Homeschool Horror

Homeschool Horror
Divinely ordained education, taught by martyrs

BY QUINN COTTON

You know how there are terrorist cells embedded throughout the world? Well, in my neighborhood we have numerous "homeschool" cells humming in the cul-de-sacs. They're almost as scary as the terrorist ones in some ways -- and they definitely have some traits in common with them.

When we first moved to Charlotte, the houses next to us, behind us, and diagonally across the street all contained children who mysteriously never seemed to leave home, and mothers with glazed expressions on their faces. The whole set-up of moms stuck with their school-age kids 24/7 gave me the willies, and that was before I even had one of my own.

Middle class areas seem to be magnets for little suburban schoolhouses. Even though there must be homeschooling pockets all over Charlotte, somehow I don't picture your basic Ballantyne babe risking breaking a nail on a chalkboard in the bonus room, or skipping a tennis set for an educational excursion to the sewage plant. Likewise, I doubt many Belmont moms miss a beat packing those kids off to public school. It's the middle class that gets suckered into the myth that mothers and older children can survive being together all day without somebody being strangled. The true "haves" and "have-nots" know better.

What's scary is that a lot of the homeschooling faithful are as fueled by a fanatical, religion-based belief in their mission as Islamist terrorists, and seem to be just about as brainwashed. Sometimes I even wonder if they're a manufactured race along the lines of the Stepford wives in Ira Levin's book, but assembled in fundamentalist Christian churches instead of family basements. Like the Stepford robots, they're programmed to fulfill their husbands' fantasies, only in this case it's their role as the Ultimate Selfless Mothers.

http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/newsstand/2004-05-05/news_cotton.html

We are dealing with a RW cult here. They bring these brain-washed little kids up to be RW terrorists. This article is spinning heads over at FR at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133366/posts for those (like me) who enjoy watching that sort of thing.

have always been a cult, but have become more and more extreme and insular.

Fundie-ism in Murka has clearly now become the largest doomsday cult in history.

Delusional. Deranged. Absolutely fanatical.

Scary.

Exposing something that is a very unhealthy practice.

Not to mention that the children are taught a highly fundamentalist point of view on everything from science to literature to music.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

can you explain why?

Not all homeschooling, just the homeschooling where they fill the kids heads full of religious, ethnic, and sexual bigotry; end-times prophecy nonsense; and precious little math, science, languages, and literature.

Homeschooling is usually (but not always) a facade for religious nonsense schooling. Not only is the Earth 6000 years old, but dinosaurs lived with humans, pi = 3.0000000000, and Noah's sons Shem and Caan gave rise to the white and black races (respectively). They may go even further by stating things like Mayans and Aztecs are really Jews, and that they spoke Hebrew to the Spanish expolorers that first came to Mexico.

I think, and I am sure most would agree, that THIS kind of homeschooling is unhealthy for the student.

I disagree that this was a good article. There were few facts presented. How many of them are there? What is the proof that what they are doing is bad? How do the homeschooled kids compare to regular kids when they graduate?

You're lucky.
When these coffee filter headed women in denim (I'm still not sure why GAWD approves of denim but sneers at other fabrics) finally dump their darlings into public high school, those poor children are lost souls. Most of them never catch up academically, and they get angry because they can't function at even the C- (Bush*) level.

They end up either marrying (the pretty ones) or in Junior Bible College.

I taught these kids for 25 years. What their parents do to them should be a crime: you can't practice medicine or law without a license but you can teach? Of course you can! Just get the checkbook and buy the dummied down curriculum of your choice!

and the vast majority (95+%) don't fit the profile you give...FWIW...

and there are all levels/kinds of curriculum, just like in public schools....

So what if 95% don't fit the profile given?

95% of the population doesn't fit the profile of amurderer, yet we still think murder is a problem.

the homeschooled kids I have had experience with were more than ready for the public school transition and in many cases excelled and in most cases surpassed their new classmates. Sorry you have had that experience...

theProdigal

from a coop that rather ignored basic reading and math skills (kids ended up in public middle school working several years below grade level) - to kids who are phenominally well rounded and educated.

Have known parents who are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and seek additional resources for the areas in which they need help in order to stretch their children intellectually, and parents who are near debilitated with depression, have bought in to the far religious right rhetoric of the evils of public schools so keep their kids home - but due to their (parent(s)) own serious problems end up doing next to nothing educational with their students.

All that said - I have seen no consistent "good" or "bad" or anything monolithic about the homeschool phenomenon.

their children because of the reason that the public schools are not meeting the requirements in their district. End of story. Not some twisted little fundie reasoning.

I don't agree with homeschooling, but your statements are over the line.

...of homeschooling materials. By a LARGE margin. That alone should scare the hell out of you.

I find it difficult to categorize based on personal experience. A few years ago a home-schooled child won the national spelling bee. I live across the street from a family of eight children, the mother of which "home-schooled" all of them. The children entered public school to convenience the parents. All the children entered two grades lower than their age group due to poor education techniques employed by the mother. This was an esteem issue for all of the children. They lied about their ages at first.

One small study reflected that homeschooled students had insignificantly higher SAT and ACT scores. It is my opinion that any study of this type would never be able to compare apples to apples, so it would all kind of depend on the kids, the teachings, etc.

Socialization is an issue that also depends on the flexibility of the child. Many children, after being homeschooled, have had trouble adapting to a public school (or even private school) environment. Others have done fine.

The biggest drawback I see is the teaching of religious fundamentalism instead of proven science. Fundamentalist homeschooling does not prepare a child for college well if the child plans to major in non-divinity subjects. As my anthropology professor essentially stated, "I don't care what your religious beliefs are for this class. Evolution is a fact. We are related to apes. Get over it." And that was 20 years ago.

Google homeschool public school study comparison, and see what you come up with.

Not the kids' ability. The only home schoolers i know in this time are truly rude, arrogant, and discourteous evengelicals who are dumber and less knowledgeable than the average lawnmower. (And i mean the piece of equipment, not the person doing it.)

I know that isn't a representative sample, but in these cases, the problem is that the parents aren't equipped to be teachers, of anything. Don't have the skills, don't have the knowledge, etc.

The kids in these 3 families may very well be bright, motivated, and interested, but i can't see these kids succeeding at higher education because their foundation will be ruined by undereducated parents with the wrong motivations for teaching their own kids.
The Professor

So what you are saying is that a parent does not have the right to teach their children a view you happen to find offense? It's the job of the state to teach children the "correct" point of view regarding science, literature, and music? Has your hatred of the right blinded you to concept of liberty altogether?

That is the education that best prepares the child to interact in the real world.

Teaching that the earth is four thousand years old, that the living things of the earth were created as they appear today, that their particular mythology is historically correct and all others are lies, does nothing to prepare them for advancin in the world. In fact, it only prepares them for failure.

