Rebuttal - Home School Myths and Myth Makers by Jerry Webster

My rebuttal of Webster's hatchet piece Home School Myths and Myth Makers.

First I would like to clarify what homeschooling is as a number of public school parents have started referring to themselves as homeschoolers. Homeschoolers are self funded, they do not receive tax/tuition money and the State does not assist them with textbooks, materials or supplies. Homeschool parents are responsible for all record keeping, curriculum choices and choose what textbooks to use. Those who attend Virtual Public Schools are not Homeschoolers.

Homeschoolers are readily admitted to colleges, usually based on the parent kept transcripts and ACT or SAT scores, and have no problem earning the bachelor degrees or professional certificates needed for employment. I really hope Mr. Webster wasn't trying to imply otherwise.

With those pesky clarifications out of the way, I will now address Mr. Webster's "myths".

Myth #1 Homeschooling is Selfish: Kathy ignores the fact that most states support local schools by providing a per pupil amount for each child enrolled. In that way by withdrawing their children from the local school district, they withdraw that portion of income from their local school. They do not support their local schools.

Mr. Webster's assertion that homeschoolers are selfish is rather hypocritical considering the fact he sends his son to an elite boarding school, thus withdrawing him from his local school district. Also if the criteria for being selfish is merely a couple/home owner who doesn't have children enrolled in the local school district then childless couples and singles would also have to be viewed as "selfish". Homeschoolers just like childless couples, singles and parents of privately schooled students pay property taxes that do indeed support the local schools.   

Myth #2: Homeschooling is Elitist - I think most people just think they are misfits. It doesn't sound like an elite. It sounds like the Tea Party.

I am sure the elite boarding school Mr. Webster sends his son to is the embodiment of racial and economic diversity. Homeschoolers are neither misfits or elitist, we are just normal everyday people who choose to educate our children at home. Each homeschooling family is different, therefore each family has different reasons for choosing to homeschool. I know a Pagan Mother who chose to pull her daughter out of the public schools because not only were the other public school students bullying the child one of the public school teachers was telling the child that "her family was going to hell because of their pagan beliefs". BTW the Mother checked homeschooling for religious reasons on a survey of homeschoolers. Which just goes to show statistics can be misleading.

Myth #3: Homeschoolers have an Advantage.

OK, this one might be true. Certainly homeschoolers benefit from  a better teacher to student ratio than kids in public schools, no argument there. Also numerous studies have been done that show that kids from higher social economic backgrounds do better in school no matter what the educational choice their parents make for them private, home or public school. Studies have also shown that having a full time parent in the home is advantageous to children again no mater what the school choice is for them.

Myth #4: Homeschooled children don't know what the real world is like. Research (Bauman) does, however, show that 33 percent of homeschooling parent name religion as a primary reason for homeschooling, and 9 percent name "morality" as a primary reason. That's 42 percent. Statistically, that is significant. So maybe this isn't a myth.

Balderdash, many children including homeschooled children work part time after school. They also interact  with other children in their neighborhoods, community organizations etc. And remember how I said statistics could be misleading. My Pagan friend cited religion as her primary reason for homeschooling on a survey, what the statistics couldn't tell you was it was religious bullying by Christian Fundamentalist that motivated her homeschooling.

Myth #5: Homeschooled children don't know how to get along with others. The word of the day in education is not socialization, it is "collaboration" as this is considered one of the most important skills for the next generation of jobs, especially in technological jobs. There is no research, however, showing that homeschooled children are better or more poorly adjusted in social situations than "schooled" children.

I have to agree there are no studies that show homeschooled/privately schooled children are better are more poorly adjusted in social situations then publicly schooled children. And as I said to #4 many homeschoolers have after school jobs just like their public school counterparts.

Myth #6: Homeschooling parents are not qualified to teach their children. If it's true that anyone can be a teacher, why didn't you (homeschoolers) keep your kids in public schools?

Not sure what the point of his question is. There are many excellent public school teachers, there are also some awful public school teachers. In 5th grade my eldest son's wonderful teacher got the chance to be the guidance counselor for the school during the middle of the year, which was a better paid position. Being a young man with a family to think of he of course took the better paid position and as you can imagine most qualified teachers already had jobs. My son wound up with a young lady fresh out of college who didn't have a clue how to control a classroom or teach algebra. I am not kidding, I had to go up to the school and teach the kids Math Class on the days I didn't make it up there (I wasn't being paid to teach the class) they simply skipped Math, which meant his class was falling behind the rest of the 5th graders. That was the last year my children ever attended public school. My eldest son was homeschooled 6th grade to college and my youngest was homeschooled 4th grade to college.We never regretted our decision to remove them from the public school system.

