Growing Home Schooling, and Other Links

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1. Gabriel Odom says:

   January 9, 2013 at 2:59 pm

   “Every morning five-year-old Tristan starts his school day by reading in bed with his mother. He especially likes Enid Blyton. And even though he often doesn’t bother to get out of his pyjamas in time for his first class of the day, at the age of five he has a reading age of between seven and eight. He is also ahead of his peers in a variety of subjects—all, his mother reckons, thanks to home schooling.”
   I know a few home-schooling families, and their children are all very bright, socially adjusted miniature members of society.

   Concerning the tax on sugar sweetened drinks, this will only benefit public health if we include artificial sweeteners as well. Otherwise, the incentive will be to consume more diet drinks, which are just as bad – or worse – than drinks sweetened with normal sugar. “Pointing the finger more squarely at diet drinks, the researchers found no increased risk among people who drank regular soda.”
   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/daily-diet-soda-tied-higher-risk-stroke-heart-attack/#.UO3ZDG9QU3o

2. August says:

   January 9, 2013 at 3:34 pm

   “Employees who are more frequently asked and agree to do favors are more likely to become over-committed with low skilled tasks and, and this may prevent them from undertaking tasks that can lead to promotions. We argue that these gender differences in doing favors can help explain the persistent vertical segregation of in the labor market.”

   Scientific advice for the workplace!

3. Studebaker says:

   January 9, 2013 at 3:44 pm

   Around 2 million children are being home schooled — about the same number as attend charter schools.

   I don’t know what to think about this. Most home schooled kids are smart and well adjusted. Home School families that work with other home schooled families to coordinate classes, hire tutors, bring in guest speakers, organize field trips and plan outings that encourage socialization could foster a great educational experience.

   Unfortunately, once in a while I hear about families that are not really equipped to teach their kids at home attempting to do so just to prevent their kids from being corrupted by the world around them. Many years ago I met someone who was an adherent to a rather strange religious sect that decided to home school their kids. Schooling involved merely having the kids watch religious video tapes of dubious educational value.

   Home schooling could become a method of isolation and indoctrination to prevent kids from developing the life skills and education to ever escape their sheltered existence. I’m not saying this is the normal experience for home schooled kids – just a concern for a few of them. Proponents could also give counter examples of kids in failing public schools that never learn enough to succeed in the world. That is undoubtedly a far greater problem.

4. Buster says:

   January 9, 2013 at 3:52 pm

   A tax on sugar sweetened beverages that increased the price by 20% would lead to an average weight loss of almost 3 pounds over 10 years.

   Fascinating! I wonder how much weight people would lose on average if “fat” people were assessed a tax equal to $1 a month for every pound of excess body weight over their ideal weight? A fat tax that assessed a penalty on fat people would be far better than an arbitrary tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

5. Kyle says:

   January 10, 2013 at 8:49 am

   Careful Buster. I can hear the masses stirring at such a suggestion.

   Taxing the poor, instead of providing transfer payments would provide incentives for people to make more money.. I just wouldn’t want to be the one to suggest it.

6. Neil Caffrey says:

   January 10, 2013 at 10:21 am

   “Women are nicer than men.”

   -Debatable