Annette Asks Some Good Questions

Thanks to Mary for pointing out this interesting post at the National Charter School Watch Blog.

There is nothing new about polarity- people tend to gravitate towards the like-minded and have an adversarial view of those who aren’t, but as reasonable people, we usually tether those emotions with common sense.

Annette asks some questions on her blog that I would like to answer here:

• Is homeschooling being negatively impacted by public school at home programs?

“No”, in the sense that public-school-at-home should be an option for parents, and “Yes” in the sense that it is a measurably different educational choice than independent home education. Annette used the example of oil and water- “Oil and water are both liquids. Yet when mixed, the mixture will soon separate. The reason for this is that the two are chemically distinct. Oil and water can be blended together, but it is an unstable relationship. Although, unstable relationships can be profitable and enjoyable. Salad wouldn’t quite be the same without salad dressing.” I tend to agree with this analogy. I love salad.

So when homeschool legislation is considered, it is natural for an independent home educator to wish to be distinct from a cyber-schooler, as one parent is using the system at home, and thus is accountable to the system, while the independent homeschooler wishes to remain independent.

This does not mean that there must be conflict, or that one is inherently superior to the other. If cyber-schooling is meeting the family’s needs, then it is the better choice for that family. If a family wishes to home educate without any input or accountability to the state, then their right to do so should be respected.

• How might homeschool parents and home-based public school parents work together in ways that are beneficial to both of the two educational options?

I think we must recognize that the similarities give us the opportunity to be supportive of each other by offering the right hand of fellowship, helpful advice, and much needed encouragement. But- when it comes to the legal requirements, there are differences. When legislation is considered, I can’t propose that cyber-schoolers not report their progress or hold to the required guidelines and due dates. That is the nature of cyber-schooling. But as an independent home educator, I don’t expect the state to consider themselves as authoritative in our academic efforts. I ain’t using their bat or their ball, and I ain’t even in their park, so it doesn’t make sense for them to declare themselves umpire.

• Why it is that online homeschool discussions have the tendency to deteriorate when the topic of public school at home arises? What can we do to prevent this from happening?

This is a tough question, because I think it comes down to human nature. I expect folks to feel their choices are superior, and to defend them passionately. I have the best husband in the world, I wouldn’t trade my kids for all the Cheetos in Wisconsin, and I have the most wonderful church. Home education is one of the most amazing things I have ever attempted. Of course I think so because this is where I am invested, and where folks invest in me.

So I believe it is with our educational choices. We choose to invest in the system, or to invest in homeschooling, and that is where our hearts reside. We are involved and enthusiastic about the life we have committed to with our families. It is natural to not only defend our choices, but to believe that others would benefit from making similar choices. What is important is to balance our passion with the fact that no one’s family dynamic is a carbon copy of another’s. Even small differences in background, job situation, geographical location, age and number of children can radically impact how a family operates, and thus what educational choice fits them best. When you take into account the major philosophical differences that exist, you can’t expect One Size Fits All educational methods.

There is also that aspect of human nature that defends bad decisions as staunchly as the good ones, because who wants to admit they were wrong, especially when it comes to very personal issues?

• Are the two educational options able to comfortably co-exist, side by side?

There isn’t any reason why they couldn’t. Public schools, private schools, charter schools, and home educators can live in harmony- why not add cyber-schoolers to the mix?

• What things should we understand are not going to change among the two groups?

Personally, I don’t think we have to be enamored of other people’s choices to peacefully coexist. We can discuss the differences, the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, etc… and then go out for pizza.

• How might our differing perspectives be a stumbling block for communication?

It doesn’t have to be if we can manage not to take the opinions of others personally, unless they begin their sentences with phrases such as “If you weren’t such a moron…” or “the homeschool movement profile is full of myopic insular racism it is a natural result of white people who isolate themselves from the mainstream…” (Thanks for the laughs, Thrasher)

I have met many cyber-schoolers who were perfectly happy with their experience, but it just so happens that they all were of jr. high through high school age. All of the parents that I have met that were not happy with public-school-at-home had younger children. This leads me to believe that it might be a better solution for kids who can work independently and meet deadlines than younger kids who still need the oversight and input of mom and dad.

For instance, I know a high schooler who loved cyber-school, had a part-time job and was also involved in lots of great community and church activities. Then there was the mom I met who was using our state’s cyber-school program was frustrated because she had emergency gall bladder surgery, and this threw them completely off schedule. As soon as she recovered, they had to CRAM the rest of the year in so they could pass. Not a pleasant experience, but one that I assume could have been managed with older kids much better. But this is merely my opinion based on anecdotal evidence.

Cyber-schooling could also serve as a bridge of sorts until the parents are comfortable enough with home education to try it independently. I would not want to be guilty of discouraging someone from teaching their kids at home because of my personal opinion of public-school-at-home programs. I would hate the deadlines and curriculum requirements, but everyone ain’t me, and no one is happier about that than I am. I do believe that when we begin to discuss the legislative effects of considering public-school-at-home programs as essentially the same as independent homeschooling, we do reach a place where we must part ways, but only in the sense that cyber-schoolers are accountable to the system, while independent home educators are not, or at least not in the same manner. and let’s face it- many if not most independent home educators don’t want ANY accountability to the state. States with no notification or testing requirements are Homeschool Heaven.

I have heard that there has been alot of controversy about this topic in the past, but I haven’t looked into any archives to see what has been said, nor have I been a part of any discussion on this topic that got ‘ugly’. Just lucky, I guess. So that is my answer, thus saving the NCSW blog comment section from my expansive response.