Myth #7: Homeschool parents want complete control over their children's lives. Beats me. No research here. In my own experience, homeschool parents that I have met lack good social skills themselves and what may seem like control may actually be fear of the unknown. Since we seem to be using anecdotal evidence, mine is as good as Ms. Cereci's.

I know some public school parents that wanted complete control over their children's lives. Just like public school parents are different so are homeschool parents. Some parents will be controlling others will not be. And as Webster himself stated there is no research to back up his claims.

Myth #8: Homeschooling doesn't provide children with a good education. Neither Dr. Ray nor Kathy tells us what standardized tests students perform well on, and what groups (national? State?) homeschooled students were compared to. Since most homeschooled children do not participate in their states' high stakes tests, (Bauman) we don't know how they perform alongside their general education peers. That could be made up, too?

One could say the same thing about public and private schools it doesn't make it true. Just like each public and private school is different so are individual homeschools. In the majority of homeschools the students receive an excellent education.

The majority of homeschoolers take the ACT or SAT. I really find it hard to believe Webster was ignorant of the fact that homeschoolers would be taking these test in order to get into college. For those who do not know these are national test. And homeschoolers were indeed compared to public and privately schooled students.  In fact a  new study  suggest that homeschoolers may indeed be receiving a better education then their public or privately schooled counterparts.

A new study published in The Journal of College Admission suggests that homeschool students enjoy higher ACT scores, grade point averages and graduation rates compared with other college students. The finding are especially interesting because there has been a paucity of research focused on how homeschooled students fare in college.

The research, which was conducted by Michael Cogan, the director of institutional research and analysis at the University of St. Thomas, focused on the experiences of homeschooled students at an unnamed medium-sized university in the upper Midwest.

Of course Webster will probably find fault with Cogan's credentials, which seems to be his preferred method of negating studies that show homeschooling in a favorable light.

Myth #9: Homeschooling is un-American

That seems to be a popular insult thrown out by Conservative Nutcases these days. If they don't like something you do it is UN-American,  Socialist/Communist and Liberal. Homeschooling is as American as Apple Pie, the majority of the Founding Fathers were homeschooled.

Myth #10: Homeschooling is a threat to public schooling. The biggest threat is the number of children that our permissive public policy on home schooling may actually fall through the cracks. As many as half of all children not enrolled in public schools are also not enrolled either in private (parochial)schools or registered with the state boards of education. ( That these children may show up at our unemployment offices or in our prisons later may create a cost we all will have to bear. Does it undermine the public's commitment to public education? Perhaps. Do people who choose to send their children to public school resent homeschoolers? Probably.

I fail to see why parents who choose to send their children to public school should resent homeschoolers. Do they also resent parents who send their children to private schools?  We all know a large majority of public school students fall through the cracks each year. In fact I would hazard a guess that the majority of the prison population attended public school. I would also guess that a large number of those on unemployment also attended public school. The fact that a large number of those on unemployment or in jail attended public school, doesn't make public schooling bad or give us reason to do away with public schooling.   Webster also fails to note that EVERY STATE has laws on the books to deal with educational neglect. As to undermining the public's commitment to public education the same could be said for private schools. The majority of citizens including those who do not have children and those who have selected homeschooling or private schools for their children recognize the need for public schools and fully support them.

I will address Webster's criticism of homeschooling in What About ME? in a future post. 

Rebel Homeschool has a post I encourage you to read Why We Chose Homeschool over Public School Parent Involvement

Public School at Home is Not Homeschooling

Sometimes the best post come from the responses to links left in the comments. Cerulean Sanctum claims to be homeschooling, but then goes on to say this.

Today, my son formally starts Kindergarten with Ohio Virtual Academy, a homeschooling program chartered as a public school, so our taxpayer dollars go to our homeschooling!

This is NOT homeschooling, this is public school in the student's home. I have no problem with Virtual Schools or Charter Schools, but PLEASE be honest about what you are. You are Virtual Schoolers or Charter Schoolers, you are NOT homeschoolers. Your schools are supported by tax money just like traditional public schools and you have to answer to public school authorities. Which is why it is important to make the distinction between those who really homeschool their kids and those who simply attend a public school in their home. And it leads to people like Dee demanding that real homeschoolers be accountable to someone, after all the public school at home students are and they consider themselves homeschoolers, so why don't the rest of us jump on the government bandwagon.

