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From: "BreakPoint Staff" <BreakPoint_Staff>
To: "BreakPoint by Charles Colson" <breakpoint>
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2000 4:20 PM
Subject: [breakpoint] Not Just for Scary Religious People, 6/15/2000 (please
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> BreakPoint with Charles Colson
> Commentary #000615 - 06/15/2000
> Not Just for Scary Religious People: Homeschooling Goes Mainstream
>
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        How quickly things change. Not long ago, the educational establishment
derided the idea of
homeschooling, claiming that mere parents couldn't teach kids adequately --
after all, education is for professionals. But now, after homeschool
students swept this year's national spelling bee, the
education elites are objecting that these kids are TOO well-educated.

        So what's it going to be? The defenders of America's failed education
policies can't seem to make up their minds.

        A homeschooler first won the national spelling bee in 1997. But this year
first, second, and third places ALL went to homeschoolers. When the results
were broadcast, the establishment circled the wagons: "These kids are not
socialized," they cried. "They spend too much time studying."

        Really? Well, this year's winner, 12 year-old George Thampy -- who also
placed in the National Geography Bee -- wrote an excellent article about his
education for the WALL STREET JOURNAL. In it, young Mr. Thampy soundly
refuted many of the mischaracterizations of homeschooling.

        In addition to taking trips and classes with other homeschoolers, he says,
he participates in sports and Boy Scouts, and has friends in his youth
group, neighborhood, and from competitions like the spelling bee. The
socialization objection is specious on its face.

        One of homeschooling's greatest strengths is the quality of learning it
provides. Since homeschool kids don't spend hours in sensitivity-training,
or putting condoms on bananas in sex-ed class, they're free to learn in ways
public-school kids cannot.

        Moreover, as Helen Cordes writes for SALON Internet magazine, homeschooling
allows parents to tailor education to their kids. Easy material can be
taught quickly, but difficult material can be given all the time it
deserves. A tailored education allows students to visit museums, learn a
musical instrument, and devote themselves to things they're passionate
about.

        And it's not just Christian kids who homeschool these days. An episode of
the ultra-hip teen drama "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" even showed Buffy asking
her mother to consider homeschooling. After all, Buffy reasoned, "it's not
just for scary religious people anymore." Well, even these unflattering
remarks reveal that the stigma is disappearing, as 1.7 million homeschool
kids are entering the mainstream.

        Homeschoolers are having phenomenal success getting into top universities.
According to Cordes, homeschoolers are accepted to Stanford at "twice the
rate of schoolers."

        Now spelling bees and college admissions don't necessarily prove that
home-schooled kids are better educated -- but they certainly illustrate the
importance of educational options.

        Some public schools do a great job. Others don't. And homeschooling isn't
for everyone. Some parents lack the training, temperament, or time to teach
kids. But the principle is clear. Bureaucrats ought not to be the ones
deciding how we educate our children. And that's why we need school choice
and vouchers, to allow parents to send their kids to schools that are best
for those kids.

        Education isn't something we can compromise on. It's the vehicle for
transmitting our intellectual heritage to our children.

        Homeschooling's recent successes ought to serve to remind us that educating
our kids -- not propping up a failed bureaucracy -- is what really counts.

 =======================
 Helen Cordes's article, "Sour Grapes Anyone?" is available at:
 http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/tues/2000/06/06/homeschool/

 =======================
 This week on BreakPoint Online: a new News and Views covers the Iowa
Corn-Cam (and the Amazing Cow Cam). Roberto Rivera has a new Summa
Nonsensica that will lift your spirits. Plus: did you take this week's poll
on Capital Punishment? <http://www.breakpoint.org>
 ========================

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