Home Schooling Declared Illegal in CA!

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Is there an epidemic of idiotic home-schooled children ruining society? I see plenty of public school grads and dropouts having this impact.

My point wasn't about homeschooling. I even included it alongside public and private schools. I merely said that I DO think government should maintain some oversight of education, because we all know that without publicly-funded schools, America would be a MESS. Most families nowadays cannot afford to keep one parent home to teach the kids every day for 12 years. And most also can't afford to send their kids to private school for 12 years. So, if the government doesn't mandate that kids are educated, and it therefore stops paying for public schools, what are we to do?

And what do you then propose we do with the adults that are the product of a society that places no real value on education? Poverty, homelessness, welfare, unemployment, etc. doesn't just go away if you close your eyes, you know.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

My point wasn't about homeschooling. I even included it alongside public and private schools. I merely said that I DO think government should maintain some oversight of education, because we all know that without publicly-funded schools, America would be a MESS. Most families nowadays cannot afford to keep one parent home to teach the kids every day for 12 years. And most also can't afford to send their kids to private school for 12 years. So, if the government doesn't mandate that kids are educated, and it therefore stops paying for public schools, what are we to do?

And what do you then propose we do with the adults that are the product of a society that places no real value on education? Poverty, homelessness, welfare, unemployment, etc. doesn't just go away if you close your eyes, you know.

I think the value of education can't be overstated. That said, it isn't the government's responsibility to ensure equality of economic success.

I think oversight in education is fine. I think it should be on a localized level, as communities are much better suited to determine what the needs of local children are. However, I have a serious problem with a state telling parents that they don't trust them to make decisions, regardless of whether the results are satisfactory. I have a fundamental problem with the idea that the state is charged with the responsibility of overseeing child upbringing. If a child can be homeschooled and still meet the thresholds set for children of similar age, then by all means, parents should have the liberty to take their children away from institutionalized education. Is it any surprise that people are reluctant to trust their children to the state of California?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

My point wasn't about homeschooling. I even included it alongside public and private schools. I merely said that I DO think government should maintain some oversight of education, because we all know that without publicly-funded schools, America would be a MESS. Most families nowadays cannot afford to keep one parent home to teach the kids every day for 12 years. And most also can't afford to send their kids to private school for 12 years. So, if the government doesn't mandate that kids are educated, and it therefore stops paying for public schools, what are we to do?

And what do you then propose we do with the adults that are the product of a society that places no real value on education? Poverty, homelessness, welfare, unemployment, etc. doesn't just go away if you close your eyes, you know.

Agree with this whole post. Again, education becomes a luxury that only the rich can afford and if you think jobs are leaving the country NOW - it will only get worse when only a small segment of the populace is educated. I believe the less government the better on pretty much all issues, but not this one.

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I think oversight in education is fine. I think it should be on a localized level, as communities are much better suited to determine what the needs of local children are.

I do agree heartily with this statement. Especially in PA, where to say our schools/neighborhoods/localities run the gamut is an understatement and for Harrisburg to make a blanket decision on what's best for all just doesn't make sense. I also think that if parents are more invested in the schools, the schools won't go in the toilet. Then again, we also have school districts that refuse to merge (even if the kids would have more educational and extracurricular opportunities) because OH MY GOD THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM ANYMORE. But that is another thread.

May I also add that "school choice" only really works in urban environments. If I had "chosen" to go to another school, I would have been on a bus for an hour one way. We did have kids who paid tuition to go to our school (biggest in the county) instead of the district they lived in - but it wasn't because of the academics, it was because we had a baseball program that was sending lots of kids to play college ball (this goes with that other thread).

[RushLeader08]

o well. everyone knows that homeschool kids are nerds anyway!!!j/k

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by RushLeader08

o well. everyone knows that homeschool kids are nerds anyway!!!j/k

Tell that to Tim Tebow.