Quality Learning For All

This is an article that was published in the school newspaper this issue to which I wrote a rebuttal which I will post soon.


All laws set aside, the concept of home schooling has never been a logical or ethical choice for any family. Having been home-schooled, I can say from first-hand experience that it is not the right route for parents to take. Though my mother is a very intelligent woman and taught my sister and me well, I still do not believe that home schooling provides the best education or learning environment for children.

A child in home school education innately demands extra attention and assistance from his or her parents. Therefore, parents must spend more time working on lesson plans and eductional resources instead of going to work and providing for their child as they could be doing if the child were inrolled in a public or private school. In addition, the parents are forced to find ways to help their child cultivate friendships, an activity that would come naturally in a public or private school environment.

A recent case that has been brought up involving home school is that of the Long family. Details of this case are not specific to my topic, but it caused the court of appeals ruled that, "persons between the ages of six and 18 are to be in school, the public full-time day school, with exemptions allowed for those in a private fulltime day school or those instructed by a tutor who holds a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught."

I believe that the most effective way to educate a child is through the public private school system. This allows for the individual to be part of a community of people outside of the family. This is important for the developmental process of the child.

According to travel writer, cultural historian and literary critic Robert McFarlane, "The social process and the individual process are not only similar. They are interdependent. Individuals develop with the active support of the society and societies' development by the creative contributions of individuals."

Parents who believe in home schooling their children because they think the world will tear their children apart are unaware of the damage they themselves are doing. By keeping children away from kids their own age, parents are not only infringing upon a very important self-developmental process but also keeping them from learning at the level of their peers.

When I transitioned from home school to public school, I very quickly fell behind in classes that I normally did well in when it was just my mother teaching me. I believe that the state of California is right in requiring parents to have a certain level of education. If the parents really cared about their child, they would insist that the child get the best education there is. To assume that this education can only come from them is not only naive but narcissictic as well.

Rebuttal to come soon...=)