Homeschooling Robs Children, Says Inveterate Statist
Via a post at Tulip Girl’s, I found this particularly depraved op-ed on homeschooling. Originally posted an the Holland [Michigan] Sentinel, it can no longer be found there. I have therefore reproduced it here for posterity.
I don’t have the time to give it the fisking it so richly deserves, but I’ll let you take a few swings in the comments.
Home-schooling robs children
By MARGARET W. BOYCEI read with interest the recent article in The Sentinel about home-school families. I find it strange that we send our young men and women to help assure that children can go to school in Afghanistan, yet we allow parents in Michigan to keep their children at home.
One of the best and brightest moves that our Founding Fathers made was to make it possible for all children in America, not just the rich, to be educated. Eventually, all children were expected to attend. If they did not, they were considered “truant” and parents were held responsible and could go to jail. This public education still is the very cornerstone of democracy.
This strange phenomenon called “home schooling” at best undermines these principles. For many children, it is far worse. Who is monitoring these families? Many a child of abusive parents has an observant teacher to thank for a rescue, some for their very lives. To whom can these children turn when they are kept at home? They are being denied a basic right, which has been fought for all the way to the Supreme Court — the right to attend school.
We don’t allow people to play doctor or nurse without a license, nor can one play lawyer without passing some rather rigorous tests. But today, anyone who wants to “play school” can do so, regardless of their educational background. Recently, some parents have been jailed for withholding medical treatment for their children, yet we are almost making heroes of these parents who do the same with their children’s education.
Some parents of home-schooled children speak glowingly of the “wonderful imaginations” developed by their lonely child, who, being surrounded always by adults, has little opportunities to develop friendships with real children. Others associate only with small groups of like-minded people. What happens when they enter the world and cannot control everything, as they do in their sheltered home environment?
What an ego trip for a parent — to be all things to your children, to control every thought, every concept that enters their world. Is this education, or programming? To deny them the stimulation of working and playing with their peers is unfair. It’s far better to send them out into the world for brief forays, such as the school day, and then discuss the day’s adventure while they are still young enough to want to work out values with their parents.
There are other losses, such as never being “on the team,” never cheering for “our school,” never being in a class where the interaction of ideas is more important than the text, or doing any of the myriad of things that make up the process of “belonging,” from the first day of school to the 50th class reunion. There is far more to an education than a curriculum — it includes summer break, Friday nights and graduation.
I have met and talked with a variety of home-schoolers, both children and parents. Many have great gaps in their knowledge. Many are incredibly naive. Some do quite well — they would have been superstars in school. Others can’t wait to leave home, knowing full well that they have been cheated.
Parents often believe that they are protecting their children from the “evils” of life. However, children cannot be brought up in a bell jar. Remember that the school day is only six hours long, five days a week. That leaves many hours during the week and summer for the parent.
Give your child the wings needed to grow outside of that jar. If parents wish to be involved in the education of their children, there are many opportunities to be part of the school day. Volunteer to be a lunch or recess monitor. Offer to tutor children in reading or math. Help the art teacher. Be a part of the process of building your community, not a member of the opposition.
A recent Harvard study following home-schooled children over many years found that these children did not do better at the college level than traditionally educated children. The real trip was for the mothers, who received the big emotional rewards. My response is: Mothers, get a life. How unfair it is for you to take away your own child’s life in order to gratify yours? Is this what we must expect from the “me first” generation as it raises their families?
The role of a parent is vital in a child’s education. However, without all four of the pillars provided by home, school, church and community working together, we have a precarious foundation for the next generation. The public school system is the very cornerstone of democracy in America. We need to cherish it and nurture it.
Margaret W. “Peggy” Boyce is a resident of Saugatuck.
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- Posted by Tim on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 7:32:34 am PDT
- Category: Politics
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24 Responses to “Homeschooling Robs Children, Says Inveterate Statist”
I saw this at the Duchess blog, and commented there, too, but this struck me as funny as well:
“I find it strange that we send our young men and women to help assure that children can go to school in Afghanistan, yet we allow parents in Michigan to keep their children at home.”
Yes, how hypocritical that we allow American parents to make choices about how their kids will be educated, while at the same time building up a structure so that Afghan parents have more…choices about how to educate their children.
“Remember that the school day is only six hours long, five days a week. That leaves many hours during the week and summer for the parent.”
