melissel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/why-homeschooling-is-a-boon-to-a-liberal-society/253321/ Before addressing the core failures of this argument, its useful to run through some of its smaller inadequacies: * The fact that a child is home-schooled doesn't mean he or she is being told to trust only his or her parent. * Families that homeschool or send their kids to private school pay into the public school system just like every other local taxpayer, but their kids aren't a burden on its resources. Were everyone to attend public schools instead, would the "peer effect," if it exists, be significant enough to outweigh the extra cost of educating all the homeschoolers and private school kids? * Are the test scores of low-income students really a reliable measure of how much they're thriving? * Amy Stuart Wells was writing about the Class of 1980. Since cultural attitudes about diversity have radically changed in the intervening years, isn't it possible that the effect of attending a diverse high school is less pronounced? * If all we know about integrated high schools is that their graduates are more committed to diversity and better able to bridge cultural differences - good things, to be sure - can we really conclude that these graduates are "better grown-ups" than graduates of less diverse high schools? Hypothetically, what if a less diverse private school produced graduates who were more academically prepared, more committed to gender equality, and more adept at problem solving that brought about social improvements? What if a homeschool collective meanwhile produced graduates who were more inclined to forgive their enemies, more likely to give to charity, and more likely to volunteer abroad? Judging what schools produce "better grownups" is thorny. Doing so by citing three diversity metrics in a vacuum is absurd. AWESOME! Edited February 22, 2012 by melissel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 "There is value in the public education system. Lots of intelligent, informed people have helped to shape its curriculum and norms. Consider their model with an open mind, and depart from it only after taking their claims seriously. And if you reach an informed conclusion that a different model is better, if that is your strong conviction, go out and be the change you want to see in the world. It may happen that you're right or wrong, but society as a whole requires people who challenge the prevailing system if it is to identify the few who can offer new insights." This was my favorite part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 "There is value in the public education system. Lots of intelligent, informed people have helped to shape its curriculum and norms. Consider their model with an open mind, and depart from it only after taking their claims seriously. And if you reach an informed conclusion that a different model is better, if that is your strong conviction, go out and be the change you want to see in the world. It may happen that you're right or wrong, but society as a whole requires people who challenge the prevailing system if it is to identify the few who can offer new insights." This was my favorite part. My problem with the bold is that it assumes public education to be not just the norm, but the best - the benchmark by which all others should be judged. I disagree with that premise. We don't homeschool to reject public school. We homeschool because we like what it has to offer, academically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) My problem with the bold is that it assumes public education to be not just the norm, but the best - the benchmark by which all others should be judged. I disagree with that premise. We don't homeschool to reject public school. We homeschool because we like what it has to offer, academically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally. Hm, I don't read it that way. I see it as assuming that public education is the default, because it's free (beyond what you're already paying into it, which has to happen either way) and the government and many parents are at least trying (albeit often misguidedly) to improve it. I do think it is something to be taken seriously in many places, for many people, and I think there IS value in the system. Just not for our family, and not right now. Talk to me in August, though, when our savings may have run out and I'm facing having to go back to work. I may see more value in the system for us then *sigh* Edited February 22, 2012 by melissel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hm, I don't read it that way at all. I see it as assuming that public education is the default, because it's free (beyond what you're already paying into it, which has to happen either way) and the government and many parents are at least trying (albeit often misguidedly) to improve it. And I do think there IS value in the system. Just not for our family, and not right now. Talk to me in August, though, when our savings may have run out and I may have to go back to work. I may see more value in the system for us then *sigh* He's saying that there's value in public education because over generations many well reasoned and well intentioned people have worked to see that it functions. It probably isn't a good idea to out-of-hand reject the collective wisdom of so many. But, he does go on to say that to have a more innovative, effective and richer system, it benefits the system and society to allow experimentation (i.e. homeschooling) because it allows for variation and comparison. It was a wonderfully thoughtful and even handed response, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 "There is value in the public education system. Lots of intelligent, informed people have helped to shape its curriculum and norms. Consider their model with an open mind, and depart from it only after taking their claims seriously. And if you reach an informed conclusion that a different model is better, if that is your strong conviction, go out and be the change you want to see in the world. It may happen that you're right or wrong, but society as a whole requires people who challenge the prevailing system if it is to identify the few who can offer new insights." This was my favorite part. Definately a memorable quote and axiom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 He's saying that we should have some respect for the collective knowlege of prior generations. They might know a thing or two about a think or two. He's a proper conservative who feels foundationally we should respect the traditions of our culture because they encompass widsom. He's also saying that after having considered it, we should be free to reject it. My problem with the bold is that it assumes public education to be not just the norm, but the best - the benchmark by which all others should be judged. I disagree with that premise. We don't homeschool to reject public school. We homeschool because we like what it has to offer, academically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 He's saying that there's value in public education because over generations many well reasoned and well intentioned people have worked to see that it functions. It probably isn't a good idea to out-of-hand reject the collective wisdom of so many. But, he does go on to say that to have a more innovative, effective and richer system, it benefits the system and society to allow experimentation (i.e. homeschooling) because it allows for variation and comparison. It was a wonderfully thoughtful and even handed response, imo. Yes, that's a better interpretation. I'm probably seeing it as him considering it as the default because that's how I see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks for posting this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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