George Bush's secret army (Why Democrats Hate, and Fear, Home Schooled Kids)

Economist ^ | March 17th 2004 | Economist

[gobucks]

A revolution is happening in American education. As it grows in size, it should frighten teachers everywhere.

Just how bad are American schools? And how deeply do conservative Americans distrust their government? One answer to both these questions is provided by the growth of home-schooling. As many as 2m American students—one in 25—may now be being taught at home.

The growth of home-schooling is all the more remarkable when you consider two facts. The first is the commitment of the parents. They give up not just a free public education, but also often the chance of a second income as well, because one parent (usually the mother) has to stay at home to educate the children.

The Department of Education highlights the results of its survey: “Homeschooling in the United States: 1999”. See also the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The next is that the practice challenges most of the assumptions behind public education. For most of the past 150 years, compulsory mass education has been the hallmark of a civilised society. Sociologists such as Max Weber have hailed the state's domination of education as a natural corollary of “modernisation”. Yet in the most advanced country on the planet (on many measures), more than 2m parents insist that education ought to be the work of the family. How has this come about?

Faith's imperatives

The 2m figure comes from the Home School Legal Defence Association. The most recent (1999) survey by the Department of Education put the number at only 850,000. The chances are that the HSLDA is closer to the truth. Rod Paige, the education secretary, uses its figure in his speeches, and, although home-schoolers tend to refuse to answer government surveys, a wealth of anecdotal evidence suggests that home-schooling is on the rise.

The market for teaching materials and supplies for home-schoolers is worth at least $850m a year. More than three-quarters of universities now have policies for dealing with home-schooled children. Support networks have sprung up in hundreds of towns and cities across the country to allow parents to do everything from establishing science labs to forming sports teams and defending their rights and reputation. When J.C. Penney started selling a T-shirt in 2001 that featured “Home Skooled” with a picture of a trailer home, the store faced so many complaints that it withdrew the item from sale.

Home-schooling is a fairly recent phenomenon. When Ronald Reagan came to power, in 1981, it was illegal for parents to teach their own children in most states. Today it is a legal right in all 50 states. Twenty-eight states require home-schooled children to undergo some kind of official evaluation, either by taking standardised tests or submitting a portfolio of work. Thirteen states simply require parents to inform officials that they are going to teach their children at home. In Texas, a parent doesn't have to tell anyone anything.

The main reason why legal restrictions on home-schooling have been swept away across so much of America is the power of the Christian right. Not all home-schoolers, of course, are religious conservatives. One of the first advocates of home-schooling, John Holt, was a left-winger who regarded schools as instruments of the bureaucratic-industrial complex. A lively subdivision of the home-school movement, called “unschooling”, argues that children should more or less be left to educate themselves. And the number of black home-schoolers is growing rapidly.

Yet the Praetorian Guard of the home-schooling movement are social conservatives. They turned to home-schooling in the 1970s in response to what they saw as the school system's lurch to the secular left—and they still provide most of the movement's political muscle on Capitol Hill. Senator Rick Santorum home-schools his children—or, rather, his wife does. Another Republican home-schooler, Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, sponsored a bill to clear up various legal confusions about grants and scholarships for home-schooled children.

George Bush has tried hard to keep home-schoolers on his side. During the 2000 campaign, he said: “In Texas we view home-schooling as something to be respected and something to be protected. Respected for the energy and commitment of loving mothers and loving fathers. Protected from the interference of government.” As president, he has held several receptions for home-schooled children in the White House.

Just as the teachers' unions provide so many of the Democrats' volunteers, home-schoolers are important Republican foot-soldiers. According to the HSLDA, 76% of home-schooled young people aged 18-24 vote in elections, compared with 29% in that age group in the general population. Home-schoolers are also significantly more likely to contribute to political campaigns and to work for candidates—normally Republican ones.

An education that works

So there is certainly an ideological edge to many home-schoolers. But do not be misled. First, this is a bottom-up movement with parents of whatever political stripe making individual decisions to withdraw their children (rather than following orders from higher up). Second, the movement has a utilitarian edge. Home-schoolers simply believe that they can offer their children better education at home.