Funny you should mention that. Presumably, it also leaves many hours during the week for non-parental influences. Interesting how often things work both ways.
“Inveterate statist” sums it up nicely. “Bonehead” works for me, too.
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 17th, 2004 at 9:21 am |The Horrible, Disappearing Homeschool Article
As Christina pointed out in our discussion of this article, the Holland Sentinel removed Peggy Boyce’s “Homeschooling Robs Children” editorial. But Chris O’Donnell tracked down a copy of it, and TZB confirmed the paper yanked it because they were flood…
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 17th, 2004 at 9:33 am |The Horrible, Disappearing Homeschool Article
As Christina pointed out in our discussion of this article, the Holland Sentinel removed Peggy Boyce’s “Homeschooling Robs Children” editorial. But Chris O’Donnell tracked down a copy of it, and TZB confirmed the paper yanked it because they were flood…
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 17th, 2004 at 9:33 am |Yes, those selfish, selfish mothers. How dare they steal the most precious formative years from their naive children when their peers could so much better set them on a life of conformity, bullying, peer pressure, intolerance of Christians, and mediocrity (yes, I am a product of the public school system). It’s unbelievable that these mothers take this time from their kids for their own sadistic pleasure! Children have the right to experience whatever happens to be the current whim of educational experts. *BLECH* (I’m making myself sick)
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 17th, 2004 at 10:23 am |“I have met and talked with a variety of home-schoolers, both children and parents.”
As if her circle of groupies is an accurate, across-the-board assessment of all homeschoolers.
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 18th, 2004 at 7:50 am |I feel sorry for this line of thinking…
She needs a reality check.
The public school system is failing our youth. Check our students grades in comparison to the rest of your world. We are losing ground fast with the system they have given us.
Thanks, but no thank you… keep your garbage cans to yourself.
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 20th, 2004 at 10:50 am |Tim, I don’t know why you’re so vexed at this author. She makes an eloquent pro-life argument:
I’ll bet she didn’t realize the full extent of her “lucid” reasoning.
Her logic is so flawed it’s laughable.
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 23rd, 2004 at 12:53 pm |More Anti-Homeschooling Bigotry
Thanks to Berglund and Tulipgirl for this story. The logic is so flawed that is makes reading the story tedious; but it is always interesting to read what the intolerant elites are thinking….
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 23rd, 2004 at 1:03 pm |They’re just mad because they’re losing control of EVERYTHING! Including our kids! Her points were pathetic attempts to justify what they’ve turned public education into for the past 35-40 years. They cannot teach our kids to hate our country, and read the Quoran, but not the Bible! I could go on and on, but y’all know what I mean! They like the idea that they can “dumb down” America, so we continue to believe their socialist agenda for us! I’m so grateful to Fox News and the internet for reversing their trend!
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 24th, 2004 at 10:53 am |Homeschool kerfuffle
Peggy Boyce has written an anti-homeschooling screed. I ran across it first on about.com’s homeschool section. I then read further details from tulipgirl, the zero boss, and Tim Berglund. Ms. Boyce seems quite a piece of work, and yet she…
Comment Permalink | Posted on September 27th, 2004 at 7:35 am |I hope she gets the chance to read the 180+ flaming responses to her drivel posted at:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1216726/posts?q=1&&page=1
Here are a few gems (there are many more):
“She makes money off dumb people. She just wants to make sure bigEd.gov manufactures more.”
“This twit needs to read up on Jefferson’s proposed system.”
“It is rather funny to read an article (written by an idiot) about the lack of education in home schooling. Does she not see the irony?”
“Saugatuck called, and it’s missing its village idiot.”
“Translation: I was brainwashed by the public schools, you should be too!!!”
A homeschooling mom posted on http://forums.hollandsentinel.com/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000001;p=5#000068 that she was verbally attacked by Ms. Boyce. It is a good thing she thinks verbal attacks are ok because she may be receiving a few herself since she is running for office and it is only a matter of time before this gets around inside her community.
I don’t think she understands that holding a public office is for “serving” the public; she wouldn’t get to boss people around.
