In this country, one of the things we can be most proud of is providing a free public education to all children. Not all take advantage of it (and not all schools are perfect). Some parents choose to send their students to a private school, and some others choose to home-school their children. And I don't have a problem with either. I do however think that if either of those choices are made, there should be a minimum standard for the education those children receive -- a standard that is at least as rigorous as that of a public school education.
This is not a problem in many homes, but it is in some -- especially among the home-schooled. Don't get me wrong. I am convinced that some parents do a very good job of home-schooling -- and give their children a very good education (sometimes even better than that received in a public school). I applaud those parents, but unfortunately that is not always the case.
There are parents who do not do a good (or even a minimally adequate) job of teaching their children -- either because they are poor teachers, are uneducated themselves, don't believe in education, or want to teach only what they think their religion calls for. The children in these homes grow up to be uneducated, or at least poorly educated -- and that's child abuse, because it severely limits the opportunities they will have as adults.
Let's be honest. We live in a society where education is important, and the better education a person has, the easier life they will have (because more opportunities will open up for them). Any person who finishes their education without accomplishing even the minimum standards of a high school education is being short-changed, and their life will be much more difficult because of it.
That's why I believe a home-school education must meet those minimum standards. And since there are some parents who will not want to (or be capable of) meeting those standards, it must fall to the government (through the school system) of setting and making sure all students meet those standards -- even home-schoolers.
This upsets some home-schooling parents, but it shouldn't. Those doing a good job will easily meet those standards, and those who don't need someone to hold their feet to the fire (for the sake of the children).
There is a fight going on in Texas courts right now about this -- and that fight has now reached the Texas Supreme Court. It is over whether a school district has the right to assure home-schooled students are being taught an appropriate curriculum, or whether that violates the rights of parents.
I have made my stance clear. What do you think? Should home-schooled students be required to complete a curriculum with minimum standards, or do parents have the right to keep their students from getting an adequate education?
If people are willing to home school, then why do as my wife does? Send the kids to public school then home school for an extra few hours at home covering the stuff you think important?? There is how ever one small segment that this would also fail on.....fundie religious dims, because the kids would still be exposed to stuff that makes a lie out of the religious BS!!!
ReplyDeleteI think that all children should be required to take a "grade completion" test. Yes, yes, I know, one more "freakin" test you say. But when I was in school, we always took the year-end test to make sure we were ready to advance to the next grade. Do away with all the silly and unnecessary testing and opt for one comprehensive test at the end of each year. If the student isn't quite ready to advance, there is always summer school where they can "catch up" and be ready for the next grade. There is nothing so sad as a student who is not able to participate with their peers in the classroom. I believe that home-schooled children also need some sort of benchmark in order to be ready to move ahead or even go to college. If they aren't prepared or educated properly, they will not have the skills everyone needs to survive and thrive. Society will have to pick up the slack.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion personally, is that even if the parent teaching homeschooled kids does an exemplary job teaching and educating, there is so much that kids learn in school that they miss out on by not interacting with other kids. Going to the playground to meet and interact with other kids is NOT the same as learning and doing educational work alongside others with different backgrounds, interests and learning aptitudes, like they will in a future workplace. It's a different kind of interaction and necessary for growth. My mother engaged us in talk about school work and encouraged reasoning and critical thinking as well as adding a few books to the reading list. Homeschooling as a casual addition is a better method for teaching and guiding your kids. Yeah, that a "worked for me" opinion, but it's worked well for me for the first 50 years. :)
ReplyDeleteReal world readiness aside, I think homeschooled kids should definitely have the same educational opportunities as public school kids and I think the home classroom should be accountable for the same standards. If the government doesn't assure those standards are met, the government is just as guilty of child abuse as the parent "sheltering" their kids minds from knowledge.