One-to-one tuition, goes the argument, enables children to go at their own pace, rather than at a pace set for the convenience of teaching unions. And children can be taught “proper” subjects based on the Judeo-Christian tradition of learning, rather than politically correct flimflam. Some home-schoolers favour the classical notion of the trivium, with its three stages of grammar, dialectic and rhetoric (which requires children to learn Greek and Latin).

This sounds backward-looking, but home-schoolers claim that technology is on their side. The internet is making it ever easier to teach people at home, ever more teaching materials are available, and virtual communities now exist that allow home-schoolers to swap information.

The other factor working in home-schooling's favour is its own success. Many parents have been nervous about home-schooled children being isolated. With almost every town in America now boasting its own home-schooling network, that worry declines. Home-schooled children can play baseball with other home-schooled children; they can go on school trips; and so on.

What about academic standards? The home-schooling network buzzes with good news: a family with three home-schooled children at Harvard; a home-schooler with a bestselling novel; first, second and third place in the 2000 National Spelling Bee; a first university for home-schooled children (see article). Systematic evidence is more difficult to find.

There are certainly signs that home-schoolers are thriving. One recent survey by the HSLDA showed that three-quarters of home-educated adults aged 18-24 have taken college-level courses compared with 46% of the general population. But this is hardly conclusive. Home-schoolers do not have to report bad results. Moreover, home-schoolers may simply come from the more educated part of the population.

Yet these arguments point to change in the way the debate is unfolding. It is no longer about whether home-schooled children are losing out, but whether they are doing unfairly well. “Maybe we should subcontract all of public education to home-schoolers,” Bill Bennett, Mr Reagan's education secretary, once wondered mischievously. That looks unlikely. But America's home-schoolers represent an assault on public education that teachers everywhere should pay attention to.

[gobucks]

I found this article compelling. Figured some Freepers out there would get a kick out of it.

[gobucks]

ping

[Onelifetogive]

They give up not just a free public education...

This is crap!!! What exactly is FREE about public education.

Correction: They give up a public education system that they are required to pay for anyway....

[Old Sarge]

Homeschool PING!

[netmilsmom]

Check this out! We must be doing something right!

[Alberta's Child]

In Texas, a parent doesn't have to tell anyone anything.

Man, I love that state.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Could it be that thousands of job-seekers have dropped out of the looking category so they can stay at home and take care of their kids?

Must be nice to afford to live again on one spouse income!

[Marine Inspector]

George Bush's secret army

What a crock. People home school because they don't what the Government to indoctrinate their children.

Bush has spent billions of dollars on the indoctrination department.

[agitator]

ping

[newgeezer]

Like everything else, it comes down to a choice. All us parents make the choice, even if we give it nary a thought.

[keithtoo]

Great article. We have several friends who home-school. We send our kids to private school.

Not only is this better for our kids. We don't feed the Edu-crat BEAST!!!

[blackdog]

Homeschoolers also know not to draw too much attention to the successes of their efforts. They know not to assault the establishment in print of voice.

Part of homeschooling is staying below the radar. This article does not help the cause.

[Smedley]

Yet these arguments point to change in the way the debate is unfolding. It is no longer about whether home-schooled children are losing out, but whether they are doing unfairly well.

Heaven forbid if the common man succeeds in bettering his children's situation. Hey, it's not as if this were Bill Clinton, Al Gore or Jesse Jackson sending their kids to expensive private schools.

[pamlet]

We thought living on one income would be VERY tough when I resigned my job in order to homeschool - BUT it hasn't been nearly as tough as we thought. We just don't eat out as much - that alone has been a HUGE savings..

The benefits have far outweighed the sacrifice.

[valkyrieanne]

Why should Democrats "hate and fear homeschooled kids?" We *quit* a homeschool group (quite a large one, in fact) because the mothers didn't want any of the boys bringing toy guns to group meetings. (It was a very liberal group.) Not all homeschoolers are conservative.

