How Christian fundamentalist homeschooling damages children (Salon)

Salon ^ | 9/10/14 | Kristin Rawls

[Durus]

We need a constitutional amendment for a strict separation of school and state. (actually we don’t if the constitution were enforced, their is no enumerated power of the government to lay taxed and provide for public education)

[miss marmelstein]

How do you enroll school age children after 18 years of schooling them at home? In other words, who is dumb here?

[Timocrat]

The issue at stake is educational neglect — which is, as the anecdotal evidence shows, an actual problem.

There may be a minor problem but compared to the utter devastation of the government schools it's a flea bite.

[Resolute Conservative]

We home schooled one child for a couple years but put the two younger ones in Christian private school. All I can say is that a family we know has moved their sophomore into our private school after starting in K in public school at an “excellent” district. This child was an A honor roll kid and the mom said the biggest adjustment after 4 weeks of school is that their child is playing catch up. She could not believe how far ahead our curriculum was over the public school.

[Hulka]

I must be missing something. Can someone help me understand this: “enrolled her six school-age children in public school after 18 years of teaching them at home”

Assuming she was teaching her first child from birth, wouldn’t that mean the first child would be 18 and ready for college/university. . .whatever, and not be enrolled in public school?

[miss marmelstein]

Either that or her kids were really slow.

[Theo]

This:

“... improving state and local oversight of those who opt out would be one step in the right direction.”

And who would perform the “local oversight”? Who cares about my children more than my wife and me? Who gives them the authority to oversee my family?

No, no, no. A thousand times, no.

[Psalm 73]

"...stories about homeschoolers who were barely literate when they graduated, or whose math and science education had never extended much past middle school..."

Hmmm, she means 2% of homeschoolers turned out the same as 98% of Public-schooled kids?
Not bad odds (at 1/10th the cost).

[freeandfreezing]

This is simply a hit piece that really fails to acknowledge that more kids as a percentage fail in the public school system than in homeschooling.

Yes, and it follows the pattern of many such attempts.

1) Pick out an anecdotal example of a homeschooled student with problems, or invent such a student. A few years ago in New Hampshire liberal activist legislators claimed there might be a homeschooled student somewhere who was being neglected educationally, or mistreated and the state would not know about it.

2) Ignore the thousands of public school students with worse problems. During the same time period more than one public school student died of a drug overdose during the school day.

3) Suggest that homeschool education by devoutly religious people is somehow substandard - in this case "an overly politicized education with huge gaps, for example, in American history, evolution or sexuality."

4) Ignore the fact that millions of public school students have even more glaring gaps in their education, like an inability to read proficiently, or complete high school at all.

Liberals who are against religion and in favor of state based indoctrination of children use the same tactics over an over again. Each instance should be refuted.

[xzins]

I have seen neglectful home schooler parents, and I’ve seen neglectful public schooler parents.

There are far more neglectful public school parents, and even a greater percentage, because an habitually neglectful person wouldn’t want his/her kids hanging around all day anyway. Public school is fairly easy. Pack them off. Let someone else do it. It’s amazing how many parents out there simply don’t value education and don’t care what their kids do or don’t do. And they sure aren’t going to help.

And with the government willing to send money just because, who’s to convince them that they’re the ones that have it wrong?

[SoothingDave]

After 18 years of homeschooling her children, she still had 6 who were “school age” that she then enrolled in public school.

It doesn’t say she only had 6 children total.

[redgolum]

Many people have a deep seated fear of home and private schooling.

I have seen it first hand, when we sent our daughter to a private church school.

[Tax-chick]

When government schools succeed in educating every child who walks in their doors, then we might consider the government competent to intervene in others’ education. Until then, go play in traffic.

[freeandfreezing]

From the article:

“Please spread the word that it is really necessary for the government to make sure children aren’t being robbed of an education… Kids have rights too, and one of them is the right to an education appropriate to their age and ability.”

It’s an important point, and I conclude with it because it is one of the more incisive analyses I’ve heard on this topic yet. There is simply no justification for allowing cases of educational neglect – wherever it exists – to go unchecked.

Of course the author doesn't apply that same standard to public schools. Could anyone look at the performance of many inner city schools and not consider it "educational neglect"?

Dark Blue – Morton McMichael; Light Blue – Phila Schools; Grey – PA schools

In this particular public school "educational neglect" is what 90% of the students experience.

Source: Zerohedge - The Stupendous Failure Of Big City Education, How The Philly Teachers Union Loots The Schools

[98ZJ USMC]

Salon? Yeeshhh...if I wanted to read comic books, I’d go to the store.

[vaudine]

Salon is Published by people already very damaged.

vaudine

[messierhunter]

Of course, they can’t argue the facts, so they go for the emotional argument based on anecdotes. Here’s an anecdote for them; when they come for my kids and try to ban homeschooling, I will only give them up over my dead body. The right to raise my own children is where I draw my personal line in the sand and I will defend my right as a parent using my second amendment right.

[kinsman redeemer]

Ping

[98ZJ USMC]

We home schooled one child for a couple years but put the two younger ones in Christian private school. All I can say is that a family we know has moved their sophomore into our private school after starting in K in public school at an “excellent” district. This child was an A honor roll kid and the mom said the biggest adjustment after 4 weeks of school is that their child is playing catch up. She could not believe how far ahead our curriculum was over the public school

Thankfully, my parents decided on Catholic Grade School for all of us with the option of Catholic High, if we so desired. We said, "No, we wanted to go to Public HS".

We were, at a minimum, 2 1/2 grades ahead and some math did not catch up to me until sophomore year in college. This was one of the top preforming school districts in the nation (District 214 NW burbs of Chicago).

This article is a recycled hit piece, made to sound reasonable. It's total crap.

[kinsman redeemer]

“...anecdotal evidence...”
Imagine the anecdotes that can be told about public schools!
I have a few of my own:
Barry Socks - the school bully
The day the greasers stole the wheels off the paddy wagon in the senior parking lot
Events at “the log”
So much more — and I was one of the “good” students