Greater Long Island’s recent deep dive into the rise of homeschooling sparked quite a debate. Hundreds of readers joined the discussion on Facebook, weighing in on everything from academics and socialization to parental rights, teacher qualifications, and frustration with traditional public schools. So, together with Greater Long Island, we decided to keep the conversation going.
Who should control what children learn?
THE POINT: Parents are their children’s first educators and should have the primary authority to choose the curriculum, values, and learning environment. Homeschooling allows families to avoid material they consider inappropriate, ideological, or inconsistent with their beliefs.
THE COUNTERPOINT: Concentrating educational control within one household can create an echo chamber. Children may receive a narrow religious, political, or historical perspective and have fewer opportunities to encounter competing ideas or independent standards.
OUR TAKE:
Both are valid points. Some parents deliberately choose homeschooling to avoid the viewpoints expressed in schools.
Here, the argument splits into two alternatives.
If we adopt an objective standard, agree that truth and facts exist, and believe that echo chambers or ideas incompatible with education have no place in classrooms, that same standard should apply to homeschools and regular schools.
If we agree that it is wrong for homeschoolers to tell their children that 2 + 2 = 5 based on a personal interpretation of mathematics, we should also agree that it is wrong for schools to teach that 2 + 2 = 5 based on a postmodern theory of mathematics.
Similarly, if we adopt a subjective standard, say that truth and facts are merely value judgments, and believe that educators should instill values in students, then the question becomes: Who has the ultimate right and responsibility to instill those values in children – parents or schools?
Read the full discussion here (no paywall)
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