A Response to Robin L. West—“The Harms of Homeschooling”

HSLDA ^ | January 5th 2010 | Unknown

[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 Maryland’s Philosophy and Public Policy Quarterly.

Before we answer the specific charges Ms. West makes against homeschooling we’d 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 you’d 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. West’s views are far from the mainstream, it is still important to challenge the erroneous statements made in her article.

[Balding_Eagle]

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.

[stainlessbanner]

Maybe homeschoolers have more time to train on the local range, participate in 4-H shooting sports, or spend time in martial arts classes learning self-defense.

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.

[dumpthelibs]

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 still care]

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.

[Sopater]

What is the typical public school's policy on self defense?

Try it and get suspended or expelled.

Match-point, game over. ;-)

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

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.

[Sopater]

Guess you are bleeding in the gutter there, Mr. Spelling Bee Champ Heisman trophy winner.

There, fixed it...

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

Lol!

[IAMIUBU]

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.

[ConservativeDude]

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....

[Teotwawki]

From the article "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 children’s 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."

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.

[metmom]

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....

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.

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

Thanks but I don’t want my kids exposed. :) Just kidding.

[metmom]

This ping list is for articles of interest to homeschoolers. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping List. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from either list, or both.

The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.

[Third Person]

Nice display of ignorance.

[JenB]

And when a thug assaults the little darlings? Oops, too bad, you never learned how to deal with that from mommy.

Well, this soon-to-be-homeschooling mommy carries a handgun...

[EDINVA]

“... 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.

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

Exactly. Public schools are the experiment and homeschool is the norm.

[Waryone]

"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 don’t question authority, and they can’t 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."

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!

[metmom]

And when a thug assaults the little darlings? Oops, too bad, you never learned how to deal with that from mommy.

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.