Should homeschooling be legal?

[dead0man]

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons someone may choose to be homeschooled.  Thankfully we're free here (at least on this subject) and don't need a "reason" to do it.

[Hatman 🍁]

"Freedom" of child abuse is no freedom I wish for.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

"Freedom" of child abuse is no freedom I wish for.

You have a rather elastic definition of "child abuse." Perhaps you are abusing your own child by owning a bike, or having a lamp in your bedroom, or perhaps you have a can of Raggu in your fridge that is beyond the "sell by" date by a few days. If you can declare child abuse at a whim, I guess I can as well.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

No, I don't trust white parents to inoculate their kids against racism or to give them a balanced view of history.

Because other institutions do so well at this.

[Hatman 🍁]

"Freedom" of child abuse is no freedom I wish for.

You have a rather elastic definition of "child abuse." Perhaps you are abusing your own child by owning a bike, or having a lamp in your bedroom, or perhaps you have a can of Raggu in your fridge that is beyond the "sell by" date by a few days. If you can declare child abuse at a whim, I guess I can as well.

Just as elastic as his view of "freedom".

[angus]

Of course it should be legal. 

[dead0man]

"Freedom" of child abuse is no freedom I wish for.

sheesh.....clearly you're bringing a lot of baggage to this discussion.

[GaussLaw]

Yes.  There is something called a co op that most homeschoolers participate in where they have classes with other homeschooled students. 

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

No, I don't trust white parents to inoculate their kids against racism or to give them a balanced view of history.

Because other institutions do so well at this.

I have witnessed the public schools in my area doing the opposite. Had I gone to the same school my brother went too, I most likely would have gone into full Hitler mode instead of the "I'm just proud to be white" douchery that I embraced in 2011.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

No.  It's usually done to shelter kids from the real world. Never a good idea.

most institutionalized education has absolutely no relation to "the real world."

[they don't love you like i love you]

No.

[Deus Naturae]

No, of course not.

At least not as a generally available option.

This is one of those issues where I feel quite strongly in principle, although can't bring myself to overly care if some crazies manage to do it. Just as long as supporting it remains a fringe position here.

So...you want to ban normal parents from doing it, but you're fine if religious crazies do it?

[Franzl]

No, of course not.

At least not as a generally available option.

This is one of those issues where I feel quite strongly in principle, although can't bring myself to overly care if some crazies manage to do it. Just as long as supporting it remains a fringe position here.

So...you want to ban normal parents from doing it, but you're fine if religious crazies do it?

Well, in a way. I mean, if the crazies here that actually wanted to "homeschool" got their wish, that'd still be such a miniscule fraction of the population that it wouldn't have much effect overall, even if unfortunate for the children subjected to it. If it became a mainstream attitude, though, that would be much more relevant.

[DC Al Fine]

No.  It's usually done to shelter kids from the real world. Never a good idea.

most institutionalized education has absolutely no relation to "the real world."

Indeed. Where outside the K-12 system would you spend the bulk of your day with people the exact same age as yourself?

No.  It's usually done to shelter kids from the real world. Never a good idea.

Thanks for enlightening us about the motivations of people you've never even met, all-knowing, all-seeing one.

I know lots of people who have been homeschooled, and this is usually the case. Why else would someone homeschool their children?

Bullying in the public system, disagreement with teaching method off the top of my head.

[DemPGH]

I think it inhibits the growth of a child, frankly. I've known two instances where people home schooled, and it was very much about filtering out the outside world. Children need that exposure, especially now in the digital age. I mean, if you're so poor a parent that you cannot even send your kids to school for fear of. . . something, maybe you shouldn't be a parent!

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons someone may choose to be homeschooled.  Thankfully we're free here (at least on this subject) and don't need a "reason" to do it.

That's a terrible argument. A non-argument, actually. "I'm free to discriminate," I guess. 

[dead0man]

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons someone may choose to be homeschooled.  Thankfully we're free here (at least on this subject) and don't need a "reason" to do it.

That's a terrible argument. A non-argument, actually. "I'm free to discriminate," I guess. 