There is a reason that european countries are not roped in to these falsehoods. They have already experience a society ruled by religous fundamentalism and want nothing more to do with it.

Your point about mixing education and religion is a valid one. However, my original point was simply that parents have the right to teach their children whatever they want, particularly if it's at their own expense, no matter how odd their beliefs may be. Surely you would not have state governments come in and force these children to attend public school just because of their parents' religious beliefs?

There's a fairly large number of posters who equate religious training with child abuse.

Fundigelicalism is without a doubt a cult growing in epidemic proportions. They have co-opted God. They have co-opted our Government. And---the want nothing more than to co-opt our culture at any price. So much so that they think nothing of destroying the hearts, souls and spirit of their children. This cult is perhaps to me one of the most frightening aspect of our current popular culture.

I, too, share some fears about the trend toward Home Schooling. Around here, in Central Wisconsin, we're seeing not only an increase in home schooling, we're seeing a lot of new Christian Schools. The fear is that we are raising a full generation of separatists, who have little, if any, tolerance for any views other than their own. This is not healthy for society as a whole.

As for the quality of education, I can only remark on the fact that there was, in my son's class, an outstanding athlete who wanted to transfer from the small, religious school he attended to the public high school in order to compete at a higher level and, maybe, get enough attention for a scholarship offer. Athletically, he did well, but ended up transferring back to the private school because he couldn't compete academically. This may not be true in all cases, but it is an experience that I know of and can vouch for, having talked with his parents.

I agree with what you have posted.
IMO, it is not the idea of the Home Schooling that is at fault. For some children,that is certainly an option. I do believe,based on years of experience, that it is better, in a multicultural society, for children to have on going experiences with those that may not be of "like mind."

The lessons that we learn at school are not all in books. The greatest lessons are from having a variety of teachers and listening to a variety of ideas. And of course, getting along with those that may not look like you or speak like you.

I don't think homeschooling is bad at all. It may have been started by the right-wing to instill their own belief system, but so what? The left-wing can (and should) do it, too.

I've met plenty of homeschooled kids and their parents and they all seem very bright and well-adjusted. Every person I've talked to who has done it says their kids have gone on to college or moved into public schools with no problem. I think it's a great option for many kids who might otherwise slip through the cracks at a public school.

They are both bright, level-headed and liberal. Home schooling rocks.

Up until the 60's/70's, most public schools pretty narrowly reflected The Great Anglo-American White Protestant Middle Class Official American Culture. (For lack of a better term, but you know what I mean.) Traditionalist parents tended to feel right at home, with the obvious caveat that many of the Catholics were off doing their own thing. With considerable frequency, it was progressive parents who marched to a different drummer, fled to progressive alternative schools (some of them quite pricey), or decided to homeschool.

Since then, American society has become much more culturally diverse, and this is reflected in the schools. In many areas, traditionalist parents now feel abandoned by the public school culture. Please note: in this context, "traditionalist" is not a codeword for right wing. It often just means parents who think reading instruction should be based on phonics, are opposed to social promotion, think classroom discipline should be stricter, and object to their ten year olds practicing with condoms and bananas. IMO, this is not a radical agenda.

In addition, with the rise in illegitimacy, divorce, and related family problems, public schools in many, many (especially urban) areas have been forced to become heavily remedial in orientation. Add mass immigration and we have whole school districts where the English language is a sometimes thing. It is not clear why anyone thinks middle class parents should stick around for this. Especially since virtually none of the academic experts, politicians, and pundits who pose as champions of the public schools are willing to put their own kids there either.

Seriously, would YOU put YOUR kid into a high school in which a majority of students are functionally illiterate, in which not a single student tests at grade level in math, in which a majority of the students will drop out, in which 85% of the kids are from single parent households and 75% qualify for reduced price lunch, in which severe learning disabled kids are routinely mainstreamed, and in which the gangbangers control the hallways?

Of course you wouldn't. That means, if you lived in Washington, D.C., you would strike all but two or three of our high schools off your list and probably end up in private school or the suburbs.

The notion that homeschooling today is a largely Christian fundamentalist phenomenon is nonsense. On a Board like DU, it amounts to whistling past the graveyard. Where I live (Washington, D.C.), middle class parents flee the public schools because of discipline problems and abysmal academics. Religious fundamentalism doesn't have much to do with it.

Living across the street from me 25 years ago was a couple (dad--doctoral professor at a major university, and mother--stay-at-home mom who was still breastfeeding her five-year-old who shared the num-nums with the new baby), all of whom lived with a rabbit in the house who had his own room). They moved away to live off the land and homeschool their children.

Takes all kinds.

Nothing but smarmy comments, conjured theories and "factoids" that rely on the author's feelings.

There are good and bad aspects to homeschooling. This article was more comparable to freeper ranting on the public school system than any serious discussion on the homeschool phenomenon. It also doesn't help that the author comes off as some grouchy neighbor who dislikes children around.

I think it was well writen, that feelings are valid not just facts, and it is you who is playing the grouchy cyber-neighbor.

On edit...I thought the post wrote the piece...I didn't realize it was from the outside.

He seems to be nearly alone in remembering a time when journalists used things like 'facts' to support their work.

*sigh*

on edit: FWIW, I'll probably end up homeschooling my daughter soon.

I don't think the author is making any pretense about being a journalist rather than a columnist.

Wow, I didn't know that.

a journalist nor a reporter who is suppose to write facts

and you know the old adage concerning peoples opinions and assholes :7

good and bad homeschooling. One family of bible thumpers I know has a passle of homeschooled kids who are academically miles ahead of their public-schooled peers. On the other hand, I know one home-schooled, non-fundamentalist family who should be hauled in for child abuse based on their home"schooling."

Based on your anecdotal evidence, fundie homeschoolers = good, non-fundie homeschoolers = child abusers.

