I’m not that old, but even in the 15 years since I was in elementary school, the landscape of our education system has changed immensely. Homeschooling has increased steadily for the past 20 years, growing from just 300,000 to over a million. Why is this?
Some (Joy Behar) would have you believe that all homeschoolers are fringe religious cultists that want to isolate themselves and/or their children from reality. The facts tell a very different story. While it’s true that many homeschool for religious reasons, many don’t. There are countless reasons to pull your children out of school. This one and this one among them. Not to mention this one.
Anyone paying attention would know that there are fundamental problems with America’s education system. Kids are not learning what they need to know, and teachers are not being given an incentive to invest in their students. Our politically correct approach to education is damaging. Teachers are so bound by the possibility of offending that they are forced to bend over backwards to accommodate every child, diluting the education experience.
Prime example of political correctness gone awry: Schools in my part of North Carolina cannot discipline children in any way. My dear friend Dana’s 5 year old son started kindergarten this year. His teacher informed her that the school policy on discipline was a “preventative” one. In other words, the teacher was supposed to determine when the child was getting angry and preempt any episode by sending the child to the “beach” to calm down… a bean bag in a beach themed corner of the room.
No, I’m not making this up. The sad part is that I don’t think it’s all that uncommon.
With policies like this in place, it’s no wonder parents are pulling their kids out of school. Having full control over what your child learns and how they are disciplined is invaluable.
As a side note, since I now fall into this category, the “pajamas media” would be prime candidates for homeschooling their kids. Why? Because we’re PAYING ATTENTION, and are concerned about the direction of mainstream education. With indoctrination beginning in elementary school, is it any wonder conservatives have lost the youth vote? Your kids are going to be the future leaders of this country. How will they do?
Education begins early. Obviously, America’s kids are getting a bad start. I think homeschooling is a perfect way to change that.
We homeschooled our young-uns for 3 years: 2 in Nebraska and 1 in South Carolina. They did well, and continue to do well.
We didn’t homeschool because of any issue with the education “system” as a whole (I put it in quotes because I wrote in my book that it’s too much of a hodgepodge to be considered a real system), but because of the local situation at the time. I think that’s pretty common, though it differs from survey results that show many people believe education as a whole is sub-par but believe their local schools are just fine.
Good points. Another idea: why aren’t more churches operating their own schools? It would be great if every state had student-centered funding (read: vouchers) but charter schools provide another avenue. Encourage churches to apply for charters, then have an “optional” religious component at the end of the school day. Most of your large and mid-size churches already have classroom and recreational facilities that go unused during the week, so the capital costs would not be much.
The interesting things I’ve learned while our kiddos have been homeschooled is that–despite what people like Joy Behar would like to believe–the spectrum of homeschoolers is amazing. It’s both left and right, religious and granola, and the reasons why homeschooling is chosen is nearly as varying.
Amen! The education system has been on a slippery slope for decades now, yet the government seems to think the only answer is to throw more money at it! The system use to worked fairly well once upon a time…with A LOT less money than what it has now. I’m ill about it. My kids are babies yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar I will use private schools at the least (dont think Im cut out for homeschooling).
I am doing everything I can to get my son out of public school as soon as I can. I am on the school site council at my son’s school and we had our monthly meeting yesterday. They handed out reports that dealt with the literacy of the children in the school being “proficient.” The term proficient is never properly defined but I assuming it means a child that is able to read and comprehend at grade level. In kindergarten 84 percent of the students were proficient, by fifth grade it dropped to 24%. I am not divulging confidential information here, it is all part of the public record that any parent can request. What does that tell you? That our schools are failing our children. They might come in smart but by fifth grade the vast majority of the children are failing. In fact, kindergarten was the highest group, each group (1st-5th grade) additionally got lower and lower. So what does that tell you? The longer they are in the public school system the worse they do. This is why people are homeschooling. This is why I want to homeschool. Our children need the best education and the public schools are not supplying it. In fact, more and more colleges now are actively recruiting homeschooled children because they fare better in the college arena then public school children who do not understand the concept of independent study.
Thank God, I had a tutor in fourth grade, Mrs. Radcliffe who taught me that very lesson. I don’t know where I would be today without it.
Gray – I think you’re right, the reasons for homeschooling are very individual and specific to the time and place and situation of the family. And no, it isn’t for everyone. Some kids needs the structure and the social aspect of public or private school. And as a Christian, I also feel like it would be dangerous to pull all the Christian kids our of public school as well… there has to be a light somewhere in that “system”.