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Posted on 03/03/2002 4:04:50 AM PST by jalisco555
And this is how it starts
I have been labouring under the impression that the growth of Home-Schooling is a purely US phenomenon.
Not so. A refreshingly illuminating documentary programme was shown last night on UK's Channel 4 about the rapidly growing popularity of Home-Schooling here in Britain. Sorry, it was a TV show so no link.
Actually, this should not come as a surprise given the current educational choices faces parents in Britain. Whilst private schools are widely available in Britain they are ferociously expensive so people of modest means have no choice but to process their precious charges through the state meat-grinders that HM government so kindly provides. The repute of the latter plumbs lower depths with each passing year.
The Home-schooling parents were all interviewed at length and, unanimously, they declared that their motivation was entirely due to the way they felt their children were being harmed or hindered by being sent to school in the 'traditional' manner so they just upped and decided to take matters into their own hands. Judging from the kids they were gloriously right; without exception these children were articulate, bright, curious, well-behaved, ambitious and highly-motivated. Furthermore, the time-worn prediction that Home-schooled children would grow up shy and withdrawn was proven to be egregious nonsense.
Now it might be said that the documentary-makers wanted to put a positive slant on things but programme-makers and TV producers in this country are notoriously hostile to free market ideas so if there was any bias it would most certainly tend towards the opposite.
Watching this show was a revelatory joy for someone like me but I almost had to be peeled off the ceiling when I heard some of the things these parents were saying. One mother said:
"I wouldn't want any money from the government because I wouldn't them involved in any way in what I am doing. That's what's so nice about what we're doing; the government has no juristiction over me....They have no involvement in what I do and I'd like to keep it that way"
And another mother said:
"What tends to happen is that when parents grow more confident they question not just the type of schooling we're given but also the type of health care we're given and how Councils are run. It leads to you saying, hang on, if I can take this large amount of responsibility back into my own life, why can't I live in a different way?"
Why indeed?
I think back to my school days and I hung out and played with kids in my immediate neighborhood, not kids in my class. My childhood friends today, without exception, are people from my old neighborhood. I don't even go to my high school reunions because I would hardly know anybody.
Tax credits would provide only a temporary incentive to homeschool. Once the parent doing the homeschooling realizes the investment in time and emotional energy involved, the thrill would likely wear off.
In our opinion, vouchers would offer a more feasible alternative as it would spawn the growth and developement of new school options - still giving parents a place to SEND their kids for an education. The possibilities for education in this country are so vast and so exciting, that it's nearly unbearable to watch us limping along with the current system!
If it were up to me, I'd even take it one step further and give EVERY American citizen their public education tax money back and let the parents take responsibility for their children's education. This may sound radical, but it is currently costing (last time I saw figures) between $6,000 and $8,000 (sometimes more) per child per year to provide them with an education - and that education is often of questionable value. With a fraction of that, a parent can purchase a good private education and the rest of that money can go back into the growth of our economy.
The argument against this (at least in my homeschooling circles) is that we don't want the government involved in any of our education choices, we worry that a "tax credit" might lead the way for government (or local districts) to dictate rules and regulations in return for said credit (as in...no Biblical studies -- you must follow our set curriculum...etc.)
*Note* -- we live in Pennsylvania--one of the worst states to home educate in, due to badly written and intrusive laws, we already have too many "hoops" to jump thru' in order to homeschool
Ping everyone!
Candi
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