-
The Case Against The Case Against Homeschooling--ETA Link
- Jun 5, 2009 at 1:16 PM
- By
- Comments (16) Total Views (378) Everyone can see this journal post.
This bit of twaddle was brought to my attention today. I'm going to argue each point made by Jesse Scaccia in blue.
The Case Against Homeschooling
By Jesse Scaccia
10. “You were totally home schooled” is an insult college kids use when mocking the geeky kid in the dorm (whether or not the offender was home schooled or not) And… say what you will… but it doesn’t feel nice to be considered an outsider, a natural outcropping of being homeschooled.
So, I'm supposed to base decisions on what might or might not be said by some wags when my kid is in college? Well golly gee whilikers, I better make sure my kids are body-image-obsessed so they don't get called fat, and get them some plastic surgery so their faces are perfectly proportional so they don't get called ugly! No, I think I'll just teach them some good snappy comebacks such as "Wow, if that's the best you've got, maybe public school isn't the answer."
9. . Call me old-fashioned, but a students’ classroom shouldn’t also be where they eat Fruit Loops and meat loaf (not at the same time I hope). It also shouldn’t be where the family gathers to watch American Idol or to play Wii. Students–from little ones to teens–deserve a learning-focused place to study.
I wouldn't call you old-fashioned, since in the old-fashioned days before there were little red schoolhouses, everyone was homeschooled. And what exactly is your point anyway? That kids can't study their multiplication combinations with the ever-so-distracting odor of my meatloaf hanging in the air? No, I guess it would be much less distracting to have 29 other kids burping, shifting in their seats and flipping pages in the immediate vicinity.
8. Homeschooling is selfish....
Selfish, eh? Maybe it is a little selfish, to want to spend time with my kids when they're young, but anyone who has ever homeschooled knows that it's a hell of a lot of work and it's not just about the actual school days, there's preparation, organizing time and research too.
7. God hates homeschooling... To the homeschooling Believers out there, didn’t God say “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”? Didn’t he command, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me”? From my side, to take your faithful children out of schools is to miss an opportunity to spread the grace, power and beauty of the Lord to the common people. (Personally I’m agnostic, but I’m just saying…)
I'm not so arrogant to presume that I can speak for God, He does a pretty good job on His own. So I'll let Him speak for Himself on this one. Proverbs 6:16 talks about the six things the Lord hates; funny homeschooling doesn't make the list. But in Proverbs 1:8 it says "Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching" Now, I wonder why God didn't tell a son to hear a public educator's instruction or warn against forsaking public education? Epic Fail on that argument, Jesse.
6. Homeschooling parent/teachers are arrogant to the point of lunacy. For real! My qualifications to teach English include a double major in English and education, two master’s degrees (education and journalism), a student teaching semester and multiple internship terms, real world experience as a writer, and years in the classroom dealing with different learning styles.
And you're calling ME arrogant? It sure sounds as if you think you're all done with learning here, when any homeschooling parent will tell you we spend as much time learning things to teach our kids as we do actually teaching them! I study all the time; multiple methods for doing any and every kind of math problem, science experiments, new books that my kid will be reading soon, foreign languages, even physical education concepts. And I found a couple of spelling and grammar errors in your article; don't worry, my stupid ass fixed 'em for you.
5. As a teacher, homeschooling kind of pisses me off. (That’s good enough for #5.)
Okay, well you're pissing me off with your condescending, know-it-all attitude.
4. Homeschooling could breed intolerance, and maybe even racism.
Where did you come up with THIS shit? Didn't you just say in your Point #1 that public-schooled kids are going to be making fun of MY homeschooled kid? Which group is being intolerant in that scenario? And racism? How am I teaching my kids to be racist by homeschooling them? Leaving homeschooling out of it for a minute, isn't it my job as a parent to instill the values of acceptance of and respect for all races and creeds in my kids? You're really reaching, Jesse.
3. And don’t give me this “they still participate in activities with public school kids” garbage.
How is that "garbage" exactly? I can't speak for all homeschooling parents, but my kids do participate in extracurricular activities along with public-schooled children; Scouts, dance classes and martial arts classes, plus I have a bevy of public school kids over here frequently for tie-dye demonstrations, group violin lessons, Science Experiment Saturdays and MegaLegoManiac Days.