If I understand the comments of the folks above, they are against being accountable to anyone but the Lord for their homeschooling practices. Being accountable to the Lord is of utmost importance, but I have known parents who homeschool who need to be held accountable to more than just the Lord, because their children are not being taught well. In fact, sometimes their children cannot read at their grade level despite being of above average intelligence. I am concerned about those who just decide that their children don't need to study a certain subject such as math. Legislation might be avoided if homeschoolers would voluntarily be accountable to organized homeschool groups. Being involved with an organized group should beconsidered because of its great benefits rather than its limitations. I applaud you for choosing such a program.

Exactly what organized homeschool group would she force me to be accountable to? HSLDA whom I don't agree with on many issues or some state run homeschool group? No, thanks! Dee is also assuming that all homeschoolers, homeschool for religious reason, which in my case isn't true. I certainly don't want to be accountable to some religious group (which the majority of homeschool groups are) for my children's education. I prefer being accountable to no one. After all I have my children's best interest at heart. And considering my oldest started college at 16 I think I have done a much better job then the public schools would have done. Dee has to be nuts if she thinks every public school student reads at grade level!!!!!! Most public school students read way below grade level as evidenced by the dumbing down of public school textbooks and classrooms.

At least Elena gets the difference, unlike Dan who seems to be emotionally invested in claiming he homeschools even though they do public school at home.

Dan, I live in Ohio too. My oldest goes to Akron Digital Academy, a cyber school formed by the Akron Public School Board. My other four students are home schooled in that I filled out the notification form and sent an assessment by a certified teacher that they were working at their own level as required by Ohio law. So stating all that, I have to say that I love Bill Bennett's program. If I ever decided to use a public cyber school for my next oldest child, that's the one I would go with! However, it's not homeschooling. The legal requirements for enrolling my child in ADA was a lot different than what was required to homeschool. He has to take the Ohio proficiency tests, just as your son will. They are different.

Dan turned off the comments so I can't respond on his blog, but what he and JettyBetty do not get is their insistence on calling public school at home, homeschooling, may someday limit the choices of real homeschoolers. That is why we do not want them calling themselves homeschoolers, not because we are elitist or because we think our method is superior, but because we do not want our choices limited.

Related Tags: public school at home, homeschooling, Cerulean Sanctum, virtual Schools, charter Schools

Why I Stand For Homeschooling

Terri Willingham http://www.nhen.org/issues/default.asp?id=502 says in her post "I have no fear of the government -- I AM the government, and so is everyone else, if only everyone would remember that and act accordingly". Apparently she hasn't has much experience with the government. I do fear the government and with good reason. My life was going great. My kids attended a decent public school, they had wonderful teachers. Then some snobby parent who had friends on the school board decided that just dressing her kids in preppy clothes wasn't good enough, she had to be able to force her families preferred style of dress on her children's classmates and thus Mandatory School Uniforms with NO opt-out in the Jackson County Public Schools were born. The School Board didn't even bother to research the issue until after the fact when they were involved in a law suit with parents who opposed the uniforms. So forgive me if I don't have much faith in a government that will take away my parental right to dress my children as I see fit on a whim. Not to mention the inherent unfairness of telling me what color clothing I have to spend my money on in order for my kids to attend a public school my tax money goes to support. So when the government tries to co-opt homeschooling, my response is No way, I'll fight tooth and nail.

I sympathize with public school parents who are unhappy with their schools and can't afford a private school and aren't ready or able to homeschool. But I don't want my homeschooling freedoms curtailed by charter/virtual schools. It needs to be clearly understood that charter/virtual schools are PUBLIC SCHOOLS, their students are public school students and the government is still in charge of the students education. They are not homeschoolers even if they are located at home. The rules and regulations that apply to charter/virtual schools should not apply to true homeschoolers. What is homeschooling?

My definition of homeschooling. Homeschooling - parental control of the education of their children. The parents choose the method to use in teaching their children, pick out the curriculum, and judge the child's progress in learning the material without government help or interference.

So I will sign the We Stand For Homeschooling Resolution. If you want to sign click on the link http://westandforhomeschooling.org/res/index.php

Fredrik deBoer gets it wrong

deBoer seems to have an overly inflated sense of himself; parents aren't suppose to homeschool because it offends his sensibilities. The first mistake deBoer makes is in assuming that all Public Schools are like the public school he attended.

deBoer says: I grew up in a racially and socioeconomically diverse hometown with a similarly diverse public high school, and I couldn’t be prouder or happier to have gone to school there.

