Homeschooling as a Last Resort
Tuesday, November 21st, 2006By Mimi Rothschild
Yesterday we learned about how wealthy families are taking advantage of homeschooling as an optimal solution. Today, I came across an article from the Sassy Lawyer in the Manila Standard describing how homeschooling might be ok if there are no other options.
She starts out somewhat negative:
“Still, in a scenario where quality education is inaccessible or unaffordable, or both, I’d take a good hard look at homeschooling. And, in a worst-case scenario, I’d probably overcome my feeling of incompetence to teach my own children math and the sciences. In a worst case scenario.”
Ouch! She makes it sound like she’d have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the homeschooling world. In her defense, many of her negative feelings about homeschooling seem to stem from personal insecurities about her own ability to teach. These are feelings that all parents have when they begin homeschooling. She warms up a little to the idea of homeschooling by the end of the article:
“To sum up, homeschooling is a worthy option especially in view of the many failures of schools and the educational system. But the right of parents to choose to homeschool their children may not always be in the best interests of the child. As with most things, the advantages and disadvantages will have to be weighed on a case-to-case basis.”
Thank-you, Sassy Lawyer, for the illuminating analysis! In all seriousness, she makes many good points. I would encourage her readers to check out yesterday’s post on the Bloomberg story about Manhattanite homeschoolers.