Annoyed

So I got an email from a friend in my homeschooling support group that told of the NEA's position on homeschooling. Here it is:

The National Educational Association in their 2007-2008 Resolutionshas taken a stand against homeschooling.It reads "The National Education Association believes that homeschooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide thestudent with a comprehensive education experience. When homeschooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricularrequirements, including the taking and passing of assessments toensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limitedto the children of the immediate family, with all expenses beingborne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons whoare licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency,and a curriculum approved by the state department of educationshould be used.The Association also believes that home-schooled students should notparticipate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.The Association further believes that local public school systemsshould have the authority to determine grade placement and/orcredits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting."Statistics have shown that homeschooled students do exceptionallywell. They excel (and win) spelling bees, score high on tests likethe SAT, and go on to be accepted into many colleges. One Source:http://www.chec.org/Legislative/News/HomeschoolingStatistics/Index.htmlHomeschoolers also find benefits in co-op classes contrary to theNEA belief that students should only be instructed by theirimmediate families.Take a moment to tell the NEA that homeschooling is a real option that does produce wonderfully rounded and educated members of society.

I find this outstandingly irritating. Here's why: the Public Elementary Schools in my district boast of CSAP scores in the 60s. This means that a huge portion of kids in area public schools are performing below grade level(as judged by their own standards). I know test scores don't tell the whole story, but by golly, they do tell some of the story. And it ain't pretty.

I find it arrogant of the NEA to say that HS based on parental choice cannot provide a comprehensive education to students. It seems to me that public schools cannot provide a comprehensive education to a good many of their students. Certainly, homeschoolers cannot be performing worse than the public schools and the data suggest that homeschoolers are, as a whole, outperforming public school kids on standardized tests. Furthermore who says that schools should have the corner on deciding what learning objectives are appropriate for all kids. Maybe they could provide some input on baseline skills set, but in this post-modern world one size does not fit all. Our kids are unique with unique gifts and challenges. Personalized education makes good sense, and is pretty efficient. Oh and seriously, curriculum approved by the state... that smacks of fascism. That sounds suspiciously like social engineering. Since when did parents loose the right to parent their kids. Don't even get me started on this one...

Then there is the talk of eliminating homeschooling co-ops. Homeschooling co-ops are one of the innovations that homeschoolers have come up with to provide their kids with "comprehensive" education. No one is arguing that teaching a 16 year old physics poses a challenge to most homeschool moms. But homeschoolers do figure out ways to do it, one of the solutions is co-oping.

Sounds to me like the NEA is getting a little antsy about protecting its turf. Homeschooling is taking some of the best student from the most dedicated families out of the system. Online Core Knowledge schools, computer based training, OPTIONS programs, and charter schools are giving parents choices that never used to be available. Public schools are feeling the heat.

Yes, the reality is that the poorest kids with the weakest support systems are marginalized by the mass exodus of more affluent kids for charter and homeschools, and that stinks. But the bureaucratic nightmare that is our public education needs to be overhauled, and there is nothing like a little stiff competition to get the ball rolling.

Annoyingly, Eddie is out of town this week and I've been thinking, "Man, I'd love to send my kids to school." Homeschooling is hard and sometimes really annoying. The problem is that I've developed these strong opinions. I don't want to be a control freak about educating my kids, I'd like to share the burden. But sometimes I just can't get over myself. I've been in education departments in Academia, I've worked in the public schools. I know what I saw. And I'm not sure I could keep my mouth shut and support a system that I believe is fundamentally flawed. But some days it sure sounds nice...