2. Homeschooling parents are arrogant, Part 2. According to Henry Cate, who runs the Why Homeschool blog, many highly educated, high-income parents are “probably people who are a little bit more comfortable in taking risks” in choosing a college or line of work. “
I'll take "That Makes No Sense" for a thousand, Alex. The vast majority of homeschooling parents I know personally are far from high-income and are totally dedicated to preparing their children to obtain scholarships to the colleges their kids want to attend; they're very motivated to make absolutely certain that their children are as well-prepared to attend college and get scholarships as their public school peers. And since when do parents decide what vocation their kids are going to pursue?
1. And finally… have you met someone homeschooled? Not to hate, but they do tend to be pretty geeky.
Way to demonstrate that tolerance you've been blathering on about this whole time, Jesse. And I hate to break it to you, but the Geeks Of The World tend to advance our society as a whole. The computer you're typing on was invented by a geek. The Xerox machine you ran your daily class worksheets off on was invented by a geek. Calculus was invented by a geek. The doctor who diagnoses your potentially life-threatening disease was and is a geek. Electricity was invented by the Mother Of All Geeks.
I'd like to say that I have nothing againstpublic school teachers. Most of them in my experience are doing great work under difficult circumstances and they should be lauded as heroes in many cases. I chose to homeschool my kids because I wanted to, not bcause I think public schools are horrible stys or that public school kids are somehow deficient. The attitude portrayed by Jesse Scaccia in this article represents but one facet of the general opinion of homeschooled children and homeschooling parents. Let's all ignore her and anyone else who tries slinging this brand of bullshit and focus on what's really important: equipping every child, home or public schooled, with everything he or she needs to be a good, loving, productive member of society.
ETA: Here's the link to the original article, which is longer than what was sent to me in the e-mail.
Comments:
Who the hell is this person?? I don't like her one bit.
This Jessie chick is reason #81236452 why I homeschooled for 5 years and was terrified to finally put my son in a "real" school. And for the record, he has had to deal with a teacher this year who seems to share all of Miss Jessie's prejudices. Just like I had feared. Kudos to my son for not letting her preconceived notions of him affect his performance this year! And funny how he has struggled in the same exact subject (that she teaches) that he struggled with at home, and has excelled in everything else. Guess she's not perfect and that maybe I did do something right, eh? Pfffftttttttttt.
Oh, and FistyLiz, I think I love you!
Was this actually published somewhere? Content aside, it's a horrible article and should never have seen a press!
My husband is a college professor, and he has had many homeschooled children in his classes.
I am horrendously offended by the original article, as a homeschooling alumni myself! And Liz... GREAT responses! You rock!
I HOMESCHOOL MY 11 YEAR OLD. HE IS IN A CLASSROOM NOT IN THE CONVENTIONAL SENSE BUT THE WORLD IS A CLASSROOM. WHERE ELSE IS HE GOING TO LEARN THE CHEMISTRY OF CHEMO? HE GOES WITH MY MOM AND THEY SHOW HIM HOW TO MIX IT. WHERE IS HE GOING TO LEARN HOW AND WHY CATFISH ARE BOTTOM FEEDERS? HIS STEP FATEHR TAKES HIM FISHING IN ALL KIDS OF NATURE PRESERVES HERE IN THE POCONOS. WHERE IS MY SON GOING TO LEARN TO MIGRATORY PATHS OF SOME OF THE POCONOS BIRDS IF HE ISNT IN A HANDS ON ENVIRONMENT???? AND HOMESCHOOLED KIDS ARE GEEKS? hELL YEA THEY ARE. THEY ARE FAR BRIGHTER AND MORE ARTICULATE THEN A PUBLIC SCHOOL SNOT KID.
Thank you for answering this...person....so well. I am so tired of the crud they vomit about homeschool children/families. Great post!!!!
Well, let's not bash public schools (or their alumni) either. Or private schools or their almuni. One can't say that all homeschooled children are smarter than their counterparts just as one can't say that all public school children are stupid. Homeschooled, private schooled, public schooled---you've got a mix of the good and the bad in all of them.
You tell 'em Liz.
Is this lady insane? I have never seen such hate and arrogance...
Already a member? Click here to log in
Who is this chick? And- why did she feel the need to write this crap?
- mamaphouka
Message Friend Invite