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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My biggest problem with homeschooling is that parents are not trained educators. If we are going to require compulsory schooling for children (and I think universal schooling is just about the best idea that came out of the last century), then we should require that the people who educate children have the skills and training to do it.[/quote]

While I see where you are going with this, remember that teachers have to take a general education series of classes, and then the remainder of their classes teach them how to teach different kids of different backgrounds/socioeconomic status/language differences/ etc., as well as how to manage a classroom, teaching "theory", etc.  Just think about all the 2nd career teachers there (CEO in another life, now a teacher) out there who launch right into a classroom and haven't had a specific teaching background (and while they are teaching, take some teaching classes to get a state certification.  All these classes are teaching are things related to teaching a wide variety of students and classroom management/theory kinds of things).

In the case of homeschooling you are teaching your OWN child, and not any others, and assumedly you already know how your kid learns and you don't have to do any adapting...and you don't have a classroom to manage, and you aren't using any particular teaching theory to manage your one child...who knows how your kid learns better than you? (think about it--right now, if your kid had to memorize definitions for 20 vocabulary words, don't you already know whether he would learn them better by writing them 20 times each, using flashcards, or making up a song?)

many (if not most) of the homeschool parents I have talked to recently actually DONT actually teach their kids.  They may supplement what the kids are learning online using a curriculum that is taught by a "real" teacher, but they themselves are not teaching.  (This I know is not the case for all homeschool parents, just saying most I know).

For example, my homeschooled daughter is taking her classes from professors at the University of Indiana.  But, I supplement what she is learning for example by helping her secure an internship outside of school which meshes well with one of her classes.

There are a lot of homeschool parents who feel comfortable teaching some subjects and not others. For example, I know an anthesiologist who homeschools-and she teaches her kids all of the science classes, but laughs when it comes to English kinds of classes and she uses online programs for those subjects.

One thing that HAS surprised me is that (at least in my discussions with homeschool families) the families are generally HIGHLY educated (many have masters degrees, doctorates etc).

Universal schooling IS one of the best ideas that has come out of the last century. I agree with you. However, the problem is that "universal" is not "universal". It may work for your kid but it does not work for mine.  Put your kid in a situation where he develops cancer, throw him in a hospital room every few weeks and having to see 9 different specialists when he isn't in the hospital, (none of which happen to make appointments at night and on weekends to make it convenient to work around a school schedule) and miss at least 30% of his school days.  And then see whether you think public school is "universal".  Not even close....not for every kid.

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