Public schools provide better education than homeschooling.

"Contention 2 --- It's argued that public schools have more "diversity" in teachers and the subjects they teach than homeschooling parents can give their children. See my rebuttal on Argument no. 1 that public school teachers are "qualified" to teach their subjects, which too often they are NOT. " I have adequately refuted my opponent's rebuttal. I offer an additional point: Even if a student has six under-qualified teachers, those teachers still offer more diversity than a single parent. If we accept my opponent's ideas about teaching courses (which we shouldn't), it means that teachers are on average only as good as a parent. But then, aren't six teachers still going to provide more diversity than a single parent? ======== Contention 2 "When I was in public school, and it is exactly the same today, "teaching" consists of the teacher making the student read the next chapter in the subject textbook, and then there is a discussion the next day on this subject matter (IF the students are lucky enough to have a teacher who does this). " This is true sometimes, but not always. There are interactive activities and group projects as well. And if a student needs help, he or she can get it from the teacher. I don't know what my opponent means by "if the students are lucky enough". "Is there any reason why an intelligent homeschooling parent cannot give their kids the same dumbed-down public-school textbook to read" No. But they can't have a class discussion with only two people. And in this scenario, we have to remember that teachers are more qualified than parents to discuss these subjects. Even by my opponent's rebuttal to my first contention (which I have refuted), a teacher teaches the same material several times a day for many years. Through this repetition, teachers become better at their subjects. Parents may repeat some subjects, but not nearly as many times. Teachers just have more experience, and are better qualified to teach and have intelligent discussions. "or far more interesting textbooks or REAL books and other reading material on any subject under the sun that the student may be interested in[. ]" It seems ludicrous to me that a single parent can make a better choice of material than a seasoned team of educational administrators. And it's not for the best that a parent can teach anything. Not just any subject will be enough. Students must learn the essential subjects in order to have successful careers; this is impossible when a parent is teaching his or her child about flowers or trains and avoiding other important topics. "Moreover, a parent can hire a low-cost college student or tutor to teach their child any subject whose complexity goes beyond the parent's particular knowledge at the time. " Why would a college student be more qualified than a college-graduate public school teacher? Or why would a tutor be more qualified? Tutoring is a part-time job. People who are the most qualified to teach a subject get a full-time teaching job at a school. Tutoring is for college students, people with other jobs, and people who aren't qualified enough to teach full time. "In public schools, moreover, the student has to study the subjects dictated to them by the school curriculum" Yes, because those are the most important subjects for a student to learn. "even if the student is BORED TO DEATH by the subjects" School is not about fun. School is about getting an education. If children have fun all day during homeschool, that's great and all, but learning is a higher priority. "Why should children be in an education PRISON where the wardens dictate what they should study and learn? " My opponent makes it sound so dreary. In reality, prisons are rather boring. But public school is an environment for education. Students learn in school. They learn what they need to learn. And they can specialize to some extent by choosing electives. It's not really very much like a prison at all. "Also, homeschooling allows each student to study a subject he or she loves IN DEPTH, AT THEIR OWN PACE" That's a good point: public schools more or less have a set pace. But students need to get in a certain amount of education before they graduate and go on to get careers. If there is no guaranteed pace, students have less of a chance of a good career. "What if a child loves literature, or biology, or history in public school and would like to spend more time on this subject? " They can research it outside of school. It's not too difficult. But public school provides the necessary foundation for these subjects that the student can use as a springboard if so desired. "The so-called "diversity" of subjects taught in public-schools turns out to be an education cage children are locked into. " I don't know about that. Public schools are pretty diverse. They teach literature, mathematics, foreign languages, theatre and more. ======== Contention 3 "I don't understand the 'benefit' of a school board? !" A school board is a team who decide the best direction for education to go. A single parent cannot determine a course of education as effectively as an entire board who spend much of their lives on education. "A school board is just a collection of parents/teachers/school bureaucrats who dictate the same idiotic curriculum and rules for the public schools. " In a way, though that's not quite how I'd word it. The job of the school board is to determine what forms of education will be best for the greater good. "The best thing to do with school boards is to abolish them, and let all children homeschool. Kids would be a lot happier. " What kind of a world would that be? The workload on parents would be massively increased. At least one parent would have to be at home teaching all the time, and it would be virtually impossible for single parents. Millions of underqualified parents would be giving their children terrible educations; a parent who wants to homeschool is one thing, but there are so many parents out there who could not each if their lives depended on it. Millions of children would be getting inadequate educations. Standards would fall. Businesses would become less and less efficient as the employees became less and less qualified. The lack of productivity would lead to a market crash and global depression. And my opponent says it's all worth it, because "kids would be a lot happier"? I, for one, would not be very happy if I was stuck with an incompetent teacher and, on top of that, my single mom's house was foreclosed because she had to quit her job to homeschool me. ======== As I have demonstrated, public school is a necessary and powerful entity in the continuation of society. The educational power of public school should not be underestimated. Affirmed: public schools provide better education than homeschooling.