Home is no place for school - Homeschool Alert

USA Today Op Ed ^ | September 3, 2003 | Dennis Evans

[Damocles]

Home is no place for school
Wed Sep 3, 6:49 AM ET


By Dennis L. Evans 

The popularity of home schooling, while not significant in terms of the number of children involved, is attracting growing attention from the media, which create the impression that a "movement" is underway. Movement or not, there are compelling reasons to oppose home teaching both for the sake of the children involved and for society.

Home schooling is an extension of the misguided notion that "anyone can teach." That notion is simply wrong. Recently, some of our best and brightest college graduates, responding to the altruistic call to "Teach for America," failed as teachers because they lacked training. Good teaching is a complex act that involves more than simply loving children. Research on student achievement overwhelmingly supports the "common-sense" logic that the most important factor affecting student learning is teacher competency. While some parents may be competent to teach very young children, that competence will wane in more advanced grades as the content and complexity increases. 

But schools serve important functions far beyond academic learning. Attending school is an important element in the development of the "whole child." Schools, particularly public schools, are the one place where "all of the children of all of the people come together." Can there be anything more important to each child and thus to our democratic society than to develop virtues and values such as respect for others, the ability to communicate and collaborate and an openness to diversity and new ideas? Such virtues and values cannot be accessed on the Internet. 

The isolation implicit in home teaching is anathema to socialization and citizenship. It is a rejection of community and makes the home-schooler the captive of the orthodoxies of the parents.

One of the strengths of our educational system is the wide range of legitimate forms of public, private or parochial schooling available for parental choice.

With that in mind, those contemplating home teaching might heed the words of the Roman educator, Quintilian (A.D. 95). In opposing home schooling, he wrote, "It is one thing to shun schools entirely, another to choose from them."

Dennis L. Evans directs doctoral programs in education leadership at the University of California, Irvine.

[Alter Kaker]

So long as you believe violence is a fair means to achieve an end, you have no business commenting on the American 'constituion.'

British embassy is open today. You may apply to have old British citizenship returned on excuse that American Revolution was illegitimate activity. No one holds you back.

You are making the statists case which is popular in public schools and court historians. That is proof positive that gubmint schools are working just fine; their design is to subjugate the populace.

You make no sense and respond not to my arguments. I am not in public school nor am I court historian. You seem to argue that I am indoctrinated because I disagree with you, and you will not debate because I am indoctrinated. It is very sad.

[AnAmericanMother]

Oh, yeah . . . the website link . . .

Veritas Press

Have fun. Lots of books listed here.

[JohnGalt]

That does not make any sense, though liberals rarely make much sense so I was not expecting much better from you.

Hitler admired a policy of Lincoln's; which policy of Washington did Ho Chi Minh support?

'It is said' what tripe. You have google on your machine either cite your reference or don't bother bringing your comic book opinion learned in gubmint school to this debate. You embarrass whatever point you maybe trying to make.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Home schooling is an extension of the misguided notion that "anyone can teach."

So in the publik skools, science teachers will know science and math teachers awill know math?

Wonder when that starts??

[JohnGalt]

There are only two good wars in American history, the first and second wars of independence.

You believe, as the French liberals due, that using violence to achieve a social end (yours, ending slavery) is acceptible policy. That is liberal logic.

It does not surprise me that you are unskilled in systems of thought as you are a liberal. Yes, I made a mistake by assuming that you were an American, that is why I laughed out loud that you would bother to inter act with me in the first place.

If you are so uninterested in American history that you rely only on the gubmint's version of history, what really is the use? You are by definition, intellectually lazy.

[AnAmericanMother]

I forgot to add somebody she absolutely MUST read: Rudyard Kipling.

The Just So Stories may be a little young in tone for her, but they are still enjoyable. The REAL Jungle Book (not the Disney abomination) should be just about right for her, parts of it are very sad but it's a wonderful book. Also, if you can find copies, get Kipling's two books of stories about English history - Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Faeries. You will NOT be disappointed in those, like the Narnia books they read on two levels - one for the kids and one for the grownups. She's probably too young for Kim now, that's heavy going but well worth reading once she's old enough.

[retrokitten]

Home schooling is an extension of the misguided notion that "anyone can teach." That notion is simply wrong.

