Comparing Some K-12 Options
A unique and informative perspective...
Note to Subscribers: Our new slogan is “I tested positive for Critical Thinking!”
————————————
It can sometimes be confusing to understand the key differences between US K-12 education options. There is a multitude of choices, so I thought it would be helpful to compare some important features of representative options.
Although the basic table is pictured below, please go here to see the latest version, which is two pages, and it includes some important notes and links.
Some takeaways:
1 - Public school enrollment continues to go downhill for a wide variety of reasons: Left-leaning teachers, strongly Left curricula, teaching children NOT to be Critical Thinkers (via NGSS), teaching Relativism and Atheism, unsafe schools, having age-inappropriate books and videos, etc., etc.
Here is a recent (2024) stunning finding from Pew Research: “The vast majority of teachers (82%) say that the overall state of US public K-12 education has gotten worse in the last five years.”
2 - Catholic schools continue to hemorrhage students, as they are not aggressively differentiating themselves from Public schools.
Most Catholic schools are marketing themselves on an outdated 50-year-old model: they are a Public school plus religion. For example, most of them use the same inferior NGSS science standards. Few of them formally teach Critical Thinking, etc. This is a MAJOR MISSED OPPORTUNITY!
3 - Home Schools are exploding, due to the poor performance of Public schools, as well as Catholic schools not being worth the extra cost for what they are currently offering (esp. regarding curricula).
In a recent national survey, an amazing 75% of homeschooling parents say that their main reason for doing so is to instill better moral values. Additionally, 73% are dissatisfied with Public School curricula… If Catholic schools got their act together, many homeschoolers would go there, as homeschools require a LOT of time from a parent, who also needs to have teaching skills.
4 - Alpha Schools (TX, FL, and others) are at the forefront of changing the US K-12 pedagogy (the method of teaching students). Their creative, revolutionary approach has shown that they can teach students normal K-12 subjects in 2± hours a day while other schools take 6± hours.
The huge 4± hours a day gained is spent on very worthwhile material like financial management, time management, communication skills, etc. One area of improvement they are working on is to tighten up their curricula.
5 - Thales Academies are traditional private schools in NC, VA, and TN. They emphasize a Classical education, Judeo-Christian values, Critical Thinking, the Scientific Method, etc. Here are their Top Fifteen Outcomes.
The net result is that Thales Academies have a waiting list to get into their schools. This means that they have very high enrollment, which is one way they keep their costs down. They are open to expanding elsewhere.
Here is other information from this scientist that you might find interesting:
I am now offering incentives for you to sign up new subscribers!
I also consider reader submissions on Critical Thinking on my topics of interest.
My commentaries are my opinion about the material discussed therein, based on the information I have. If any readers have different information, please share it. If it is credible, I will be glad to reconsider my position.
Check out the Archives of this Critical Thinking substack.
WiseEnergy.org: discusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.
C19Science.info: covers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.
Election-Integrity.info: multiple major reports on the election integrity issue.
Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from climate to COVID, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2025 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time - but why would you?
Thanks for reading Critically Thinking About Select Societal Issues! Please pass a link to this article on to other associates who might benefit. They can subscribe for FREE to receive new posts (typically about 1-2 times a week).
The table commits the usual Democrat fallacy of claiming that expenses hiding in your tax bill result in things — like public education — being free.
I don’t necessarily agree with the social aspect results. I know several home school families who have children that are very sociable and comfortable in speaking with adults. On the other hand, I know several that are schooled in public school that are unable to converse in more than yes and no and answers or “uh” and are not involved in extra curricular or other social activities. They don’t even want to leave their own homes.