The Scourge of Homeschooling
The Other Side March 13, 2008
Homeschooling: the zaniest idea ever by Kelvin Wade
We’re all sickened by cases of child neglect and child abuse. But the California Second District Court of Appeals recently reminded us that there’s something else that should make us lose our lunch: homeschooling. The court affirmed California law which says that children must attend public or private schools or be taught by an accredited tutor.
Believe it or not, there are parents out there who are so obsessed with their children receiving a quality education that they stoop to giving one to them themselves. That’s right. We provide beautiful, clean, gleaming public schools complete with the latest in modern technology, brand spanking new books, robust curriculums, overqualified teachers and a minimum of classroom disruption, yet these scofflaw parents thumb their nose at our efforts.
How dare these homeschooling parents pay for public schools with their property taxes and not even use them!
In addition to book learning, homeschooling parents take their kids on field trips into nature, to libraries, museums and other places for hands on learning. This is what must be stopped. It’s as if these parents don’t know that the best learning takes place in an overpopulated classroom with a high student-to-teacher ratio.
And what about……drumroll please….socialization? How are homeschooled children going to learn how to say no to drugs without the experience of being offered them in our public schools? How will girls deal with sexual harassment or little boys learn how to keep their lunch money safe from bullies? I bet those high falutin’ homeschooling parents aren’t teaching their kids how to fight, curse and get to third base. How are homeschooled kids supposed to learn these skills?
I know you’re thinking, what about the Education Resources Information Center’s study on homeschooling that found that homeschooled students outperformed their public and private school counterparts? It also said there was no meaningful difference found between parents who were credentialed and parents who were not.
I say if you believe that, then you probably believe nearly a third of all 9th graders and half of black and Hispanic students drop out of school. Oops, they do.
Results don’t change the fact that there are thousands of parents up and down this state, including right here in Fairfield, who are illegally educating children. They can be prosecuted for truancy and face heavy fines and possible removal of their children, according to Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute. I don’t think Gitmo should be out of the question.
Here in Fairfield we’ve seen parents derelict in their duties with out of control kids. In one case, a youth even assaulted a baby. But I guess that pales in comparison to those parents who are giving the finger to our laws by educating their children at home.
I ’ve seen it firsthand. I know parents who engage in this nefarious activity. I’ve seen the paraphernalia, purchased basically from ‘homeschooling head shops,’ used to educate a child. I’ve seen a child all hopped up on knowledge. Is this what kind of state we want to live in?
One can only hope the California Supreme Court makes it clear that only public schools can turn out the citizens of tomorrow. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
NOTES: I wanted to have some fun with the court's ruling. There have been so many studies showing that homeschooled children do better than kids in public and private schools. There's not the gender gap in learning either. And it's not that these parents are just great teachers. It's the fact that for a parent to homeschool, that means obviously there's some financial stability at home. It also usually means that its a two parent home because obviously one parent is the breadwinner. Just being in a two parent home pays dividends. Plus for a parent to want to do this, that's a motivated parent. Then there's the individual attention. There's the fact that the student can't goof off and not turn it work because hello, his parent is his teacher.
I think requiring homeschooled students to take some test annually to show that they're learning is reasonable. I think that's more reasonable than credentialing the parents. We have plenty of credentialed teachers turning out moronic students in the public schools. Let's make sure the kids are learning. That's the goal. That's the most important thing.
You can check out the DR blog to read the latest on the Suisun WalMart wars.
It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms and advice on AOL Money & Finance.
Comments