Teachers and Homeschoolers
Linda of The Joyful Journey posted 6 reasons why she said her children will never go to public school. It is a great list, one that I keep going back to to read over and over again. Many of her reasons I find myself agreeing with completely.
What made me stop a moment is that Linda is a public school teacher herself.
I am a certified teacher and my arguments against public schools are based on experience and observations from more than 20 years of association with and involvement in public schools.
In my experience I’ve met teachers who are homeschooling their own children, teachers who are fine with homeschooling, and then there are the ones who hate homeschooling with a passion. It seems that, at least online, I’ve met many teachers who look at homeschooling from a place of fear and uncertainty. It almost seems to be a threat to them, that some parents might choose not to use them. That is where we get remarks like this:
I taught for a while, theatre, of course, and would like to put my 17 years of experience up against any home school instructor. I think most teachers feel that way. It’s an insult to think that someone can teach algebra, or physics, or Russian from a pamphlet and a book.
And who can forget this fun rant from an angry teacher in Florida:
Don’t come to Florida homeschoolers!!!! We have the Florida Comprehansive Assessment Test, ALONG WITH THE other REQ. TESTS.
WE ARE PROPOSING MAKING YOU PASS THE FCAT TO GET A G.E.D. If you homeschool, you WON’T PASS THAT TEST. GOOD LUCK.
As the homeschooling rates continue to rise we are seeing more and more parents who are saying no to public schools. Does this mean an increase in angry teachers who sem to be threatened? Or could there be an increase of teachers who “get it” and are fine with it?
homeschooling, school, teachers, education, rants
November 6th, 2007 at 8:15 am
I’m so lucky that most public school teachers I have met are totally cool with us homeschooling. In fact, I’ve been told so many times that they wished they could quit teaching other people’s kids and stay home and teach their own.
I’m not a threat in any way to school teachers. I wish I could understand why they feel that way.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:38 am
As a former public school teacher from a family of public school teachers who now homeschools her three children I am right with Linda. When I got pregnant and quit teaching I took one look at the teachers lounge full of teachers I had taught with and who had taught me and said, “There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY those teachers are getting their hands on my kids.” It took a while to win our families over but even they have to admit that it is working. (And they do, albeit grudging.) Being friends with many public school teachers and growing up surrounded by them I have learned that the best way to help a public school teacher cope with homeschooling is to answer gently and let your children and their behavior be the witness. I know a lot of teachers who answer angrily because they have been attacked so often.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:46 am
It’s been VERY encouraging (and surprising) how many of my daughter’s professors at her secular university “get it”. They are very respectful of homeschooling. Several times in Darcy’s classes when other students have gone on rants about homeschooling, it has been the professors that have spoken up and supported homeschooling as an excellent option. I think they, more than elementary and/or secondary teachers have seen the success of homeschooling first hand in their students and can’t argue with the success. Thanks for using my list!!
November 6th, 2007 at 9:55 am
That was very interesting. I have been thinking of homeschooling more and more lately.
November 6th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
[...] fyi, I’ve been quoted once again on Summer’s site. I never intended to become the bad guy or the focal point for the home school nations ire, but, so [...]
November 6th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
I just don’t understand where the hatred for school teachers comes from. Not even just public schools in general, but school teachers. It’s like you take all the bad stuff about public schooling and throw out the good. I realize I have done the same for home schooling at times, but I also know very intellegent home schooled adults who are beaming examples of home schooling done well, and I state that.
“There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY those teachers are getting their hands on my kids.”
How sad to throw such a geneal wet blanket on individuals who give thier life to children. Don’t throw out the entire bushel because of one or two bad apples. You are doing the exact same thing that you are accussing public school supporters of doing.
November 6th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
my dear bryan, it is not hatred for school teachers, but knowing what goes on in the public school. if you have ever spent any time in a teacher’s louge, you would wonder why anyone makes makes a comment about the men’s locker room. yes, there are some good teachers out there, but the system soon ruins them and they must become concerned with nothing but testing and keeping kids from killing each other.
and as far as the comment of throwing out the entire bushel because of one or two bad apples, when the bad far outweights the good, the sacrifice is not worth it.
November 6th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Bryan, if you had read the psot you would have seems it is not a hatred of teachers. It is being tired of teachers who hate homeschooling yet know little or nothing about it. The ones who come in on the attack because for whatever reason they feel threatened that there is any other choice than themselves.
That most certainly does not cover all teachers, and I’m willing to bet that does not cover most teachers. But the ones who are like that, well it gets old after a while.
November 7th, 2007 at 11:02 am
I have a dear friend who is about to be a homeschool graduate. She is visiting colleges and has discovered that over HALF of the professors she has met with are homeschool parents, including the Dean of Admissions (I think; it may have been the Dean of Fine Arts) at one of our “theatre schools” here in Alabama, the University of Montevallo. She has been shocked at the level of support she’s received because of her homeschool background, even from the liberal arts side. It seems to me it’s usually the sciences that love homeschoolers because of our ability to grasp difficult concepts…good to see the “liberal” side of education is on the bandwagon too! And public education at that…
November 7th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Oops, submitted too early…
I also wanted to stress that her parents are extremely well educated…one is a doctor and the other was a prosecuter in juvenile court in Texas.
I didn’t read an ounce of hatred for public school teachers in your post, not like the crazy anti-homeschooling rants you mentioned or other posts that have been totally full of hatred for homeschoolers.
Public schooling has it’s place, just like homeschooling does. My sister Katie has won numerous awards in our state theater competitions because of the grace of a private school theater teacher who gave her the chance to participate…and now she’s in school on Broadway…
Can’t we all just get along?
June 12th, 2008 at 11:55 am
My two oldest children (of five) go to public school. They were very wary of us at first. They are doing extremely well socially and educationally. Hannah, my eldest, is in line for Valedictorian. My second, Rebekah, is one year ahead of her peers, and still doing very well. They are VERY close. The teachers have talked to Hannah and told her that she and her sister have helped to completely change their minds about homeschooling. (They don’t talk to Rebekah much because her nose is usually stuck in a book. Hannah is more social.) We CAN win teachers over, but it takes patience and telling those who are doing a bad job of homeschooling to get with the program and stop making the rest of us look bad!