The Case Against Homeschooling - WOW!!!!

I stumbled upon this blog - actually a newsletter I get - pro-homeschooling, of course - linked to it, along with a list of rebuttal articles.

Teacher-Revised - The Case Against Homeschooling

At first I wanted to cry - really! My first split-second reaction, I will admit, was OMG - am I really screwing my kids up, that badly!!!!! And then I scrolled to the end and found 625 comments and solace. My favorite comment - so far, I have yet to read all 625 + - is the one reprinted below. I wish I had written it myself, because it describes almost exactly the "why" for me (and the kids too.)

We homeschool for all the PRO reasons~ not because the schools are bad, the system is corrupt, the kids are worldy, the curriculum is liberal, etc….Actually, on the face of it, the philosophy and practice of homeschooling is a very Liberal approach in itself. It goes against the Conservative “status quo”.

My kids were in traditional school. A good one, where the teachers cared and tried and the Principal supported the teachers. I dropped them off at 8am, picked them up at 3:15. They had not been together all day, but yet within 60 seconds inside the car they were already quarreling. 1 1/2 hours later, after brain-fried and homework, we headed out to soccer or dance, etc, returned home for more homework, exhaling thru dinner time, baths and maybe signing the endless teacher papers, tweaking homework, finding out about last minute details for the next day. All the while (though academically the kids were doing well) my family lifestyle was competing with the sub-culture of “school”. We simply did not want to live this way anymore.

If a single-mom sees a way out of a drug/gang infested ghetto or trailer park, works hard to make a better life (in her opinion) for her children, she is praised. I wanted a way out of my “curb and gutter” suburb-good-school district, high expectations but low family priority lifestyle. You seem to disrespect that. You have no value that we are working diligently to produce 4 well-balanced, educated, respectful adults for our society. Frankly, bringing them home~ simply to take the time required to learn to serve and love one another~was the best thing, and the only thing I knew to do. You call me “selfish” for this, but that adjective is as pointless as labeling a non-homeschooling parent as”lazy”. I’m certainly busier than ever before, but I was not lazy then either. And Dad is over-seeing more than ever, when before he was relying heavily on the schools, teachers, systems to do the job. This gave him more time for golf, chill time with his buddies, veg time with the remote. I would call that selfish.

My children could have been kept in the school where they were with their fine teachers and glorious transcripts. But I’m not certain that they would have a future that meant that they could look back on their childhood and remember days of Peace, Serenity, Laughter, Quiet, Fun, Grace, Ownership, Parent-governed, Sibling focused, Self-responsibility. These are all the PROS I mean, and this was the vision I desperately wanted for my family.

I understand that there are pros in the traditional school model. I’ve been there, and I’ve experienced them. So, I think then, it really comes down to what the heart vision is for that child and for your family as a whole. If your point is that education is the rainbow label for a myriad of “subjects”, then I agree with you. But you are forgetting that these years are more than just subject learning, but are formative for future lifestyle choices.

The world needs more kids like mine. With their father, I’m hoping to change my family tree by producing children and grandchildren who know how to put aside a personal agenda for a higher call, bottom line. I’m not saying a school system cannot do that. I am saying that homeschooling is the only way I know how, and now that I’ve been there for 7 years, I’m seeing the fruit. And it’s all good.

Now that makes me want to cry - but good tears - of relief! Homeschoolers - rock on!!!!!!