a conservative estimate of six hours of school five days a week for nine months of the year, Bolduc faces an estimated 14,400 hours trapped in an endless succession of nearly identical, suffocating classrooms.

This nightmarish but undeniably real scenario does not take into account additional time spent on homework, extracurricular responsibilities, or college, sources said.

"I can't wait until school is over," said the 3-foot-tall tragic figure, who would not have been able, if asked, to contemplate the amount of time between now and summer, let alone the years and years of tedium to follow.

Too, too funny... hey I suffered through it. Now it's your turn.

A nice piece from Mickey Kaus.

NYC schools chief Joel Klein called for a single national testing standard. Groff, a crowd favorite, made the conventional local elected officials' objection that you need flexibiity, one size doesn't fit all, "what works" in County X might not work in County Y. And he was booed! Loudly. By Democratic education wonks. Wow.

It's been a long time coming.

On August 8, the same three judges reversed their prior ruling (with a reasonable exception in the event of child abuse) and have allowed that parents have a legitimate right to homeschool their children. Although no doubt the judges simply followed the law, the massive outcry by parents, the Govenator, and AG, and many others, perhaps helped point them to additional data in making their decision.

A set-back to the teacher's union and a victory for 160,000 children and their parents. Hooray for us.

As more people opt to work from home there is both a proliferation of scams and commensurate bad advice on how to address it. Such as this article in the Seattle Times:

Those who say you can earn a living working at home with your personal computer are engaging in wishful thinking, or they're trying to sucker you into a pyramid scheme in which you spend your day e-mailing similar offers to other potential suckers. These "jobs" are nothing but a racket. Be careful.

An annoying overstatement, but it does pay to be careful and know who is offering the position and their reputation.

The FTC has lots of articles on how to avoid work at home scams. The Better Business Bureau is also a good place to check out the credibility of an organization. And, I would be remiss if I did not mention our own website, FoundValue, where we are attempting to put together a valuable resource for home-based work of all kinds (including some of the unpaid but work-like activities such as homeschooling).

I admit to being attached to the idea of homeschooling. Maybe enough to give it a try. Maybe. Clearly a serious issue (not the only one by any means) with the public school system is the inability to get rid of incompetent teachers. It's easier to get rid of bad teachers http://www.slate.com/id/2195147/ than it is to hire good ones (due to difficulties in predicting who will be any good without any prior teaching history).

However, this begs the question of home schooling parents — at least those who are too a large part incensed by what they perceive as the perceived poor quality of much of the public school system — will you test yourself? Will you hold yourself equally accountable? Will you fire yourself if you aren't making the grade? And then what?