Well good for you deBoer I am really happy that you enjoyed your Public School experience that doesn't make it right for everyone. (Sigh) Just because I know you will ask this is the racially and socioeconomically diverse makeup of the school district I live in.

Enrollment by Subgroup 

Female                  307           47% 

Male                     346           53% 

Asian                      63           10%

Black                       94           14% 

Hispanic                  16             2% 

Native American        4             1%  

White                     476           73% 

Multi Racial                0              0%

Poverty Percentage 356             56%  

deBoer also makes the assumption that diversity isn't found inside the homeschooling community. Nothing could be further from the truth there are White, African-American, Hispanic and Native American Homeschoolers (click here to see more info). There are rich, middle-class, poor, single parent and two income households that homeschool. There are straight and gay families that homeschool. Secular, Atheist, Protestant, Catholics and many other religions including Pagans are all represented in the homeschooling community. Pamela J. Stubbart's article The Moral Status of Homeschooling and Public Schooling Motivations was actually reasonable.

why examine the motivations of homeschooling parents any more rigorously than those of parents who choose the prima facie more progressive, egalitarian, and diversity-minded option of public schooling? I grew up attending the public schools in Cobb County, an affluent suburb of Atlanta, Georgia

My parents and those many of my peers chose this district and its schools at least in part to avoid the exposure of their children to socioeconomic diversity, not to pursue it! And due to the religious makeup of the area (i.e., Bible Belt), students attending Cobb County schools were not typically exposed there to any religious diversity, or secular challenge of religion (indeed, this is the district that placed stickers in biology textbooks claiming that "Evolution is a theory, not a fact"). It's easy to assume that those who share our educational philosophies are motivated by sound considerations, and that those who oppose them are motivated by illegitimate ones. But let's not fail to take seriously the multiple motivations upon which parties to all sides of the issue may be acting.

And before we debate the pro's and cons of homeschooling less be clear on what homeschooling is. Homeschooling is;
1. Not a public school choice.
2. Homeschooling is not a government program. It is an education option as separate as non-government funded, private education.
3. Options such as charter schools and public virtual schools are choices which are not independent of public schooling.
4. Homeschooled students are not under federal NCLB requirements, nor are they required to keep state learning standards.

For further reading
 Racism and Homeschooling
 Why Homeschooling Is a Boon to a Liberal Society

The Public School at Home Debate !

Jennifer Barnett Reid in School or Scam? ask why taxpayers should foot the bill for public school at home.

Because families in the Virtual School must be able to have an adult at home full-time, it's effectively off limits to many, although Greenway said that about 30 percent of children in the school this year are low-income, and some live with only one parent. The online-school model, though, is beyond the intent of Arkansas's charter school law, Argue said, and widening the umbrella of public education to include homeschooling simply because it meets the needs of a certain segment of families would be taking the first step down a perilous road. "If we redefine public education to include homeschooling, the next logical debate is, why not broaden it to include private schools or church schools?" he said.

National Charter School Watch Blog ask If Homeschool Advocates Are Literalist?

If “literalism” means “seeking the plain meaning without exaggeration, distortion, or inaccuracy”, and separating the facts from someone’s ideals, then yes, I would classify myself as a literalist when it comes to seeing the necessity in acknowledging the distinctions between homeschooling and public school-at- home programs. I would ask national and state homeschool advocates to consider applying their efforts to presenting these facts:

Homeschooling is
1. Not a public school choice.
2. Homeschooling is not a government program. It is an education option as separate as non-government funded, private education.
3. Options such as charter schools and public virtual schools are choices which are not independent of public schooling.
4. Homeschooled students are not under federal NCLB requirements, nor are they required to keep state learning standards.

To those who would seek to vilify others for acknowledging public school-at-home is not homeschooling, I would encourage tolerance for other’s viewpoints and a greater respect for our homeschool diversity.

I encourage you to read these two post in their entirety. Homeschoolers must stay abreast of the public school at home debate, in order to safe guard their homeschooling freedoms or we may all be doing public school at home rather we want to or not.

home school families do not accept government funding

Homeschooling and Public School at Home explains The Conflict between Parental Rights and “No Child Left Behind”?

She also does a great job explaining why it important for those of us who engage in traditional homeschooling to separate ourselves from those who do public schooling at home.