[gobucks]

I'm new to this movement, so perhaps I'm being naive. And this is the first sentiment I have heard like this expressed anywhere. Perhaps you can direct me to the PR materials, if any, that suggested this approach?

[Minuteman23]

I agree with homeschooling, but this article paints Bush in too positive a light with education. "No Child Left Behind" is a socialist menace that defeats the purported purpose of this article. I'm the first one to give Bush credit where credit is do, but education isn't one of those areas.

[mamalujo]

'In Texas, a parent doesn't have to tell anyone anything.'

Greetin's from Texas y'all, I've been homeschooling my three sons twelve years, and I have had no interference from the local schools in any way, hubby works two jobs so I can teach the boys and life is sweeeeeeeet.

[BibChr]

What a great article.

Dan

[newgeezer]

Bush has spent billions of dollars on the indoctrination department.

Excellent point. Wasn't it Reagan/Bennett who talked of abolishing the Dept. of Education? So much for that! Instead, we got a "small gov't" president who gave us 'No Child Left Behind.'

[gobucks]

Well, its good to hear not all homeschooled kids are liberal. Democrats, do, hate and fear the home schooling movement - my underlined voting statistic in the story portends doom for them.

Please elaborate about the toy guns ... were the kids like in a play room or something while the parents were meeting?

[blanknoone]

My fiance and I plan on homeschooling our future children...and we are both atheists. We intend for our children to be educated...not subjected to 12 years of socialist indoctrination.

[gobucks]

LOL! I used to live in Texas, and I can't believe how much I miss it.

[stevio]

Bump.

[Carry_Okie]

Part of homeschooling is staying below the radar. This article does not help the cause.

At 4% of the student population, home educators are almost to the point where they are too big to hide: the system will come after us no matter what we do.

At 10% it will be open warfare.

Look for modified SATs and No Child Left Behind attitude testing to be the key tools used against home education. I will be preparing our kids to learn the answers the Statists want. They are very clear that when they go to the university the system will make it neccessary for them to operate as if they were spies in an enemy camp.

[VaFederalist]

It is exactly these attributes that make the homeschooling crowd averse to political involvement. Therefore, any campaign strategy counting on "activating" this crowd is doomed.

[gobucks]

Well, it's nice to see it isn't just a Christian like myself that recognizes public schools are a 'special' kind of religious school.

Indoctrination, so true ... what a sublte way of saying k-12 ReEducation Camp Songs ......

[EdReform]

Homeschool bump

[ArrogantBustard]

but whether they are doing unfairly well.

That phrase betrays a really sick mind.

[gobucks]

See??? My EduKation wasn't subtle in my speling!!.

[mamalujo]

Our homeschool basketball team left practice early to campaign in the streets for a local politician, I do not know about other homeschool groups but ours is very involved in politics

[gobucks]

Nope. Just the typical mind of someone who utterly hates the idea of anything 'unfair'.

It us who are the 'sick' ones for actually DARING to believe we can actually live without state school education gobbledy gook.

[sphinx]

It is no longer about whether home-schooled children are losing out, but whether they are doing unfairly well.

This is the heart and soul of the contemporary left. Liberalism has shifted from wanting to "do good things" for people, alleviate misery, and uplift the downtrodden to a morbid fear that someone, somewhere, will get ahead of the pack. Resentment has become the driving energy of the left.

[2Jedismom]

Homeschool Ping!

[call meVeronica]

I do too, I live here & homeschool.

[MattinNJ]

My 2 and a half year old boy will not be diving into the cesspool of public education. I may send him to private school if he excels in athletics.

Before I transferred to a private high school in NJ my Junior year, I went to a public high school in Riverhead Long Island. Every day there were racial fights. Some led to near riots. I can remember a number of times being saved by my black teammates that I played football and baseball with. If it weren't for their gallantry, I am sure I would have gotten some tremendous beatings.

I wasn't aware of any political indoctrination at the time (Probably because it was so blatantly obvious how superior Reagan was to Carter).

