The author needs to gain some expertise in homeschooling before speaking as an expert on it. His comments sound more like opinions formed sitting at home thinking about it from his own perspective without experience or knowledge–it’s that public school think that says that what we are told is all there is to know–that inability to go out and grab knowledge, experience the world and see what is before us because we are supposed to be in this building in this room with this teacher at this time and think and believe and act in this way or we will get a “bad” grade.

By unschooling my son, I was able to allow him to become a true scholar, and when he entered public school in adolescence to allow me to get cancer treatment, he bested almost all the doctors’ kids and researchers’ kids overall, and certainly in standardized tests. You see, he grew up not being graded, not getting tested, and not being limited to a defined set of knowledge or skills. And, thus, he became more knowledgeable and skilled than those who were subject to “standardized education.” He blew the tops off the standardized tests. And, he is one of the funniest, most hard-working, nicest young men you will meet.

Let’s look at kids as individuals and let’s be honest about education. As a former public school teacher, private teacher for many years, and current and former homeschooler, I can tell you that we are missing the point if we beat up on each other and try to convince others that ours is the only way. We need to focus on the kids and their needs. Only when public school teachers can learn from homeschoolers and realize that group management is just that and nothing more, that the teaching they do is less than they could do as a homeschooler, and that we all need to learn from each other, will the focus start to be on the kids.

Years ago, I attended a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math conference in a large city. A study was presented showing what the highest achieving high schools did and saying that other high schools need to follow suit. I pointed out that those practices are what homeschoolers do. Silence. Snarky remarks. Anger. And private thanks from people who agreed, those educators who worked with homeschoolers, not to teach them but to learn from them, statewide experts too afraid to agree publicly but who privately commended me for saying that. Why is this a competition? Money. Money for more vice-principals. Anger that homeschoolers win competitions (those that they are not blocked from by teachers associations). Salary raises. Computer funds. Oh, those selfish homeschoolers who are only caring about their own kids when their kids could be used to get more ADA money to get equipment for the schools! If only you cared as much for my child, he would still be publicly educated.

And personally, I think fundamentalist Christians are the ones who have trouble with tolerance…just saying.

Just because I am secular in my homeschooling approach, does not mean I’m not Christian. I am Christian, I just don’t see the validity (for my own family) in restricting my childrens’ educational material to only that which serves a Christian agenda.

That’s me!