She has made quite a few people mad; someone even posted a photo of her (I imagined her to look like an old, mean version of “Peggy Hill”; boy, was I close). I think her article is going to end up helping home schoolers gain more freedom because of her glowing example of how uneducated and arrogant many educators are. For her to proudly misstate, and lie about historical facts to support her political ambition, even if she doesn’t know any better, is somewhat treasonous if you consider her advocating forced confiscation of everyone’s children for socialist brainwashing to be helping the enemy - Communism.
Her public image has been severely discredited - all because she relied on public schooling to give her views and didn’t bother to educate herself.
Gene
Comment Permalink | Posted on October 24th, 2004 at 1:58 pm |I feel bad for these poor homeschooled kids because they are so sheltered and when the come out into the real world they have a big wake-up call. I just wish that parents would stop homeschooling their kids because they don’t understand the damage they are doing to their children!
Comment Permalink | Posted on January 26th, 2005 at 9:23 am |Kala, is your comment to be read with irony or without? I’d hate to respond seriously if you’re intending to be silly. Could you clarify?
Comment Permalink | Posted on January 26th, 2005 at 12:01 pm |is that what it’s all about? communism and socialism? how are public schools related to communism? i don’t mean to offend anyone, but I need some clarity. just because there is a fixed curriculum in public schools that teachers teach kids doesn’t mean that they are teaching them communism??
Comment Permalink | Posted on January 27th, 2005 at 10:19 am |Tim, do you have an answer for me?
Comment Permalink | Posted on February 4th, 2005 at 1:28 pm |Sal:
Sure, I’ll give you an answer: no, it’s not all about communism and socialism. Another commenter here used those two words, but as should be clear to you, I do not endorse everything said in the comments. There is substantial latitude here to post a variety of ideas which I do not share.
Are “communism” and “socialism” also statist systems? Yeah, sure, so I see why Gene makes a loose connection. There may be other evidence he could adduce that would bolster his accusation, but personally I won’t advocate the use of those labels. Certainly nothing in Ms. Boyce’s column addresses Marxist economic ideas explicitly. She may in fact be a dyed-in-the-wool socialist, but I don’t know one way or the other.
So fine, suppose public schools teach my kids that the value of goods and services is person-relative and free markets are the most efficient and just mechanisms for setting the prices of scarce resources. Boyce still seems amazed that I would have the effrontery to want to educate my own children instead of the government doing it for me. Indeed, I am tearing at the fabric of society and being “a member of the opposition,” instead of being “a part of the process of building [my] community.” Hence my use of the epithet “statist.” It’s blog-inflammatory, but it’s not unfair in the least.
Comment Permalink | Posted on February 4th, 2005 at 8:22 pm |thanks.
Comment Permalink | Posted on February 5th, 2005 at 9:46 am |Sal, A couple items that have info on your question are: “NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education” by Samuel Blumenfeld, “The Underground History of Education” by John Taylor Gatto, and The “Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx.
The Prussian model of schooling used in our US schools is the same model Hitler used.
Comment Permalink | Posted on March 10th, 2005 at 2:18 am |thank you for the info!
Comment Permalink | Posted on March 18th, 2005 at 10:00 am |This article just goes to show how naive people really are. I doubt much research or thought processing went into this. Let’s pick this apart from the very beginning:
“I find it strange that we send our young men and women to help assure that children can go to school in Afghanistan, yet we allow parents in Michigan to keep their children at home.”
I do not find this strange. In fact, I find this completely irrelevant to the topic; how exactly do you find this odd? We believe in a right to a proper education, and we are trying to do that for people in Afghanistan. In America, however, the “proper education” is not always available in public and private schools, so parents turn to the alternative of home schooling.
“One of the best and brightest moves that our Founding Fathers made was to make it possible for all children in America, not just the rich, to be educated. Eventually, all children were expected to attend. If they did not, they were considered “truant” and parents were held responsible and could go to jail. This public education still is the very cornerstone of democracy.”
Again, not much research was put in- did you know that only boys were allowed to attend school at first, and then finally girls were also accepted? Not every family sent their child to public school when the nation was born, or even after that. Home schooling has been around since the beginning of time, although now that the public school system has been created, many less people home school.
“This strange phenomenon called “home schooling” at best undermines these principles. For many children, it is far worse. Who is monitoring these families? Many a child of abusive parents has an observant teacher to thank for a rescue, some for their very lives. To whom can these children turn when they are kept at home? They are being denied a basic right, which has been fought for all the way to the Supreme Court — the right to attend school.”
