Enough with the grandstanding. Any objections to homeschooling are meant with defensiveness and demonization of public schools and those who question homeschooling.

I question homeschooling because I've seen it in action--and these are the kind of homeschoolers of which O'Hehir would approve--not religious zealots, but liberal types.

And it still concerns me--the parents aren't objective and most of them are not strong at the give-and-take of argument. None of them even has much experience with any children besides their own.

I really hadn't given homeschooling a lot of thought until one homeschooling parent started sending me idiotic, ill-informed tracts from her homeschooling mail-list. Then I realized what a *bad* teacher the mom was (not to mention she'd already been seeing a therapist for depression--24/7 with young kids ain't great for depression)--she parroted what she wanted to hear and didn't doublecheck or analyze. Wasn't patient with the kids either. Ugh.

My concern further deepened when I met some emotionally and physically abused young adults who had been "homeschooled"--i.e. neglected under the cover of homeschooling

(and while this isn't the norm, let's quit pretending that homeschooling hasn't been used as a cover for concealing abuse.)

Now I have an old acquaintance who's "homeschooling" her emotionally disturbed child because she doesn't want to face up to the child's problems. She's a major proponent of homeschooling--but she lacks the knowledge and judgment to deal well with the situation. Homeschooling can also be just another form of denial.

I know one homeschooling situation that's okay--kids are happy, the mom is happy. It's a situation many homeschooling parents would consider idyllic. Me, I see nothing value-added via homeschooling. The children could do all the things they do while attending school. But it's not actively destructive, so good enough. If this were the norm for homeschooling, I wouldn't bother to post--but I see no sign that it is.

I noticed in the 2009 DOE report on homeschooling that fewer than half of homeschooling parents had completed college. You really think they're educational experts?

Can you even admit that the lack of education with these parent teachers *might* be an issue?

You see, that's the giveaway. You homeschooling defenders lack a basic credibility because you can't admit how bad homeschooling can be. Very different than with those of us who use the public schools--we know the schools vary and that not all school experiences are good.

So should Andrea Yates been allowed to have homeschooled her children?

Should homeschooling parents be exempt from the qualifications we require from the lowliest public-school teacher?

Are you high-end homeschoolers willing to admit that there are homeschooling situations about which all of us should be concerned?

That more than half of homeschooling parents have not completed college is not an anecdote, but a large-scale fact.

My "horror" stories do, indeed, represent homeschooling. You may not like them, but they're what I've seen. If I hadn't, honestly, I wouldn't care. I am talking about homeschooling among people I know--so not horror stories, per se. Your term, not mine. just the sad every dayness of life.

But, as I expected, you marginalized them. They don't count, somehow. Well, why not? The parents all have college educations--one even has teaching experience (and, no, not the relatively good situation.)

The lack of accountability and honesty in the homeschooling movement bothers me for that reason.

Are there bad public-school situations? Yes, of course. However, despite the talk of public schools being lock-down facilities, they're far more open than a family. A failed school is a matter of public record, not so a bad homeschooling situation.

And that's a big difference.

(and Andrew if you're still there--there are no all-day Kinders in my family's insanely competitive district--that trend is mainly the result of an attempt to get disadvantaged kids on track. It's far from universal.)

No, Oliverks,

It's not being elitist to think that training, experience and education count for something. I'd say it's elitist to assume that it doesn't. Why should I presume that my kid's teacher's learned nothing in 30 years? Or offers nothing of value?

I'm not going to pull out every negative thing said about public schools here in these letters--you're being disingenuous to ask for it.

Your labeling me as a "bigot" because my personal knowledge of homeschooling situations makes me concerned, however, is a nice example of demonizing. You're not addressing my concerns, you're attempting to marginalize them by throwing a loaded term at me.

You see, my concerns can't be honest concerns--no, they have to the result of "bias" or "bigotry". How very convenient as this spares you from actually having to really think about the examples I gave and WHY they should concern all of us. What is it you think is behind my bias? Maybe it's those first-hand examples. Nah, couldn't be anything as simple as seeing bad homeschooling situations up close and personal.

However, maybe it's *your* bias and your bigotry that causes you to dismiss any negative stories about homeschooling.

Because you're defensive about homeschooling, you don't engage my concerns--you attack. And that's one of my points.

Another poster mentioned tests--yes, there's some standardized requirements--but tests are quite limited indicators of how well a child as learning. Most don't measure writing skills well and few assess critical thinking.

I'll say it again--most homeschoolers didn't have the chops to graduate from college. Your average teacher has a masters. See the difference? Or is it just easier to shrug your shoulders and pretend educational levels have nothing to do with educational attainment?

As for studies, I haven't seen good ones--in terms of controls and size. Now, there's where you see a bias issue.