Hello, I’m Elitist And Anti-Democratic
Poor homeschoolers can’t get a break.
It seems that with the California case a new backlash against homeschoolers has popped up. I blame myself, wondering out loud in January what would come next. The next seems to be that homeschoolers are now perceived as “elitist and anti-democratic” by some. Sheesh!
Dana has a great take on the LA Times article that I love. My only point of disagreement is on how much discussion was going on. While Dana saw hardly a word of it the California case was something I could not seem to avoid. My Google alert brought me emails full of terror and panic and assumptions, and more than a few times did I find the case brought up when I was least expecting it online. In fact I had to go so far as to stop following a few people as I was getting a handful of fear stricken posts each day from them on the matter. Clearly, I need to hang out where Dana does online.
But back to the article. It’s hard to take any article seriously that uses lines such as
It smacks of a belief that privileged children should not have to associate with the other kids in the neighborhood and that by staying home, they would not be subjected to the leavening effect of democracy.
It is almost like putting up a giant flashing billboard stating that the writers could only be bothered with a few minutes of research and even then only used outdated stereotypes from the 80s to describe homeschoolers. Privileged? Not associated with the neighborhood kids? Not subjected to democracy? What planet are these guys from?
homeschooling, homeschoolers, news
March 15th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Yeah, they should’ve seen my daughter’s 7th birthday party where 5 out of 7 girls were ‘from the neighborhood’. And, ‘privileged’? Most of the homeshooling families I know make major sacrifices to insure that one parent can stay home. In fact, I do not know one that lives in the biggest, most expensive homes in our area.
And, excuse me, but don’t public schools insure that kids are NOT exposed to a range of incomes/lifestyles/ages? If my daughter went to our local school, she would be grouped with kids of almost all the same socio-economic background. In homeschooling, we know families of all stripes, not just those from our town. And, my kids play with kids who are older or younger without blinking an eye.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:14 am
“Hello, Pot- I’m Kettle, so please to meet you.” :p
Methinks they assume too much, and take their status for granted. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
March 15th, 2008 at 8:15 am
“I’m Elitist and Anti-Democratic”
So am I. I knew there was a reason I liked you!
March 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I know it was out there…the majority of mentions in the forums I hang out in had to do with “I wish people would stop emailing me this stuff.” But I already knew my readers were cool and discerning and stuff.
March 15th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Glad to be elitist and anti-democratic. :p
March 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
And actually, my point was more about the problems with selective sampling than what homeschoolers may or may not feel. I’ve definitely seen what I’d call concern and a little anger, but to me panicking goes well beyond that.
If I do a web search for homeschooling and the CA decision, I’ll turn up more…because I’m looking for it. But if I just sit on the forums I’m active on? It is mostly people talking about field trips and reading strategies.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I agree with all of the above - we are definately not the “privileged” in our community if you count money, but we are certainly lucky to have our priorities straight. I was at a bday party this morning with my middle child where I was the only SAHM, definately the only homeschooler, and they all seemed to profess awe that I can stand my kids all day. Why did they have kids if they can’t stand them? That I will never understand, and it makes me sad. Now while we may not homeschool all the way up to college (I always reserve the right to choose every year) I especially think it can such a wonderful choice for families, not because we are “elitest” but because we believe in family first.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
The main thing that I see is that every child is different. So you can’t put them into a box of “this is right” and expect that to work out for every kid. It just isn’t logical. And there is only so much a teacher can do… but as a mama, with my specific children’s needs at heart (not just at mind), I can guide them to a new level of understanding. Not just of reading and the joy of learning, but of themselves, their boundries and their abilities to forge ahead in their OWN learning, and not just do the next busy work task put before them.
I guess some of those thoughts are “elitest” thoughts. I mean really, when you think about it, I believe my children diserve better than the subpar education I got. So if that is my label, I will take it… but wow. Being afraid of people who put their children’s needs first becuase of the people who abuse that right. Well, that seems short sighted in my opinion.
Val
March 17th, 2008 at 10:33 am
It smacks of a belief that privileged children should not have to associate with the other kids in the neighborhood…
Hey, we spent big bucks to buy a home in a neighborhood that’s safer, quieter, nicer, better-maintained and more closely knit than any other neighborhood in our town.
So I’m perfectly happy to have my son associate with the other kids in the neighborhood, and he does so regularly!
… and that by staying home, they would not be subjected to the leavening effect of democracy.
I think he means “leveling effect”, right? I mean, leavening means to infecting and lightening things.
Seems to me his word choice pretty much makes the argument FOR homeschooling. What parent in their right mind would want their child “infected” by something, or “lightened” (i.e., made less substantial) until they resemble others?
Bah. That writer didn’t just drink the Kool-Aid — he sounds like the type who’d try telling everyone else “It’s good for you! Try some!”
March 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Ha! I love it! My 20 year old brother-in-law recently called us elitist as well. I guess I’d rather be elitist than follow the “public school was good enough for me…” motto. I never want my children’s education to be “good enough”.