:eyes:

You can't judge homeschooling by anecdotal evidence, because you can use it to make any point you want.

good point. :)

i work at one of those "highly selective" places. our average incoming student has an SAT of ~1470, and GPAs of at or above 3.75/4.0 (adjusted for clarity). we're also picky about AP/IB coursework, bilingualism, extracurriculars, and writing...

anyway, i read applications from all kinds of homeschooled kids. and RobinA is right on- they come in all shapes and sizes. some are great! even the "fundie" kind- i've met some really, really bright ones, (really!) don't make the mistake of thinking all xtian fundies are stooopid enough to hang their own kid's futures by ignoring real education.

and for those of you who want to know, if my partner and i have kids, WE WILL HOMESCHOOL. i don't recommend it to everyone, i've got 7 years of graduate education and feel comfortable doing it if i reproduce. but there's an ugly, scary reality out there that i wish more of you could see.

public, private, or parochial- i swear, the overall quality of education provided in american schools is decreasing. i don't have hard numbers for you (that's against the law for me to share here) but i've been reading applications for more than seven years, and just finished this year's cycle. on the whole, i'm very worried. kids don't write as well, they don't read as much, and even the bright ones think it's ok to answer the question, "what are some cultural or literary influences in your life" with answers about TV shows and computer role playing games....

it's all this stupid focus on testing. yes, a good score is important to prove to a college that you're well-rounded and prepared for college rigor. but the impact it's had on our schools, constantly testing and retesting and jigging the data so they can pass various gov't and internal standards...it's just killing education in this country.

if you care about your child's education, GET INVOLVED NOW. with the local school board, your kid's homeroom teacher, extracurricular learning centers- whatever it takes.

but i'm telling you, between idiotic and mind-numbing TV/Video culture and testing insanity, even the schools that charge money can no longer guarantee a real, quality, liberal arts education anymore or the well developed mind that results from it.

it is ever justified. I mean no offense to DUers who homeschool their kids -- perhaps it is justified in your case -- but unless kids can be guaranteed a future in which they can be self-supporting apart from society, I don't believe they're being prepared for life. Homeschooled kids usually do well at spelling bees, of course, but so did I and I've never gotten a job, a promotion, or a raise because of my spelling ability. It suits the right wing cheap labor agenda to promote homeschooling and private schools so that the public schools deteriorate. When the majority of kids, whether homeschooled or in public or private school, are poorly educated, they'll become a majority of adults who will have to work as cheap labor. It's all about the rich getting richer -- and fewer in number.

My own view of fundigelical home schooling has been "more power to 'em. Hell, somebody's got to make my kids fries in the future."

But, considering the behavoir of the soldiers at the Iraqi detention facilities, and the role that right wing hate radio are playing in the creation of tens of millions of misinformed zealots, the idea that a lot of kids are being fed a steady diet of religious zealotry combined with lots of phony science, bodes ill for our nation.

I adamently resist my in-laws attempts to get us to send the kids to parochial (Catholic) school, for essentialy the same reasons.

Kids should be socialized in a mixed environment of cultures, races, economic backrounds, etc. Isolating our children from that in safe enclaves (be they private schools or home schools, or gated communities or country club activities) is a real danger to our sense of identify as Americans.


The same people who've been told by Bush and Rush and the U.S. Army that the Iraqi's aren't humans, they're terrorists; these same people are being told by Rush and Hannity et al that we're not humans either, we're liberals.

All of these trends are setting up the United States for some sort of ugly confrontation in the future between the thoroughly brainwashed zealots and people like ourselves, with a large block of the population sitting idly by in front of American Idol or West Coast Chopper or Trading Spaces, clucking when they see the issues on the news and quickly switching the channel

this article is, for the most part, bullshit and terribly unfair to the majority of homeschooling families, many of whom are NOT "religious fanatics", but include a lot of liberals and progressives as well. Talk about hateful and stereotypical!

our public schools (more of a complaint about incompetence with some of the teachers, actually) But weird slanted and misspelled textbooks and tests were a problem. They did great as homeschoolers, in fact my youngest is getting top grades in college now. And he's a proud leftwinger like his mama.

Sounds like you did a great job. :)

are out of the nest? Seriously, we need to assure the local school boards are not taken over by fundies with agendas to propagate their cult beliefs in the public system. That is happening in too many towns.

If you think narrow minded "earth is 6000 years old, period! the Bible says it, I believe it. End of discussion!" types are a danger for the brainwashing they do to their own kids, think of the damage on a grander scale.

The children of America need capable, broad minded people on school boards to protect their interests. Really, you did good and would likely be an asset to others in a position to help guide the education of other kids. The fact that you home schooled your own gives you an interesting advantage on the issue.

Save the world; educate the children.

and let the others go to the public school

If it keeps up, can anyone imagine what the social consequences would be?

My two oldest are being homeschooled at the moment with my youngest (so far) scheduled to officially start next school year.

They are very well-rounded, fun, smart kids.

I just got a call from my oldest. She's writing a skit and wanted to know how to spell "Phineas". She said to tell you that homeschooling is great "because you're done before 8:30" in the morning. This leaves the rest of the day to help Ma churn the butter and grind the corn (for the humor-impaired, I'm kidding). A typical day outside of their schooling involves some of the following: sports teams, dance class, art, music lessons, entering writing contests, volunteering, having friends over (homeschooled and traditionally schooled friends).

We recently had the kids take the Stanford Achievement Test, just to see how we're doing. They enjoyed the experience (it was at a regular school). I'll let you know how they did when we get the results back. They have no desire to be part of a public school, largely because much more of their time is their own.

Sure their are some wackos involved in homeschooling. But in no greater percentage than any other format.

So far we haven't had any shootings, bullying, drug use, or pregnancy in our homeschool (by the students or the teachers!) This isn't for everyone, but for us it's been a great experience.

Went back and read the article above. Lots of invective and tripe, no facts. Not a good effort at all.

homeschooled through a TV classroom. There is a regular teacher and lesson plans. Mom picks up the slack by making sure Jr. watches his classes, does the lessons and takes the tests, which she posts to the TV classroom teacher. Other than maybe children too handicapped to go to regular classrooms, I can't think of any good reason to home school children.

A friend of mine had to homeschool one of her sons for a year, while he was going to a phychologist. She didn't want to but she had to because the boy was incorrigible so he wouldn't get behind. After a year he was able to rejoin his class. However, these situations are exceptions. I don't think home schooled children learn social skills very well, which they will need to go to college and to work in the real world as adults.

Lefty homeschooling has been around for decades, it's just the fundies who pretty much took over the movement in the 70's, and only now are others homeschooling in large enough numbers to wrestle the balance back toward the middle.

I agree, though, that the fundies are of the most concern, because they form the largest "bloc" among homeschoolers.

My cousin, at age 14, got sick of going to school. She was acting out and her parents asked my advice-I said, put her in catholic school (they're catholic). So they did, and she had 50+ excused (mom called in) absences her freshman year. The school said that she couldn't pass to tenth grade with that many absences, even if she was getting above a 3.0 gpa. So my cousin conned them into buying a home schooling curriculum. Neither my aunt nor uncle were college educated and I would not consider either of them qualified to teach any subject to their kids (neglectful, greedy, lazy, SPED cases themselves). Of course the catholic school cost $4000 a year, the curriculum cost $2000. My grandpa paid for the tuition at the catholic school-when they decided to home school, they didn't tell him and kept the $2000 difference.

Anyways, the kid did okay grade-wise and is about to graduate from college, but in this case, home schooling was bad for emotional reasons and for teaching this kid a sense of responsibility. When the catholic school told her she'd have to repeat the ninth grade, she called me up all tearful, saying it wasn't fair, etc. I told her if I called in sick for 50 out of 180 days, I'd be fired, and that this is the price she pays for conning her parents into calling her in sick.

