Comments on: Homeschooling and public policy

By: votetheday.com

votetheday.com — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:30:25 +0000

All parents want to give the best for their child, and, of course, to protect their offspring from the mischiefs of the world outside home. That’s why some parents decide to educate their children at home, instead of letting them to school.
Is it worth to protect your child from the world, knowing, that sooner or later he will have to face it? Does homeschooling give a full learning experience and can serve instead of school? Vote and tell us – http://www.votetheday.com/society-18/homeschooling-309

By: suburbancorrespondent

suburbancorrespondent — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:35:20 +0000

“many confuse school attendance with education..”

That’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it?

By: Sebastian (a lady)

Sebastian (a lady) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:34:05 +0000

One of the problems that I see is that the the “American Dream” has replaced “Pursuit of Happiness.” In other words we have confused one of the possible outcomes (success) with the freedom to seek the outcome. And then we lean on government to try to ensure the outcome instead of protecting the process.
So if most high earning people are college graduates, we try to guarantee college education. Then we try to create a 100% prepped and ready for college student cadre. But we ignore the lessening of value in the K-12 prepping (and in the college experience itself). In a quest for high self esteam, we undermined the value of hard, persistent work. In order to help everyone succeed, we take out all the bumps that make an achievement actually satisfy.
[You can tell that I'm stressed from moving. I'm pontificating a lot.]

By: Dana

Dana — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:16:09 +0000

I agree, Crimson Wife. Unfortunately, more and more people have been looking to education not as a part of maintaining an informed citizenry but as a way of furthering their goals, hence the whole “socialization” question.

And Sebastian, I think you are exactly right here:

Policy should be restricted to discussing the obligation that a government has to provide adequate education to its citizens.

So long as that doesn’t include monitoring those who opt out. Funny thing is, if we returned to viewing education more the way Crimson Wife describes it, there would probably be less people who feel forced into homeschooling.

I love homeschooling, but it is a sad state of affairs when so many people who would really like to send their children to a public school feel forced to homeschool.

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:25:16 +0000

The original purpose of government-run schooling in the U.S. was to ensure an informed citizenry. Since we have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people”, we need to make sure those people are equipped to make informed decisions. In general, there is no conflict between this societal goal and allowing private and home schools to operate with minimal interference by the state.

Government-run schooling was never supposed to be about either maintaining social order OR about creating a new one. Those goals very much DO conflict with allowing private and home schools autonomy.

By: Sebastian (a lady)

Sebastian (a lady) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:31:03 +0000

I think their is a place for homeschooling in education policy. But probably not the same place that the policy wonks would advocate. I would see the same relationship that I would like to see in business. Financial policies should encourage entrepreneurship, creation of businesses (some of which will do better than others) and trade of goods and services. Educational policy should encourage activities that educate, with no regard to whether they methods originate in a government monopoly, private company or non-profit, private tutor relationship or a family. Or in some twist on these that we haven’t yet envisioned.
Policy should be restricted to discussing the obligation that a government has to provide adequate education to its citizens. Not necessarily to regulating each and every lesson plan along the way. Not by trying to create outcomes by legislating that they must happen. And the discussion should go a long ways farther back than it usually does. Ask first IF the government has an obligation. Then ask to what level they are obligated. Then discuss the simplest ways that government can support the minimum level to which they are obligated.