Home Schooling Declared Illegal in CA!

[UGAalum94]

At first this decision seems reasonable then you stop and think about how getting a teacher credential is such junk. Having one doesn't demonstrate that you actually know much or could determine what a good general education would be. (And I say that having a teaching certificate, so please don't be insulted if you are a teacher or on behalf of teachers. Just ask yourself if you really learned that much content from teacher ed classes and ask yourself if you only had to teach one or two kids and you had access age appropriate materials, would you have needed what you did learn.)

I think much better methods to ensure that home schooled kids are getting a good education would be first, as AGDLynn pointed out, to make sure that the parents are actually offering instruction to the kids (some people claim to home school to get around truancy laws) and then, rather than worrying about the parents' credentials, to assess the kids on what they know by using the same exams that the kids in public schools have to take.

Even these requirements are more intrusive than I think parents should have to put up because I don't think parents should be obligated to provide the state academic authority over their kids if they don't want the service provided and there's no other evidence of neglect or abuse. Decision making from on high in public school (curriculum, methods, materials, discipline, etc.) is sketchy enough that if you have the resources and the will to do it, you probably could do a better job at home and there are plenty of other programs for kids in the areas of socialization.

I have no idea what the California constitution says about education and from what I understand the terms of the decision are actually narrower than what's being described in the news.