Incidentally, my grandpa also paid for her college tuition. She has not gone to visit my grandpa or my nursing home resident grandma in many years. She has a car that her mother bought her, so she has no excuse. Yet she has the guts to get pissed off if her tuition check is $100 shorter than last year. My uncle died a few years ago, which she has milked for everything it's worth, as has her mother.

I do think that there are parents who can and do perform a teacher's role for their own kids, and that if the schools in your area are bad or dangerous, that this is a realistic option, especially if those parents can't afford a private school. Just not my bratty cousin and her irresponsible parents.

How 'bout that Boykin, eh? Showing up in fundie churches in full *MILITARY REGALIA huffing and puffing about Satanic Muslims and shit. How many times, where and when has he proffered this poisonous putrid pablum? (These days folks be so corrupt they WILL poison baby food for a pfennig). I wanna know how many kids in Eye-rack ever saw this Scheißter up-close and personal, what they thought then and what they think NOW. Where's our "new generation" of brave and brilliant investigative reporters? Has the *scorched-earth POLICY succeeded to such a degree that the physical manifestation is "hanging in the wings?"

Mr DJ Patriot, I know you already cued up Marvin... Thank you.

but I sure would like to know which one you intended to. :-)

The biggest disadvantage IMHO of home-schooling is the cloister effect. When your only input is family and "church" it can limit one's scope. I wonder exactly how many fundie and/or home-schooled kids have been exposed to this nutball. I wonder how many of those so exposed are in Iraq ang HOW that exposure has affected their view of another people. See, there IS method to my madness. :evilgrin:

I am a music teacher in very conservative Northern Indiana, and all of my experiences with teaching private music lessons to homeschoolers have been bizarre.

I had one student whose parents are fanatical pro-lifers (they regularly travel to Europe to give lectures, etc.) The mother has that typical glassy-eyed moonie stare and wears a gold sculpture of an embroyo around her neck. The kid is utterly backwards, socially. I can't imagine him at college in a few years. This family has home-schooled all six of their children. One daughter has dropped out of college because she couldn't handle it.

The other family is truly scary. . . the all dress like they're Laura Ingalls on Little House, even down to the boots. Once when they came for their lesson, Mom was sitting out in the hallway reading her other kids "Little Women". It used to give me the heebie jeebies just to see them coming. The really funny part of all of this is that they drive around in a great big Ford Explorer. Gas prices may eventually drive them back to the horse and buggy, however (no pun intended).

that only "fanatical pro-lifers" engage in bizarre behavior and have glassy-eyed stares.

What is your experience with "fanatical pro-choicers"? Do they exhibit the same, or different types of bizarre behavior???

1) The people in question were fanatical pro-lifers
2) The people in question engage in bizarre behavior related to their fanaticism.

You're the only one who appears to have read that as "All fanatical pro-lifers engage in bizarre behavior."

Thanks so much for your kind "correction".

I know I can always count on you to set me straight.

I'm equally sure that you will not mind if I correct you.

You said that I am "the only one who appears to have read that as "All fanatical pro-lifers engage in bizarre behavior."

But I never said that. Not at all.

What I did say was this: "I think I hear you suggesting that only "fanatical pro-lifers" engage in bizarre behavior and have glassy-eyed stares."

I trust you can see the difference between "all" and "only".

In case you cannot, let me give you another example.

Someone might say that all Democrats support Dennis Kucinich.

And someone else might say that only Democrats support Dennis Kucinich.

See the difference?

And besides, I asked the PP what her own experience was with "fanatical pro-choicers"? Since she had pointed out her own experience with what she described as "fanatical pro-lifers", I wanted to know whether, in her experience, "fanatical pro-choicers" exhibit the same, or different types of bizarre behavior???

Reading your statement that way was the only way I could comprehend your bitterness over the topic at hand. I stand corrected - you seem to be bitter over another interpretation, one with roughly the same level of support as my reading.

YOU make at least two inferences --

1. That I was "bitter"

2. That I implied that "All fanatical pro-lifers engage in bizarre behavior."

Why would you infer that I was bitter? I was not, and I am not.

You could always ask me, you know, instead of making assumptions or drawing inferences.

I'll show you how it is done.

You seem a bit bitter, kiahzero. Are you?

See? I ask instead of simply saying something like, "I can comprehend your bitterness over the topic at hand".

Please do feel free to ask me if you have any questions about how this works. It really is not too difficult, I assure you.

You seem a bit bitter, kiahzero. Are you?

Yes, quite - and you didn't need to ask, because it seemed to me to be at least somewhat obvious from my posts. It seems like whenever certain topics come up, I can expect generalizations to attacked when they weren't even made - a person talking on topic about their experience with certain people is accused of saying that only those people exhibit those traits, for example.

Pointing out that some pro-life people are nuts should not be construed to imply that only pro-life people are nuts; for instance, discussing the pro-lifer (his name escapes me) that was just convicted of child molestation does not mean that one feels only pro-lifers are child abusers.

Anyway - it doesn't matter. I'm getting on a train in a few hours, so I'm afraid we'll have to cut this conversation short.

for a good train ride and a pleasuarable stay where ever you are going.

And sincere wishes for a safe return, too.

Believe it or not, kiahzero, I do actually enjoy our "conversations".

And I do hope the bitterness subsides.

The second bunch sounds like it could be Menonites (without getting into theology, think Amish with phones and cars). They're not exactly high on the scary-meter, at least not near my relatives in Lancaster, PA.

Then again, maybe some other group, in which case all bets are off.

The homeschool bashing that goes on in this forum is maddening. I come here to talk with Democrats because they bill themselves as MORE TOLERANT than Repugs.

I swear, if this keeps up I will likely cease coming here. I am sick and tired of reading propaganda that paints my family as backwards and now terrorists when the ENTIRE REASON I HOMESCHOOL IS BECAUSE THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE AREA ARE DUMBED DOWN AND FILLED WITH XTIAN BULLSHIT.

</rant>

edited for angry spelling error.

which got one guy investigated by ... what was it ... the CIA? That was pretty spiffy!

But seriously, if you read all the replies here you'll notice there are those here who realize that there are both good and bad examples of homeschooling. The kneejerking stuff is bothersome - and explains why the sorry state of political discourse has taken such a toll on this country. Too many people believe too much that the press corps tells them. Not *nearly* enough critical thinking going on.

is getting to me I think.

I agree with you about the lack of critical thinking...it is the number one problem society faces, I believe.

I posted this not to bash home schooling across the board but more to point out how it is an integral part of the RW culture war against everything they see as bad about our so-called secular society.

