Posted on 09/25/2016 11:46:40 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King said that he has concerns about children who are homeschooled according to a story published in Politico Pro (paywall) today.
Education Secretary John B. King Jr. said today that he’s concerned that homeschooled students aren’t “getting the range of options that are good for all kids.”
But King also said he’s aware of homeschooling families “doing it incredibly well” and he knew of students in college who had “very tremendous academic success.”
“Obviously, it’s up to families if they want to take a homeschool approach,” King said, when asked about the topic during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters.
King noted that research shows homeschooling is growing in popularity.
But King said he worries that “students who are homeschooled are not getting kind of the rapid instructional experience they would get in school” – unless parents are “very intentional about it.”
King said the school experience includes building relationships with peers, teachers and mentors – elements which are difficult to achieve in homeschooling, he said, unless parents focus on it.
The Christian Science Monitor didn’t include this in their coverage of their own breakfast which I find odd considering how controversial those remarks are.
Considering many home schooled children take college classes while in high school I find Secretary King’s remarks completely asinine. He doesn’t demonstrate any data to back up his concerns. Studies have shown homeschooling students are out-performing their public school counterparts. He must not also be aware that homeschooling students also led their public school counterparts in SAT results.
Considering his remarks center around a socialization argument leads me to believe he knows very little about homeschooling.
In my opinion his remarks demonstrate frustration over an educational option that is outside of federal control. Considering the mess he made up in New York I don’t think he’s qualified to comment on homeschooling.
Will Estrada, director of federal relations at the Home School Legal Defense Association, made the following remarks on Facebook, “Government bureaucracies always seek more power at the expense of individual liberty. Education policy should be left to the states and localities.”
“The success of homeschooling shows that freedom works. Secretary King would replace that God-given freedom of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children with more government regulation,’ Estrada added.
The fact that the Obama administration has a low opinion of homeschooling should hardly come as a surprise. Back in 2013 former Attorney General Eric Holder when trying to boot the Romeike family out of the United States argued that Germany’s banning homeschooling doesn’t violate fundamental rights.
Homeschooling parents need to be ever vigilant to protect their educational freedom.
Update: Be sure to read Lindsey Burke’s piece about Secretary King’s concerns at The Daily Signal. She made some points that I kick myself for not making.
He’s concerned that there are kids not being subjected to government indoctrination and PC training. Home schooled kids do better academically than public school kids.
Oh I bet he is oh so concerned about homeschooled kids. Give me a break. He and liberals would ban home schooling if they had the power to do so. Call a spade a spade.
But he has “concerns” that they aren’t getting the full range of education and experiences. Ya, these home schooled kids aren’t being indoctrinated into liberal world views...........
Like being taught that the US sucks and that whites are evil and that everyone should tolerate the lefts agenda!
[he’s aware of homeschooling families “doing it incredibly well” and he knew of students in college who had “very tremendous academic success.]
Homeschooled children’s minds are not poisoned by COMMON CORE.
This jerk needs to be taken out and tarred and feathered.
He’s not thinking in terms of what’s best for a child but is bemoaning the fact that leftist crap like him are missing an opportunity to indoctrinate all of the children.
One more reason to vote for Trump. Imagine how Hillary’s Secretary of Education would feel about it. This is the woman remember, who says “it takes a village,” read “government” to raise a child.
The voice of the teachers unions.
I am concerned about public school students.
The Secretary of Education is stupid. Stats of homeschooled kids show they score far superior than the kids on his plantation.
or by an overwhelming number of liberal teachers and administrators
I also found almost all of my homeschooled kids to be more advanced socially and maturity wise than most public school kids.
But that is just my opinion from my ACTUAL experience with homeschool kids.
What arrogance!!!
In a state-sponsored "excellence in education" conference a few years ago focused on the plight of high school graduates unable to do first-year college work, a wise business person questioned whether "teacher training" and "teacher certification" should not be re-examined and replaced by "teacher qualification" standards.
The state's teacher union head was bewildered, asking, "How can we assure quality in teaching if we do that?" That same business leader responded, "Ms. Blank, do you realize that every single one of those students who have been imprisoned in the public schools and are failing in college have been taught by a "certified" teacher?
The union head went to another subject!
Won’t he be out of a job in about 4 month?
Keep your Marxist government hands off of my grandchildren.
Just say no to indoctrination and brainwashing.
Hes concerned because they make govt indoctrinated kids look really, really bad by comparison, for far, far, far less money.
He should be concerned with the public school kids.
I support separation of school and state!
"We can't allow children who haven't been indoctrinated into the socialist/marxist, anti-American, homosexual/deviant agenda to have their own thoughts!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.