Clearly, this man has not met my sister in-law's. My brothers wife and my husbands sister are both teachers and they are both idiots.

My brothers wife is a flaming (oh how I wish literally!) liberal who tried to go up to and pet a buffalo in Custer State Park, South Dakota. According to her, "They are used to people!" and she pouted for hours after my brother told her get back in the $*!@&^# car before she got gored.

My husbands sister is just unbelievable. Here are some of her finer moments:

-She only recently discovered starfish are real creatures, she thought they were made up
-She was confused by a bread machine she got for a gift because, "how do I know I will like the bread it makes?" like there is a wizard inside who conjures the bread. She didn't realize she had to put ingredients in
-Only recently discovered people actually surf. Direct quote, "I thought people only did that in the movies!!"

She's done more stupid things, but those are just off the top of my head.

Everytime I have a conversation with either of these two I know that my future children will either be homeschooled or private schooled.

[stands2reason]

Check out this thread---you should find some good pointers on how to deal with boys and their schooling.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/972970/posts

[Hat-Trick]

My guess is that this troll is every bit as opposed to vouchers & school choice as he is to homeschooling.

[WOSG]

Thanks!

[SkimmerTarget]

I would say you were NOT normal if you didn't question your decision from time to time ... especially if you have a strong-willed child. The bottom line is is this a calling for you or simply a choice. If it is the former you must find a way past your son's more challenging traits.

What I see is a parent who has laid out a keen understanding of their child. Tell me if any overburdened teacher with a classroom of 25-30 kids is going to know your child like you do.

I just went to the AZ Homeschool convention in July and a speaker made a great comment after a question like yours from the audience. The father asked the same thing since he had a son really pressing hard on going to a gov't school. The father wasn't conflicted just fatigued by the constant grief he was getting from the son. The bottom line answer from the speaker was if you know in your heart of hearts that this is your calling for your children you must do share that with the child and the fact that floating in and out of homeschool is not an option.

Hope this helps, but from the way you explain it I don't see a parent that is failing their child. You may yet decide to place him in the gov't school or a private one. At the end of the day you need to make the best decision for you, your family and ultimately your son. Good luck.

[HenryLeeII]

Home schooling is an extension of the misguided notion that "anyone can teach." That notion is simply wrong. Recently, some of our best and brightest college graduates, responding to the altruistic call to "Teach for America," failed as teachers because they lacked training.

Uh, no, public schools are an extension of the misguided notion that "anyone can teach." And the reason for the failure of the "Teach for America" program? Hmmm. Maybe the fact that many, if not most, of the "best and brightest college graduates" are products of public education.

[Old Professer]

There are some who would assume to think that, outside of impregnation and gestation, there is nothing the state cannot do better than the parents; however, recent scientific developments are underway to correct these difficulties.

[beelzepug]

"So long as you believe violence is a fair means to achieve an end, you have no business commenting on the American 'constituion"

So then you must believe that the 2nd Amendment really DOES refer to a government-run militia/national guard and doesn't have anything to do with the citizenry protecting itself from tyrants? Violence may not be the best, first choice, but that doesn't make it an illegitimate choice.

[aruanan]

I can teach anybody who wants to learn. (It's the ones that don't want to learn that catch some serious flak from yours truly.)

And then you'd hurt their poor wittle psyches and make them have low self-esteem.

[SkimmerTarget]

For the first 200 years of life on American soil people were essentially homeschooled. It was worked into the life of the family and work on the farm or in the family business and was directed by the parent. Of course, many children had no more than a 4th-6th grade education and then learned a trade. Even great men like Jefferson, Madison and Monroe learned and expanded their minds at the hands of self-directed learning as well as 1-on-1 teaching methods and/or tutor-based teaching. I guess those fellows were not socialized properly. I can see the revisionist historian headlines now! "Homeschooled revolutionaries split from Mother England." It's funny to think that the idea for public education came from Jefferson. Although, I don't think he would recognize it in its' current incarnation.

I always love the socialization red herring! Hmmm. Let's see, I want my girls to be socialized that Brittany Spears is a role model, belly button piercing is okay, having 2 Mommies is a great idea, "hooking up" is just swell and materialism run rampant in the form of cell phones on 12 yr olds and designer clothes on kids even younger is a socially redeeming value.

