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The Daily Signal
What This
Mom Thinks About How Government Regulates Homeschooling
Genevieve Wood
March 02, 2015
If millions of Americans are doing it, the conventional wisdom among
government bureaucrats is that somebody ought to regulate it.
Look no further than the growing movement known as homeschooling. It’s
estimated that upwards of 3 million school age children in America are
now foregoing the traditional schoolhouse, public or private, and
getting their education at home.
That has some people concerned – primarily those in the public
education establishment who have done such a stellar job educating the
children under their care they believe they have time to monitor what’s
going on elsewhere. (For the record, according to the 2013
findings of the Program for International Student Assessment, students
in 29 countries statistically outperformed U.S. students in math, 19
did so in reading, and 22 did so in science.)
Don’t have time to read the Washington Post or New York Times? Then get
The Morning Bell, an early morning edition of the day’s most important
political news, conservative commentary and original reporting from a
team committed to following the truth no matter where it leads.
But according to a January New York Times article, some critics of
homeschooling are coming from within the community itself. That piqued
my interest.
Take the young woman featured in the story who bemoans the fact that
her mother “used science textbooks that taught the theory of
intelligent design and shied away from rigorous math during her high
school years.” She says the result was that she had to take some
remedial math classes in college.
Hmmm. Considering she is now a doctoral candidate in history at the
University of Michigan, maybe the reality is that math just wasn’t her
strong suit and her talents lay in other subjects. And, I’d venture to
guess that the percentage of public school students who graduate every
year that have to take remedial courses in math (and a number of other
subjects) when they enter college far outweigh the number of
homeschoolers who do.
But let’s keep looking…
What about the homeschooling mom also featured in the Times article,
who let her son play a video game, Minecraft, to burn off energy after
only 10 minutes of schoolwork? Surely we should be monitoring
that kind of thing, right?
Homeschooling challenges the public education
bureaucracy in America that says children are better off with
professional educators.
Well, not so fast. The reporter only references that particular scene
which takes place in the afternoon with no mention as to what little
10-year-old Elijah may have already accomplished in terms of schoolwork
that day. Can he read and write for his age level? The article doesn’t
say but my guess is he can do that and more–otherwise such shortcomings
would have been reported in the story.
To get more insight into all of this, I decided to talk with someone
who is a real expert in education – my sister who lives in North
Carolina and, in addition to having more degrees than I do and being a
college professor, homeschools my three oldest nephews. I asked my
sister, Amanda Aucoin, what she thought about homeschool regulations,
testing, and the desire by some to encourage more of both. Here
is her take:
Q: How much regulation of homeschooling is needed?
A: I think North Carolina is a great example of striking a
balance. Parents are asked to register with the Department of
Non-Public Education, which also has oversight of private schools in
the state. You let them know when you open, add a student or close your
homeschool. You also are asked to keep ‘attendance’ records,
meaning you check a box on a sheet for each day ‘educational activities
or instruction was conducted.’ It’s flexible, but you do agree to do 36
weeks of educational days per year.
Q: What about annual testing?
A: In North Carolina, you agree to give a standardized test to
each student age seven and over in your homeschool. Parents choose the
test, and I don’t know of any restrictions there. You also agree to
keep the scores of the test on file for voluntary inspection. So, there
are regulations, but it’s all voluntary. And I think that’s good
because it shows the state is not completely unconcerned with the
welfare of homeschool students, but also not micromanaging at all.
Q: But you also say you don’t find the tests particularly
helpful. Why?
A: The point of testing in all schools initially was to let
parents know how their children are doing academically. Well, if you
homeschool, you pretty much know that already. Now the motivation for
testing seems to have changed, it’s a test of the educators and the
school more than the students, and it’s not surprising some would want
to apply this to home schools as well.
Q: What do you think are the primary motivations of those who
want more regulations?
A: Homeschooling challenges the public education bureaucracy in
America that says children are better off with professional educators.
The more it grows the more they believe it threatens public schools,
education programs at colleges (which grant teaching certificates),
thousands of bureaucrats, millions of paid teachers, and billions in
state and federal dollars – especially when it is demonstrated how well
homeschool students do academically, on a fraction of the yearly budget
per student. THAT, in my opinion, is the real reason behind the
‘concerns’ of most non-homeschoolers on this issue. Public education is
an industry in our country.
Q: Now that you’ve told us what you really think…any other points
you’d like to make about homeschooling?
A: Even though one may think public education is okay, that
doesn’t mean it’s the standard by which every educational practice
should be normed or tested. Homeschoolers may be seen as having
knee-jerk reactions to the idea of state regulation but we know
regulators are usually not satisfied with minimalist oversight, and
opening the door to more government intervention will not lead where
most of us want to go. Homeschoolers do not wish to replicate the
public schools just in a different setting and with prayer. For many,
it’s a whole different philosophy of education.
Read this and other articles at The Daily Signal
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