TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK
The Scotsman has a pair of vitriolic anti-homeschooling screeds in their Education section. The first is a fairly straight news piece covering some pronouncements from the head of the teachers union.
PARENTS who take their children out of school have been accused of “kidding themselves” they can educate their children from the kitchen table…Pat O’ Donnell, a Scottish official of the NASUWT teaching union, insisted that the Executive should adopt a strong line on home education.
Gone are the days when well-educated parents could do at home what teachers do at school. They’re kidding themselves they can educate their children from the kitchen table.
“This is a movement driven by romantic anti-establishment views of the world.”
Evidently, the teachers in Scotland haven’t read Rudner’s study. Or, more likely, they have and are whistling past the graveyard. The union rep then drags out a familiar argument:
Highlighting the potential for abuse to go undetected, the SPTC calls for a register of home-educated children. Estimates of numbers vary between 350 and 5,000. Edinburgh officially records only 18 children.
Let’s see- Homeschooling=isolation=potential for abuse. Therefore, we need more supervision. Where have I heard that before?
The second piece, an op/ed I think, is far, far worse. Written by a teacher, we finally learn what they really think about parents:
To be fair, parents already do a wonderful job when their kids are young. They encourage literacy skills by reading bedtime stories, albeit abridged versions as they miss out every other page to ensure the bonding experience ends in time for the start of EastEnders. Other kids have numeracy skills developed at a very early age, e.g. when dad walks out of their life, 2 minus 1 equals single parenthood.
Mater and pater could theoretically teach certain aspects of the curriculum. I’m certain that some hard-bodied, toned-up pecs parents would be able to pass on physical fitness techniques but what about the teenagers of the chocoholic, chain-smoking chumps trudging the shopping malls in search of the nearest McDonalds? It’s a recipe for an even greater rate of obesity among the young.
If this sneering attitude is common in Scotland, it’s no wonder that 30 percent of parents want to homeschool. (Thanks to Andrea for the tip.)
2 Responses to “TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK”
 Comment by Emily Helgersen August 2nd, 2004 at 8:17 pm |
Well, to expect a teacher to praise homeschooling is a bit like expecting Tums to praise Rolaids for its ability to relieve heartburn. |
 Trackback from Number 2 Pencil October 15th, 2003 at 8:36 am |
Slander against homeschoolers? A circuitous round of blog-reading this afternoon led me to this rant, which is about a CBS special, “A Dark Side To Home Schooling”, that apparently tries to paint as many homeschooling parents as possible with the child-abuse brush. From… |