One of the main problems parents have in homeschooling their kids is the child care aspect.
Even though they may be competent to teach and have all the resources they need - and the internet is just about all you need, although I prefer workbooks - they have to give up an income to have someone stay home with the kids.
Which just shows that schools have become the taxpayer funded babysitter of millions. Generally an America-hating babysitter with the highest rates of child abuse of any group. . . with a salute to all the good, kind and patriotic teachers who I know are still out there.
- “they have to give up an income to have someone stay home with the kids”.
...so what? Should’ve planned for that before having kids.
Good point. Homeschooling loses the advantage of a division of labor, a loss attributable to a breakdown in civil trust.
( Capitals for emphasis only)
I agree!
Yes! It is a flat out **reality** that many parents must work simply to find a reasonably safe neighborhood and safe housing. And....The taxes in these areas are often as much as the take home pay of one of the parents. This isn't going to change soon. They are the **facts**!
Ok....So....Let's really examine what how much learning is happening in an institutional school and how much learning is **entirely** due to the work done by the parents and the child, himself, at HOME, at the kitchen table, or at the child's desk.
It is important to know just exactly what is learned in school and what is learned at HOME because if 99% of all learning happens in the HOME then it would be far far far cheaper for the government to simply provide free day care and forget any attempts at schooling?
Also...Whether or not both parents are working, if 99% of the teaching and learning is done by the parents and the child, himself, in the HOME, then working parents of academically successful children are already homeschooling ( afterschooling).
Anecdotally....When I ask parents of academically successful children about their home habits, I find there is NO difference between the home lives of institutionalized children and homeschooled children. Both ( home and institutionalized) successful children are spending the** SAME** amount of **TIME** at the kitchen table or child's desk. Both homes value education and control electronics, take educational trips, read to their children, have books in the home, go to the library..etc.
It could be that the only thing the government schools are doing is sending home a very EXPENSIVE curriculum for parents and children to follow in the home.