I wanted to say this last night, but didn't feel as though bringing it up would be the best to do. I think to dismiss home schooling as an idea simply over one isolated case is the wrong thing to do. Yes, I do think that if done under the wrong situation that home schooling can be unhealthy and even academically dangerous, but under the right conditions, I think that even we, as future teachers, can see the potential merit. I mean, who among us wouldn't be thrilled with a classroom of three students where we could spend unlimited amounts of time with each student to make sure they are mastering the material? Sure, there are some other, non-academic issues involved (stunting a student socially, for example), but overall, as long as a parents is careful, there are benefits to this school choice that a lot of people miss out on.
Also, as to the students shouldn't be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities argument: once the government allows people who home school to not pay taxes to support the schools, then we can start this discussion. Otherwise, let the kids play.
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I understand your point and I agree that the tax system is flawed. However, I believe that we should all pay school taxes because education benefits the entire community. If people that home school do not have to pay school taxes, what about people who do not have children?
I wish you had spoken out in class. Since I have moved to Rock Hill my views on homescooling has changed immensely. In 1995 I was a children's choir director for a choir that was predominantly homeschooled. I changed my entire method of teaching. The students were so good at working independently that I could give them music to take home. By the next rehearsal they all were familiar with the music. I spent my rehearsal time fine tuning their sound. As a result, this choir performed extremely difficult music. I was always surprised at the level this group could perform. Three years later I moved to a new church. My children's choir of 37 consisted of public school students from double income homes. Once again I had to change the approach. My rehearsal time was spent teaching the music. They did little learning at home no matter what system I used to motivate. I had to drop the performance level down to their grade level. What is the difference in the two groups? The homeschool children worked well independently. They were behind the schooled choir socially. I found that I had to seriously structure audition requirements for the homeschool group. The schooled choir went with my decisions and worked together.
My point is that children can obtain a great education both ways. It is wrong to think that we will ever come up with a system that meets the optimal level for each student. Isn't that the great thing about the U.S. we can try different things?
I appreciate you speaking out even in this venue. In response to Jennifer, I think Robert's point wasn't that homeschool parents shouldn't pay taxes, but that as long as they do, they should have some access to public school extracurriculars.
I'm sure there must be merits in home schooling, but my personal experience with the practice is pretty negative. I knew a family full of homeschooled students very well a few years ago. One student, who was 18, spent her entire senior year ONLY doing practice problems in a massive SAT workbook. Another, who was 10 years old, once showed me his "history" book, which featured illustrations of domesticated dinosaurs and their human masters.
I'm sure when done in a conscientious way by responsible adults, homeschooling can work well. But I'll never believe either of the practices mentioned above are useful methods of preparing students for the real world.
I believe that if conducted properly home schooling can be an amazing experience for a student. I am not familiar with all the laws regarding home schooling, but I also have known some students who were in what I would consider to be extreme cases of home schooling. I am from a small town and there is a community of Christian missionaries that live here. I grew up playing soccer with several girls from the community who were home schooled. Their families were very advanced academically, but were taught from a very strict religious point of view and were not socializing with their peers except for soccer practice 3 times a week. I understand that parents have the right to educate their children as they see fit, but I do think it is important to give all students the opportunities to learn about many subjects and ideals, and be able to decide how they want to experience life.
I agree with you that those kids that are homeschooled should be allowed to participate in the extracurricular activities. My only issue with home schooling is that just about anybody can home school their kids. I don't think the rules or requirements rather for a person to be qualified to do this are enough.
http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp?state=sc
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