Izzy Lyman, author of the book The Homeschooling Revolution
Homeschooling Comes of Age, 10 September 2007, Ludwig von Mises Institute
A teenage lawyer/budding author, however, wouldn’t surprise John Taylor Gatto, an outspoken critic of compulsory education laws and a former New York State Teacher of the Year. Writing in Harper’s Magazine, Gatto forthrightly argued that “genius is as common as dirt.”
Perhaps. But it’s also understandable that when everyday folks hear about the homeschooled Joeys and Caitlins and Micahs, they become a tad intimidated as if this educational choice were the exclusive domain of obsessive-compulsive moms and dads with money to burn, time to spare, and a brood of driven, Type-A offspring.
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In a legal sense, homeschools serve as a glaring reminder of a complex issue that has become the stuff of landmark Supreme Court cases: does the state have the authority to coerce a youngster to attend school and sit at a desk for 12 years? Whether said child has the aptitude and maturity for such a long-term contract (or is it involuntary servitude?) remains an uncomfortable topic because, in the acceptable mantra of the day, “education is a right.”
Such a national conversation is long overdue, as there are plenty of signs costly remedial education and rising dropout rates, to name two to indicate that the status quo public school model isn’t kid-friendly.
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It was 1969 when the late Dr. Raymond Moore initiated an inquiry into previously neglected areas of educational research. Two of the questions that Moore and a team of like-minded colleagues set out to answer were (1) Is institutionalizing young children a sound, educational trend? and (2) What is the best timing for school entrance?
The entire article is worth a read.
posted by Valerie
Karen Davis said on September 19, 2007
A truly excellent article! I had already read it after it was posted on a homeschooling high school list. Then I forwarded it to all my lists (something that I do only when it is really good). I thought it was insightful, funny, and well balanced between showing that homeschooling can be for both the “prodigies” and ordinary average wonderful kids, too.