Today I’m going to review a few of the reasons why I think more parents should be homeschooling. I believe that 75% of the children in public schools would benefit from being homeschooled and 95% would be no worse off. (How is that for a brash statement?)
Fairly often when the question of homeschooling comes up some parent will wonder if they should homeschool and then list reasons why they don’t think they should or why they couldn’t. I admit it is hard to line up the pluses and minuses. There is no simple algebraic equation will takes a set of inputs and gives a simple one quantity answer. Education is a messy business. There are lots of factors to consider.
There are situations in which some children may be better off by going to public schools. If the parents went through our government schools and graduated functionally illiterate, then maybe the parents couldn’t handle the educational load need to teach their children. Sometimes as a single parent there may not be enough time in the day to hold down a job and to educate your children. And there are a few children with special needs who can benefit from specialists at public schools.
But the academic rigor of government schools has fallen and continues to fall. Homeschooling gives parents a chance to make sure their children have a chance at a decent education.
It seems like half the news articles these days about education will mention bullying. For a variety of reasons our society is a lot more tolerant of bullies than we used to be. Now the victim will suffer for months and years with the bully getting a slap on the hands. As parents we need to protect our children. Sometimes the right thing to do is to yank your child as fast as you can.
People often attack homeschoolers as having missed out on some mystical “socialization” like without government schools children will grow up to socially inept, when the reality is that too often the “Lord of the Flies” environment of public schools are turning out children who have weak social ties and struggle to make connections.
My answer to most people who ask if they should homeschool is an emphatic YES!
2 comments:
I have always been intrigued by homeschooling. It just seems like such a loving situation. All of the homeschooled children I know are loving, polite, curious and smart!
I do know of a couple that are VERY socially awkward and are literally scared of people. I think the parents have a lot to do with it and they don't foster a good example themselves. It's sad, but overall, I think it is a great thing and mom's who do it deserve a medal. I love my son to pieces, but the 3 hours he goes to preschool are my saving grace!
Ask advocates for traditional schooling the following questions:
I. From State (government, generally) operation (or subsidization) of what industries does society as a whole benefit? You may imagine either a dichotomous classification, A={x: x is an unlikely candidate for State operation}, B={x: x is a likely candidate for State operation} or a continuum, ...
(highly unlikely)-1 _____._____+1(highly likely).
II. What characteristics of an industry determine an industry's classification of position on the continuum?
In abstract, the education industry, with:
(a) its highly variable inputs (individual students' interests and abilities
(b)its highly variable outputs (the possible career paths that lie before students after they become adults), and
(c) the industry's critical reliance on local knowledge...
is a highly unlikely candidate for direction by remote authorities.
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