Christine
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Home-schooling robs children
By MARGARET W. BOYCE
I read with interest the recent article in The Sentinel about home-school
families. I find it strange that we send our young men and women to help
assure that children can go to school in Afghanistan, yet we allow parents
in Michigan to keep their children at home.
One of the best and brightest moves that our Founding Fathers made was to
make it possible for all children in America, not just the rich, to be
educated. Eventually, all children were expected to attend. If they did not,
they were considered "truant" and parents were held responsible and could go
to jail. This public education still is the very cornerstone of democracy.
This strange phenomenon called "home schooling" at best undermines these
principles. For many children, it is far worse. Who is monitoring these
families? Many a child of abusive parents has an observant teacher to thank
for a rescue, some for their very lives. To whom can these children turn
when they are kept at home? They are being denied a basic right, which has
been fought for all the way to the Supreme Court -- the right to attend
school.
We don't allow people to play doctor or nurse without a license, nor can
one play lawyer without passing some rather rigorous tests. But today,
anyone who wants to "play school" can do so, regardless of their educational
background. Recently, some parents have been jailed for withholding medical
treatment for their children, yet we are almost making heroes of these
parents who do the same with their children's education.
Some parents of home-schooled children speak glowingly of the "wonderful
imaginations" developed by their lonely child, who, being surrounded always
by adults, has little opportunities to develop friendships with real
children. Others associate only with small groups of like-minded people.
What happens when they enter the world and cannot control everything, as
they do in their sheltered home environment?
What an ego trip for a parent -- to be all things to your children, to
control every thought, every concept that enters their world. Is this
education, or programming? To deny them the stimulation of working and
playing with their peers is unfair. It's far better to send them out into
the world for brief forays, such as the school day, and then discuss the
day's adventure while they are still young enough to want to work out values
with their parents.
There are other losses, such as never being "on the team," never cheering
for "our school," never being in a class where the interaction of ideas is
more important than the text, or doing any of the myriad of things that make
up the process of "belonging," from the first day of school to the 50th
class reunion. There is far more to an education than a curriculum -- it
includes summer break, Friday nights and graduation.
I have met and talked with a variety of home-schoolers, both children and
parents. Many have great gaps in their knowledge. Many are incredibly naive.
Some do quite well -- they would have been superstars in school. Others
can't wait to leave home, knowing full well that they have been cheated.
Parents often believe that they are protecting their children from the
"evils" of life. However, children cannot be brought up in a bell jar.
Remember that the school day is only six hours long, five days a week. That
leaves many hours during the week and summer for the parent.
Give your child the wings needed to grow outside of that jar. If parents
wish to be involved in the education of their children, there are many
opportunities to be part of the school day. Volunteer to be a lunch or
recess monitor. Offer to tutor children in reading or math. Help the art
teacher. Be a part of the process of building your community, not a member
of the opposition.
A recent Harvard study following home-schooled children over many years
found that these children did not do better at the college level than
traditionally educated children. The real trip was for the mothers, who
received the big emotional rewards. My response is: Mothers, get a life. How
unfair it is for you to take away your own child's life in order to gratify
yours? Is this what we must expect from the "me first" generation as it
raises their families?
The role of a parent is vital in a child's education. However, without all
four of the pillars provided by home, school, church and community working
together, we have a precarious foundation for the next generation. The
public school system is the very cornerstone of democracy in America. We
need to cherish it and nurture it.
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/091204/opi_091204052.shtml
By MARGARET W. BOYCE
I read with interest the recent article in The Sentinel about home-school
families. I find it strange that we send our young men and women to help
assure that children can go to school in Afghanistan, yet we allow parents
in Michigan to keep their children at home.
One of the best and brightest moves that our Founding Fathers made was to
make it possible for all children in America, not just the rich, to be
educated. Eventually, all children were expected to attend. If they did not,
they were considered "truant" and parents were held responsible and could go
to jail. This public education still is the very cornerstone of democracy.
This strange phenomenon called "home schooling" at best undermines these
principles. For many children, it is far worse. Who is monitoring these
families? Many a child of abusive parents has an observant teacher to thank
for a rescue, some for their very lives. To whom can these children turn
when they are kept at home? They are being denied a basic right, which has
been fought for all the way to the Supreme Court -- the right to attend
school.
We don't allow people to play doctor or nurse without a license, nor can
one play lawyer without passing some rather rigorous tests. But today,
anyone who wants to "play school" can do so, regardless of their educational
background. Recently, some parents have been jailed for withholding medical
treatment for their children, yet we are almost making heroes of these
parents who do the same with their children's education.
Some parents of home-schooled children speak glowingly of the "wonderful
imaginations" developed by their lonely child, who, being surrounded always
by adults, has little opportunities to develop friendships with real
children. Others associate only with small groups of like-minded people.
What happens when they enter the world and cannot control everything, as
they do in their sheltered home environment?
What an ego trip for a parent -- to be all things to your children, to
control every thought, every concept that enters their world. Is this
education, or programming? To deny them the stimulation of working and
playing with their peers is unfair. It's far better to send them out into
the world for brief forays, such as the school day, and then discuss the
day's adventure while they are still young enough to want to work out values
with their parents.
There are other losses, such as never being "on the team," never cheering
for "our school," never being in a class where the interaction of ideas is
more important than the text, or doing any of the myriad of things that make
up the process of "belonging," from the first day of school to the 50th
class reunion. There is far more to an education than a curriculum -- it
includes summer break, Friday nights and graduation.
I have met and talked with a variety of home-schoolers, both children and
parents. Many have great gaps in their knowledge. Many are incredibly naive.
Some do quite well -- they would have been superstars in school. Others
can't wait to leave home, knowing full well that they have been cheated.
Parents often believe that they are protecting their children from the
"evils" of life. However, children cannot be brought up in a bell jar.
Remember that the school day is only six hours long, five days a week. That
leaves many hours during the week and summer for the parent.
Give your child the wings needed to grow outside of that jar. If parents
wish to be involved in the education of their children, there are many
opportunities to be part of the school day. Volunteer to be a lunch or
recess monitor. Offer to tutor children in reading or math. Help the art
teacher. Be a part of the process of building your community, not a member
of the opposition.
A recent Harvard study following home-schooled children over many years
found that these children did not do better at the college level than
traditionally educated children. The real trip was for the mothers, who
received the big emotional rewards. My response is: Mothers, get a life. How
unfair it is for you to take away your own child's life in order to gratify
yours? Is this what we must expect from the "me first" generation as it
raises their families?
The role of a parent is vital in a child's education. However, without all
four of the pillars provided by home, school, church and community working
together, we have a precarious foundation for the next generation. The
public school system is the very cornerstone of democracy in America. We
need to cherish it and nurture it.
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/091204/opi_091204052.shtml