I share many of the concerns about the public school system that many DU'ers have. That's why my daughter goes to a private Catholic school. To complicate things for us, because of mismanagement by the principal, the school apparently scored poorly in this year's standardized testss and has been in danger of losing its accredidation for some time now. So we are looking to send her to another private school.

Since she has been in this school at this point for 7 years, there's no way I would throw this un-streetwise beautiful blonde girl into the public school system. She doesn't have the street-smarts to survive.

Obviously, home schooling is an option for us. But we have only acknowledged that it is an option and that's as far as it will go. On the other hand for all the reasons other people mention above, public schools are not an option.

I am surprised and enlightened with the range of comments in this thread about home schooling, it's pro's and con's. Just goes to show how, as I've been saying, the Democratic Party is a loose confederation of people with diverse points of view on various topics but also with a lot of the shared values without any rigid ideological litmus tests applied before membership is granted. Now, the GOP is another story.

and in a deeply Republican region of the state...

In my experience (which includes 6 years of homeschooling my children who are now teens) homeschooling is NOT an integral part of the RW culture war.

The RW fanatics are much more interested in infiltrating public school boards and elected offices from the tiniest towns to the biggest cities. This has been their SOP for more than 20 years.

It has worked. Now they have the presidency and most of the Congress and they are busy tyring to take over what is left of the courts.

Homeschooling has nothing to do with it.

Nevertheless, there is, I guess what you would then call a subculture of RW'ers that home school for ideological reasons.

You are absolutely correct about the grand overall strategy being to take over school boards. They also pack hearings on text books to object to proposed books for the coming school years.

My reasons are that I want my child acquire the knowledge they need to succeed without all the xtian b.s. that fills the local public schools.

Ideological reasons should not be used as code for "xtian" because it is just not true.

And, frankly, xtians have the legal right to homeschool their children for xtian reasons if they want to.

Parents educating their own children.

That's just disgusting! Horrible! Shocking BEYOND BELIEF!

And mothers who are self-less!

That is JUST TOO MUCH!

Mothers should, I guess, be selfish?

All homeschooling mothers are not selfless paragons, nor are all mothers who send their children to public schools selfish witches who just want to "get rid" of their kids.

My husband and I have two little boys. They will most likely go to public schools because, frankly, I know myself well enough to realize that while I am college educated and relatively bright, I do not have the discipline to home-school.

It is just a real fact of my personality. Added to this is the fact that I want my children to experience a diversity of opinion and thought, though living in small town Iowa, I'm pretty sure that it won't be all THAT diverse :)


I have known many people who have chosen to home-school and they do it for a variety of reasons.


Some friends of ours do it because they see the public schools as failing and want better for their children. They are also highly disciplined people by nature and do a great job homeschooling their kids. They also know their children well enough to have determined that for one of their daughters, the home-school environment was not a good one for her. She goes to public school and they supplement her lessons to ensure that she is well-educated.

On the other hand, my brother has become involved in an EXTREMELY fundamentalist church. They are homeschooling their daughter because (and he told me this himself) they don't want her faith diluted by having to interact with children of other religions or belief systems. This is also why they do not visit any of the relatives on either side of the family anymore.

I find this to be kind of scary. The curriculum they use does not include any books but the Bible, there is no science, no reading that does not come from the Bible or "approved religious texts".


So, as I wind down, there are good home-schoolers and ones that are kind of scary. I would end with a comment often made by my grandmother, a woman of great religious faith, but also very tolerant of other opinions.

"If your faith is not strong enough to bear knowing about other belief systems, then it is not faith at all."

My comment in my earlier post about self-less mothers was meant in no way whatsoever to suggest that mothers who do not homeschool their children are selfish witches.

My own view is that mothers who enter the work force in order to provide for their children are just as self-less as mothers who homeschool. I suppose that the measure of selflessness depends to a large degree on the mother's own motivation.

My comment was directed more to something in the post that initiated this thread: "Like the Stepford robots, they're programmed to fulfill their husbands' fantasies, only in this case it's their role as the Ultimate Selfless Mothers."

I thought the reporter who made that comment wa suggesting that there was something "wrong" about being the "ultimate selfless mother".

I was trying to point out how silly it is to suggest that being a selfless mother is a "horror".

i feel sorry for your fundie brother and his daughter...i know a feww who home school for the exact same reason :scared:

That being said I don't much care for the idea of dropping out of society. My ex-wife's child goes to the Chicago public school a little over a block from his home. And he's got a classmate/friend in half the apartment buildings in the neighborhood.

None in the houses, however. Like myself, the other home owners can afford to put their kids in private schools. Unlike myself, they do, and their kids are missing out on all the parties.

Keep in mind, Illinois was beyond the frontier in those days. Just getting to the nearest library to check out books was a monumental task. I'm sure even Chicago was a dinky little town of a couple thousand people back then.

There is a BIIIIIIIIIG difference.

The smartest person I ever met in my life was home-schooled. Granted, he had some serious "socialization" issues, but he eventually ended up at Yale Law and is now very successful. And a lot of the students at my high school also had socialization issues.

My problem with home-schooling is not that the parents are brainwashing their kids or not teaching their kids. By and large, it seems kids come out of home-schooled situations academically prepared. My problem is that it is essentially "giving up" on community. It's a symbolic retreat from society, which I am not sure is healthy.

But this article finds it easier to play into classism and some religious bigotry.

was the cause of his socialization problem?

It is a bonus for society when its future leaders, workforce, parents, are drawn from a diversely educated population. So rather than retreating from society as you suggest, think of it as adding flavor to society. Mass produced "vanilla" educations aren't nearly as good for us as the occasional Mom and Pop "Phish Food" education mixed in.

I got in trouble for socializing too much in school.

Families that have to move around a lot, for example. Children with special needs and a school system that can't accomodate them. Some parents really believe they can do a better job than the local school. Yes many are homeschooled for religious reasons as well.
There is large variation in the quality of home schooling and many home schoolers are able to incorporate peer socialization experiences. We should not condemn or ridicule what we don't know about. This author makes a lot of unsubstantiated assumptions. It is an unfair ignorant hit piece.

While I agree that home-schooling is not a monolithic phenomenon, I believe the author of this article addresses some important points about one facet of people who utilize it -- i.e. the fundamentalist Right.

Maybe there are some sane and intelligent people home-schooling their kids, but it is used by many, of various extremist ilk, in order to "educate" within an ideological vacuum. I'm not so sure what advantage there is to raising children in isolation. Unless they are expected to live their entire lives within an exclusive group, it seems that they never learn how to live with others. Indeed, the "other" is disdained or held in contempt. Ideally, one is taught to think critically, and to be able to stand the standard review of one's professional or educational peers -- instead, these kids are being offered a hermetically sealed "alternative" to basic humanistic education.

