WHY HOMESCHOOL? ( Beginner Series 1 of 3 )

... Discover the REAL reasons why you should homeschool! ...

“The battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: A religion of humanity . . . utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to carry humanist values into whatever they teach . . .
“The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new — the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism . . .”
John J. Dunphy
Prize Winning Essay in The Humanist, Jan/Feb 1983

Why Homeschool?
( Beginner Series 1 of 3 )

Every homeschool family faces a myriad of questions about whether homeschooling is the right choice. You probably have, or will, face questioning and criticism from friends and family who think you've "lost your marbles". Since 1994 this workshop has been the key that has provided the encouragement for thousands of families. It directly addresses the reasons you need to do it for the protection of your children, and will encourage your heart that you can successfully educate your children and turn them into tomorrow's leaders. The handout is specifically designed to share with others the foundational reasons why you have chosen the excellence of homeschooling.

Go to Workshop Downloads

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

Outline

What is Homeschooling?
Who is Homeschooling?
Why do people Homeschool?

Philosophy of Education
Control of Education
Foundation of Public Education
Hidden Goals in Public Education
Analysis of Impact of Public Education
Spiritual Influence
Parental Responsibility
Academic Crisis
Well Being & Safety of Child
Parental Responsibility
The Big Questions:

Selected Highlights

THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 2,000,000+ HOMESCHOOLERS IN UNITED STATES [2003 Statistics]

no one really knows how many homeschoolers - many states don't require registration
average growth rates for homeschooling of about 7-15% per year
growth rate varies with community and events that take place (such as Columbine)
National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) 2003 Statistics

if all homeschoolers in their own state - would be 6th largest state in US *
only states larger public enrollment [2002 est by Institute of Education Sciences] *

there are more homeschoolers than public school enrollment in Idaho, New Hampshire, Maine, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Alaska, South Dakota, Delaware, North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, & District of Columbia COMBINED *

* NOTE: some statistics above are updated from what is shown on workshop slides

CONTROL OF EDUCATION

“In practice, the choice of values transmitted lies not with the child or the child’s family, but with the political majority or interest group in charge of the school system. . . . Even in those areas concerned with basic skills it is clear that teaching is never value-neutral, that texts, teachers, subject matter and atmosphere convey messages about approved and rewarded values and ideas. It is unlikely that any amount of “equal time” for other points of view will reduce this effect.”
     “The Supreme Court has eliminated religious indoctrination in public schools but . . . the imposition of secular values may constitute as significant an interference with first amendment values as the imposition of religious beliefs. Yet, except when dealing with overt instances of value inculcation such as compulsory flag salute, the Court has left the establishment of other ideologies untouched.”
        S. Arons and C. Lawrence,
        “The Manipulation of Consciousness:
        A First Amendment Critique of Schooling”,
        15 Harv. Civ. Rights-Civ. Lib. Law Rev. 309, 325 (1980)

FOUNDATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

Horace Mann, “the father of public education,” became the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837. … His goal was to create a non-sectarian school system, and he envisioned that education would bring salvation to society. He wanted to establish “a new religion, with the state as its true church, and education as its Messiah.” Mann stated:

“What the church has been for medieval man the public school must become for democratic and rational man. God will be replaced by the concept of the public good…The common schools…shall create a more far-seeing intelligence and pure morality than has ever existed among communities of men.”

Horace Mann and other proponents of public education were intent on reforming society by changing the values of children. Mann had little sympathy for Calvinists or Catholics, and he was determined to use every legal means — including state coercion in schooling [compulsory attendance] — to ensure that other people’s children were taught the truth as he understood it.
Richard Baer

HIDDEN GOALS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

“Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, toward sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you teachers to make all of these sick children well by creating the international children of the future.”
        Statements made by a Harvard University Professor
        at a 1973 teachers’ seminar
        as quoted in Schooling Choices,
        (Portland, Oregon: Multnomah, 1988) , 31

WHY HOMESCHOOL? ( Beginner Series 1 of 3 )