Reasearch on schools

White, David Aaron. "Teen Views: Why is school important?" http://www.helium.com/items/1500101-why-is-school-important
This article is a written essay on one teens view on why school is important. He knows that school is such a drag going into how "It's annoying, it's boring". But then he argues the fact that if your parents are forcing you to go then it must be important. The first real argument given was the fact that knowledge is power. It helps you a great deal in life, from learning the different subjects in school helps you become more successful. The second argument is the fact that it helps you get into college, but then he also gives the answer to why college. He says that is to become more successful in life and getting a job to provide for yourself and your family. The other big thing about school he argues is besides the education it is a great way to create a social life. Most of the people you meet at school you will know and some will even become your friends and from their you have the opportunity to keep them though out your life. He also goes int the point that Henry had made, school gives you something to do during the day.
This article is probably not as professional as other sources you can find but I figure that it is in the point of view of a teenager, someone who has experienced all of what we are going through and has first hand knowledge. He can better relate to young readers who go to school rather then some older people who write long articles and essays about this topic. Not saying that the essay would not be full of knowledge it would just be kind of distant then what this article has written.


Barell, John. "Critical Issues: Working Toward Student Self-Direction and Personal Efficacy as Educational Goals" http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr200.htm
This critical issue summary begins to deal with the problem that learning has become much in the way of dependency, where the students are dependent on the teachers to learn something. Students have begun to have "passivity and a "tell me what to do and think" attitude". One point that is talked about is the characteristics of students who are responsible for their own learning. One characteristic is that a student is able to direct and manage change that as people we are responsible for our own lives. Teachers figured that to help students create skills like these they would provide opportunities where students can try to figure out their own learning. But it is still governed by the teachers. They over see the learning and direct kids into the direction of becoming independent where they can answer questions on their own. specific ways to do this is for the students to create goals and to create ways to achieve these goals. Some problems foreseen was that teachers may not be so willing to share control. Most of the time the students are learning from the teacher, where as with these methods, learning is shared both ways, the student also gets to teach.
This summary is a little more formal then the first one. It cites all it's information and is written so its easy to follow. There are also teachers and professors who have given their experiences and known facts in this article. Though in this case it is not solely based on opinion like the first one. There have actually been studies and many links to more facts and ideas about the methods given. It is also an interesting article and has many interesting ideas. While I was reading this, I also noticed many common factors in how SOF deals with teaching things.

"Why does School exist?" http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_school_exist
This article answers the question why does school exist? It goes into the very basic answer of because it helps you be successful. It also gives a little history about how in the past you worked a lot and you didnt have as many skills so your parents would hope someone would teach you, rather then going to school and learning a whole lot.
This passage is short and not quite as detailed. But it does bring up a point many would not have thought of when talking about what it used to be like. The answer is also very basic and you can get it from the first couple of lines, but it is new information and different examples from the first one. It is also a light read, which is better then all those long articles that hardly have a point or just ramble on and you get confused by the end.

"Social aspects of home education" http://home-ed.info/socialising.htm
This article outlines home schooling. In a very brief introduction, the article talks about how home schooled kids are better academically then kids that go to regular school. Then it proceeds to answer to questions that address socializing, Do home educated students have trouble socializing? and What do we mean by social skills? Then proceed to answer the questions in two paragraphs each. It argues that kids at home school though many people would disagree are quite adaptable with socializing just like the many students that go to schools.
This article is good but somewhat brief. It does not go into specific examples and long arguments for the answers to the two questions. But it does propose good sufficient answers that are just as good as long and detailed ones are. It is also an easy read because it is not too long. But I would call this source an opener, you would use it to search out ideas to research on a much bigger scale to find other more longer sources that may have more detailed reasoning.

ROBERTSON, CAMPBELL. "Judge Grants Asylum To German Home Schoolers ." New York Times 28 feb 2010, Print.
This article talks about a German family who came to America after seeking asylum for home schooling. It goes into the fact that Germany does not allow anyone to be home schooled and talks about the different reasons to why they think so and why regular school is more important and better for students. The family heard about another family that had come to America seeking asylum from the German Government who has rules and regulations on home schooling. The parents also discuss why they decided to go to America and start home schooling.
This article is the longest out of all the others but stuff gives the same amount of information. There is also a lot more evidence in this article then people's opinions in the others. It is also interesting to see the views on the parents and the German Government about home schooling. There was also a section in there that mentioned the social aspects of school and how in this sense it was actually a bad thing. This is the first source to mention that home schooling does not deprive the student of anything and rather schooling is more of a problem for kids social skills.

Shaw, Isabel. "Social Skills and Home schooling: Myths and Facts". http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/human-relations/56224.html
This article focus' on the debate many people seem to have over the question does home schooling effect a kids social skills. The articles view is that home schooling does no such thing and goes into pointing out what is wrong about the myth of home schooling which is that home schooled kids are isolated for the whole day that they learn. It goes into some more points about how in fact regular school is actually not the best place for a kid. Then it lists some research that has been done and what it proves. At the end it gives sources to parents who are considering home schooling that can help them make the best decision.
This source is also very good. Unlike the New York Times who briefly mentions my focus point, this is all about the battle going on. Though it basically is a longer version of what had been said in the Times article. But it provides actually studies which is great and has more good points going against the schools which has been said but goes into detail about home schooling itself and why it goes against the myth that kids are isolated and that they actually learn and socialize better.