My Response to Dan Edelen - A Public School At Home Dad

Dan Edelen claims he homeschools even though he is doing public school at home.
He says
* I am the teacher.
According to the OHVA website he is teamed up with a certified teacher. At best he is an assistant teacher. The certified teacher is calling the shots.

* My son does not attend physical classes as a group with any other children.
So you are doing public school at home. In his own post he admits this is a public charter school paid for with tax $

*My son attends class as a lone student within our home.
Again you are doing public school at home. OHVA has more then one student.

* I select the curricula.
Really!!! Nowhere on the OHVA website, did I see a place for parents to choose textbooks.

* I select which parts of the curricula we do in a day and how it is taught.
OK, you get some flexibility unlike traditional public school students, but your child is still enrolled in a public school.

* I can include family activities or other resources as schoolwork.
OK, you get some flexibility unlike traditional public school students, but your child is still enrolled in a public school.

* I can skip over whatever curricula I feel my son has already mastered.
OK, you get some flexibility unlike traditional public school students, but your child is still enrolled in a public school.

* Our schooling is subject to all the positives and negatives of being schooled at home.
This statement shows how much Dan Edelen doesn’t understand real homeschooling. He is not receiving all the positives real homeschoolers do. But since he has never been a real homeschooler he doesn’t know what he is missing. I have the freedom to choose every textbook we use, I have the freedom to select every subject I teach. As a real homeschooler I am not subject to government oversight. And I resent public school at home parents co-opting the homeschooling label which could lead the government to take away my options.

The OHVA website claims
Top 10 Reasons Parents Choose OHVA:
1. Public School Accountability
I don’t want to be accountable to a public school. If you do that is fine, but don’t call yourself a homeschooler.

2. Superior K12 Curriculum
Really, says who. Is it as good as the curriculum I picked out on my own that allowed my son to start college at 16 and major in computer science?

3. Extensive Support System
I don’t want government support. If you do that’s fine, but don’t call yourself a homeschooler.

4. Flexible Scheduling
As a homeschooler I already have this.

5. Expert Lesson Plans
Homeschoolers can find expert lesson plans on the Internet, or they can make their own.

6. One-on-one Approach
As a homeschooler I already have this.

7. Socialization Opportunities
Homeschoolers are free to join recreational sports leagues, participate in church youth groups and form homeschool support groups, we don’t need a public school at home program to provide socialization.

8. Focused, Ethical Environment
Yeah, we all know how ethical public schools are, Bennett’s K12, especially.

In Arkansas -The U.S. Department of Education employees who oversee the public school choice program initially suggested funding for 10 programs, basing their on recommendations from peer reviewers. Bennett's K12 Arkansas project was not among them. Education Week reported that K12's proposal did not score high enough among the peer reviewers to win a funding recommendation.

9. Gifted & Talented Support
If having a gifted or talented program is important to you as a homeschooler you can either find one or start your own, you don’t need a public school at home program to do so.

10. Safety, Peace of Mind
Homeschoolers already have this; they don’t need a public school at home program.

Dan maintains he is a homeschooler because he son doesn’t attend a traditional public school, but Annette points out why he is doing public school at home, by providing us with what the government legally determines a public school to be.

1.) Is supported with public funds.
He brags about getting tax money in his own blog “so our taxpayer dollars go to our homeschooling!”.

2.) Is authorized by action of and operated under the oversight of a publicly constituted local or state educational agency.
Again in his own blog he admits it is a public charter school.

3.) Provides educational services to all students who are enrolled.
Yes, OHVA provides educational services to all students who are enrolled.

4.) Has an appropriately credentialed teacher (or teachers) who provides instruction.
Says they do on the OHVA website.

5.) Has at least one appropriately credentialed administrator, usually a principal, who is responsible for all aspects of school administration including supervision and evaluation of staff, fiscal responsibility, student discipline and safety, supervision and evaluation of curriculum, and assessment of academic achievement and school accountability.
Claims to on the OHVA website.

6.) Has an administrator, usually a principal, with access to and responsibility for maintaining official student records for all enrolled students.
Claims to on the OHVA website.

Looks like Dan’s public school at home meets all the requirements for a public school to me. So why is he adamant that he is homeschooling? When it’s obvious that he isn’t.

Christy commented

Confusion like this– asserting that a child enrolled in a public, private, or online school– will lead to messier legislation that will adversely affect homeschoolers everywhere.

She is right and that is why real homeschoolers do not want public school at home parents claiming to be homeschoolers. It is not because we are elitist, it is not because we feel superior to you, it is because we do not want our freedom to homeschool curtailed. We do not want the government or someone like Dee to decide the only legitimate way to homeschool is by doing public school at home.