I cannot believe the sheer irony of this paragraph! Many people keep watch of home schooled children, including supervisors and tutors and even neighbors. It is not easy to neglect or abuse your child in the home school, as problems are rather more easily discovered than thought. Do a little research (you obviously need to brush up on your research skills anyway) and you’ll see what I am talking about. The real problem is public schools who have little time or money to dedicate to these serious issues. And: “the right to attend school.” If a child is homeschooling, they are attending a school- just in their own home.
“We don’t allow people to play doctor or nurse without a license, nor can one play lawyer without passing some rather rigorous tests. But today, anyone who wants to “play school” can do so, regardless of their educational background. Recently, some parents have been jailed for withholding medical treatment for their children, yet we are almost making heroes of these parents who do the same with their children’s education.”
In America, sufficient preparation for teaching your own child is a high school diploma and a qualified teaching liscense for the child’s evaluator. Home schooling parents are not witholding education from their children- they give more than you could ever DREAM of. They are not “playing school.” This is a serious matter and I cannot believe someone would even THINK of it as that.
“Some parents of home-schooled children speak glowingly of the “wonderful imaginations” developed by their lonely child, who, being surrounded always by adults, has little opportunities to develop friendships with real children. Others associate only with small groups of like-minded people. What happens when they enter the world and cannot control everything, as they do in their sheltered home environment?”
Again, no research skills present… Do they forget that in all public schools? Do you view a wonderful imagination as a bad thing or what? Again, it seems you have forgotton that home schoolers ARE socialized (sigh). And look at your social skills! To stir up this much controversy! Apparently you are not so great as you may think you are.
“What an ego trip for a parent — to be all things to your children, to control every thought, every concept that enters their world. Is this education, or programming? To deny them the stimulation of working and playing with their peers is unfair. It’s far better to send them out into the world for brief forays, such as the school day, and then discuss the day’s adventure while they are still young enough to want to work out values with their parents.”
What an ego trip for you- to be putting perfectly good, kind and giving people who only want the very best for their children down like that, and then geting a thrill off all the feedback you receive. Home schooling parents do not lock their kids in the kitchen and make them read their books in solitude, as you might as well have said. There are plenty of opportunities which parents take advantage of to socialize their children. And having been tortured in a public school system for 8 years, I very well know that parents are left out of the loop- even if they are very involved in the school.
“There are other losses, such as never being “on the team,” never cheering for “our school,” never being in a class where the interaction of ideas is more important than the text, or doing any of the myriad of things that make up the process of “belonging,” from the first day of school to the 50th class reunion. There is far more to an education than a curriculum — it includes summer break, Friday nights and graduation.”
Well, here your reseach skills lack (once again.) Home schoolers have their own field trips, class reunions, graduations, and Saturdays together. What you forgot to mention was that home schoolers have the option of partaking in sports at local public schools if they desire. Others are already intent on careers- Venus and Serena Williams were home schooled and became tennis champs. Agatha Christie was home schooled and became a best selling author. Many artists are homeschooled, including those young ones that we listen to on the radio or watch on TV. How exactly are they robbed? They are much more successful than their public school counterparts.
“I have met and talked with a variety of home-schoolers, both children and parents. Many have great gaps in their knowledge. Many are incredibly naive. Some do quite well — they would have been superstars in school. Others can’t wait to leave home, knowing full well that they have been cheated.”
Surely this “group of homeschoolers” was really just you stereotyping all over again. It is surprising that you call homeschoolers incredibly naive with great gaps in their knowledge- it seems like the words I’d use to describe you.
“Parents often believe that they are protecting their children from the “evils” of life. However, children cannot be brought up in a bell jar. Remember that the school day is only six hours long, five days a week. That leaves many hours during the week and summer for the parent.”
Not as many as you’d like to think- remember, it’s 2 to 3 hours of homework at night, and many public schoolers enjoy “socializing with friends” more than they do with parents! So think about what you said again? HOW much time is left for the people who care most about their kids?!
“Give your child the wings needed to grow outside of that jar. If parents wish to be involved in the education of their children, there are many opportunities to be part of the school day. Volunteer to be a lunch or recess monitor. Offer to tutor children in reading or math. Help the art teacher. Be a part of the process of building your community, not a member of the opposition.”
