Homeschooling has been a continuous debate
between educators, parents, legislators, and
everyone else who holds a viable interest.
As with any issue, there are two ways to
view Homeschooling. On one hand, there are
students from well adjusted families with
educated parents who provide plenty of
social time for their child that have a firm
grasp on Homeschooling. The opposite is the
students that are not provided with a sound
education or appropriate social interaction.

As an educator in the public school
system, my problems lie within the realms of
homeschooled students that are being
mainstreamed back into the public school
system with substantially lower reading
levels and lack of preparation for the
social environment. These students are being
served an injustice to be subjected to
Homeschooling by parents who might be trying
to do their best however are not meeting
state mandated guidelines. Unfortunately,
there is no research that is controlled that
can back the biased claims that
Homeschooling works. Research that has been
submitted clearly states that the students'
test scores that are shown are from middle
class, well-educated families. Again, my
concerns do not manifest within that group.

Parents chose several reasons to
homeschool children that do not fit in the
above-mentioned category. Living in a rural
area, many parents feel that school is a
threat. Those students are from families
that have been brought up on a farm for
generations. Many are high school dropouts
themselves. Unfortunately, our economy has
proven over recent years that farmlife is
not always viable, thus proving the
importance of these students to obtain a
public school education in order to further
their futures in a productive way. I visited
one such family recently and their lack of
knowledge of the outside world was
frightening. These same families fear going
to the grocery store once a month for
whatever cannot be grown on the farm. The
children in these families can do math and
can problem solve certain situations better
than many public school students can because
it is a means of survival. However, these
children cannot read in a simple primer book
or read directions on the back of a box. If
these children could live in this community
forever then all might be well.
Unfortunately, these children are being
mainstreamed into the schools because the
parents have realized that their small
farmlife is not going to be productive but
for a short time more. Company farms and
technology have taken over the small time
country farmer.

Another group of homeschooled
students are those from families that fear
society and lack of control in the schools.
If these same parents would divert their
attentions to solving these problems by
lobbying congress and/or local school
boards, then the road to improvements in the
schools would begin. Every time the media
blasts the latest bomb threat or the latest
school violence, parents are quick to join
the cause to promote Homeschooling. More
parenting classes, character education
classes, and school/community classes should
be offered with educators and parents
working together in order to solve the
conflicts that exist today. These same
students will be mainstreamed back into the
real world and have to learn to face crisis
because that is a part of our everyday
lives. Teaching a child to run and hide when
a crisis happens is teaching the opposite of
how to deal with societal problems.
Eventually when the smoke blows over, these
students are being placed back into the
public school system, seriously lacking in
fundamental skills.

Until states are able to strictly
regulate and control homeschooling, parents
should not be allowed to move students from
homeschooling into the public schools. More
promotions by the media in the positives of
public school education and more awareness
of the community working together to educate
the child needs to take place. Public school
education has its downfalls, however it
cannot improve if we as a society do not
work together towards a better education for
all students. Homeschooled children that
embark into the public school system after
years of not being there are hampering the
process of a better tomorrow for all
students.

eimmik
4/16/00

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