Educating Our Future Generation
First, one must decide what kind of education is more valuable for a child’s well-being; academic or social intelligence, or if either form of education hinders intelligence whatsoever. Traditional school is most important in a child’s life because it offers more social lessons, several extracurricular activities, and dynamic electives where a child can explore their interests. Homeschooling is often chosen by parental figures in order to better teach their own beliefs to their children, and protect them from public school dangers such as drugs and violence. “A parent can really insulate a child from the vibrant, pluralistic, and democratic world,” says Rob Reich, a professor of political theory at Stanford.
In 2000, an SAT study was conducted which concluded that homeschoolers scored an average of 1100 out of a possible 1600, while the national average was 1019. Supporters use this evidence to prove that homeschooling works. The anti-curriculum philosophy was introduced in the 1960s by the books, “How Children Learn” and “How Children Fail”, encouraging young students to pursue their interests at their own pace. Supporters also claim that homeschooling provides a way for students to learn more about subjects they are interested in, parents can more easily instill religious values and protect their children from negative influences. This, however, can create a negative impact.
Children who are homeschooled are often not introduced to diverse viewpoints, religions, or ideas. This also causes them to have hindered, limited experiences as they enter adulthood. It is not possible to create a sound worldview when a child can only view part of the world. “Whether you believe the purpose of an education is to shape one’s character in a democracy or to prepare Johnny for his job, neither is accomplished when kids get to study only what they want.”, says journalist Jodie Morse and John Cloud, in Time. Homeschooling may produce higher academic grades, but if a child is cut off to genuinely diverse viewpoints, is the child really going to excel?
Sources:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01619560701312996
Texas case mulls if home-school kids have to learn- article in library files; the intelligencer By, Will Weissert; A5Update: Homeschooling; article from library files
Ashley Landis, Grade 12. Interest/hobbies include cooking, singing, playing guitar, spending time with friends and family, sewing, and sitting in the sun....
