Posted on 01/05/2010 2:18:36 PM PST by christianhomeschoolmommaof3
While the number of people in academia who are openly critical of homeschooling are few, every now and again an article will be published in a university periodical which attacks homeschooling.
The critics in academia come from the far left of the political spectrum. One such critic, Robin L. West of the Georgetown University Law Center, recently published an article titled The Harms of Homeschooling, which appeared in the Summer/Fall 2009 issue of the University of Marylands Philosophy and Public Policy Quarterly.
Before we answer the specific charges Ms. West makes against homeschooling wed just like to give you a flavor of her perspective.
In the article she says, Education, after all, is typically described as a core, and possibly the core, state responsibility. We hope youd agree that anyone who can entertain the idea that education is the core responsibility of the state (even though education is not mentioned as a state responsibility in the U.S. Constitution) and neglect to recognize that defense/national security is the core responsibility of the state is clearly out of the mainstream.
Later in the article Ms. West says, Homeschooling is now such an entrenched practice, recriminalization is not a viable option in any event. It appears that Ms. West is suggesting that she would not oppose regarding homeschoolers as criminals?
While Ms. Wests views are far from the mainstream, it is still important to challenge the erroneous statements made in her article.
(Excerpt) Read more at hslda.org ...
Third, public and private schools provide for many children, I suspect, although I have yet to see studies of this, a safe haven in which they are both regarded and respected independently and individually.
Family love is intense, and we need it to survive and thrive. It is also deeply contingent on the existence and nature of the family ties. Children are loved in a family because they are the children of the parents in the family.
The unconditional love they receive is anything but unconditional: it is conditioned on the fact that they are their parents children. Schooleither public or privateideally provides a welcome respite.
A child is regarded and respected at school not because she is her parents child, but because she is a student: she is valued for traits and for a status, in other words, that are independent of her status as the parents genetic or adoptive offspring. The ideal teacher cares about the child as an individual, a learner, an actively curious personshe doesnt care about the child because the child is hers.
The child is regarded with respect equally to all the children in the class. In these ways, the school classroom, ideally, and the relations within it, is a model of some core aspects of citizenship.
LOL...
Homeschooled children learn worthless things, like saying “Yes, SIR... NO, Ma’am”
National Spelling BEE Winners have been Homeschooled
Nat. Geography Bee winners have more often been Homeschooled.
HOW DARE WE turn such deprived children on Society.
Give me a Break...
/SARC
My friends grandson is being home schooled. At 16, he’s smart but no clubs, no sports, no real idea of what’s out there....
“The unconditional love they receive is anything but unconditional: it is conditioned on the fact that they are their parents children. Schooleither public or privateideally provides a welcome respite”
Seriously, children need a respite from unconditional love? Unreal. The rest of Robin West’s article is filled with similar claptrap.
He has plenty of time to learn what’s out there.
“My friends grandson is being home schooled. At 16, hes smart but no clubs, no sports, no real idea of whats out there....”
...out where? At “Abercrombie and Fitch”? At the mall? In the alley behind the school where they sell the drugs? My daughter has a dozen friends that are home schooled. ALL of them beat the pants off of ANY public school twit in manners, grammer, politics, world view, geography, everything!
Interesting article for homeschoolers.
At 16, hes smart but no clubs, no sports, no real idea of whats out there....”
That would be very unusual for most homeschoolers. Even so, homeschooling is likely not the cause of that. I knew plenty of kids growing up in “normal” school who were not involved in anything, no clubs, no sports, and truly had no clue as to what is out there in the real world, or for that matter, even in the phony world of “school”.
Some individuals are going to remain clueless about the world. But at least if those clueless individuals get a good education by homeschooling, maybe they will have a reasonable chance at the brutal game of life. Your friend’s grandson is right where he needs to be.
"Their capacity for political action is palpable and admirable, although doubly constrained: it is triggered by a call for action by church leaders, and in substance, it is limited to political action the aim of which is to undermine, limit, or destroy state functions that interfere with family and parental rights. Nevertheless, and by their own accountings, these citizen-soldiers in the homeschooling movement and the various political campaigns in which they are enlisted have no clout in the army in which they serve. They are as effective as they are, and as successful as they are, because they engage in politics in the same way that soldiers participate in combat. They dont question authority, and they cant go AWOL. With little education, few if any job skills, and scant resources, their power either to influence the lines of authority within their own sphere, or to leave that sphere, is virtually nil."
