Are Homeschoolers really similar to Islamic Terrorists?

Creative Loafing,Charlotte ^ | BY QUINN COTTON

[FreeEnterprise2004]

I agree. I like the idea of being able to homeschool my kids. Of course, neither my wife or I would be doing the the teaching. I would have to hire private tutors. I'll participate in the field trips and sports side though. :)

[fml]

I agree more with the article than with your assumptions

[Pete]

Sounds like Ms. Cotton is feeling a little convicted. Homeschooling Moms are great mothers and they make people like Quinn Cotton look and feel bad and we can't have that, now can we!

I can hear her now...

"Look at that Mother, she is waaaay too committed to the nurturing and education of her children!!! Oh and look how that teenager actually respects her parents and, I kid you not, enjoys spending time with them. That's just not right!! Somebody needs to put a stop to this! Why, it's....it's....it's....terrorism, that's what it is!"

[Straight Vermonter]

How sad for your children.

[usadave]

This is one of the oddest articles that I've ever read. Very little of what the author said made any sense to me.

[Steve_Seattle]

Even people who attend public school typically develop only a handful of close relationships - if any - from that experience. Home-schooled kids still have relationships in the neighborhood, and of course are exposed to the general culture in a variety of ways.

[EggsAckley]

Thanks, I missed that.

[DeFault User]

Charlotte Mecklenburg schools have been in a chaotic condition for more than 30 years. As the first district to reap the 'rewards' of forced busing to one which changes its plans every year, parents are faced with a gambler's chance against the house on whether their children get an education. Some kids ride the buses for three hours a day. Others are in overcrowded schools where the quality of instruction varies greatly.

Home schooling, parochial schools and private schools are very popular here. Some parents leave the county to find more stability in surrounding districts. And this author berates homeschoolers? Sheesh.

[fml]

They will be more open minded than many here, don't pity them.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Do you agree that Parents who homeschool their children are similar to people who torture children and murder them?

BTW- Islamic terrorists murder children,in cold blood, for going to school and for learning to read and write.

[Izzy Dunne]

a lot of the homeschooling faithful are as fueled by a fanatical, religion-based belief in their mission as Islamist terrorists, and seem to be just about as brainwashed.

And the evidence for this sweeping statement is....

[Steve_Seattle]

I recently bought a video of the 1960's-1970's rock group, The Band, and drummer Levon Helm made a telling point: "Back then, everybody said you should hate your parents and never trust anyone over 30, and a lot of other things that didn't make a whole lot of sense to us, so we just steered clear of all that." The author of this article seems to be the kind of person that Helm was talking about, the kind who assumes that estrangement from one's parents is the normal course of things.

[Izzy Dunne]

Some of the homeschooling moms (HMs) are kind of witch-y, with the uncut hair and the long skirts

oooh!
NO!
NO!
NO!
Not the LONG SKIRTS!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..............................

[Steve_Seattle]

And what does "open-minded" mean? Having no values of ones own?

[Izzy Dunne]

children and mothers are just not meant to be isolated together. It's unnatural.

Yeah, better to put 'em on that "natural" school bus, and close 'em up for 6 "natural" hours. I'm buying it.... (not)

[TheSpottedOwl]

I have a comment, or two, or three.

First, I thought this was satire until I read through the whole thing.

Second, I am giving serious consideration to homeschooling, or enrolling my youngest kids in a charter school. They are behind grade level, and even though we're moving to a different area, my youngest no longer likes school. Too bad...she still needs to master the core subjects.

Third, I may not be up to this task, however I've seen work come back graded with obvious mistakes on the paper missed by the teacher. I think I can do a little better than that.

Fourth, Should Ms. Butler procreate, you can bet she'll have that kid in private school once she takes a look at public schools from a personal perspective.

[fml]

Of course not, and neither does the author.

They're not only terrorist-like in their conviction that their calling is divinely ordained, homeschoolers also often have a broad martyr streak. Rather than suicide bombings, though, they commit "suicide book-learning," sacrificing their own lives to teach their kids.

The author is being silly, but it is an opinion, just as the opinion that anyone sending their children to public school do not love their children as much as HM.

[MississippiMan]

This pathetically ignorant slug has obviously not heard that homeschooled kids not only excel academically vs. their public-schooled comrades, but are doing likewise in the workplace. They're the most well-adjusted, productive members of their generation.

MM

[Izzy Dunne]

I just can't see homeschooling providing adequate socialization.

Have you ever tried?
Have you done ANYTHING beyond your imagination?

[Snuffington]

More unintentional irony from the "tolerance" crowd.

And such scintillating evidence of intelligence. Rather than picking up one of the dozens of studies about homeschooling, and its effect on socialization and education, he manufactures fantasies on the basis of his own uninformed bias.

What's more, doesn't this guy have an editor? He essentially just used a public column to incite suspiscion and hatred of homeschooling families - while failing to produce a single case that backs up his panicky claims. That's legally actionable stuff, and sloppy research all piled in one big steamy mess.

Just goes to show the totalitarian impulse of the leftists obliviously marches along.