207: It’s true, I Only Homeschool to Piss Off Other People, Part II

I also homeschool to piss off the NEA.

This seems to have worked.

In 1988 (when they decided that, if they could not prevent homeschooling, the next best thing they might do is try to regulate it), they passed a resolution against homeschooling that they’ve trotted out and passed again every year since:

The National Education Association believes that homeschooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.

The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools. The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting.

I love the part where, simultaneously, they believe that homeschooling  “cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience,” and that students should not be permitted to participate in public school programs (where, presumably, students do get this comprehensive education).

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the NEA’s resolution against homeschooling isn’t about providing the best education to students, but is about controlling the monopoly on education they’ve long enjoyed.

Let’s look at the statements individually:

The National Education Association believes that homeschooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.

Here, the focus isn’t actually on homeschooling, but on parental choice.  If you’re a public school parent reading this, you should be shrieking.  The NEA does not believe that parental choice cannot result in a “comprehensive education experience.”

When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress.

First, the NEA wants homeschoolers to be enrolled (not all states require this of homeschoolers; some do). Second, that they follow state curricula (no state requires this of homeschoolers). Third, that they follow the state’s testing and assessment (again, some states require this, others do not). Again, if you’re the parent of a public school student, you should be questioning the latter two premises — in every state, they impact you more than they do us.

Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians.

I find this one fascinating in light of the rise of hybrid public school/ homeschool programs, and the adoption of K-12 online programs by public schools in over half the states. Under the guidelines of most of these programs, the public school contracts with K-12 for curricula, they get a new public-school-at-home student, and the family gets a pay out (usually somewhere around $1,200 per student) to use for books, supplies, and lessons (karate, ballet, piano, Japanese, etc.). In many places, homeschoolers can access these programs part time, retaining their homeschooling status and freedoms while taking a few of the K-12 classes. It’s interesting that the NEA doesn’t have a similar resolution against these programs that bring in so much funding.

Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.

This is the crux of the resolution: keeping the monopoly on education by limiting teachers to those who have gone through teacher training programs.

The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

This one is fascinating, and I’ve never been quite sure what to make of it. I suspect that preventing homeschooler participation in extracurricular activities is a bid to cut down on interactions between homeschoolers and public schoolers. One of the conversations that I’ve had with public school faculty is that it’s “not fair” that homeschoolers “cherry pick” classes when they choose to take them at their local schools. I maintain that what’s “not fair” is that this educational freedom isn’t open to all students. (Of course, as we saw above, parental choice in educational matters can’t result in a “comprehensive edcuation experience”). If more public schoolers had contact with homeschoolers at extracurricular activities, the public schoolers might decide they want the same choices and freedoms homeschoolers enjoy.

The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting.

This is pretty much universally the case. However, since most schools simply assign students to grades based on their age (regardless of test scores, previous experience, boredom, or, at the other end of the spectrum, struggling), this resolution doesn’t really seem necessary.

So there you have it.  I homeschool to piss off the NEA.