Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
It's possible to use homeschooling as a means of deprived children of an adequate education. Of course, this is rare. Most homeschooling families take this approach because they want their children to receive a better education than they would if they attended conventional schools.
There are a lot of people who want to regulate all homeschool families because of the rare instances in which parents are hindering their children's educations. Most proposed regulations are designed to ensure that homeschooling provides the same experience as conventional schooling, which completely undermines the purpose of homeschooling.
One form of potential regulation that has become popular is to require academic credentials such as a college degree. Some don't go quite that far and only want to demand a high school diploma. Either way, this regulation would be entirely dependent on the flawed and inequitable concept of credentialism.
There is nothing that can be learned in school that can't be learned elsewhere. A lack of a piece of paper in no way proves inability. Conversely, possessing that piece of paper doesn't prove competence. I saw this as a student. My credentialed teachers were consistently clueless about how practical education works.
The primary argument for a credential requirement to homeschool is to ensure parents know the material they are teaching. This is a misunderstanding of the fundamentals of how education works. A truly progressive society requires learning beyond what already exists. If all learning had to come from those who previously learned similar skills, we would regress. Teachers won't consistently hit 100% of all skills learned, and each generation would end up less educated as a result.
Additionally, homeschool families should be teaching their children to learn, not just learn from parents. All good homeschooling families will allow their children to learn from others. Even if parents lack a GED, children are almost certain to learn from credentialed individuals. Why would we allow a parent's lack of academic credentials to prohibit children from learning from others, including some with credentials?
Actually, I think I know the reason for this proposal. Schools care more about power than they do about education. Requiring credentials can make it more difficult for children to escape an environment which, in many cases, legitimately hinders their educations.
No comments:
Post a Comment