This is but one aspect of the RW's activism in education. Indeed, their demands for a "Bible-based" society goes all the way up to the White House -- when George W or Pickles take about the need for "diversity in education" -- they mean advocating positions taken outside mainstream science, which are retrogressive socially (justifying racism, rewriting history, knowledge based on revelation rather than deduction. and analysis)

This is also the fragment of American society which is pushing for "school vouchers" -- so they can send their kids to Christian "madrasses" or racially segregated schools at tax payer expense.

Quinn Cotton.

I'm curious about something.

This "hermetic sealing" of which you speak.....

Is that something confined to folks on the right?

Or do folks on the left who homeschool their kids also raise their children in isolation -- holding "the other" in deisdain or contempt?

Where, by the way, do some folks on the left, develop their disdain and contempt for "the other"? Were they homeschooled, do you suppose?

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isn't much for socialization either. Geez, traditional schoolers can't even go the bathroom without raising their hands to ask permission.

I'm glad more people are homeschooling; I care not about their religious orientation.

I condemn authoritarianism in all its forms. Yes, you can find authoritarianism in schools, public or private -- but I think it's more likely to flourish away from sunshine and transparency.

No doubt there are fine people who home school. But the article cited, and my comments, are addressing wackos who homeschool. Perhaps you are not aware of the dark extremist undercurrent flourishing in our nation at the moment. They don't want their kids to think for themselves, as might happen if they are exposed to diversity -- they want their kids to unquestioningly accept their absolutist doctrine. One of the ways they are gaining ground is by turning the issue of civil rights back into our faces -- they demand freedom to impose authoritarianism. They demand the freedom of religion to force others to adopt their beliefs.

Still, I guess I am one of those people who believe that kids have to come to grips with assholes sooner or later. To pretend you can avoid them all your life, or someday be in a position where you can control them, is fallacy. Do they think that their opponents will one day just vanish? Or do they have a plan for getting rid of them?

It's really hard to be a single mom and do the best you can with your child. I think this article way over broad brushed the issue. My child was in private and public school, there were issues with both. I just don't think you can say what is right for one person to choose. Choice, right???? AND I think this article wasn't so well written.

In my county, not sure about the state there are not many regulations. My son had a friend in high school who dropped out of school at fourteen. I hardly saw the kid after he left school. He told me he was being home schooled by his mom.

His mom is a single mom and she works full-time. He has two younger sisters and they were taken out of school at the same time. Fast forward five years later and this kid is now 19 yrs. old. Last week his picture was in the paper, in the "arrested" section for armed robbery. One of his sisters is still at home, she is 17 and already has one kid. The other sister ran away two yrs. ago.

I think the mother just didn't want to be bothered with the whole school thing and took the kids out of school to work and keep house. Do most states regulate this home school movement? Are there any guidelines people have to follow? I can't imagine what these poor kids have in store for them.

BTW, there are a group of home schoolers in my county that want their kids to use the public school library and join in after school activities, the county is not letting them do it at this point. I am just surprised some of these parents want to have their kids around all the other public school kids. They are constantly ranting about the bible being taken out of school...you know the drill.

less than 12% of homeschool families fall into the category that you mention (one parent working full-time). Whereas, 28% of traditionally schooled families fall into that category. I think you'll find that a similar thing happens (kid in jail, pregnant teen, runaway) in traditionally schooled households and likely twice as often (since there's twice as many of them).

Statistically, homeschoolers do much better academically than others. This is true for all ethnic groups.

Some states regulate homeschools heavily. Some, like my state, have almost no regulation at all. Test scores show that the amount of regulation does not affect the academic performance of these kids at all. We are not required by our state to test our kids in any way. Because we're concerned about how our kids are doing we voluntarily have our kids take the Stanford Achievement Test.

As far as using the public school library, sports teams, music program, etc; homeschool families pay taxes to support the public school even though they don't derive full benefit from it. It only makes sense to be allowed to use the services that they are paying for. It also shows that the typical homeschooler is not "constantly ranting" about anything. The vast majority have the very best interests of their children at heart.

Here're some stats:

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/2001033.pdf Go to table 3.

www.uhea.org/stats.html

"there are a group of home schoolers in my county that want their kids to use the public school library and join in after school activities, the county is not letting them do it at this point"

How are the schools allowed to get away with such discrimination?

Don't the parents of homeschooled kids pay taxes?

How can a public school deny lbrary privileges to school-aged kids within its own district?

If parents choose to home school, they are opting out of the system. It's their choice.

The article being discussed is not a scholarly study of home schooling in America. It's a slightly humorous look at a scary subset of home schoolers.

they are drawing from (tax revenue) are also comming from parents of home schooled children. They may opt out of sending their kids to public schools, but they still are participating in the funding.

If you focus on the formula by which schools are funded, then you can arrive at a conclusion that says, "Well, since the funding formula is a function of the number of children enrolled, only children who are enrolled should be allowed to use the facilities."

But that's the wrong focus.

Focus instead on the source of the funding, and you may conclude that everyone who contributes to the fund from which schools receive their funds should have opportunity to use the schools.

I could even make the case, I think, that parents who pay taxes to support the schools but who also homeschool their kids are a much greater "benefit" to the public school system. They provide a source of funds to the public schools, but by not sending their kids to the public schools, they do not directly use the services they are paying for.

Of course, we all benefit from a well-educated population. And part of that is, I guess, provided to some degree by the public schools.

Any pervert, any mentally ill person, any anyone should be able to use the public school library just so long as they pay taxes.

And Hey! my taxes help pay for some nuclear bombs, so I should get to launch one at my own discretion.

.

that taxpayers have no rights to use any publicly facilities at all? The high school has a football and baseball field. Can they only be used by public school students? Who would their teams play against, since teams from another town don't pay for the maintenance of the fields, nor are they enrolled in the home team's school. If that's the case, then the public should not be allowed to use the school buildings for the evening educational classes, since they are also not public school students, nor should townspeople be allowed to use the school as a meeting place. Police and Firefighters charity basketball games are also not allowed in public schools? I'm not saying that people have a right to do whatever they want in a public school, but I also wouldn't argue that people have no rights when it comes to using the facilities. And by the way, I do think that everyone has a right to use a public school library though I could see making an exception for convicted felons.

that I meant all sorts of things that I've never said?

Are YOU seriously arguing that you are capable of reading my mind over the Internet?

Let me know when you want to discuss what I've actually said. I have no desire to spend my time explaining the things I don't think about.

If the public school board in a local jurisdiction were to say something like "only the children who are actually enrolled in a given public school may use the library within that school", I would have a serious problem with that.

FIrst of all, suppose that there is a school district in which certain public schools have rather nice libraries and other public schools -- in that same district -- have not so nice libraries.