I used to be focused on ensuring that I could afford a good, private, Christian education via some Christian school until my wife got on fire to homeschool. Since then it has been an eye-opening experience to meet other homeschoolers as well as attend conventions etc. I'm now of the belief that we are choosing homeschooling because it is literally the best way to educate my children.

All these hand wringers stating we're harming the child and need "professional" educators are themselves lemmings spouting the normal leftist propaganda. If the "professional" educator is the epitome of what our children need then why o' why are our children slipping ever further behind other industrialized nations?

I come from a family of educators and I am not one to dump on teachers automatically. Yet, instead of teachers they've been turned into social workers by an over-reaching administration trying to intervene in every area of family life. Also, over-worked, dual income and frazzled parents that a) send their kids to school ill-prepared to start off with and b) don't have the time nor the energy to provide an environment for learning make for challenging environment in which to learn. We then expect the public educator to wave a wand and perform a miracle on little Johnny or Jillian. What utter silliness! I've also seen wonderful public school situations where the opposite is true. I believe it is each family's decision, normally directed by the parents, but also with insight into the child and if appropriate input from the child.

At the end of the day my rights as a parent come from God and I will believe reasonable checks to ensure that I am indeed educating my child in some way is all the gov't need concern themselves with. Nevertheless, as the parent -- who has been blessed with my children from God (not the Gov't) -- my children, their education and their welfare are my wife's responsibility and mine ... NOT the government's. If that was the case then turn us into a bunch of mindless breeders who hand over our children to an all-knowing, Big Brother government that will carry out the will of the people. That is ultimately an evil worldview that must be resisted if our great country is to remain strong and her people as free as possible.

That said, the naysayers want to brand homeschooling parents as backwater, gap-toothed in-bred hicks who are trying to hide our kids from this terrible world! In my case and in case of EVERY homeshooling family I've met nothing can be further from the truth!

Now I feel better that I've had my little rant. Thanks for helping me along ...

[JohnGalt]

You darn well know the context of that line is in regards to the state achieveing an alleged societal 'good' using violence.

Unlike most folks masquerading as conservatives, who believe that a war in Iraq is the key to national defense, I believe in a well armed citizenry as the first pillar of national defense policy. I believe that the government insured 9/11 when the FAA declared passenger planes defense free in the seventies.

No, I think your beef is with others, you just chose, oddly, chose to reply to me. Stange days indeed.

[dd5339]

Home school ping!

Semper Fi

[Alter Kaker]

That does not make any sense, though liberals rarely make much sense so I was not expecting much better from you.

Ad hominem silliness. I am no liberal, my friend, and you are not conservative.

Hitler admired a policy of Lincoln's; which policy of Washington did Ho Chi Minh support?

Read Selected Works of Ho Chi Minh (published, 1960), available at local college library or on your bedside table for reference. Ho Chi Minh's admiration for Washington and Jefferson does not make them Communists any more than Lincoln was Nazi.

learned in gubmint school to this debate

I am simple man. I admit I write English poorly - I speak better Hebrew, French, Russian, Polish, Arabic, German - yet I still present arguments better than yourself. You seem capable of but personal attacks. I am sorry for you.

[TomSmedley]

He can read. He can do math (when he wants). He needs a lot of work on his spelling. He loves science. He's in fourth grade and can write, but I didn't teach him cursive. I wonder if I am failing him.

No, you are not failing him. He can read, and apparently loves to read, which puts him ahead of 80% of high school graducates. He has a passion. Pour gasoline on that flame, and good things will happen. Pray for wisdom -- I'm praying for you, too!

BTW -- we finally put our two oldest kids in a public school -- NC State University. I taught them to type at age 7 -- and their "cursive" is something to curse about! They still hand-letter like second graders! But, Dori can type 130 wpm, so I'm not complaining!

I assure you -- you will not succeed in every area. But so what -- the successes will more than compensate for the failures. And on top of that, when he starts stepping out into adulthood, he'll still be on your side. Not professionally alienated from those realities you value more than life itself.

I have often encountered Christian parents who wept over how their public school "educated" kids turned out. In my nearly 20 years of hanging around home schoolers, I've never met one who grieved that way.