That sounds like a really bad policy that you can't choose your school. I also read that school budget depends on property taxes which depends on the housing value in the area the school is in?

In the Netherlands schools compete for students, their budget depends on enrollment, with extra money allocated for students with a less privileged background. This way schools try to offer the best services to attract pupils. Also students as well as parents can influence school policy by means of a student and parent council.
For example this is a promo video for the highschool (college) I used to go to


I'm glad to read that open enrollment is making its way into the Canadian system. My kids are only 0 and 2, but it's never too early to start looking at your options. There is unfortunately also the curse of merging schools and closing smaller schools in Canada. Since I moved to my current location, 2 elementary schools close to my house have already been closed. Walking distance is no longer an option.

You are correct about the property values question. That is (also) why our system is so screwed up. Schools have a virtual monopoly in a given area, and no matter how good or how bad the school is, the kids are more or less forced to go there.

That is why a lot of us want a voucher system. Something that basically allows a child to go to any school - public, private, or homeschool - with it being fully paid for, up to a certain value (say $8,000 USD). That way, public and private schools would have to compete, and those who choose homeschool would at least have their books paid for (which would be about $500 USD/yr).

Some states have online courses that can be taken as a home schooling opition. The only problem with home schooling the parent and the child have to be motiviated. (Wisconsin has it own public online school, something I wish I had when growing up.)

My brother was taken out of school and home schooled because they kept trying to get him on ridlyn even though the problem he has was food allergies and we informed them of what he could and couldn't eat and they allowed him to eat what caused him to act up. We finally took him out and informed the state we were taking him out (so they lost the funding for my brother) We put him back in his Senior year in High School he graduated a year a head of everyone.

I disagree.  Homeschooling may not be best for everyone but it is far better for the vast majority of students.  Also, homeschooling isn't one sizes fits all.  There is more diversity in homeschooling in the US than all of the public schools in the US combined.

Everyone should have to share in the misery that is the Public School System.

Sure, but the best system is one that optimizes the cirriculumn for the students. I know plenty of kids that tried homeschooling with abysmal results because the parents really didn't care to do anything for the children. That is when it gets very dangerous for the homeshcooler.

Since the 1970s the deliberate dumbing down of the Public schools steps up its intensity. Public school children are taught to read with the "whole word" method, instead of simple phonetics. This method of reading -- which was originally invented to teach deaf mutes -- makes learning English as difficult as learning Chinese, which has thousands of symbols, instead of twenty-six letters. The ONLY purpose of the "whole word" method is to keep students from reading and finding out how corrupt and evil the bankers have become. "Tax-free" foundation money pays for the whole corrupt system; but home schooling and the Catholic school system expand tremendously, thwarting the moneychangers' plans, to some extent.

Actually, the whole word method was introduced because (roughly) 10% to 20% of children find it nearly impossible to read using phonics and these children learn to read quite well using the whole word method. Unfortunately, there are (roughly) 10% to 20% of children who find it nearly impossible to read using the whole word method so it was (mostly) a lateral move ... From my understanding, many private schools have used both methods for quite some time; in some cases they would split the class based on how well they were learning one way of reading and start teaching the students who were struggling with the other method. In contrast, when children have difficulty reading in public school they're often labelled as "Stupid" and the teacher argues that they have ADHD and need to go on ritalin ... Or that has been the case with two parents I know who have children that can't process phonics.

I had so much fun in public school and made loads of lifelong friends in it. i will never homeschool my children.

Where I live, home schooling is a great idea. Most government schools allow home schooled students to take 1 class a year for free in the government schools. So if a parent doesn't know trig or some other advanced subject and the student isn't able to teach himself, it isn't a problem. He can go to the government school, pay for a tutor, pay for an online class or take 1 of the many free online classes. The same is true if the parents have to travel around a lot. If the parents is a diplomat, actor, musician or something like that.

Benefits of home schooling? It allows students to work while going to school. For example, if the child is in a band or a child actor, it is very hard to go to school during the day with all of the traveling and filming. Being home schooled allows a child to finish school 2-4 years earlier or take classes around their busy schedule.

Home schooling is also great for people that are zoned to go to poor performing or dangerous government schools. It only costs a a few hundred dollars a year and some areas offer scholarships that cover all costs. It's really good for families if they want their children to compete in national competitions such as spelling, geographic, science or beauty competitions. During a typical day, 2-4 hours of time is wasted by government schools. Students can use this time to study the subject they are competing in.

Some people live in very rural areas that don't offer government schools. They usually have 1-3 choices. School by mail, online schooling or home school. For these students, home schooling is usually the easiest and least expensive option.