Homeschooling And The Way Forward

Homeschooling And The Way Forward

One of the biggest aspects of society to suffer the most in recent decades, if not the biggest, has been the home. It has become, in many cases, a necessity to have multiple incomes to get by in the promises of what has been known as the American Dream. And still the debt is omnipresent. This has meant that having the choice to stay home and raise a family has been taken away from many who would prefer to do just that. In place of that the prevalence of day care is now often mandatory with paid strangers sometimes interacting with one’s children more than those who made them.  

It is truly a shame that this aspect of what once was a normal routine of life to slip away nearly completely. It is not laziness that would lead one to desire to raise a family while eschewing a job. Instead the promise of having so large a hand in the development of one’s children, while often tiring and frustrating, has been the shining star of their very lives. 

It is not natural for a child, be they single-digit age or teen years, to lug books throughout a large and frequently desensitizing building akin to a warehouse (coincidence?) with limited time to get from one room, floor, or building to another while wanting to engage with friends that they see momentarily, if at all, during the ‘learning process’. And if children have a hard time sitting still at a hard, uncomfortable desk and pay attention, well there are medications for that and they will be dangled over their heads like a carrot on a stick. Remember, these are not drugs, these are medicines! Just say No to drugs.

Should a child not be fond of the forced environment of public school, where they may feel or actually be threatened, they can become resentful, unfocused, and feel ostracized from the world at large and can become dangerously antisocial to themselves and others. And don’t be too concerned about that fact that the literacy rate among those who graduated from these institutions is horrid in and of itself. A century ago students were smarter and more knowledgable than many with college degrees today. Look up, for instance, 8th grade tests then and now. 

Regardless of what we are frequently told, spending more money on public education will not improve it. Here on Long Island more than 62% of property taxes go to that system and property taxes here are among the highest in the nation. It often costs more than $25,000 per student per year with frequently more than 10% of the budget going to administrative costs. And yet it is never enough. 

Some would say that public education has been an ongoing disaster and I count myself as one of them. The current cv19 pandemic on planet earth, as we are reminded of at nearly every outlet we see and hear, has ushered in many sudden adjustments to the average person who is simply trying to get on with their lives and that of their families. Suddenly many found themselves without a job or the business that they created. The closing of schools meant that day care options, which so many relied on, was not available on the same level that they needed or were used to. Some have considered it a good fortune to be homebound along with their children. One was not permitted to go out and interact in social places but now they had their families together. 

Going to school now meant sitting in front of a screen for the same duration of time they were locked inside a large building, figuratively and literally. This was done most often via a program called Zoom, which in the tech world was highlighted for its known security flaws, but that’s not important. In fact there were instances where students went back into these welcoming buildings just to sit in a room with students they did not know and stare at the knowledge screen at their desk while a teacher in the same room taught through their own device to learners that were in yet a different location! ‘Bizarre’ is how that was described among those who went through this new experience. 

But, alas, what some have learned is that they have been able to have their families together and still have their children get an education. And in this process some came to fully realize that there are better ways to do that, potentially much better. Enter the realm of Homeschooling. 

In the past decade the options for homeschooling have improved dramatically. It is no longer necessary for a parent to become the teacher and run the ‘classroom’. Remote learning and video options have opened up having a teacher do that for you. Ron Paul, after leaving the world of politics in 2012, started a homeschooling program and this made many aware of the option as being viable anywhere. There are many other choices and a simple internet search will yield numerous results. Students waste less time in class and are more productive, articulate, and focused. They tend to learn how to learn rather than just what to learn, usually for the purpose of passing an exam. And all the higher education opportunities are still available with no disadvantages. 

One of the biggest drives towards homeschooling is dissatisfaction with the public education results along with safety from physical harm and psychological turmoil from bullying. Homeschooling gives parents a wider choice and better control whereas the education system tends to look at children as a power play, meaning that for every child enrolled the administrations get more money. They do not view parents as having any substantial say in the matters of how they are taught, if they have any say at all. Just pay your taxes and approve the school budget every time it is proposed. That is the true duty of the parent. In Illinois a recent open forum with the school board said this on camera. 

Homeschooling is not for everyone. You should look into it, consider it, and have discussions about it. It is not a taboo, at least it should not be, and it should be allowed to openly flourish. No more waiting for buses in bad weather, nor the unwelcoming throngs of traffic - that alone can save one’s sanity. You will not get a reduction in your property taxes, as if you ever thought you had any control in that matter, and homeschooling will have a cost, though far, far below what the bureaucracies are willing to spend for you. This is not the occult. Let’s bring homeschooling out of the dark and into the public conversation now.  

1 - https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/learn/proptax.htm

2 - https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/long-island-schools-costs-budgets-tax-cap-1.30255077

3 - https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmb

4 - https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/education-long-island/li-school-budgets/

5 - https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmb

6 - http://www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools/home-instruction

7 - https://www.nheri.org/research-facts-on-homeschooling/