George Bush's secret army (Why Democrats Hate, and Fear, Home Schooled Kids)

Economist ^ | March 17th 2004 | Economist

[gobucks]

A revolution is happening in American education. As it grows in size, it should frighten teachers everywhere.

Just how bad are American schools? And how deeply do conservative Americans distrust their government? One answer to both these questions is provided by the growth of home-schooling. As many as 2m American students—one in 25—may now be being taught at home.

The growth of home-schooling is all the more remarkable when you consider two facts. The first is the commitment of the parents. They give up not just a free public education, but also often the chance of a second income as well, because one parent (usually the mother) has to stay at home to educate the children.

The Department of Education highlights the results of its survey: “Homeschooling in the United States: 1999”. See also the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The next is that the practice challenges most of the assumptions behind public education. For most of the past 150 years, compulsory mass education has been the hallmark of a civilised society. Sociologists such as Max Weber have hailed the state's domination of education as a natural corollary of “modernisation”. Yet in the most advanced country on the planet (on many measures), more than 2m parents insist that education ought to be the work of the family. How has this come about?

Faith's imperatives

The 2m figure comes from the Home School Legal Defence Association. The most recent (1999) survey by the Department of Education put the number at only 850,000. The chances are that the HSLDA is closer to the truth. Rod Paige, the education secretary, uses its figure in his speeches, and, although home-schoolers tend to refuse to answer government surveys, a wealth of anecdotal evidence suggests that home-schooling is on the rise.

The market for teaching materials and supplies for home-schoolers is worth at least $850m a year. More than three-quarters of universities now have policies for dealing with home-schooled children. Support networks have sprung up in hundreds of towns and cities across the country to allow parents to do everything from establishing science labs to forming sports teams and defending their rights and reputation. When J.C. Penney started selling a T-shirt in 2001 that featured “Home Skooled” with a picture of a trailer home, the store faced so many complaints that it withdrew the item from sale.

Home-schooling is a fairly recent phenomenon. When Ronald Reagan came to power, in 1981, it was illegal for parents to teach their own children in most states. Today it is a legal right in all 50 states. Twenty-eight states require home-schooled children to undergo some kind of official evaluation, either by taking standardised tests or submitting a portfolio of work. Thirteen states simply require parents to inform officials that they are going to teach their children at home. In Texas, a parent doesn't have to tell anyone anything.

The main reason why legal restrictions on home-schooling have been swept away across so much of America is the power of the Christian right. Not all home-schoolers, of course, are religious conservatives. One of the first advocates of home-schooling, John Holt, was a left-winger who regarded schools as instruments of the bureaucratic-industrial complex. A lively subdivision of the home-school movement, called “unschooling”, argues that children should more or less be left to educate themselves. And the number of black home-schoolers is growing rapidly.

Yet the Praetorian Guard of the home-schooling movement are social conservatives. They turned to home-schooling in the 1970s in response to what they saw as the school system's lurch to the secular left—and they still provide most of the movement's political muscle on Capitol Hill. Senator Rick Santorum home-schools his children—or, rather, his wife does. Another Republican home-schooler, Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, sponsored a bill to clear up various legal confusions about grants and scholarships for home-schooled children.

George Bush has tried hard to keep home-schoolers on his side. During the 2000 campaign, he said: “In Texas we view home-schooling as something to be respected and something to be protected. Respected for the energy and commitment of loving mothers and loving fathers. Protected from the interference of government.” As president, he has held several receptions for home-schooled children in the White House.

Just as the teachers' unions provide so many of the Democrats' volunteers, home-schoolers are important Republican foot-soldiers. According to the HSLDA, 76% of home-schooled young people aged 18-24 vote in elections, compared with 29% in that age group in the general population. Home-schoolers are also significantly more likely to contribute to political campaigns and to work for candidates—normally Republican ones.

An education that works

So there is certainly an ideological edge to many home-schoolers. But do not be misled. First, this is a bottom-up movement with parents of whatever political stripe making individual decisions to withdraw their children (rather than following orders from higher up). Second, the movement has a utilitarian edge. Home-schoolers simply believe that they can offer their children better education at home.

One-to-one tuition, goes the argument, enables children to go at their own pace, rather than at a pace set for the convenience of teaching unions. And children can be taught “proper” subjects based on the Judeo-Christian tradition of learning, rather than politically correct flimflam. Some home-schoolers favour the classical notion of the trivium, with its three stages of grammar, dialectic and rhetoric (which requires children to learn Greek and Latin).

This sounds backward-looking, but home-schoolers claim that technology is on their side. The internet is making it ever easier to teach people at home, ever more teaching materials are available, and virtual communities now exist that allow home-schoolers to swap information.

The other factor working in home-schooling's favour is its own success. Many parents have been nervous about home-schooled children being isolated. With almost every town in America now boasting its own home-schooling network, that worry declines. Home-schooled children can play baseball with other home-schooled children; they can go on school trips; and so on.

What about academic standards? The home-schooling network buzzes with good news: a family with three home-schooled children at Harvard; a home-schooler with a bestselling novel; first, second and third place in the 2000 National Spelling Bee; a first university for home-schooled children (see article). Systematic evidence is more difficult to find.

There are certainly signs that home-schoolers are thriving. One recent survey by the HSLDA showed that three-quarters of home-educated adults aged 18-24 have taken college-level courses compared with 46% of the general population. But this is hardly conclusive. Home-schoolers do not have to report bad results. Moreover, home-schoolers may simply come from the more educated part of the population.

