About

Welcome to DropOutofPublicSchools.locals.com! My name is Laura Fischer and who I am can be summed up in one word: curious. There are two definitions of curious, and they both apply.

curious:

1. eager to learn more
2. arousing interest because of novelty or strangeness

My intense passion for learning and my buck-the-system strangeness, combined with a lifetime of lessons, has brought me to THIS place, starting a website encouraging people to DropOut of public schools. 

The Purpose of DropOutofPublicSchools.locals.com

The primary purpose of DropOut is to help learners of all ages reclaim ownership of their education by:

• Helping community members understand that schooling is not the same as education
• Helping community members appreciate learning as a lifelong endeavor
• Sharing “education appetizers” in the Random Acts of Learning segments
• Providing a forum for community members to encourage and inspire one another in their homeschooling endeavors

Earning the Right to be Heard

Why should anyone value my opinion on the topics of education, personal liberty, and self-improvement? Let me start with my official credentials.

• BA Liberal Studies, California State University, Northridge 1988
• Multi-subject teaching credential (for teaching elementary school)
• Single-subject teaching credential, Foundational Math

My teaching experience is broad, largely because I kept searching for the “perfect” school. It has been an astounding journey and led me to the conclusion that school choice is imperative for the future success of our country and its citizens.

• Taught elementary school for two years
• Taught middle school for two years
• Left teaching to start a family
• Homeschooled two boys for six years
• Began a small business teaching math and science within the homeschool community for eight years
• Served as adjunct professor for a Christian college “Teaching Science in the Elementary School”
• Taught math at an independent study charter middle/high school (It turns out students weren’t learning the math very well on their own, so in-person instruction was introduced.) This experience started out beautifully until the introduction of the California High School Exit Exam which turned my primary role into test-prepping. I will eventually do a post about this experience.
• Served as a long-term substitute teacher to replace a middle school math teacher who had a stroke five days into the school year. The teacher’s union fought for her to return to the classroom. She did, and it was disastrous. I will eventually do a post about this experience.
• The principal of the previously mentioned school became the principal of a new charter middle/high school and hired me as her first teacher. The executive director of the charter school was a Jordanian realtor and a horrible human being who used the school as a monument to his ego. The chartering district eventually revoked the school’s charter, but not before he built a $30,000,000 facility on the taxpayer’s dime. The school will eventually be used by the chartering district but has sat vacant due to the charter school’s closure and the pandemic. I will eventually do a post about this experience.
• Taught middle school math for two years at a charter within Los Angeles Union School District boundaries. This was one of the most well-run institutions I have ever worked for, but it was limited by the flaws of the public education system. It was at this school that I realized I was never going to be able to change the system from within. I left at the end of the 2015/2016 school year thinking I was done with education.
• After one year of working in property management, I began my own business, Math with Mrs. Fish, teaching middle school math online to homeschooled students. I have written my own curriculum for sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade math, plus an Algebra curriculum, that I use with my students. There will be many posts about this experience.

Finally, there are some personal details that give credibility to my opinions.

• I never took the SAT, did not take the required courses to get into a four-year college, and took only the one year of math required to graduate from high school (the PE requirement was two years). I didn’t decide on a career path until halfway through my senior year of high school. Helping young people truly know what career to pursue will be a significant part of DropOut.
• I enrolled in the local community college and transferred to CSUN after two years. I earned my BA in two years and my first credential with one year of postgrad work.
• My negligible high school education did not hinder my career goals. I was still able to attend college and earn a degree. This is one reason why I believe a good homeschool education trumps public school. 
• Shortly after my high school graduation, one of my (married) teachers attempted to have a sexual relationship with me. I have grave concerns about the number of student-teacher relationships that occur and believe it may be a far greater issue than most realize.
• I have been on four game shows, including Jeopardy (second place, no contestant got the Final Jeopardy question correct). I estimate 80% or more of the knowledge I have in my brain was acquired through my own curiosity and independent learning.
• I strongly question the value of a college degree in these times. Some careers require a college degree, but I believe we will be seeing a time when employers question the value of a college degree and won’t require it for employment. I will be addressing college concerns in several posts.
• A large amount of my math knowledge is self-taught, using a series of textbooks called Saxon Math.
• Negative consequences of some bad choices during my teen years led me to become a part of an organization called ATEAM: Abstinence Through Education And Mentoring. As a part of this, now defunct, team I was able to reach hundreds of high school students about the risks of sexual activity. I am horrified by the sexual agenda of the left and see it as a primary reason for families to keep their children out of public schools. I will eventually do posts on this topic.

Community Guidelines

Please respect the following community guidelines to maintain an enjoyable environment:

• Keep conversation respectful, without personal attacks
• Don’t blow up other members’ feeds. If someone isn’t responding to you, let it be
• Middle school and high school aged students are a part of the community. Please keep that in mind when posting.
• Keep out behavior that could be seen as trolling/spamming
• Relax, be yourself, and enjoy