Texas Ed Spectator

Ask Rockridge: Can a Progressive Support Homeschooling? — Rockridge Nation

So, yes progressives can support homeschooling.

But apparently with quite a few “ifs”. I really can’t bring myself to read through all the comments. I’m sure there is the usual education as the foundation for democracy and so on. I’m sure there are plenty of anti-homeschoolers who are certain we are isolating our children although the number of homeschoolers they personally know they probably can count on one hand. It’s just tiring.

For some reason, people think that public schools and education are the same thing. And progressives are for mandatory school attendance if the schools are teaching the “right” information just as conservatives would have no problem with requiring everyone attend public school if they were teaching the “right” conservative information.

It’s not about the quality of the schools, it’s about parental choice. And if you can’t trust parents to ensure that their children will be educated well enough to function in the “real” world, why stop with education? Why not regulate the clothing parents may buy children or how about inspecting every family’s kitchen? Why not require every two-year-old in the nation to be inspected for parental quality?

Granted, it’s a gray area and difficult to draw the line but if nothing else, consider homeschooling an escape valve for parents who don’t want their children in school for whatever reasons–too conservative, too liberal, too regimented, too dangerous, etc. If everyone grows up learning only the public school group think, who will be around to challenge it?

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