Yes

by Josephine Polifroni

Created on: December 23, 2007

Homeschooling definitely has the edge compared with formal education. Having been on both sides of the issue, with one child in public school throughout her school career and another homeschooled until high school, I think homeschooling has the potential to give children a great education. My youngest and I had a great time together and when she entered public high school she had a wonderful grounding in every subject necessary to make her a success in school. Even though she is heavily into sports that take up a lot of her time, she is taking advanced courses and doing very well.

The advantages of homeschooling are many. You know your own children better than anyone and can tailor lesson plans and teaching methods to their leaning style. You can delay the start of teaching subjects if they are not ready, or accelerate the pace. Your child has a chance to explore special interests in depth. Year round education keeps the momentum going so your child only makes gains and doesn't forget over summer vacation. Older children can help younger children with their assignments, reinforcing their own knowledge and also enhancing sibling interactions.

There are an incredible number of resources available for the homeschooling parent, including workbooks, teaching plans and curricula, flash cards and computer programs. Libraries, of course, have books on many topics so you don't have to buy everything. Local community college and/or university students and faculty sometimes hold semi-informal classes open to the public and your older homeschooler can enroll and take classes directly at community colleges. Independent mail order study courses are available through universities for classes you may not feel up to teaching, usually math and science. Often, you have more freedom scheduling specialty classes with private teachers for music, voice, language etc., since you are not competing with every other kid in town for the after hours appointments.

In addition, depending on the state you are in, you may be able to homeschool in partnership with your local school district. In California it is possible to enroll your child in school as a homeschooler. The school district receives funding for a student but has one less student in the classroom. In return, there is a dedicated staff and facility for the homeschooled student. These facilities may vary in what they offer but there is usually a library and materials that can be checked such as math aids or keyboards. Teachers are available to help you with your curriculum, but you are in charge. In addition activities and field trips are planned so that the homeschoolers and their parents can get together, providing social occasions.

When you enroll your child in the public school system you have very little control over any aspect of their education. School starts and ends at times determined by other people. Curriculum and textbooks are chosen by the state. State and federal testing is required, but new tests and conditions can be added without your input. Bad teachers, those who do not really want to teach or who use ridicule and harsh discipline instead of teaching; can ruin your child's desire to learn. Since they are bad teachers, they aren't teaching either. Elementary schools may want parents to assist in the classroom, but they are often very firm about not wanting parental input about how the classroom is run.

Good teachers are hampered and frustrated by the bureaucracy, just as concerned parents are. A good teacher may have wonderful ideas about how to teach a subject or reach a child who is drifting away, but they are unable to implement these ideas. Many excellent teachers do not even make it into the classroom because of the worship of the holy credential. A credential does not a teacher make. A class or two on the practical aspects of running a classroom are fine, but teachers need to know their subject thoroughly and how children grow and learn to teach properly. The education classes I have been exposed to were laughably useless.

My experience with teachers confirms the uselessness of these classes. The primary concern of my oldest daughter's grade school teachers was that she write with a right handed slant, even though she is left handed, and that she drink her milk at lunch even though she is lactose intolerant. Any problems with academic subjects were overwhelmed by attention to these issues. High school teachers often assign too much homework that they have not lectured on that day. When my kids come home with thirty-five math problems they have no idea how to do, that teacher is not doing his or her job. Also, education has been abandoned in favor of teaching to the test, since No Child Left Behind has been implemented.

There are problems with homeschooling, naturally, but I believe these problems can be solved more easily. I do not agree with the system in place that requires no overview on homeschoolers. In California, a parent can declare themselves a private school, filing papers to that effect with the state and as far as anyone knows that child could be spending all of their time watching TV and receiving no education at all. There is a tacit agreement that they will be educated but no one checks unless a complaint is made and a truant officer checks up. I really, really do not like Big Brother looking over my shoulder, yet I recognize the possibility for abuse and the necessity for making sure these children are protected. Also, all states should offer homeschoolers the opportunity to enroll in their local school district. Along with the advantages already stated, at the junior and high school level, students in California can actually take one or two classes, a big advantage for the lab sciences. If homeschoolers were able to participate in sports and join clubs, a lot of the complaints the general public has about homeschooling would disappear

The public school, on the other hand, is a gigantic bureaucracy with a huge hierarchy and involvement at the local, state and federal level. Any real change is impossible because education is regarded as a political issue instead of an important issue confronting our society that needs thoughtful solutions. Since I have come to believe that many in power prefer the general public to be uneducated, I do not think the public school system will change anytime soon, so homeschooling or offering additional educational opportunities to your public schooled child is the only way to insure a good education.

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