Yet these arguments point to change in the way the debate is unfolding. It is no longer about whether home-schooled children are losing out, but whether they are doing unfairly well. “Maybe we should subcontract all of public education to home-schoolers,” Bill Bennett, Mr Reagan's education secretary, once wondered mischievously. That looks unlikely. But America's home-schoolers represent an assault on public education that teachers everywhere should pay attention to.

[William Wallace]

In Texas, a parent doesn't have to tell anyone anything.

Man, I love that state.

Have you seen Blue Collar Comedy Tour? If not, rent it, you'll love it.

The opening comic Ron White has a great bit on capital punishment, goes something like this:

“I'm from Texas. We have the death penalty . . . and we use it!

“If you kill someone in Texas, we'll kill you right back. It's our policy.

“In fact, we just passed a new law that says if you kill someone and at least three credible eyewitnesses testify against you, we'll bypass the usual appeals process. No waiting around on death row for 15 years, we'll take you straight to the head of the line.

“All the other states keep coming up with new ways to limit capital punishment. . . in Texas, we just opened an Express Lane!”

[GingisK]

George Bush's secret army...

I recall that homeschooling started long long before Bush was in office. This is, hopefully, "Freedom's Secret Army"; and, it will end up clashing with both parties head-on.

Bush hasn't done even the slightest thing to help with the educational crisis in this Nation. I don't belive that GWB has much in common with homeschoolers.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

What about academic standards? The home-schooling network buzzes with good news: a family with three home-schooled children at Harvard; a home-schooler with a bestselling novel; first, second and third place in the 2000 National Spelling Bee; a first university for home-schooled children (see article).

This cried out for amplication, but I quickly learned that the article referred to above requires a subscription. So I provide the following links for completeness:

"If any building symbolises the ambition of the home-schooling movement, it is Patrick Henry College in suburban Virginia. This conservative university, which opened in 2000, may have only 242 students; but it plans to expand its undergraduate school to 1,600 and to add a law school of 400. More than four in five of its students are home-schooled.

Political Education: A university for home-schoolers

[Fawnn]

Thought you might like a look-see at this article.

[StarCMC]

Thank ye Mrs. Fawnn...

[rocksblues]

BUMP

[dasboot]

Geez, Carrie:

When homeshcooled kid #1 got to 'university', she was Miss Popularity...someone other kids could count on to help with calculus and English; a rock of emotional stability and reason in whom they could confide and obtain counsel. She was a superstar, humble and admired.

She's a commissioned officer, now, at the military academy, completing post-grad stuff; and on a recent training cruise she was charged with managing testosterony cadets in the bars and streets of Costa Rica and other ports. She's 5'4, but can muster the courage and savvy to get in the middle of a bar fight to diffuse it, wrangle football-sized dudes with liquor-induced bad attitudes, and negotiate with the local constabulary all at the same time. Successfully.

The girl is a bedrock Christian, too. (cutie, I might add).

I think in the real world, when stuff counts, the homeschoolers do just fine. Better than most, in fact. Your honing of your kids' character will be all the armor they require. They will recognized evil, and sidestep it: no running away. If necessary, they will confront and triumph. Honest. Don't worry!

[Van Jenerette]

...for Sociology Class.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Here's a great link:

www.elijahco.com

[Tirian]

It is indeed a sacrifice, although in a larger sense it's a choice of lifestyle, or better, life priorities. It can be difficult, but worth it. [And just the looks of surprise on people's faces can be worth it, too ... at the zoo a couple of weeks ago some grownups were speculating on the "small crocodile... or was it an alligator?" Our 4-year old smiled and politely said "It's a caiman!"]

[VaFederalist]

Good to hear but my experiences at the local level have not been as gratifying.

I just feel that these folks fear scrutiny and feel like jumping into the political process jeopardizes that.

[cyclotic]

Uh, I'd have to check with the Council about that, but I think they'd say no.

[daybreakcoming]

no, people homeschool because they are up to here with the leftist leaning materials the schools choose to teach with - not to mention the liberal teachers trying to indoctrinate their mantra on our children. If your child only has one of these teachers in his school career - it could be one too many.

[daybreakcoming]

no, people homeschool because they are up to here with the leftist leaning materials the schools choose to teach with - not to mention the liberal teachers trying to indoctrinate their mantra on our children. If your child only has one of these teachers in his school career - it could be one too many.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

**Bush hasn't done even the slightest thing to help with the educational crisis in this Nation. I don't belive that GWB has much in common with homeschoolers.**

Hmm. Reading over your posts on FR I would venture to believe that anything Bush does is not hunky dory with you...good *or* not so good. Below I've posted a few web addy's (sorry...haven't passed html 101 yet) you might want to look at. Additionally, try looking at articles on hslda.org concerning Bush and homeschoolers. As I understand it, President Bush, while Gov in Texas, was *very* supportive of homeschooling liberty. Perhaps spookie can offer a more indepth look at that.

http://www.christianhomeeducatorsofflorida.com/bush_letter.htm (letter from pres bush to Florida homeschool assn)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/983046/posts (Breakthrough for Homeschoolers Enlisting in the Military)

http://www.chois.org/safe.html (President Bush Signs 'Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003)

[mrs tiggywinkle]

**People home school because they don't what the Government to indoctrinate their children.**

Actually, people choose to home educate for a variety of reasons.

[Porterville]

Pay for with their souls.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Hi backatcha! :o)

[Poser]

Bump! Good article on home schooling.

[netmilsmom]

LOLOL!
I would think so!