Homeschooling

First of all, I'd be quite happy to debate this topic with you. Good luck, I suppose. Secondly; you joined an hour ago and you're already getting straight into a debate? That's the spirit! Now, on to my argument. Yes, I'm well aware of the enormous flexibility offered by, and time management headaches that home schooling can save both the children and the parents, and I don't simply discount them; I merely believe that this benefit does not outweigh the potential downsides. The curriculum that home-schooled children are required to be taught is the same as that for children in public schools; the only way to verify that they are in fact being taught, however, are *voluntary* end of term tests, rather than continual teacher oversight and compulsory tests. As long as the child passes the test, then it is deemed they are being taught 'correctly'. The same argument that you have stated applies to children in public schools also applies here; students in public schools are supposed to be taught in a way that engages their interest and makes them want to learn enough to pass the test. Your argument that "the majority of homeschoolers academically perform multiple grade levels higher than their actual age" has more to do with the fact that these children are receiving tutoring, rather than class learning, and thus are unable to be distracted from their learning whilst 'in class', assuming their parent is doing their job. This has nothing to do with home schooling itself being 'better'; teachers are supposed to help individual students who are having problems with the coursework, and arrange for private tutoring lessons if they feel they need it. That argument only works in schools where the teachers aren't in fact doing their legally appointed job correctly. Also, as I stated above, in many states these tests are completely voluntary on the part of home schooled students; there's a lot of wriggle room for selection bias there. Your arguments that publicly schooled children are "...often very rude and disrespectful", that they "...often cheat, skip class, are belligerent, sleep through class, or are under the influence" or that they "simply learn things for the test not really caring about long term effects or consequences" are incredibly subjective, and dependent upon the individual student and schooling environment. The school environment is supposed to be conducive to learning; if it isn't, that isn't a problem with public schooling so much as it's a problem with that particular public school. Publicly schooled children are supposed to actively socialize with other students in their school regardless of differences; your argument that home schooled children are "taught from the beginning not only class room subjects but life lessons in manners and the level of respect and propriety you should hold yourself to." is incredibly subjective, and in fact not nearly as conducive to a good education as actively socializing with one"s peers, as opposed to simply being moralistically taught how one 'should' act. As socialization itself is a *vital* part of learning how to interact with others, and society, outside of immediate family members, not allowing them to be in an environment where they are made to socialize is tantamount to robbing them of one of the most important facets of their learning. As for the "ideology" aspect, it"s quite simple; public schools teach facts, and only facts. Unless we count science as a 'bias', which makes no sense, then there is none being put on the information. As stated above, the only way to ensure that the home schooled child is actually being taught relevant curriculum are *voluntary* tests. Theoretically, a parent could teach their child anything they wished and pass it off as 'fact'; as long as they don"t sign up for that voluntary test, there"s no way to ensure they"re teaching their children what they"re supposed to be teaching. As to the "Parental views are going to differ no matter where you go to school. I presume that you will teach your children your views and expect them to follow suit" argument, one isn't *supposed* to teach *their* values to children; they're supposed to allow them develop their own. As to your "brainwashing" and "WHOLESOME" education theory, its simple; there's no guarantee that parents *won't* brainwash their children whilst teaching them, because as stated there are no regulations ensuring they are being taught 'correctly'. And what constitutes a "wholesome" education is so subjective it"s not even an issue; education isn't supposed to be "wholesome", it's supposed to be *informative*, regardless of what one may think of that information. I apologize if I appeared to ramble, or be a little bit "everywhere at once". Information sources, in no particular order: 1) http://www.thedailybeast.com... 2) www.mommyish.com/2012/08/20/because-i-was-homeschooled-im-not-homeschooling-my-daughter-474/ 3) http://www.examiner.com... 4) http://en.wikipedia.org... 5) http://en.wikipedia.org...