First Oprah, Now Dr. Phil
Tuesday, October 24th, 2006By Mimi Rothschild
Although homeschooling has managed to garner accolades among sociologists and psychologists, it still has trouble gaining support from media personalities. You may remember that back in February, Oprah Winfrey banned homeschoolers from participating in an essay contest based on a popular novel. The HSLDA was all over it, eventually persuading Oprah to allow homeschoolers access to the contest.
Now, TV therapist and Oprah pal Dr. Phil is getting in on the homeschool bashing. Although he acknowledged that homeschooling won’t spoil kids, he did declare that high schoolers should not be homeschooled because they need to become comfortable relating to peers. You can find out more about how Dr. Phil handled the subject here.
I personally feel that high school is a crucial time for homeschooling. This is where there is the most pressure to fit in, peers are most cruel, and self-esteem is most fragile.
“But then Dr. Phil committed two outrageous acts of fallacious reasoning. First he said that public school teachers are highly trained experts at teaching children. Then he cited “research” that said teens need the socialization of a public school environment. He offered as his only proof a self described “socially retarded” twenty-something girl that regretted being homeschooled — hardly scientific.”
I could point to plenty of “socially retarded” public school students. Ridiculous.