Does Homeschooling Make You a Bad Person?

This article title just SCREAMS for attention!

“If You Send Your Kid to Private School, You Are a Bad Person.” 

I’m sure the author chose the title just so people would get upset enough to share it with friends.  A “bad” person?  Really?

Her thesis is simple. “If every parent sent every single child to public school, schools would improve. Not immediately, could take generations, mediocre educations in the meantime, but worth it for the eventual common good.”

I read the title, tried to absorb her message, and though, “Wow! Time for a therapy session with friends!” I shared the article with my Facebook friends, so we could all share our feelings together, and encourage one another. It feels so much better to get the support from friends!

The problem is the “common good” by WHOSE definition. My definition of greater good is definitely different. I saw this earlier this morn. The writer is a big time socialist. Judging from the comments on the article, thankfully, very few agree with this nonsense. ~ Dani

Eliminating competition to improve failing schools? Not. Would she use a surgeon for a heart transplant who had several medical malpractice suits against him? You know, like to help him get better by providing surgical opportunities? ~ Lois

I had to laugh at one of the first points to defend their argument which was that I can fix whatever they are missing at home and they will be fine. That is 100% true. However, if I have to spend 2 hours a day helping them with homework and tutoring to fill in the gaps of learning they missed and reprogramming behaviors etc., with only 2 more hours I could have homeschooled them for the whole day AND had time left over to play with them and do activities as a family! ~ Heather

It took me awhile to figure out if this article was a joke. I’m going to go ahead and assume it is, because the logic is just ridiculous. ~ Amanda

She is clearly a product of her public school indoctrination education. Sacrifice your kids for the eventual greater good?? ~ Lisa

I’m sorry, getting drunk before school basketball games is NOT acceptable sacrifice for my children for the “future common good.” I’m so blown away by though, I can’t even gather my thoughts! ~ Holly

I wouldn’t want to have to carry water very far in that bucket, that’s for sure! For real? The value I see in reading the article is being forced to think through the seemingly well-formed but nonsensical ideas the writer puts forth.~ Kathy

Wow. She’s kind of crazy. I should sacrifice my children for the greater good? Um, no. We tried that for a few years. They can have my tax money, but hands off my kids. ~ Catherine

I’m thinking this article is not written to be taken seriously? If so, WOW is all I have to say and huh? ~ Jennifer

My kids are not guinea pigs. ~ Christian

No, I am not a bad parent! I am a parent who wants security, peace of mind, and the ability to help choose what guides my children’s education. That is sort of like the great vaccine debate amongst parents. My child is not a guinea pig is a very accurate statement! Each of my children’s little hearts beat in my womb… they are treasured and irreplaceable! This article has to be a joke! ~ Lora

I guess I’ll just be a “bad” parent. ~ Marcia

No thanks! This article has to be a joke! My children are precious and will not be sacrifice for the greater good. ~ Donna

How can she fix the problems at home when she herself has admitted to not having a proper education? Isn’t that a bit like the blind leading the blind? ~ Anna

At some points she sounds like she’s being facetious but the point she is making is clear… Sacrifice your kids now for the possible change for the future. ~ Jessica

The idea that the institution is more important that the child must never cease to amaze us if we hope to positively impact education in this country! The author of this article thinks we should sacrifice a couple generations for the future… generations who will then be responsible for that future. And she wants us to base our faith in her judgement on her own experience? She makes the case against herself with her lack of logic. Thanks for the added inspiration to always offer children something more, my own and those whose parent’s can’t make the choices I do. We can help local schools a lot even if our children do not attend them. Have fun shaping a better future today, my fellow parents and teachers of all educational options! ~ Holly

Are you sure this was Slate, not The Onion? ~ Tamarah

It was Slate, I posted about this yesterday in a few homeschool groups. I’m deeply upset by this article and her reasoning is truly horrendous. What happens when in a few generations things have not gotten better? ~ Kristen

I thought this must be a joke at first. Then the author seemed serious on some points. But it’s so ludicrous, it must be a joke. ~ Tricia

The article is so flawed and illogical. Sacrificing the good of your child to hopefully someday improve the government school..? Liberalism. ~ Christy

She states she did not have a good education, and it shows. How will this improve in a few generations? You will have less and less education at schools and more and more at home. Hey!!!! HOMESCHOOL, what an interesting concept. Hmmm maybe she has a point….~ Alexandra

I decided YEARS ago, that was a FAILED argument. I’m not putting MY child on THAT altar. Nope. We are Homeschooling. No apologies required. ~ Dana

We should just sacrifice our children for the “greater good” while the bureaucrats spend years trying to reinvent the wheel. no thanks! ~ Sasha