Indeed. Surely there are, but never forget that most parents work or stay home because of young children, not to laze about. And how much are you going to know about your child’s day if you spend 30 minutes in the same room- probably not talking? If you volunteer, you volunteer to help all the other children, not just your own.
“A recent Harvard study following home-schooled children over many years found that these children did not do better at the college level than traditionally educated children. The real trip was for the mothers, who received the big emotional rewards. My response is: Mothers, get a life. How unfair it is for you to take away your own child’s life in order to gratify yours? Is this what we must expect from the “me first” generation as it raises their families?”
If children in public school do no better than homeschoolers, then what have you to shine for? In fact, I might reveal that I scored perfects in my standardized tests just the other week in all subjects, except for mathematics, and my total was 98% in the end anyway. And my resources say- (I can actually research)- that homeschoolers consistenly score at least 6 points higher on standardized tests than publicly schooled students. The second part almost made me cry- my mother has a chronic illness and she is doing what is best for her children nonetheless by homeschooling me so that I can recieve the enriched curriculum that I need and giving me the opportunities to pursue my goals of becoming a proffessional dancer. (Which, might I add, is going quite nicely- acceptances and scholarship money to some of the best dance schools in the country.) Sure, tell her to “get a life.” Tell her that she is selfish. She has given me more opportunity to bloom than I ever expected. DO NOT SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN.
“The role of a parent is vital in a child’s education. However, without all four of the pillars provided by home, school, church and community working together, we have a precarious foundation for the next generation. The public school system is the very cornerstone of democracy in America. We need to cherish it and nurture it.”
I am unsure of your ability to think clearly. Home and school. Didn’t you mention those things as the keys to success? School is not just a building, as you choose to use it in the incorrect context. School is an education. Home schooling is an education at home.
You make very little logical sense. You’d be an interesting study for my COLLEGE level psychology course…
Comment Permalink | Posted on April 6th, 2005 at 12:34 am |Homeschooling is crap. I would bet that 90% of the parents that homeschool could not pass the state standards set forth for teachers. Elem & early childhood teachers have to take 3 qualifing test. If you were to teach middle school or high school you would have to pass a test for each and every subject. Leave eduation up to the professional - you don’t preform medical acts on your kids for lack of confidence in the system. Get involved in local government & school districts to make a change rather than stunting your child’s social abilities.
Comment Permalink | Posted on April 9th, 2006 at 4:37 pm |Keri:
Thanks for your constructive and well-rendered input. I confess that you might have had a point if homeschooling didn’t, in fact, seem to work pretty well in educating children. Many homeschooling parents judge themselves to be unqualified to teach more specialized high school-level material, which is why homeschooling is less common at that age, but even then success is not rare. And at the earlier ages especially, the real state of affairs must be different than what you see. Perhaps the analogy to medicine is not such a good one. That might explain the pay differential between teachers and doctors–if, of course, it isn’t just due to more bourgeois expropriation of capital. Which I totally bet it is.
I would address the tired old canard about socialization, but I don’t get the idea that you really want to talk about any of this.
Tim
Comment Permalink | Posted on April 10th, 2006 at 6:11 am |Your rebuttal of the medical profession is off the mark. If parents would put the amount of money they do in medical insurance and doctor visits into education and teachers - there would be no need for “homeschooling.” Maybe teachers should be able to set a price for their services like doctors do and the quality of care from a doctor is not reflective in his self-set pay scale.
Comment Permalink | Posted on April 28th, 2006 at 7:43 pm |Keri:
Are you talking about vouchers? If so, then sign me up. Homeschooling doesn’t seem to work for a majority of parents, but a free-market delivery of educational services (as you seem to suggest when you say, “Maybe teachers should be able to set a price for their services like doctors do”) would probably be a good step in improving education outside of homeschooling spheress. However, that’s an entirely different topic, and I suspect you didn’t really mean it to begin with.
But about parents spending on education what they do on healthcare: parents sending their children even to low-priced private schools could easily do just that. A healthy family of four could spend north of $800/mo on private medical insurance, and would also spend about that much on private school tuition for both kids ($5000/year/student). I’ll let you dredge up exact figures if you’re interested, but these are clearly in the ballpark. And don’t school districts in most states end up receiving more than $5000 per student per year? Again, I’ll let you Google it.
Tim
Comment Permalink | Posted on May 5th, 2006 at 9:27 pm |