Has the time come to outlaw homeschooling?
By Tom Quiner
The numbers don’t lie: home-schooled kids are doing better than students mired in public schools.
It doesn’t matter what the subject is, they outperform kids in the public schools, as you can see in the graphic above.
Let’s face it, homeschooled kids have unfair advantages like caring, committed teachers. They enjoy small class room sizes. And they are taught in safe, secure environments, cocooned from the social pathology that now defines far too many public schools.
Good grief, they may not hear the “F” word until they attend college.
It’s not right.
These homeschooled kids are going to grab the juiciest scholarships, land the best jobs, and marry the most decent people around.
This is so un-American, something must be done.
The time has come to knock these kids down a peg or two and subject them to Common Core curriculum like their peers in public schools.
The time has come to level the playing field.
The time has come to outlaw homeschooling.
Tom-
It’s really an unfair comparison.
A. Homeschoolers school who they want, when they want, which means they do not get the failing kids whose parents could care less about their kids’ education. Public schools have to educate everyone, and it is common for a gen ed class to be slowed down a bit by slower learners, while home-schooled kids frequently get one-on-one help. That is not possible in the public school environment.
B. Parents who home-school are involved in their children’s education. The biggest problem in public education is that parents are to a large extent no longer involved. When you compare kids who have involved parents to homeschooled kids, I believe the comparison would be more apt, and much closer.
I also feel that must take umbrage with your comment “Let’s face it, homeschooled kids have unfair advantages like caring, committed teachers.” The staff I work with work their tails off, and do care about their students. AND they are actually trained to teach.
Your approach to comparing these two very different educational settings would be like me saying , “Wow, look how much better the student taking independent voice lessons is progressing compared to the one who sings in his church choir.” Both students can learn about music, but clearly the one with individual lessons has an advantage.
Hi Shawn: Your comment on committed teachers is a fair one. I have family members who have been wonderful, committed teachers in the public schools. The intent of the piece was to tweak liberals who in their desire to “level the playing field” do so at the expense of excellence by pulling everyone else down. No slight intended to public teachers, and I do apologize for being snarky toward these teachers. My gripe is very much with the liberal teachers’ unions and the federalization of education. Thanks for writing.
No problem. There are many in my profession who agree with your take on the union AND the federalization of education. Someone needs to make a strong 10th amendment challenge to that, actually. Local control is best.
My three were home-schooled by my “ex” for an average of 80% of their first twelve years (with some assistance from me). We started when our oldest as in the 5th grade, while the youngest did not experience public schooling until college.
I am concerned that Obamacore will attack this successful method (and rightful way as parents are the first teachers of their children — as parents WE allow the state to teach them, not vice versa).
Tom, your thoughts: will Obamacore attack charter schools first? — Tony
In fairness, I don’t think Obamacore can be pinned on Obama. Republicans have been involved. Conservative, Bill Bennett, had a piece in the Wall Street Journal last week commending the philosophical underpinnings of the idea. I simply do not trust federal programs as much as local control. There are some good components of Common Core, but too much is offset by dumbing down curriculum and PC thinking.