I read a news story this morning that is sure to get many parents I know into a major uproar (perhaps rightfuly so). A New Hampshire court ruled that a girl “would best be served by exposure to public school setting in which she would be challenged to solve problems presented by a group learning situation and by social interactivity with children her age. She also would be best served by exposure to different points of view …”

This is all part of a divorce situation. The father wants his daughter to attend public school. When he petitioned for this three years ago the court found no fault with her current education, rejecting the request.

The Alliance Defense Fund on Wednesday announced that it has filed papers in Laconia asking to reconsider the decision issued last month. John Anthony Simmons, an attorney associated with the Defense Fund, who is representing the 10-year-old girl’s mother, said the judge has also been asked to stay the order so the daughter can continue with her home-schooling while the judge reconsiders the matter.

The guardian ad litem said in the current case that the girl “appeared to reflect her mother’s rigidity on questions of faith” and that the girl’s interests “would be best served by exposure to a public school setting” and “different points of view at a time when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief…in order to select, as a young adult, which of those systems will best suit her own needs.”

The ADF article goes on to say that “in addition to home schooling, the girl attends supplemental public school classes and has also been involved in a variety of extra-curricular sports activities.”

So, do you think the court has overstepped? I think they have. If, as it appears, the mom has custody then she should be the one to decide how her daughter gets schooled. Provided she is following the state guidelines it seems odd for the state to try and force the child into public school. Yes, the state has a duty to ensure that the quality of education is there (and they should be scrutinizing their own schools), but I don’t think they have a right to decide that a child is too religious for their own good.

Simmons, the mom’s lawyer says that they will take this to the Supreme Court if the ruling isn’t overturned.

Freedom of Choice is a post from: Spiritual Tramp

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Always up for a good argument I said sure. He pointed me to a post he made on Orkut and since I can’t reply there for some reason I figured I’d do it here. I’ll incorporate some of what he said and hopefully he’ll pop in and reply at length.

He liked that it was self paced and customized to him. He also said “My parents (probably wisely) decided to do very little of the actual instruction themselves, so I wound up studying with some very knowledgeable people in their fields.”

There are several things he didn’t like then or doesn’t like now. The first, and this shows up fairly frequently in these discussions is “the whole issue of socialization”. Marnen had neither siblings nor a home school association and feels that his social skills didn’t kick in until he was in college. That’s a fair point. We have three kids, ages nine, six, and four. In addition to playing with one another, which they do somewhat well, they also have their home school group kids and kids from church and the neighborhood that they hang out with on a regular basis. Their friends are a mix of home school, private school, and public school kids so they get the advantage of a range of backgrounds. If you’re thinking of homeschooling this is a vital part of what you need to consider.

Another thing he addresses are his own “poor work habits and lack of discipline”. He, rightly, isn’t blaming anyone for that, but goes on to say, again rightly, that his experience in home school formed the basis of it more than likely. To that I would say in our case we strive to set a schedule and stick to that. Proper behavior during school time is expected and there is structure. It’s not as rigid as public school, but there are good reasons for a more rigid setting when you have the sort of student/teacher ratio that public schools do. I can say for my part I am a product of public school and also have poor work habits and a lack of discipline. Again when you make the decision to home school, flexibility of schedule is touted as one of the big advantages and it is, but you must have some structure and discipline in order to be successful.

In the same vein he says, “The fact that it was self-paced often meant that I didn’t have to deal with deadlines or curricula.” Again, just speaking for us, we use a curriculum called Classical Conversations and their material is very structured. Being self paced to a point is good, but if that becomes “Hmmm what shall we do today?” you’re in a troublesome place. Our nine year old has projects and deadlines, just like she would in public school (perhaps more so). When they are older they will likely take advantage of duel enrollment in Community College and will definitely need to be prepared for the deadlines and curricula they have there.

To that level of structure Marnen says “if you’re going to be that regimented, you might as well just send the kids to school”. I’m not so sure I agree with that. Structure is a good thing. Regimentation is a good thing. Still as I said, we are flexible and Leigh does take advantage of that. Sometimes during the week most work gets set aside and the group will go berry picking or have a play date or just go swim. That’s the exception and not the rule, but the ability is there. So again, if you home school you can have as much or as little structure as you like, but knowing what I do of developmental psychology a good amount of structure is healthy.

In closing he says “I know a number of other folks who were homeschooled, and in my opinion, just about none of them got a decent education in the process — I know I didn’t.” To that I would say that I can say the same thing about public school kids and I have gotten to know a group of home school kids that are in early adulthood and are getting in to some fine schools. All of that is anecdotal on both sides of course. What that boils down to is this, your education is likely to be only as good as your teachers and your materials. That’s why when you decide to home school your children you need to ask yourself if you have what it takes.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. You don’t have to be the best teacher in the world. Good curriculum can take you a long way. You do need to be willing to be a teacher though. Being your child’s buddy or social director isn’t going to cut it. My wife is one of the best teachers I know mainly because she is passionate when it comes to learning. Your primary purpose in home schooling has to be the drive to give your children the best education you can. Part of that will eventually mean acknowledging that you can’t do it all. That’s why you should be part of a coop of some sort. Find other parents who have strengths you don’t. Work together and have a good foundation with the materials you’re using and you can give your child at least as good an education as the public school system can (that bar is not very high believe me).

Okay that was a passionate rant, at least for me, and I’m done for now. So class, any questions?

Home Schooling is a post from: Spiritual Tramp

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