I know several home schooler parents. All indicated to me that there was no summer vacation for their kids, but some of their learning tasks are focused on summer opportunities. Going to Yellowstone National Park is a learning activity. None of the home schooler parents said that when summer comes they just turn the kids loose to vegetate. So why do we do so with public school students?
Home schooling is one of the most contentious issues in education. The public receives conflicting messages. On the one hand, they hear that parents are the most influential force in children learning. But, on the other hand, many education leaders say that learning at home is somehow different and inferior to “real” education by professional educators in a professional school setting.
Home school parents forego the benefits of a tax-supported education for diverse reasons that include religious, social and achievement concerns. Additionally, there are people in rural areas where the trip to the nearest school is too far a journey for young children.
For most people, outside of those with strictly religious concerns, the primary reason to home school is a concern about the culture of public education. Home school parents say they do not want their children exposed to drugs, sex, violence, the anti-learning crowd, and a curriculum that is not sufficiently rigorous. Others say the pace of instruction in schools is focused on the entire class rather than on any one individual. The home school parents are able to pace their instruction specifically to their own children.
Over the years, I have known quite a few people who were home schooled. As a group, I feel they are better off than their public school peers because all of the ones I know are still avid learners. Each takes part in their own education and spends lots of time on learning tasks. None of them worries about grades; all of them are curious learners who are curious about lots of things.
Still, I cannot think of a more daunting task than to be the primary educational agent for your own children. Most people who describe home schooling say that the first week goes by quickly with lots of enthusiasm. At some point, a couple of weeks into the venture, all of my friends say that it finally occurs to them this is hard work. They have to do a great deal of planning. It is not like giving the kids the TV clicker and saying, “Watch something educational.”
One objection to home schooling is that parents are not themselves usually professional educators. It asks the question: must we have professional teachers for everything we learn? More so, how then do we ensure that the children are learning? What should be done if a home-schooled child reaches majority without sufficient academic skills? Discipline the parents? Is it the parent’s right not to educate their children? Yes, I know, these are sticky questions. We already face the same questions with public school graduates. Shall we dock the teacher’s pension if the students do not learn?
Some parents are not suited for teaching just as some students are not good candidates for home learning. Sometimes, the combination of parents not willing to work hard at teaching, and students not driven to learn can lead to bad situations. Overall, this is not the case.
Home schoolers do not turn off their minds when they leave school. Learning occurs at all hours of the day and night. I like home schooling when it is done correctly. Public schools can learn more from the methods used by home schoolers than home schoolers can learn from public school. The bottom line is that government should make it easier for parents to home school, even though the local school government loses money when parents decide to home school.
Dr. Michael Swickard is co-host of radio talk show News New Mexico 6 to 9 a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
