Homeschooling and the Secular State

In a recent article, Bill Muehlenberg, a well-known commentator on social and cultural issues, decries the “joke that is public education”. He says:

“Not only do plenty of kids come out uneducated, illiterate and innumerate, but increasingly the public school system is becoming just a hothouse for force-feeding kids politically correct propaganda. Anti-faith and anti-family values are being pushed all the time in the modern school system, and plenty of parents are appalled at this.

Thus they are moving to homeschooling to ensure that their children get a proper education, coupled with decent values. And the results have been consistently shown to be much better. As just one example, a recent study found that homeschooled college students significantly outperformed their peers

As one news report states, “Among the major findings: Homeschooled students earned a higher first-year GPA (3.41) when compared to other freshman (3.12). Homeschooled students earned a higher fourth-year GPA (3.46) when compared to other freshman who completed their fourth year (3.16). Homeschooled students achieved a higher graduation rate (66.7 percent) when compared to the overall student population (57.5 percent).

“Other research has shown that parents spend on average $500 per child, per year to homeschool. In comparison, the average public school spends over $10,000 per child, per year. Homeschooling is proving itself everyday to be a credible and cost-effective method of educating children.” ‘

As home-educators of our four adult children my husband and I can concur very strongly with Bill’s conclusions. All four of our children studied at university level (two are still studying). One is two-thirds the way through a doctorate in a biochemistry related topic. The other has one more year to go in a double degree.

This is not to say that achieving academically through conventional schooling is impossible, or that everyone should home educate. Home education can mean a lot of sacrifice on the part of the parents and should never be undertaken without a good deal of  thought or consideration. It involves a lot of time, effort, research and frustration but is also very rewarding and fun.

Parents who choose home education should be supported by governments, not ostracised, supressed, restricted or abused. After all, we save the government a lot of money. Home educated children are more responsible, more mature, conscientious and dependable, and  become reliable citizens, workers and parents.

Read full article: The Secular State’s Homeschooling Crackdown » Bill Muehlenberg’s CultureWatch