In the necessity of keeping the public funds flowing, families who have chosen public school at home options should be willing to make the case that their option is public schooling albeit in the home, and that they are willing to be accountable for their government funds.

In order to preserve the freedom of educating children apart from public schooling, it is important to keep reminding government, the media and the general public that since home school families do not accept government funding they are not under the same accountability requirements as those who enroll their children in public school at home programs.

Click here to read some post I did on Virtual Public Schools.

How Annoying

A recent article http://nbc15.madison.com/news/headlines/2298846.html headlined WI School District Offers Virtual High School Online claims it makes homeschooling easier. I can either blame it on shoddy reporting, or wonder if public schools are so envious of homeschoolers they are now trying to co-op our name, which ever one it is I am annoyed. Attending a virtual public school doesn't make you a homeschooler. You are still a public school student, you just happen to be taking your classes at home. So to all you virtual schoolers or e-schoolers STOP using our name. You aren't homeschooling, and you are doing us a disservice by confusing the general public, who wonders why their tax money is going to homeschoolers.

What's the Problem with VPS????

Susan Ohanian ask "Should the Public Pay for William Bennett's Version of a Home School?"

http://www.susanohanian.org/atrocity_fetch.php?id=1931

My answer would be NO. Although I do respect the rights of those who have chosen to avail themselves of VPS. And if it works for your family then by all means use it.

My problem is with VPS being equated with Independent Homeschoolers. It's not that I think my family is superior to a family that uses a school at home approach, but their insistence on calling themselves homeschoolers while taking advantage of public funds leads to confusion among the general public, many of whom have never embraced the concept of homeschooling in the first place. They start demanding to know why homeschoolers are receiving public funds at the expense of traditional schools. They want to know why testing is required of some homeschoolers and not all. And with these questions comes legislation that HURTS independent homeschoolers.

So if you want to take advantage of VPS, by all means do so. But do homeschoolers a favor and call yourselves something else, that reflects your schooling choice; Virtual Schoolers or E-schoolers might be a good selection. You'll be more then welcome to participate in our homeschooling groups and we can be more supportive of your choice knowing that the general public will not confuse Virtual Public Schoolers with Homeschoolers.

For futher reading http://home.kc.rr.com/milhmschlhq/general_public_schooling_at_home.htm

Drawing the line in Mississippi

Natalie explains how the blurring of lines between independent home education and virtual public schools may be causeing problems for independent homeschoolers in her post Drawing the line in Mississippi

Blurring the line between independent home education and public school at home has real consequences, and there are a lot of people (VPS service providers, state education departments, legislators, etc) who benefit from the confusion. If VPS makes public schoolers look like homeschoolers, efforts to make homeschooling look like public school may gain momentum. Mississippi Senator Sampson Jackson II has submitted a bill that would require homeschoolers in Mississippi to conform to public school benchmarks and submit to standardized testing. After four consecutive years (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008), Senator Jackson’s persistance may finally pay off. HSLDA has issued an emotional elert to combat this bill for the first time, resulting in a slew of emails to “stop this horrendous bill.”

Clarity in language is a tool that must be utilized to combat confusion, educate families and expose opportunists. Other states have fought to make this distinction clear. The time has come to draw the line in Mississippi.

Please read her entire post at Home Eduction Magazine.

School Districts Trying to Lure Homeschoolers With Virtual Schools

The Madison Metropolitan School District is developing a virtual campus and curriculum. The idea has been in the works for several years, but the district hopes to make it widely available for the 2006-2007 school year. The district is trying to bring back state aid for the more than 400 students currently home-schooled in the district.

While I think virtual schools should be an option, it needs to made clear that IF you choose to enroll your child in a PUBLIC virtual school, you are NO LONGER homeschooling. You will lose much of the freedom you enjoy as a homeschooler and your child will be subject to the same requirements as public school students including NCLB.

Funding losses are not Ohio homeschooler’s fault…..

Drop by The Informed Parent and read Funding losses are not Ohio homeschooler’s fault…..

It was reported locally that the administrator’s comments followed a remark about the loss of funding to private schools and home educators. Perhaps the local public school administrator is confusing those enrolled in a public virtual school with home educators? He or she wouldn’t be the first. Except for tax dollars paid by the parents of home educated children, Ohio home educators do not bring money into a district, nor do they take money away from it. They simply happen to live in the district. However, public e-schoolers who live in the district and are enrolled in a statewide e-school that originates somewhere else in the state or country do require local funds to leave a district.