"As the political philosopher and homeschool critic Robert Reich has persuasively argued, curricular review would give the state a way to ensure that the academic content is such as to protect the childrens interest in both acquiring the necessary skills for active, autonomous, and responsible citizenship in adulthood, and in being exposed to diverse and more liberal ways of life."
Translation: "You are taking our future liberal minions away from us. We want to indoctrinate your kids."
This is as clear a call as any as to why Conservatives need to get their kids out of public schools (whether they homeschool or send them to private schools.) The verminous filth blatantly admit that they want to brainwash the children to become mindnumb marxist heathens.
Independently and individually? Much of public schooling treats the child as a cog in the machine. If it does not fit the machine it must be molded, shaped and, if convenient, drugged to fit. From Calvin & Hobbes:
And when a thug assaults the little darlings?
Oops, too bad, you never learned how to deal with that from mommy.
Guess you are bleeding in the gutter there, Mr. Spelling Bee Champ.
How about spelling?
You vastly underestimate the skills that home-schooled children are taught.
I agree completely. I loved to learn but HATED school. I did something called co-op my junior and senior year and only went to school until lunch and then I went to my afternoon job. I wasn’t involved in any sports/clubs etc. I hated high school culture. I wasn’t picked on any either. I got in lots of fights, did drugs, drank alcohol and smoked. Those things I learned in school. I was largely self taught for my academics.
“How about spelling”?
...see what public school did to me?! :)
I wouldn't be too quick to say he has no idea what is out there. Most homeschooled kids are quite aware of what is going on around them and can hold their own with any age group "out there".
Oops, too bad, you never learned how to deal with that from mommy.
Guess you are bleeding in the gutter there, Mr. Spelling Bee Champ.
What is the typical public school's policy on self defense?
Try it and get suspended or expelled.
Contrast that with the majority of those homeschooled that do participate in groups. Often, moreso than those in the public schools. My kids, for example, have a much broader spectrum of activities than I ever had as a public school student.
How condescending can you get? You think they need to get beat up at school to learn to defend themselves?
I didn’t realize that they taught self defense at public school.
However, I know lots of homeschoolers that take their children to karate class, to the gun range etc. You have some preconceived notion that homeschool kids are wimps.
We homeschool our children, they both take fine art classes, in addition to classical piano. One is participating in fencing this year and the other runs cross country and track at a local high school. My chilren would never have this opportunity in a public school.
You bring up a good point.
My grandkids are home schooled, and pretty smart, but I worry about their socialization and their ability to deal with the real world.
I’ve urged my son to follow them to the bathroom and assault them, steal any money they might have, and make them crawl to their rooms in their underwear to prepare them for real life. Unfortunately he refuses. I’m thinking of calling Child Protective Services.
Then they will go to a real school, and finally, those things will be done to them.
In life, you can get your ass kicked anywhere, not just on a public school campus. Besides the school fights nowadays are all sucker punch and gang fights, there is no more one v one fights in the school yard.
My brother and his wife home school their 4 children. All are very engaging, polite and multiple grades ahead of the mainstream public school kids in their age groups. They are also God fearing and respectful. Geez I can see why the NEA hates home schooling so much. It makes the general population of mouth breathing fools in public schools look bad. We’re screwed when the moron that wrote this wants to eliminate them. Get ready for the revolution boys and girls
I homeschooled both my boys. They both had sports and clubs. In fact, many homeschool parents complain the problem with homeschooling is they get way too much socialization, clubs, and sports.
I apprenticed both of them young (they both decided they did not want college, although most of my homeschooling friends have sent their kids).
As a result, they know all too well what’s out there. My oldest was running an experienced business with a man when he was 18. They are staunch conservatives, because they understand the way the world works. They did not have to go through the silly “liberal” phase most kids do.
My husband is a youth pastor and alot of our teens have said they would love to be out of public school and be able to homeschool. A couple have asked me if I could homeschool them. On snow days they sometimes come over and I will give them schoolwork to do. They love it because we always have cool projects and things to do as a family. These teens long for that kind of interaction with their families. Of course, they would never say that to their parents.
