Wikipedia

When I do research online for history lessons, I often use Wikipedia's free encyclopedia. Here's the introduction on the unusual way this free online encyclopedia compiles their data.


Wikipedia is an encyclopedia written collaboratively by many of its readers. It uses a special type of website, called a wiki, that makes collaboration easy. Lots of people are constantly improving Wikipedia, making thousands of changes an hour, all of which are recorded on article histories and recent changes. Inappropriate changes are usually removed quickly, and repeat offenders can be blocked from editing.

I think they do a pretty good job. I can see a few punctuation problems, but the information looks sound. For example, this is an excerpt of Wikipedia's article on homeschooling.



Social findings

In 2003, the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) conducted a survey of over 7,300 U.S. adults who had been home-educated (over 5,000 for more than seven years). Their findings included:

Home-educated graduates are active and involved in their communities. 71% participate in an ongoing community service activity, like coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association, compared with 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages from a traditional education background.

Home-educated graduates are more involved in civic affairs and vote in much higher percentages than their peers. For example, 76% of surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 voted within the last five years, compared with only 29% of the relevant U.S. population. The numbers of home-educated graduates who vote are even greater in older age groups, with voting levels not falling below 95%, compared with a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace.

Of those adults who were home-educated, 58.9% report that they are "very happy" with life (compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. population). Moreover, 73.2% of homeschooled adults find life "exciting", compared with 47.3% of the general population. [16]

The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), a U.S. government agency, has published multiple articles on home education. Here are excerpts from one which examined several studies on home-educated children socialization:

According to the findings, children who were educated at home "gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society...at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children."

and;

The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups, and maintains that "insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children." [17]

Proponents argue further that the social environment of traditional schools: strongly inhibits individuality and creativity,follows the standards set by the slowest students, involves bullying, recreational drug use, early sexuality, defiance, criminality, materialism, and eating disorders.

and that socialization in the wider community:

leads them to see adults, rather than peers, as role models, better prepares them for real life, encourages them to be more involved in youth, church, and sports organizations,helps them develop an independent understanding of themselves and their role in the world, with the freedom to reject or approve conventional values without the risk of ridicule, teaches children to deal with a variety of situations and people, still provides for interaction with conventionally-educated children after school hours in their neighbourhood and in other after-school activities.

-----------------------------
Related Tags: encyclopedia, wikipedia