That's NOT the argument, but thanks for trying!

(plus....discriminate?....odd)

[windjammer]

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

[Deus Naturae]

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

Considering that he's responding to someone who compared homeschooling to bigoted discrimination, it would make more sense to ask the anti-homeschooling crowd on here the same question.

[DC Al Fine]

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

Considering that he's responding to someone who compared homeschooling to bigoted discrimination, it would make more sense to ask the anti-homeschooling crowd on here the same question.

And blanket child abuse accusations. Lets not forget those, which always seem to get made on these threads.

[windjammer]

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

Considering that he's responding to someone who compared homeschooling to bigoted discrimination, it would make more sense to ask the anti-homeschooling crowd on here the same question.

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

Considering that he's responding to someone who compared homeschooling to bigoted discrimination, it would make more sense to ask the anti-homeschooling crowd on here the same question.

And blanket child abuse accusations. Lets not forget those, which always seem to get made on these threads.

Thanks for the clarification.

Seriously the anti homeschooling, why are you SO against that??? There isn't something much important as a political issue?

[ElectionsGuy]

Of course (open to all forms of education)

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

Considering that he's responding to someone who compared homeschooling to bigoted discrimination, it would make more sense to ask the anti-homeschooling crowd on here the same question.

Seriously deadman, why are you so virulently against the anti-homeschooling??? That's really an important issue???

Considering that he's responding to someone who compared homeschooling to bigoted discrimination, it would make more sense to ask the anti-homeschooling crowd on here the same question.

And blanket child abuse accusations. Lets not forget those, which always seem to get made on these threads.

Thanks for the clarification.

Seriously the anti homeschooling, why are you SO against that??? There isn't something much important as a political issue?

If it's not an issue that you think matters, why wouldn't you err on the side of giving people a choice? What gives the government the right to declare that something is "good for socialization" and legislate away every other option?

One of the friendliest, most considerate, compassionate people I know was homeschooled. She's down to earth and probably had a better educational experience than most people I know because her mother was able to teach to her level, give her more attention than she would've gotten at a public school, and take her out into the world to learn things. She visited farms, museums, science centres... she got a good education and learned what she needed to learn. Obviously there should be standards, but if a parent wants to do it, there's no reason to take away that right. If a parent can corrupt his or her children via homeschooling, that parent will find a way to do it without homeschooling as well.

[beaver2.0]

It should not be illegalized, but it needs to be more regulated to make sure people arent just hanging out at home and are actually learning reading, writing, and math.

[RI]

What gives the government the right to declare that something is "good for socialization" and legislate away every other option?

The government absolutely has the right to do so, but that rationale would be in error. There is little reason why school must be the focal point of socialization. Sports, music, clubs, scouting, arts, church, etc. are all valid routes for such. In fact, the public school environment can be very damaging to socialization; middle school was the worst experience of my life and set me back years in making friends and simple conversational skills. Not to mention issues involving drugs, teacher quality, bullying are all real issues. Parents may not be the best qualified on some subjects, but homeschooling is rarely done in isolation.

[angus]

And blanket child abuse accusations. Lets not forget those, which always seem to get made on these threads.

Actually, of the four couples with whom I seriously discussed home schooling--I've met a few parents who chose this option, but only four were close enough for me to ask "why?"--one of them did point to the fact their boy was abused.  There were no blankets involved, but there were bruises, cuts, and blood.  They chose home schooling rather than subject their child to that sort of violence.  That was an exceptional case, mind you, the other three I talked all talked about the poor quality of the public schools.  Actually, this is not surprising.  Have you looked at the homeschooling materials at the public library?  And then compared it to the academic rigor at your local public school?

I'm not saying that I'd want to do it--it's a huge commitment, for starters, and there's a social conditioning aspect that you don't get if you don't have siblings--but I imagine that most of the anti-homeschooling rhetoric here is coming from people who not only don't have children and therefore haven't really thought much about this sort of thing, but who also (thankfully, for our species) have only a very small chance of procreation in the near future.