Lol!
I know of at least one graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point who was home schooled from K through 12.
Mommy seemed to do just fine.
Oops, too bad, you never learned how to deal with that from mommy.”
By the way, there are four homeschooling families in the martial art that I train in...one of the instructors was homeschooled, and one of the teenagers just finished homeschooling.
Most homeschoolers that I know are extremely well-armed, and very good marksmen.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the little darlings getting roughed up too much. I’d worry more about the boys getting molested by all the fag public school teachers....
Now since all the government schooled kids are exposed to only the liberal view, it would be to their benefit to receive a diverse education by requiring them to attend at least one year of home schooling with a conservative family. The state should pay the homeschool parent for teaching the government kids.
Do they live in a cave? That is so out of the ordinary for all the homeschoolers I know.
Virtually every homeschooler I ever met has issues with trying to balance academics with extra-curriculars.
One possible example is not enough to condemn homeschooling on.
Thanks but I don’t want my kids exposed. :) Just kidding.
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Nice display of ignorance.
Well, this soon-to-be-homeschooling mommy carries a handgun...
“... education is not mentioned as a state responsibility in the U.S. Constitution.”
That’s because public schools did not become commonplace until after the Civil War. Until that time, basically everyone was home schooled; then the privileged few went to college.
Exactly. Public schools are the experiment and homeschool is the norm.
Thank you for pulling that little snippet out. It's just as I thought; it's not worth me reading the entire article because from this small outtake, it is obvious the person is schizophrenic and hasn't a clue as to what homeschooling is about.
1. The don't have any job skills? Homeschoolers can easily go into apprentice programs, work with their parents to learn a trade, or even start and operate their own businesses all while they are going to school.
2. The biggest example of the author forgetting what the point is -- "They don't question authority"?!?!?!?! I thought the act of homeschooling itself was an act of rebellion against their (the public school's) authority. Yet according to the author homeschoolers don't know how to question authority. LOL!
I don't remember where the article is, but some years ago a professor at Florida State University did a study on homeschool versus public school children and families. One of the things that stood out with this professor was the homeschoolers questioning of what he was doing in his study and why he was doing it.
According to this professor, public school parents were told to bring their children to a particular place for testing as part of his study. None of them questioned it at all. They just dropped their kids off and drove away. The children ranged in age from kindergarten to high school, but not one public school parent even bothered to stay and ask what was going on. He said the homeschoolers, however, questioned everything. He had trouble getting them to allow their children to even participate. The ones that did participate did not just drop their kids off, they wanted to see what was going on, and he made it possible for them to observe along with him. While there, they constantly questioned whatever tasks he had the children doing.
Now which of these two groups seems more like a bunch of mind-numbed robots. LOL!
It's good to know that you recognize that homeschool parents don't abuse their children. Unlike other parents who send their kids out into the world to be mugged so they get used to what *real life* is all about.
I teach my little home schooled darlings thug avoidance. If that does not work, then thy can use their judo or hunting skills. I guess you were abused as a child at school. I'm sorry for you.
I would love to read that report! However, I would still encourage you to read the whole article. We need to know what the enemy is thinking and saying!
Some people hate homeschooling and homeschoolers and never pass up an opportunity to dis them, which usually fails miserably.
BTW, I wish someone would tell my homeschooled children that they arent supposed to question my authority. If I hear one more time “do we HAVE to do this”...... :)
That's a stretch.
Yes, public school isn't much different than reform school, now is it?
A thug will rue the day he assaults my home-schooled son. He is on his way to becoming a black-belt in karate. In addition, he takes swimming lessons, plays baseball and is a Boy Scout. He is way above his grade level in reading, writing and math.
When the co-op gets together, there will be classes with kids from a range of ages, depending on the course. In science or math, it might span 3 years. In music, it can span all grades. I've seen high school kids helping grade school kids with their music lessons. They all benefit from the interaction.
The homeschool kids have a much better understanding and can relate to what is "out there" while the government schooled kids are stuck inside a classroom with the same group of other kids all of the same age and relatively the same wisdom and maturity.
You mean it's not just us?
Live in a cave?? Pretty much. They were living in s Carolina...trailor court...isolated...Awful. They have now moved back to NY.
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