But mostly what bothers me about home schoolers is their arrogance. By turning up their noses at the local public school, they are making a very loud statement that they see no reason for their kids to meet ours, that their kids have no use for our children, either as friends or schoolmates. And that they certainly don't respect public school teachers.

Every thing in this paragraph is false. I homeschool my son. My son's best friends go to public school. I have great respect for public school teachers (the good ones, that is).

I just resent the implications of their choices. And feel sorry for their poor children, no matter what Ivy League school they will apparently all end up in.

And you're bothered by the arrogance of homeschoolers?

Wow.

...and I'll say it again here.

Public school is great for some kids. Home school is great for some kids. Some kids in home school should be in public school. Some kids in public school should be home-schooled. Kids, like people, are individuals, and benefit from having educational choices that best fit their personalities.

Suggesting that homeschooling is intrinsically worse than public schooling (or vice versa) is not one iota different than suggesting that all women should stay at home with the kids, or that homosexuals make bad parents. It is bigotry, fueled by willful ignorance.

That's a lot of asserting. 1 out of 100? Things that are "NEVER" taught in home school? What studies do you base all that upon? Or is it just your opinion, based on your observations of hundreds of homeschooling environments?

Those being hurt are the children as they will not be prepared to enter society.

I hate to pile on, but please provide evidence that homeschooled children are less "prepared to enter society" than public schooled kids.

I'll save you the google search. There isn't any.

Until you can resist the urge to come to conclusions in the utter absence of supporting evidence, you might want to consider not bragging about that Ph.D.

And if homeschooling is ducky, why have the homeschooling parent-posters ducked the poignant concerns raised by other posters in this thread?

Who's ducking what? There are only two concerns: academics and socialization. There is zero evidence to suggest that homeschooled kids fare worse in either regard. It's really just as simple as that. (Even if you want to throw in the "it hurts public schools" "concern," again, there is simply no evidence for this, whatsoever.)

And there's a reason why it makes homeschoolers defensive and frustrated. It implies that we've thought less about this than you, that we've not considered what's best for our children to the same degree that you have, when the opposite is usually the case. (And it's particularly frustrating when the person with baseless concerns doesn't even have kids.)

To illustrate my point:

What's wrong with asking a homosexual if he can control himself around children? Nothing, if there's evidence that homosexuals are more likely to be pedophiles. Everything, if there's no evidence that homosexuals are more likely to be pedophiles.

"Well, we're just concerned," is not a reasonable (or compassionate) response to a homosexual when it's an objective fact that homosexuals are not more likely to be pedophiles. Those "concerns" are usually thin disguises for prejudice and bigotry.

It's strange that you complain we're not reading, while not responding to a single point I made, and simply repeating yourself.

It doesn't matter what research in the 1950's suggested regarding the racial attitudes of forcibly segregated kids in classrooms, for two reasons. First, it simply doesn't apply to the situation of schooling small numbers of kids at home in America 50 years later. Second, and most importantly, there is no evidence that homeschooled kids do worse socially than kids who go to public school.

Seriously, though, you're disappointed? I repeat the fact that there's no evidence to support a concern and you bring up half-century old social research involving a dramatically different social dynamic?

If there doesn't exist any evidence supporting the notion that homeschooled kids do worse than kids who go to public school, aren't you intellectually obligated to hold off on coming to conclusions on the matter?

Again, I'll ask, if one has "concerns," what's wrong with asking a homosexual if he can control himself around children?

laurel962 has been blatently dishonest about unschooler's past letters and her positions. Why would I care about her concerns?

You're disappointed in homeschoolers? Below your last post is a post from Bridget Moore (one you sadly agreed with). Earlier she wrote that homeschoolers don't respect teachers or schools and that they're arrogant (amazingly she said this while saying she feels sorry for our children; without knowing us or our kids, what could be more arrogant?). Several people responded and said, "I respect teachers and schools." Her response to this? She simply repeats herself, practically sticking her fingers in her ears and humming. And then she actually says, "And no matter what you say, I think you home school for your convenience, your ego, or some fanatic belief you hold that you don't want public education to erode in your children."

This is no different from telling a homosexual, "No matter what you say, I think you're sexually attracted to children."

It's intolerance and bigotry, pure and simple.

Conversations with strident anti-homeschoolers are very similar to conversations with young-earth creationists. Objective evidence is secondary to personal perception.

I was a teacher for many years before we decided to homeschool. Some of the best people I ever met were and are teachers.

(This is Bridget Moore's cue to cover her ears and say, "I'm not listening! La-la-la-la-la!)

As a former professional teacher, and having actually interacted for years with homeschooling families, it's my opinion that, just like in public school, homeschooling families have good teachers and bad teachers.

I'll repeat, despite the aversion to scientific thinking here, that there is no evidence that parents are worse teachers than teachers.