Home Schooling

I received the following piece from a homeschooling Mom. What I love about this piece is that this Dad understands that there should be educational freedom. Why is it that people who work in public schools are all for "diversity" but they are not for diversity in thought or diversity when it comes to school choice? School people do not want choice because they are more concerned about money than they are education. The more children they "teach" the more money the schools get.

The following piece appeared on blogsnh.com.

Home Schooling
Submitted by Bill Bunker on March 27, 2008 - 10:53.
Kim Murdoch made valid points in her MY TURN piece, "Homeschooler's Don't Need More Regulation".

Our children are not home schooled and in fact we are extremely pleased with the public education they receive in our local school. However, people home school for many reasons: religion, social teachings, health issues, hardship, convenience and quite honestly a feeling that their public school is just not a great environment for their children. In some cases that may be true.

Over the years I have known many families who home schooled and we have friends who presently do so. My experience is that all of those children have been successful and well adjusted with a thirst to learn and excel. I have also noted that it often strengthens the closeness of families. They also are providing a one on one classroom environment and can focus on many intricacies on subject matter as well as detail. The education system in this country validates the value of that kind of teaching with their concern about class size.

I knew one family that took a vacation and traveled to other countries, visited the Louvre and cathedrals as part of their curriculum. Their children had to write full reports of their trip and analyze the architecture, art and culture of their travels. That does not happen in public schooling.

One of the primary arguments against home schooling has always been ‘socialization’. It is uncertain if that is a valid argument or should even be a consideration. Children who are home schooled develop closer bonds with their families and relatives and do have neighborhood friends. Many go on to join their fellow age group in high school and I have known many who have gone on to college and graduated at the top of their class.

Of course if you subscribe to Hillary Clinton's vision that: "It takes a village" you would probably disagree. But it is the responsibility of families to raise a child; not society.

The attempt by present legislators in Concord to pass SB337, is not grounded solely in concern for the children, but is an attempt to get into citizens homes to dictate and regulate what is taught. It is the first step on a slippery slope the leads to an erosion of parental rights with agenda driven politics. The government has an obligation to ensure that every child receives a basic education but that comes in many forms.

There are many great home schooling programs and many parents who do a great job teaching their children. Stringent regulations already exist leading one to believe that this (SB337) is agenda driven legislation.

The educational system in many places is an organized industry . Schools are taking on more of a social role and usurping the rights of parents, teaching political correctness. One only needs to look at a few examples such are dispensing of birth control to underage girls, providing abortion counseling and abortion without parental notification, health classes that demonstrate how to put a condom on a banana and teaching gender curriculum.

If they pass SB337, I am sure that they will train a key eye on the ‘social’ teachings similar to the slanted agenda being slowly and surreptitiously woven into the curriculum of many public schools.

Continuation on this path does little to strengthen our ability to compete in the world. Perhaps more emphasis ought to be paid to science, mathematics and even expanded languages and less to programs and lessons that push the social engineering dreams of the present educational hierarchy.

There certainly needs to be oversight of children who are home schooled but more regulation is suspect especially by those politico's presently attempting to call the shots in Concord. They have moved swiftly to redefine the status quo with a definite left leaning agenda. Now they are focusing on home schooling which is ludicrous when they have addressed public education poorly and with an expected response of expanded taxes and unbridled spending as the solution.

Next I imagine they will be targeting charter schools. It seems as if school choice under the present regime in Concord means nothing as their true belief is that the State should dictate to the citizens. In reality, government is their to 'serve' the people, not provide political correctness and established political agenda.

Those who home school should be championed by society and maybe instead of knee jerk regulation, the NH Senate should look into the reasons why citizens home school. The answers they come up with might help them improve and streamline the curriculum and administration of the present public system.

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Quote of the Day -A tax supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state. - Isabel Patterson, The God of the Machine