This letter is in response to an op-ed piece written by Margaret W. Boyce for the Holland Sentinel. The article Entitled, Home-schooling robs children, was published on the web on September 12, 2004.
Ms. Boyce has written a very colorful, yet factually inaccurate description of homeschooling. She provides no supporting data for her claims, nor does she sight any documented resources on which her opinions have been based. She is certainly entitled to her opinion, but as home educators, we feel it is our duty to put her opinions next to the facts and let the readers see both sides of the issue. Please note that all of the facts listed are well documented and their sources are cited.
Ms. Boyce begins her article criticizing the fact that we are building schools in Afghanistan while we allow parents in the U.S. to "keep their children at home." First of all, this is a ridiculous comparison based on a number of key differences in our two societies. Afghanistan, until very recently, was not a governed by a democratically elected system of government. They were and are still a third world country that cannot be compared to ours in any way, shape or form. The gender inequality in that culture was such that women were not allowed to show their faces, let alone achieve any degree of education. Therefore, it is only natural that an educational foundation be created in that country where none existed previously.
Ms. Boyce’s next claim is that "public education still is the very cornerstone of democracy." She states, "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." While this statement sounds wonderful, our Founding Fathers were themselves products of home education. Many of our presidents including: "George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt" were all homeschooled. Many other historical icons also had the benefit of a home education including: "inventor Thomas Edison, General Robert E. Lee, civil rights activist Booker T. Washington, writer Mark Twain, and industrialist Andrew Carnegie" to name a few (Basham, 2001, 5).
The fact is, freedom of choice is the "very cornerstone of democracy" not public education. It is the parents’ right to choose how their children will receive their education, and the government’s job to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity for an education. The two statements are not necessarily in contrast to each other as Ms. Boyce presents in her article. She pontificates that "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." She goes on to say that she has "met and talked with a variety of home-schoolers" that she claims have "great gaps in their knowledge." These are very profound statements that are worthy of further analysis. Let’s look at the results of these parents that are "playing" school and fill in the "gaps."
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FACT: Homeschool students are performing at one or more grade levels above their age-level public and private school peers (Rudner, 1999).
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FACT: By eighth grade, the average home-educated student "performs four grade levels above the national average" (Basham, 2001, 12).
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FACT: Homeschool students have consistently surpassed the national averages for ACT (22.7 vs. 21) and SAT scores (1,083 vs. 1,016) (Basham, 2001, 12).
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FACT: Of the general U.S. population ages 18 to 24, "46.2% had attained some college courses or higher" while "74.2% of the home-educated had attained some college courses or higher" (Ray, 2004).
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FACT: Over 900 public and private colleges and universities readily accept homeschool applicants including many prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale (Bunday, 2000).
These are just a few facts, but with results like these, if home educators are "playing" school, they are definitely playing to win! And, any "gaps" between the public school and homeschool children certainly favor the latter.
Last, but certainly not least is her affirmation of the "myth of socialization" associated with homeschooling. She states that homeschoolers never get to feel like they are "on the team," feel like they "belong" and many other similarly misplaced social inadequacies. Again, let’s look at some documented facts on this issue.