If the public school board were to restrict the use of a library at a given school to only those students at that school, thereby denying the use of the nicer library to the students at the school with the not-so-nice library, you would not have a problem with that?

And what, exactly, is your point about not allowing perverts to use the libraries in a public school.

I happen to be a pervert - a very proud pervert. My perversion has absolutely nothing to do with children. I pay taxes to support my local school board, and I vote in elections to elect the local school board.

Are you suggesting that because the type of sex I enjoy is not the "norm" and is perverted, that I am a second-class citizen who should not be able to use the library at a local school?

Ahd what have you got against mentally ill people? THere is one poster here on DU who has a husband who suffers from a rather bad case of depression -- a form of mental illness. Are you saying that you would deny the use of the library in their public school system to him?

It's "Paying taxes, by itself, does not entitle one to use of a public school's library"

It does NOT mean "the children who are actually enrolled in a given public school may use the library within that school"

It does NOT mean "outinforce is a second-class citizen who should not be able to use the library at a local school"

It does not maen that I have got something against the mentally ill.

And it does not man that I "would deny the use of the library in their public school system to him"

But thanks for demonstrating your integrity by posting a list of things I've never said.

That's a pretty serious charge you've leveled against me there, I think.

Posting a list of things you never said.

Let's quickly review what you and I did say, shall we?

I said this:

"If you focus on the formula by which schools are funded, then you can arrive at a conclusion that says, "Well, since the funding formula is a function of the number of children enrolled, only children who are enrolled should be allowed to use the facilities."

But that's the wrong focus.

Focus instead on the source of the funding, and you may conclude that everyone who contributes to the fund from which schools receive their funds should have opportunity to use the schools.

I could even make the case, I think, that parents who pay taxes to support the schools but who also homeschool their kids are a much greater "benefit" to the public school system. They provide a source of funds to the public schools, but by not sending their kids to the public schools, they do not directly use the services they are paying for.

Of course, we all benefit from a well-educated population. And part of that is, I guess, provided to some degree by the public schools."

And you said this:

"By that logic, anyone can use the public school's library


Any pervert, any mentally ill person, any anyone should be able to use the public school library just so long as they pay taxes."

Hmmmmmm.....

Posting something that another person never said.

DO you mean like saying that I said "any pervert, any mentally ill person, any anyone should be able to use the public schools so long as they pay taxes""

Is that the sort of thing you are talking about.

I do not recall posting anything like that.

Why are you somehow entitled to draw inferences from what I say (to make statements like, "By that logic,.....any pervert,...", but when I draw an inference from what you say, it is "posting a list of things you never said?

Why is that? Can you explain it to me, please?

You did not ask me what my point was.

You did not even ask me if you had correctly re-stated my position.

No, you just, well, you just posted something that I did not say, and you "dressed it up" a little by prefacing it with "By that logic..."

To which I responded,

"And Your Point Is...What?

If the public school board in a local jurisdiction were to say something like "only the children who are actually enrolled in a given public school may use the library within that school", I would have a serious problem with that.

FIrst of all, suppose that there is a school district in which certain public schools have rather nice libraries and other public schools -- in that same district -- have not so nice libraries.

If the public school board were to restrict the use of a library at a given school to only those students at that school, thereby denying the use of the nicer library to the students at the school with the not-so-nice library, you would not have a problem with that?

And what, exactly, is your point about not allowing perverts to use the libraries in a public school.

I happen to be a pervert - a very proud pervert. My perversion has absolutely nothing to do with children. I pay taxes to support my local school board, and I vote in elections to elect the local school board.

Are you suggesting that because the type of sex I enjoy is not the "norm" and is perverted, that I am a second-class citizen who should not be able to use the library at a local school?

Ahd what have you got against mentally ill people? THere is one poster here on DU who has a husband who suffers from a rather bad case of depression -- a form of mental illness. Are you saying that you would deny the use of the library in their public school system to him?"

A series, you will note, of questions, for the most part.

Not statements.

Questions.

I do thank you for answering my question about your point, to wit: "Paying taxes, by itself, does not entitle one to use of a public school's library".

ANd I would ask you this:

What other conditions, beside paying taxes, do you think someone would need to meet in order to be entitled to use of a public school's library?

I do hope that that questions does not post something you did not say.

My entire family is in education so I know that public school facilities are public facilities. That's why elections are held there, that's why community programs are held there, that's why continuing education classes are taught there, that's why the gyms and fields can be used by youth leagues, that's why the parking lots can be used by emergency personnel for training, that's why the schools can be used as a shelters during natural disasters.

My high school library is the best library within miles of my home. I used it in college over the summer and when I was on break.

There are people who are allowed to use those facilities, under certain conditions, even if they aren't a student who attends that public school. However, the reason for that is not because they pay taxes, as demonstrated by the fact that voters are not necesarily tax payers. Neither are people who attend continuing education classes, community programs, youth leagues and emergency personnel training.

The ability to use a public school's facility has nothing to do with one's tax bills. It depends on the specific use, and not the individuals tax status

I do not, as far as I know, pay taxes to the school district that serves Pittsburgh, Pa.

"The ability to use a public school's facility has nothing to do with one's tax bills. It depends on the specific use, and not the individuals tax status"

Since "The ability to use a public school's facility has nothing to do with one's tax bills.", my ability to use the facilty -- specifically, the library in a public school in the Pittsburgh public school system -- has nothing to do with the fact that I don not pay taxes to that school system.

I think that that means that I have the same ability to use a library in the Pittsburgh public school system as anyone who does pay taxes to that system, am I right?

"It depends on the specific use, and not the individuals tax status"

Now, if a parent of a student in the Pittsburgh Public school system wishes to use a library in that system for specific reason, and is allowed to use a library for that reason, does that mean that I, a person who pays no taxes to Pittsburgh, have the same right as a parent of a child in that system to use a public school library, as long as IO use it for the same specific reason?

That would be news to me.

Most may do a great job homeschooling but there are too many that use it because they are lazy or to cover abuse.

The students have to take the same achievement tests that public school students take to "measure" their progress.

all the parents do is once a year they sign a sheet of paper that says they will be respondsible for their childs education. I can't wait for a kid to sue their parents for doing a crappy job, I for one will be cheering them on.

I think most people think it is regulated but most states only require parents to sign off.

Unbelievable.

assessment reports be mailed to the district ...i home schooled my 2 children for the first 7 years of their education...enrolled them both in PS it has been 2 years now and they are doing beautifully ... both have been on the superintendents honor roll for 8 quarters running (96-100 GPA). both are John Hopkins Youth Scholars :7 they have many friends and are quite socially adjusted and play on the school's chess, baseball, golf and snowboarding teams where they are ranked top athletes on all their perspective teams and all this while maintaining A averages .......Harvard and Princeton are gonna love my kids :7


my kids love life and i love my kids

live well, laugh often and love much :7

keep up the good work, ED!

