Controversies: Some Unscrupulous People Give Home-school a Black Eye
By Mimi Rothschild
Although home-school families are by and large upstanding people, several recent cases involving home-school families have given home-school a black eye in the mind of the public. While most parents, whether they home-school or not, wouldn't dream of such behavior, several recent well-publicized cases show some parents using home-school as a cover for the neglect and abuse of their children. In these cases, critics of home-school often point out that if the child had been in school, a teacher, school nurse, or counselor would have been able to report the abuse sometimes years before local authorities caught on. Home-school advocates point out that these people are not indicative of the vast majority of home-school families; however, that declaration does little to repair the image of home-school in the wider community.
So how can your home-school family cope with these new criticisms and suspicious looks from family members, friends, and other members of the community? Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a lot that you can do. Living your life well, treating your children well and remaining a committed, involved and upstanding member of your community, however, will help demonstrate how good home-school can be. It will also show that home-school does not breed abusive parents; it is simply another cover for abusive parents' unacceptable behavior. The best way to counter that image, then, is not to withdraw, but to remain a model for positive parenting in your community. Showing by example is perhaps the most powerful tool you can use to convince people that home-school is a positive thing for families.
Another step you can take is to write letters to your newspaper editor extolling the virtues of home-school for kids. An even better step might be to make sure that the press is alerted when a home-school child in the area does something notable. Keeping the local press in the loop with regard to the social and academic achievements of home-school kids increases the chances that home-school will be covered in a positive light in your local newspaper and television stations. If a home-school child wins a national essay contest or science fair or an award for community service, allow the press to cover it and grant them interviews. In this way, you can help the larger community to see all the well-adjusted families who choose home-school.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.
Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.
An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.Electronic reproduction of this article is permitted if content is published unchanged, appropriate credit is given, and the article title links to corresponding article webpage.
