Did it occur to you that some of those "old biddies" might have a passion for kids or some life experience to share? Or a good-for-nothing husband who needs to be kept in beer and potato chips? NO - lets just move aside so you and your hippie friends can show us how its done!

lol suzzer should move to FL if this is his concern. The old biddies are being run out by the corporate McCheese curriculum being pushed through legislative bodies.

Yeah, this. Everyone thinks of fundies when they hear "homeschool" but the reality is that secular homeschooling is growing a lot faster. The fundies will be a minority in the homeschooling universe pretty soon.

Do you have any evidence of the bolded? Also do you think that someone that has a PhD in their field and teaches college students on a regular basis needs additional training to teach high school seniors?

I guess I should have been more clear: Please cite the data on which your conclusions are based. Faith-based posting may be fun but it doesn't necessarily prove the point you think you are making.

Like, for example, I could easily declare that unrelenting attacks on teacher benefits are leading to more and more otherwise qualified people choosing career fields other than teaching, period, which obviously includes math and science teachers. I could also say that efforts to remove things like tenure and to enact requirements that teachers pay for benefit packages (which formerly were career perks) makes the stressful job of dealing with someone else's snot-nosed brats all day long even more stressful and (in the eyes of many) simply not worth it. And I could say that there is a shortage of qualified doctors and nurses and indian chiefs because, let's face it, those "arbitrary" educational requirements are just a total pain in the ass...who wants to deal with all of that?

And my points would be every bit as valid as yours because I didn't bother to back them up with any sort of data.

Wait wut? If "society has collectively agreed to fund a public education system" then shouldn't those same people decide what should be taught, rather than just you?

Florida is a good example of what I was just talking about. My fiance is a teacher and she often tells me that if she had it to do over again, and knew what was coming, she would have chosen a completely different career field. She has many colleagues who feel the same way. They're like, "If I had known I would be under constant attack by half the population just because of the job I do I would have gone into politics, there's more money in it!"

ETA: I actually considered going into teaching a few years ago. It is fairly easy (at least here in FL and despite TomCollins' misgivings) to become certified down here. But in light of the unrelenting attacks teachers here are facing (almost all from the right) and the fact that benefit packages are shrinking and the field is generally trending from crappy in the direction of really crappy. I foresee a big teacher shortage down here in the coming years.

Jesus Christ - you want to take kids out of school AND church? Why don't we just beat em to death with crack pipes?

Yes obviously that is what this thread is about, please get on board and help us be part of the solution.

I'm liking where this is going.

Yes, there is data. You need to be certified as a teacher and get certain degrees within specific amounts of time. Pay is based heavily on seniority. Public records are easily accessible to back this up.

I wasn't asking you to back up your assertion that teachers require certification. I am well aware of these requirements as I alluded above. (I happen to support teacher certification, for the most part, as it helps ensure that my kids aren't being taught by complete dumbasses, but that is beside the point).

What I am asking is that you either provide some sort of data showing that teacher certification requirements are causing shortages of qualified math and science teachers, or just post what I think is likely true: That this is what you BELIEVE but you have no actual evidence to back this up. That would be satisfactory.

Where is that? We've been trying unsuccessfully to find it, but it seems you know something everyone else doesn't.

Don't be so hard on yourself. We understand you can't help it.

The article in this thread.

Yes. I'm not sure what's difficult for you guys to wrap your heads around, but there's more to teaching kids than giving them facts. You have to meet psychological needs, know how to deal with issues, parents, etc... all of that public education teachers are trained to deal with and it's all necessary.

Having a certification doesn't mean the teacher isn't a complete dumbass. Not having a certification doesn't mean they are a complete dumbass. I'm against having our kids taught by dumbasses. Which is why the problem with our current certification process works against that.