You have to declare that you intend to homeschool once by the time the child is 7. There are no requirements beyond that. No testing, no certification of parents as educators.

Insists on homeschooling their four kids. She herself has never worked for a paycheck a day in her life, (and has a major attitude problem about people who do work), and dropped out of high school. Her spelling and grammar skills are horrid. But insists on homeschooling her kids, under an enviroment that the kids study what they want when they want. I feel sorry for the education her children aren't getting.

When I was on vacation with my parents up here in the United States in the winter of 1948,our summer, a truant officer was sent to our place and he forced my parents to put me in school. I had already completed the third grade in Chile and was on my summer vacation, winter here.

No amount of reasoning by my parents was able to stop them from making me go to school. It was the law and they could go to jail So I spent my three months vacation repeating part of the third grade and had to return to Chile to start the fourth grade in March. I went to school twenty months straight at that time with no break.

So how can parents who are not qualified to teach their children be allowed to home school them? Who changed the law?

"So how can parents who are not qualified to teach their children be allowed to home school them? Who changed the law?"

Political Action.

And an increasing realization that it is the responsibility of parents to see that their children get an education.

Parents who truly feel that they, in fact, are "better qualified" to teach their children than anyone in the public school system have made a a rather compelling case that THEY ought to exercise what is for them a basic right and responsibility of being a parent -- and that is educating their children.

The government really would have to say that parents do not have the right to educate their own kids.

And that is a tough thing for government to say. Or rather, it is a tough thing for a lot of Americans to hear their government say.

This article is interesting because it highlights one of the more frightening homeschooling societies - the fundamentalist Christians. However, it must always be noted that homeschooling in and of itself is not necessarily bad. The problem is with the motivation of the homeschooling parent.

There are numerous parents who would love to publicly educate their children, but due to poor school systems (they are out there), special needs of children, or transportation issues (very, very rural livers), home schooling is the only option. I applaud parents who have made this decision and are working their asses off to make sure their child is well educated.

However, the darker side of homeschooling can not be overlooked. This article paints a picture of individuals who wish to home school because the public school systems are wicked, or too secular, or have too much crime, or sex....many of the fears these parents have about public schools are based on myths. The reality is rarely as frightening as what the mind can conjure up.

When discussing homeschooling, we must be clear on one thing: Educators are professionals. Just because they make very little money and they are often overworked, does not relegate them to the ranks of the unskilled worker. These are very professional women and men who have gone through years of training and continuing education to understand the psychology, the sociology, and the cognitive aspects of educating children. Education is hard work that requires an understanding of different aspects of learning and a large amount of patience. Being a parent does not equate with being a good educator. You can have the best homeschooling curriculum there is and training in that curriculum, yet you will never have the background that a professionally trained educator has (unless you are a trained educator yourself).

Another issue is in socialization. Of course, this is one reason why some religious based home schoolers avoid public education, however, it is an important issue to discuss. Yes, most home schoolers have groups that they get together with, and play-dates with other home schoolers, but it can never match the socialization education one receives in public or even private school. The school setting is a mini reflection of social reality. One learns to navigate successfully through that reality, and one learns to understand his or her feelings about that reality. All of this is important in helping a child grow socially. Good experiences and bad experiences teach us valuable lessons that are used later in life. Without these experiences, one doesn't have a basis to reflect upon when similar experiences happen in the working or wider social world.

So, while home schoolers are not all evil, public schools are not evil either. The public school systems have received brutal PR over the years - much of it undeserved. They have no effective PR mechanism to hit back at misconceptions, and they have a hostile elite that would love nothing more than to see a return to inequality in education. The diversity one encounters in the public school setting is invaluable, and can never be replaced by homeschooling. As we enter a century that will require us to better understand people from different backgrounds, religions, and socio-economic status, the public school gives us a valuable mechanism in which to train our children to work better in this diverse social context. I wish the greatest of luck to home schoolers who have special circumstances that require this model, but I urge those that are afraid of the social reality of public school to reexamine what it is they are afraid of.

i home schooled my 2 children for the first 7 years of their education...enrolled them both in PS 2 years ago and they are doing beautifully ... they both have been on the superintendents honor roll for 8 quarters running (96-100 GPA). they both are John Hopkins Youth Scholars and they have many friends and are quite socially adjusted and play on the school's chess, baseball, golf and snowboarding teams, where they are ranked top athletes on all their perspective teams. all this while maintaining A averages .......Harvard and Princeton are gonna love my kids


my kids love both home & school and the PS and i love my kids.

live well, laugh often and love much :7

...but clearly you have the attributes of an educator.

Some people just have the "knack" for teaching. My husband comes from a family of teachers. They all are just good at it.

My family, well, the less said the better, but none of them is, by any stretch of the imagination, anyone I would want educating my children!

Bettie

It is very important to realize that some parents, however well-intentioned, are not educators.

I know myself to well enough to have realized long ago that I could never home-school my kids. I am not an educator. My husband is and could home-school the kids, but he (and I) feels that it is better to have them in an environment where they socialize and meet all kinds of different people.

We plan on supplementing the school experience as seems appropriate to ensure a well-rounded education.

Exactly. Sometimes I think about teaching my son at home. He has Central Auditory Processing disorders and I don't believe I am qualified to do so. While I'm very well read on his condition, I do not have the background to determine what works in a child that can not discriminate sounds. I do not feel like I'm a failure for not keeping him home with me. This isn't about me it's about my child and I think adults need to be honest with themselves before they home school their children. I work with other professionals and we get it done. Just two hours of tutoring and some speech lessons over the summer and my child has finally achieved his first time being on the honor roll. We work together and I have no problem doing so. Sometimes I follow their lead and sometimes we follow mine. I feel my job as a parent is go get him good to go so he can function in society and what I'm doing now presently works. I will look into private schools that cost 18,000 a year here if the public school and I start dropping the ball. How I will pay for it is another matter.
I think if a parent wants to home school that's fine but I wish the states would make the parents take the same test that teachers take to teach a grade in school. Something that proves to all that they have the background to do so.

but only in part. While you may not be qualified to teach your son, chances are the average teacher he meets in public school is not qualified either.

My nephew has reading disabilities, and his teachers in public school were not educated at all in how to help him. Most had only rudimentary, if that, knowledge of learning disabilities and are still using reversals as the primary signal and problem of learning disabiled children. A parent in the average school district will wait in vain for a professional to come along who has any clue at all as to how to teach a child with processing problems.

And I'm not blaming teachers, I'm blaming teacher education and the unwillingness of school districts, at least here in PA, to think outside the box about how to best educate kids with these kinds of problems.