They have had generations of experimenting and not listening to us. They failed the test. I have no interest in allowing them to continue the experiment in social engineering only to HOPE that someday it might work out for all our good. Raising kids God’s way is the best way to help our society as a whole and to help our children reach their full potential and purpose.their idea of what is good- their goals and mine are two very different things. ~ Don

Wait, I need to go punch a punching bag for a few minutes before I tackle this one. maybe do some deep breathing too. Amazing. ~ Yvonne

The funny thing is, they keep claiming their solution to fixing the problem is getting the kids younger and younger. We now have 2 year olds going to “preschool.” Soon they will say to drop the kids off on our way home from the hospital and the education system will still be a disaster. ~ Sasha

This is outrageous. She can’t possible have any children. I have never heard anyone that had kids refer to them as ‘spawn’. I bet she thinks Common Core is good, too. Wow. Just wow. ~ Charlotte

Either this is the most ignorant and uneducated piece I’ve ever read or a brilliant satire. I can’t decide. ~ Diana

We’d have ourselves a generation that sets the bar at mediocre then complains when they can’t even get to that. We would send ourselves to the dark ages through lost of knowledge and sheer lack of knowledge transfer. ~ Pauline

Sacrifice. now for some future generation’s supposed utopia? It sounds like she’s been drinking from the cup of idyllic communism. ~ Shannon

Hmm, that Michael Jackson song echoes through my mind, “Ya know, I’m bad…I’m bad…” Not that I’m an MJ fan, but I’m totally okay with being this woman’s definition of “bad”. ~ Dixie

It’s written to provoke discussion. The author was very successful in baiting you all. ~ Greta

I like to think that the author was taking a sarcastic tone in a persuasive article. I had to read it twice (once for me and once to my homeschooled high school son) and we both got a kick out of it. This piece is “dripping with sarcasm” as they say. ~ Karie

I read the article and had several thoughts about it. First one? A spoof, such as one might find on the onion. As I read further, that thought diminished. The next thought was the author is childless. Who else would choose to sell their children short? If EVERY child in America went to public school, this nation would be in much worse trouble than the current state of affairs. ~ Janet

This was so outrageous that I had to double check that it wasn’t published by The Onion. ~ Dominique

Last year Slate attacked homeschoolers in, “Liberals, don’t homeschool your kids.” This year, it’s private schoolers. I think if your public school is like a swimming pool filled with crud, leaving your kids enrolled in hopes that they’ll act like little magical filters is just a good way to end up with cruddy kids.  ~ Tavia

While I agree with most of you (wondering if this was spoof, agreeing that it’s a flawed argument etc), she does make some important and good points. When we take our kids out of the system – for whatever reason – we do potentially hurt the system by removing our concern from the system. If no one is there advocating for the good of the kids, it won’t get better. I don’t plan to “sacrifice my children for the common good” either. But if my kids are in the system, I WILL work my tail off to make sure they get the best possible education within that system. AND my work will make it better for everyone even if it can’t change everything (or “anything” tangible). My effort could be contagious to and encouraging to other parents. And because I care about my kids (etc), they likely will succeed IN ANY SYSTEM. Her point is well taken. Also, there is much to be learned from having a 2nd rate teacher, from kids from different (esp. not so good) backgrounds, etc. Like compassion, thankfulness, patience, and not needing to have everything “just so” in order to learn or succeed. ~ Melanie

Some kids can succeed wherever they are. Some kids won’t succeed no matter what you do for them. But our responsibility is to make sure that our children receive the best we can give them. If that means sacrificing time and energy in schooling them at home or in a private school, then so be it. There will always be some parents that see the system as working for them and they don’t see why we all don’t want to be involved in it. But, I have seen what it’s not doing. I have seen people that have graduated high school that cannot write a complete sentence correctly, and they don’t know how to find an answer without expecting someone else to find it for them. They have not been taught to think for themselves, because the “system” has taught them that it knows best. ~ Connie

In English classes, I hated trying to find the “thesis statement” in an essay but I think I got it, this time! The author says, “I’m not proud of my ignorance. But guess what the horrible result is? I’m doing fine. I’m not saying it’s a good thing that I got a lame education. I’m saying that I survived it, and so will your child…” ~ Sandee

I would be interest in reading what she would have to say if she applied this rational to other areas in her life. Like ‘sacrificing’ her husband, his employment, their healthcare etc., for the greater good of others.

If this article is real, her thinking is very flawed. ~ Ruth

The public school is not my responsibility. I’ve done my bit by already PAYING for their “free” education. ~ Jo

 

I feel so much better after reading through all these comments!  Would you like to unload?  We will be glad to listen!  Share your comments here!

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