The Option of Homeschooling

Germany is a democracy is every sense of the word.  However, there is one area where Germany discourages and punishes the freedom of choice – homeschooling.  It is an education model that has grown dramatically in the United States since the 1970s and it is the subject of fierce debate.  While the U.S. has not taken such actions as seen in Germany, the arguments are the same and the debate rages on.  It might seem odd coming from a public high school teacher, but there is value in homeschooling. At its best, it represents what education was meant to be.     

Homeschooling has its pros and cons – like nearly every other educational model I can think of.  Parents are, in some subjects and at some levels, incompetent and incapable of the instruction the student requires.  Parents, consumed by other things that they must do, are not as disciplined to provide a consistent level of education.  Since parents who homeschool often do so for religious or cultural reasons, another criticism is that these students are only exposed to a single viewpoint or theory that can ultimately stunt his/her intellectual development.  Not surprisingly, one of the leading critics of homeschooling is the National Education Association – the largest such association for teachers.  This does not invalidate the potential criticisms but the source of it certainly falls in the category of “self-serving.”   

However, the notion that education can only happen within a school building is absurd.  For over a millennium, people have educated and learned as a result of the world around them.  Consider my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.  One could teach literature at the museum of Edgar Allen Poe, history at Fort McHenry, science by visiting the complex ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay or learn mathematics by attending some of the many mathematics conferences held annually in Baltimore.  One would be hard pressed to make the argument that the real world doesn’t provide a much richer and interesting “classroom” by visiting what is around us rather than within the a building.  

As I’m a teacher, my medium is the classroom and to a large extent, I’m confined by it.  The classroom has developed as a practical way of educating a larger segment of the population faster.  Indeed, one of the toughest parts of being a teacher is working within the constraints of public education.  Aristotle taught at the Lyceum but it was one of many places he discussed things.  He also served as the tutor of his patron’s children within their home and the world around them.  While there is merit in the arguments of homeschool opponents, their objection is also part of a misunderstanding of what school is or rather, what it should be.   

Today, secondary school has become a farm system for universities and industries.  We label people by grades or GPAs so as to make it easier for these institutions to classify and place our graduates.  Often I feel saddened by the notion that people narrowly interpret my job as working for these institutions and insuring my students have a well-paying job afterwards.  However, that is not how education was conceived.  Education was devised to be an altruistic, holistic attempt to better a person – to enrich their lives with knowledge of the world around them.  Perhaps, by better understanding the world around us, we have a better understanding of our role within.  Outside of the classroom, homeschoolers have the chance to explore the true meaning of education.  It does not always happen but the potential is there.  

A friend of mine once introduced me to her principal as her conservative friend.  The principal looked at me and said, “Oh, so you are one of those in favor of ruining public education.”  I responded, “Yes, because public education has been doing so well up until now.”  Homeschooling is not perfect but--news flash--neither is public education.  One can find in both arenas misguided and incompetent instructors.  However, homeschooling draws the ire of the establishment simply because it challenges it.  The row is between the “expert” and the layman.  Regardless, we need to change how we see the role of public education.  In doing so, perhaps we will create a better educated pupil.