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Comment by devmor | Hacker News Reader

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That hasn't been my experience dealing with people who were home schooled, and I'm not aware of any such data.

Here's your chance to get up to speed -> John Oliver breaking it down in a lot more researched detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzsZP9o7SlI

The earlier comment suggests he would like to see the data, not a comedian's attempt to humorously analyze the data.

The data used is clearly listed in the John Oliver video, but you'd have to have checked to know that.

I don't comment on things I haven't read or watched, but it's clear not all of us do that.

There was nothing to suggest that it is not listed in the video... You may not comment without watching things, but it is clear you comment without reading things.

You clearly don't even read your own comments.

Actually, I went back to read it again just to make sure I didn't say that there was no listing of the data in the video. When I first read your comment you had me thinking I had said that, but nope, it wasn't there.

Maybe someone else said it? Did you accidentally hit the wrong reply button?

I've never seen his show cover any single topic where I have a lot of knowledge where I thought they did even a passable job at conveying facts. It is after all a "comedy" show.

Most criticism of homeschooling boils down to soft bigotry against religious minorities, and hippies.

John Oliver is a comedian, clearly someone with an agenda, that sends his children to very expensive schools where the issues that many children face while at school don't exist, and that doesn't mention any data other than anecdotal evidence to support his particular views.

> that sends his children to very expensive schools

Always look at where people talking about education send their own kids: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-teachers-union...

Most CTU members send their kids to CPS, or to one of the suburban public schools if that's where they live.

Maybe it's because they can't afford the private option?

CTU teachers are quite well compensated.

Are you sure? I assume younger teachers are the ones with younger kids starting school. I don't think paychecks for new starters and teacher assistants are that high. Unions usually care about employees with more years of service to the detriment of new employees.

Starting CPS salary is exactly where the average for the area is, but CPS also gets a huge amount of PTO, a good benefits package, and a defined benefit pension plan, and comp improves reasonably rapidly and (importantly) predictably. Rural teachers have it rough, but most of what you hear about teachers being underpaid doesn't apply so much to major blue city school systems.

> John Oliver discusses homeschooling, its surprising lack of regulation in many states, and, crucially, Darth Vader’s parenting skills.

This is a comedy bit. I've watched the first 7 minutes of this 24 minute video and the only research seems to be more conjecture.

I enjoy John Oliver too, but have you ever watched a segment on something you know really well?

> "Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them.

> In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know."

– Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

We don't have to deal with the consequences of failed public schools?

Problems with both education systems can exist at the same time. As a society, we can try to address the issues with both home schooling and the public education system, not just one or the other.

100%

Of course we do. But I don't think pulling kids out of public schools and then demanding that your tax money be diverted away from public schools because you aren't using them is going to fix them.

It does sound like a good plan to promote if your goal is to dismantle the public education system though.

That's a bit of a straw man, I don't mind if my tax money goes to educating my child's peers.

That’s great. But there are a lot of political pushes for things like voucher programs trying to pull money away from public education in favor of private options.

If people want to homeschool or private school while still supporting the public school system I take no issue with that.

It seems to make sense to pay for the school you are using. Be it public, private or homeschooling If schools have been failing to prepare students for reality like some Baltimore schools, those schools losing students until they eventually shut down due to a lack of enrollment is the best fate for those bottom 20% of schools. It's bad to support and continue the existence of a school who cannot teach students to meet reading writing math or science expectations/Test scores

We all benefit from the existence of good public education, even if our own children do not use it. Cutting funding to government programs that are important to society because those programs clearly need help and reform also isn't the way to fix them.

Of course we do. But we can address public schooling issues with policy. We can’t use policy to make parents into good teachers.

> But we can address public schooling issues with policy.

Available evidence indicates that hasn't been working very well lately.

Or, to put it another way, if we can address it with policy, we can make it worse with policy. Do you trust the competence of the policy makers? Do you trust the competence of those who vote for the policy makers? If you're going to trust them, then you probably might as well trust the homeschoolers too.

Policy can and has done both positive and negative things to public schools. I wouldn't bet the farm on the next increment of policy going one way or the other

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