Note: As I have explained in my previous blog this morning, I have received an e-mail that I think articulates the opinions of many who do not home school and don’t understand why those of us who do might see government intervention as a bad thing. I generally ignore these letters because they are often riddled with poor language and have clearly not been thought out. For the original question in part, please see the first blog. This is a continuation of my response.
Those Who “Claim to Homeschool”
Every so often, we hear of a news story about a family who was “home schooling” and the children were either abused, or ended up with an arsenal. Then some experts come along and say, “See, we told you home schooling was a bad idea. Look what happens.”
By this very same reasoning, we can say that public schools produce suicidal killers. In fact, is it not true that all of the horrific school shootings have been done by children who were publicly schooled? I am sure educators would find that statement unfair as do I. The truth of the matter is that there are bad parents. Public school is not a ‘radar’ to catch bad parenting and neither is home schooling; so let’s separate the real issues here. I am sure there are some parents who “claim” to be home schooling and are not doing a good job just as there are “qualified” teachers who are not doing a good job. Homeschooling is irrelevant; the reality is, not everyone does a good job at what they’re supposed to do.
I do believe, for the record, that the state does have the right to request paperwork from families who are home schooling. Each state has a vested interest in producing well rounded and well educated citizens. However, research has shown that homeschoolers do just as well with or without strict regulations. I am personally in favor of some type of letter of intent and some type of yearly progress report done by the parent. Anything beyond that, including my own state’s laws–I think is intrusive and an infringement on my constitutional rights as a parent; unless of course there is question as to how well the child is doing.
My Gifted Son
I think it’s interesting that you assume my son is not learning to his fullest potential. But you’re right–there are a slew of things he’s not getting. He is not getting labeled as ‘gifted’ and then separated from his peers. He is not getting an ego boost into thinking he is superior to his peers because of his intelligence. He is not getting bored in classes that are too easy for him either.
Beyond that, there are is a whole bunch of stuff he IS getting: the opportunity to explore his areas of interest in depth and ad nauseum. He is getting an education specifically tailored to meet his needs in every subject. He has opportunities to study with real experts and not just teachers who only know a little in comparison about a specified field.
Further, let’s not forget the ample amount of resources there are out there. Free courses at MIT, that I’m fairly sure will make up a substantial amount of his high school curriculum. DVD’s with college level teaching on it. There are even online schools–if I really feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Where there is a will, there’s a way. I’m not as gifted as my son in math and science–no doubt. But there are resources out there for kids like him and I am perfectly capable of finding them.
As always, I welcome comments whether they agree with my views or not. Look later today for part 3 of my response.