Sunday, July 20, 2008

Both parents' and childrens' educational rights need to be protected in homeschooling

Excerpt from Both parents' and childrens' educational rights need to be protected in homeschooling by Kelly Flynn.

Most parents have their children's best interests at heart. We trust parents to make appropriate choices about their children's health, safety, diet, and discipline. Why wouldn't we trust them to make appropriate educational choices, too?

In this case, my belief in the rights of parents is stronger than my belief in the beauty of the public school system. And I have never believed that there is only one way to do anything.

While she may not understand and see the beauty of homeschooling she at least respects our right to homeschool our children. I do wish she and others didn't see it as an odd educational choice though.

homeschooling is, to me, an odd educational choice. I don't understand why a parent would choose to separate a child from the rich and varied world that a public school offers, or shelter them from the very society that they will ultimately have to live and work in.

But even though homeschooling would not be my first choice, I do believe, emphatically, that parents should have that choice.

Ironically I believe that homeschooling provides a richer and more varied world then public schools offer, and most homeschoolers are out in the society that they will ultimately have to live and work in, while public school students are enslaved in a artificial environment where people are separated by their age. Thankfully my choice to homeschool is respected by most, even if it is considered an odd educational choice by some.

2 comments:

  1. Check out http://detentionslip.org for convincing points about why to avoid public schools. The site was voted #1 for crazy news in education.

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  2. I agree -- I think homeschooling offers a wider variety of choices. Kids aren't stuck with the courses offered by one school. If they want to study robots or chinese, or fencing, they can! And they spend all day in "the real world" able to go out and join clubs and see museums and even do simple things like go to the grocery store and learn there.

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