I have to start off by admitting my bias right off the bat. I really like Giuliani. I lived in New York City when he was mayor and frankly, I think he was good at it. Overall, he made the city a much safer and nicer place to live. But this isn’t a political endorsement. I mentioned awhile back that I would start talking about presidential candidates and their positions on education and how that might affect home schooling.
Supporting School Choice
Any candidate that supports school choice is probably a safe bet for homeschoolers. In education, school choice is the idea that parents can choose the schools they want their kids to go to. They do this by a variety of means, either school vouchers, entrance exams into certain schools, or a lottery (I don’t know how a lottery is school choice exactly–I guess maybe because parents are choosing to be in the lottery?) Critics say that it will leave the borderline schools with the worst students and the worst teachers. Proponents say that the move would give incentive for borderline and failing schools to succeed.
The underlying philosophy though, is that parents are fundamentally responsible for making sure that their child is educated as opposed to the school system being fundamentally responsible. The logic ensues therefore, that if parents are fundamentally responsible for educating their children, and the options for a child to receive a good education are limited, then the parent can take it upon themselves to educate their child.
Giuliani’s Statement
Thus far, no other front running candidate has broched the subject of home schooling specifically in any of their speeches. It is a tricky proposition frankly, because essentially stating that you are in favor of home schooling and school choice automatically alienates the powerful teacher’s union and the NEA. Nonetheless, Guiliani had this to say about home schooling:
“I support the right of responsible parents to educate their children at home. . .”
And that is where he lost his home schooling audience. The issue is who defines what is responsible? Does responsible mean that other states will have to follow suit in New York (which has the most paperwork required to home school legally)?
After he made the statement, blogs were abuzz about his ‘blunder.’ But I don’t see it as a blunder frankly. Certainly I have concerns about what defines a “responsible parent“, however, voting for a candidate that is in favor of school choice is generally voting for a candidate that is in favor of home schooling.
I am not endorsing one candidate over another in these blogs. I am merely bringing to light some of the issues that might affect homeschoolers. It is my hope to highlight some of the educational issues that political candidates are speaking on, that would affect home schooling.
Related Articles:
What Homeschoolers Should Know About the Universal PK Agenda
Why the NCLB Is Good for Homeschoolers
Homeschooling Sectarianism and How It Hurts Us