Parents: The Quandary Of The Liberal Homeschooler

Being a liberal homeschooler must feel a little strange right now, what with conservative Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum touting homeschooling as a model for education while at the same time liberal-leaning education writer Dana Goldstein has been calling homeschoolers out for prioritizing short-term individual benefit over longer term collective good.  This isn't the only instance where this dynamic is happening, however. Liberal criticism of mainstream school reforms (NCLB waivers, Race to the Top) often parallels criticisms from conservative groups and candidates, while at the same time civil rights groups are working furiously behind the scenes to preserve those very same laws.  Tell that to a liberal critic of NCLB or charter schools and watch his or her head explode.

Comments

[RG146]

I don't think anyone can doubt the effectiveness of distance learning and online education these days, from a technical delivery point of view anyway. If the benefits can be clearly articulated and the shortfalls adequately addressed then the different interest groups surely must get on board, if not overtly, then behind the scenes. A flexible model combining online learning with classroom attendance has been shown to work well.

[Mary]

Commentators are commenting on commentators, not on the real world. Home schooling is cool with "liberals; it can be progressive. you rescue your kid for a while by gathering around him a group of other disaffected youth, tag-team with the other parents' areas of interest, and teach them the IB curriculum with labs and field projects, community orchestra, play reading, performance art, and community activism. It's easy to find a diverse group of creative kids, from all ethnic and economic backgrounds, whose educations hang by an unraveling thread at some point. Bring them onboard.

We did it in Davis for two years. It was an emergency, to save our kids, and no "liberal" pretends that those emergencies don't happen. Even cooler, though, is when I can stay in a classroom and rescue them right there; support that effort, please, whatever you call yourself. No kidding.