Here is the article–
I posted this to the site, but as of now the comments have not been posted, so here goes..
This article is an interesting piece, but still it feeds the stereotypes of homeschoolers, parents who are not educated enough to teach their own and that children will not be socialized. These two stereotypes are and have been debunked over and over again.
Homeschooled children are socialized, they participate in their neighborhoods, sports, and have friends. Do parents have to be more open and flexible, yes, but the idea that homeschooled children are somehow separated or alone is simply not true.
The other myth is that parents who homeschool are not educated enough to teach has a few facets.
1. Most homeschooled parents have at least one parent that is college educated. Many have two.
2. Most homeschooling parents have a love for learning and believe in a solid education for their children. So if both parents did not attend college the access to information is literally at all parents fingertips and this makes a more reliable and even playing field.
3. Many people choose to homeschool to provide their children with an education program that is not dogma based.
4. Parents know the children in the home. We know what inspired and makes our kids tick.
5. In a homeschooling environment all children can have their genius seen too, because of the freedom and flexibility.
6. The idea that a teaching certificate makes you a good teacher is antiquated at best. Many teachers agree (in the rest of the world) that homeschooled children have access to a higher quality of education and resources. This can easily been seen with the enrollment into college. Most homeschooled kids go on to college and many ivy league or “good” schools actively recruit homeschooled children because they are excellent students.
Another aspect of the article I wanted to address is why people homeschool.
People choose to homeschool to offer their children the optimal education. We do not want to see our children stifled, or tracked based on performance at 8-10 years old. All children bloom at different rates.
In the home you can cater to the needs of your child. The idea that most homeschoolers choose to do so for religious reasons is again an antiquated idea. Religion has nothing to do with the choice for almost every family I know.
In Switzerland many families are forced to homeschool “underground”. This is because cantons do not see the value in the practice as a legitimate means to education. This is surprising from a country that professes to hold human rights to the highest. Many cantons that do “allow” homeschooling want to test and monitor the children’s progress based on school standards which are totally irrelevant and again setting the children and parents up to fail. Homeschooling cannot be compared to the system, it is not part of and overall not supported by the system. In many ways having a school system monitor and approve families is a direct conflict of interest, it is like having the auto industry in charge or public transport.
I am a homeschooling mom, I have always homeschooled our children (in multiple countries) and cannot in all honesty see a better way to work with my children’s strengths and weaknesses. My children would never have access to the materials they have access to by homeschooling, and they would never be able to experience the world the way they do stuck in a classroom all day.
Schools are not the answer to education, active parents are.
Reasons to homeschool
1. Greater success in college
2. More diverse and useful education
3. Lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse in the high school years
4. Less teenage pregnancy and teenage sex.
Keep up the articles about homeschooling, but please dig in a little deeper.