Education in America has reached a crisis point. Budget woes have finally stopped the incessant flow of cash into the public schools. As a result, cracks have started to show. In Wisconsin, the teachers’ union has staged protests in opposition to the govonor’s plan to end collective bargaining[i]. Locally, the state superintendint of schools has come under fire for suggesting an end to tenure and an increase in online classes. Not content with opposing the plan politically, his opponents have descended into destruction of personal property and stalking of his family[ii]. A teacher protest was followed by a week-long student walk out at area high schools[iii].
When compared with the demonstrations for freedom taking place in Africa and the Middle East, these protests are absurd. For the most part, the proposed legislation calls for more personal responsibility by both the teachers and the students. Nearly every other industry in the nation has faced catastrophic financial downturn. Faced with millions in budget shortfalls, the educators have chosen to stop teaching, to walk out of class, and to subvert the course of government rather than to adapt. In no other industry would this behavior by employees be tolerated.
Despite the chaos of the national education system, there is learning going on in America. Quietly, 1 ½ million children around the country are being educated by their parents. They are being taught according to their parents’ philisophical and moral standards. These students consistently score higher than their public school counterparts and are being educated at an average cost of less than $600 per child per year. They do not suffer from the “learning gaps” which afflict public school students based on gender, race, or socio-economic status.[iv] In addition, homeschool students are being given a moral and personal foundation which is largely missing in this nation. Whether they are authoring books while in their teens [v] or making national news for their personal stands[vi], the examples of personal ethics and achivement abound.
The effectiveness of homeschool education is no longer in question. The real question is how much longer the expensive, ineffective, method of public education will be tolerated by the country as a whole.
[i] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/02/28/police-let-protesters-stay-night-wis-capitol/?test=latestnews
[iii] http://www.ktvb.com/news/Students-walk-out-of-class-in-protest-of-education-reform-plan-117064878.html
[iv] Statistics taken from Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic Achievement and Demographics http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray2009/default.asp
[v] Alex & Brett Harris http://www.therebelution.com/books/authors.htm
Amen sista!:)
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