3 of 46

Write now Article Tools

I am not a parent, but whenever I go swimming at the local YMCA during the Open Swim period between 1 and 2 in the afternoon, there are some parents who bring in their homeschooled kids. At first, I wondered why these kids weren't in school in the first place, but as I talked to them, they gave me their reasons why they chose to homeschool thier kids. Some of them don't like the school district and that the test scores were too low. One woman couldn't afford the tuition for a private school, and that she didn't like the public schools.

In a way, I don't blame them one bit. I told them that there's too much violence in the public schools and that they're under a lot of pressure from the No Child Left Behind act.

Last year in the Philadelphia school district alone, a few of the teachers got attacked; one of them was a high school math teacher that had his neck broken by a 15-year-old kid who wasn't even a student there. The kids are coming to school with guns and knives and just attacking other students as well as the teachers. A 13-year-old girl said, and I quote, to a male substitute teacher, "F you, Mr. Smith!".

I also told another homeschool mother about an incident at a New Jersey high school where the school was in lockdown for four hours and the kids were all stuck in their classrooms. Even in my own district high school last year, a 17-year-old girl was beaten up by three younger girls; one 14, one 15, and the other one was 16. A 14-year-old kid who had behavior problems, and who is also homeschooled, was planning a Columbine-style attack at his former high school. His mother gave him the guns and they both got arrested!

The decision to homeschool is not easy, but I have mixed feelings about this. Yes I do agree that there's way too much violence in the schools, but at the same time, children need to learn from a fully trained and qualified teacher. What if that child has learning problems and needs special help? What if a child doesn't understand what the teacher is saying? How can a parent take on the responsibilities of a trained classroom teacher? How many parents are certified teachers themselves? What college is going to accept a student was was homeschooled?

Also, a lot of parents can't afford to pay for a private, Catholic, or a Chrisitan school. Here in Philadelphia, several Catholic schools, including the one where my two brothers and sister went to, have shut down over the last several years due to rising costs, high tuition, and the lack of teaching nuns; especially in the low-income neighborhoods and working class suburbs. St. Charles Borromeo School, the oldest Catholic school in Delaware County, shut down in June for the same reason. That, along with the school that my two brothers and sister went to, were converted into public schools to ease the overcrowding at another public school here in my district.

Yes, there's going to be bullies, but parents can't keep sheltering their kids forever. They have to prepare them for real life, for life on their own, as well as learn how to cope with the demands and pressures of the outside world. I believe that parents should do everything they can to see that their kids go to school and learn from a qualfied teacher before they decide if they want to homeschool them. And if they do, I will respect their choice.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Fagan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Testimonies: The decision to homeschool?
We want to hear your view. Write now!