X wrote on Sep 24
th, 2008 at 1:22am:
According to the law center’s executive director, Leslie Heimov, children should not be educated at home, because they need to be “in a place daily where they would be observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety.”
If this article wasn't so damned sad, this statement would be hilarious. Who is going to be concerned about a child's "ongoing safety" than their parents? Especially parents that are concerned enough about their children's education to homeschool them?
Quote:Homeschooling shouldn't be banned. But it should be regulated a little. We have a guy here at work that was homeschooled. His views of the world are special at best.
First, let me just say that government interference (regulation) is bad, mmkay? But enough about that.
Having attended the same church for much of my life, I've had the opportunity to observe a lot of homeschooled kids as they grew up. Some of them are good friends of mine. Admittedly, most of them have gone through an "awkward" social stage in their early teens as the adjusted to a society that was somewhat foreign to them, but the majority of them have grown into perfectly normal, well-adjusted adults.
There are some homeschoolers that I've met that seemingly never fully adjusted to society, but I think that has far more to do with their
incredibly strict upbringing than their homeschooling.
Let's face it, we're social creatures and we're very adept at adapting to our surroundings. Once homeschoolers start integrating with society (which is generally when they hit "dating age"), much of the social awkwardness evaporates practically overnight.
Anyway, regardless of the social graces of homeschoolers, every one of them that I'm familar with has been has grown into a successful adult and is on par with their public school peers in terms of intellect and social wellbeing. For the government to say that homeschool is unlawful is pure BS, period.
-b0b
(...steps off his soap box.)