by Carrie Weitz

Created on: September 22, 2008

Homeschooling is an endeavor that cannot be taken lightly. A solid, well-rounded education takes much time, planning, and effort. It does not, however, take a degree.

History and statistics clearly indicate a lack of discrepancy between those educated by degree holding, certified teachers, and those taught by "laypeople." Considering all of the studying and practice a certified teacher goes through, non credentialed homeschoolers must be bringing something to the table. Typically, it is a familiarity with the subject matter; the child.

Teacher training focuses on hypothetical children, not on Joey Smith or Cindy Jones. Degrees and certifications determine qualification to instruct a classroom of 20 to 30 different children , more in upper grades, each year, which is a quality that most homeschoolers have no need for. Mrs. Smith and Mr. Jones are likely to have studied Joey and Cindy for at least 5 years before beginning a formal education in their home. They, as parents, have received their own individualized education in teaching their children.

The internet, along with hardworking mail and package carriers, has increased the ease of homeschooling exponentially. Today's homeschooler can not only order everything from textbooks and teacher manuals to dissection kits and chemistry labs, but they can connect with other homeschoolers, research and plan accordingly for college admissions, stay abreast on the trends in education, and even take part in standardized testing, if they're into that sort of thing.

Interestingly, most teachers-turned-homeschool-parents are quick to announce that their formal training did very little in way of preparing them to teach their own children at home. Home education does not, and should not, replicate institutional education. It is its own animal, with no degree program available or desired.

Should someone discover evidence that parents without degrees are doing their children a disservice, I suggest they contact Harvard, Yale, Brown, Stanford, and the rest of the many schools who have missed that memo and continue to embrace their homeschooled applicants. That is, unless we're going to accuse them of also being unqualified for what they do.

In the meantime, I suggest that proponents of degrees and certifications examine the statistics, and ask themselves why there is no large gap in results. Perhaps the professionals still have a thing or two to learn.

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