California Enforcing Homeschool Requirements
Post written by: beagooddad
It appears that California is going to start enforcing some of the rules for homeschooling families. The law says teachers in the homeschool must have teaching credentials.
Apparently the rule has been in the books since 1953 and those “statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child’s grade level.”
The homeschool teachers are of course angry but I wonder how many of those same parents would be offended if they sent their kids to a public/private school and found out the teacher there was not a licensed instructor.
There is a big difference between being a smart, loving person and being someone who is good at teaching kids how to do math and to read. There is even a big difference between teaching a 1st grader and a 4th grader how to study history.
For the record, I’m not saying that parents are not their kids’ best teachers, but if a parent is going to take the responsibility of educating their kids at home is it such a stretch for them to become certified to do so and maybe pick up a few tips along the way?
The judge happened to say something that I thought was amazingly ridiculous, though.
A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare.
Huh? Loyalty to the state and the nation? As a means of protecting the public welfare?
Sorry but I would prefer the primary purpose of the education system to be to teach kids reading, writing, arithmetic…and maybe how to balance a check book and why they shouldn’t sign up for a credit card just to get a free t-shirt. Oh and let’s throw in how to eat something besides McDonalds for three meals a day.
Learning how the government works is important and probably not really stressed enough in school but teaching patriotism and loyalty to the state and nation? Isn’t loyalty to the state and nation one of those things that the state and nation should be able to earn just by being a good state and nation?
In addition, I would prefer to never hear the term educational system ever again. Educational system? Whether that is grammatically right or not, I would prefer for it to go away.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
On soapbox: Nationwide, that should be the rule…..trained certified teachers for all students at home or school, private or public. States should provide basics to trained homeschool teachers and require periodic reviews. Too many homeschool students spend too much time sitting at the kitchen table filling in blanks in a workbook. I know they are not all like that but way too many are nothing more. Off Soapbox.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:24 am
So, many California homeschoolers freaked out when we learned of this decision. Then, we started reading more, and working to understand what really happened…
First, it should be noted that homeschoolers have been legally educating their children. The 1953 decision didn’t ban homeschooling, including those without credentials. In fact, California law currently allows homeschoolers to register with the state as a private school, only educating their own children. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association provides good information for all interested in the legalities of homeschooling in all states. Here’s the options for Californians.
Additionally, it’s important to understand that this recent decision not only wasn’t clear enough to forbid the currently legal homeschools, but it doesn’t change things today or tomorrow for those of use legally homeschooling here in California.
And to those ignorant enough to think that the government’s certificate is enough to make one qualified to teach, you should ask your own children’s public school teachers if they have any cohorts who shouldn’t be in the classroom.
I don’t mean to be so defensive, and I know that my observance of successful homeschooling and my own homeschooling is a limited experience. However, it should be noted that the majority of homeschool students achieve significantly higher in everything thrown at them, including college admissions, SAT scores, and even graduate school admission.
Taking a short investigation of the US’s history, you’ll find that many great Americans were homeschooled. Abraham Lincoln, Sandra Day Oconner, John Quincy Adams, John Rutledge, Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Florence Nightingale, John Jay, Thomas Edison, Robert E. Lee, Thomas Stonewall Jackson, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur , Booker T. Washington, Patrick Henry, Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all the “victims” of homeschooling. If any one of my kids turns out half as accomplished, they’ll be blessed to have been homeschooled. You’ll also find that homeschooler statistics even support the idea that homeschooling generally produces better human beings.
Just one more article that helps us understand some of the modern history of homeschooling in the USA.
I know that we all “know someone who was homeschooled.” Usually that statement includes socially limited kids who are horribly deficient. Let me tell you that those kids are not the norm, nor are they even very quantifiable in today’s modern homeschooling environment.
Feel free to wander over to my blog, find my contact info, and start up a conversation, if you’re interested in learning more about homeschooling.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:41 am
I agree that parents should be certified teachers to teach their children at home. Maybe that’s just because I have spent thousands of dollars to go to college to become a teacher though. But I do personally know a few people that were home schooled. I know this is not how it has to be, but yes, these people spent a few hours everyday filling out work books (their parents didn’t do any actual “teaching”), then they laid around and watched television the rest of the day. I also firmly believe that one of the main purposes of school is to teach individuals how to interact with one another. Not much interaction with others if you’re a home schooled only child. Yes, school is tough for some kids, yes home school may be more accommodating to a family’s schedule, but I think that parents who home school are denying their children a major life experience. I don’t know about you, but I felt pretty gosh darn proud when I walked across that stage to get my diploma…don’t think I would have had that same sense of accomplishment if I had just filled out my last workbook.
March 8th, 2008 at 11:31 am
This might be a little bit mean…but I think public school is a joke. I also think that this ruling is a bit of a joke. A 50 year old law that they’re now going to enforce?
I guess I understand the reasoning behind wanting home schoolers to be taught by certified teachers, but many of the “certified teachers” that I had in high school, and even college, were terrible teachers.
The best teachers that I’ve had were people with real world life experience in the subjects that they were teaching. I don’t put a lot of stock in teaching credentials as the state requires them. I honestly think that I could do just as good a job teaching my own children in my own home as well as the public school system could manage to.
I understand this is an unpopular and biased viewpoint, but as an adult I look back at public school with disappointment. I used to get in trouble in school because I was always so bored. I didn’t do drugs or anything, I just didn’t like to go to class because it was so slow paced and boring. Public school caters to the lowest common denominator, with few opportunities for gifted students to shine.
Every single person that I personally know who was homeschooled was a brilliant college student and very well adjusted. I know that’s my limited experience, but there it is.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Just a point to note, California does NOT require teachers in private schools to be credentialed. So, it’s a bit hypocritical to require homeschooling parents in California to be credentialed when it’s not even required of private school teachers in the state.