[mamalujo]

all of my aunts are educators and they have supported me from the get go

[netmilsmom]

It's not as hard as one would think. I live in jeans and shirts from Salvation Army. So do the girls. They sleep in t-shirts (stops the 10.00 a pop for pjs), we eat in and when we do go out the little one's split a 99 cent chicken nuggett order and each get their own fries. I bring milk from home. Since I pulled by daughter from school, our gasoline bills are cut in half and I pack my hubby's lunch.
My girls will probably not go to Disney World but we do go to Six Flags once a year.
In the meantime, my girls are best friends. I get to choose who they associate with. I don't hear words we don't use, if you get what I mean. My six year old, who was pegged with ADD, finishes the work in three hours that they did in a week in 1st grade. She is doing second grade work. My little one, who would not be able to go to school for 2 years because of her birthday, is reading and doing simple sums. For all the talk of how hard it would be, it is the easiest thing I have ever done.

And I pray everyday in thanks for the FReepers who helped convince my hubby that this is right!!!

[twigs]

It's happening in the UK too, although not in such numbers. We had friends from England who completed their education here. They were impressed with what they saw of home-schooling here and carried it back with them. HeHe!

[Libertarian444]

It is no longer about whether home-schooled children are losing out, but whether they are doing unfairly well.

Unfairly well?? Jeez... I can see this cute little phrase becoming the new mantra of the NEA. Kids aren't performing at public schools because of shoddy mismanagement by the NEA and their political cohorts; it's because home schoolers are doing unfairly well.

[netmilsmom]

Excuse me! With as bright as your kids are, I don't think you have much to worry about ;-)!!

I want my girls to be just like them!

[Mr. Jeeves]

They give up not just a free public education...

It ain't free...seen the cost of remedial tutoring at Sylvan Learning Centers these days?

[ArrogantBustard]

Don't let the bad guys define the terms of debate.

You think people should be allowed and encouraged to excell? You're normal.

The radical egalitarians who oppose 'unfair outcomes' are the sick whackos!

[blackdog]

I homeschooled my daughter for four years and then sent her on to a good private high school where she has exceeded our wildest hopes in both academic and sports/social concerns.

At first while home schooling we were chased by the local school district in various ways. I then enrolled her in the public school's summer school foreign language classes, since one of the reasons we homescooled her was that she could not get foreign language in the 5th grade even though she had three years of spanish prior. Well, when she took Spanish III in the summer of fifth grade and had to take over as teacher in the class, it was funny and dangerous. Many of the students who knew her started asking if they could homeschool to their parents and to the school. It got quite embarrassing for the school district and they left us alone ever since.

Good private schools seem to have abandoned the SAT in favor of the ACT.

[twigs]

What an encouraging story. God bless you and your family! I too have a daughter was as thought to be ADHD, although I never had her tested. I have just limited her surroundings so that she would not be overstimulated. She is now 19 and in college. While she still struggles with a few of the symptoms, she's matured into a lovely and energetic young woman. And she has learned to share her enormous energy with others. Channel these children in the right way and they are incredible blessings. I'm sure yours will do especially well at home!

[Teacher317]

A revolution is happening in American education. As it grows in size, it should frighten teachers everywhere.

FRIGHTEN?!? It should OVERJOY teachers everywhere. A true teacher cares about children being educated in a nurturing environment. Home beats schools hands down. A true teacher cares about giving their charges a life-long desire to learn. Far too many distractions and opposing messages in public schools today prevent that. A true teacher doesn't care if the administrations and unions are served, so long as the students are.

[twigs]

I love your story! Teachers and schools really struggle with the competition offered by home-schooled children. As well they should.

[gobucks]

Our homeschool basketball team left practice early to campaign in the streets for a local politician, I do not know about other homeschool groups but ours is very involved in politics.

Home schooling is in essence PRIVATE schooling. In my experience, most private schoolers I've met tend to be deeply politically active.

[Teacher317]

Like everything else, it comes down to a choice. All us parents make the choice, even if we give it nary a thought.

And, as always, this article indicates that the Liberals are terrified of free citizens making their own choices.