These days, it’s increasingly common to read about schools searching out homeschooled students. Usually, however, the stories are about colleges actively recruiting homeschooled students.
Not this time:
Teachers, starved for technology, are bounty hunting homeschooled children.
Such is the case in Mason County, Ky., where The Ledger Independent reports that local public school teachers are being encouraged to make house calls to dropouts and homeschoolers alike, convincing them to return to school.
For each student that rejoins the fold and stays for a year, the teachers receive new technology in their classrooms.
While it’s disturbing that homeschoolers are being equated with dropouts, I’m more concerned with the reasoning of Superintendent Tim Moore, who is behind this clever idea.
When asked to defend his attack on home educators, he replied, “Education is more than learning in books.” He added, “social aspects of school are important as well,” according to the article.
Frankly, I’ve never understood what the allegedly beneficial “social aspects of school.” I recall classrooms filled with students trying to break the rules behind the teacher’s back in order to impress their peers, kids who were chubby or who wore glasses being or who just looked different being chased and sometimes “pantsed” or “canned” or just beat up by gangs of brats wearing designer clothes, smart children who acted stupid in order to make friends and girls who slunk around with caved-in shoulders to disguise their developing bodies from the taunting and leering eyes of their friends. And, before you ask, I was usually among the worst offenders.
Most “socialization” in the public schools seems to teach merely this: those with the fastest punch, the slyest tricks, the snidest attitude or the most expensive clothes are inherently more worthy of attention — be it good or bad. Teachers can do little to nothing about this, aside from sending a particularly unruly child to the principal’s office (which achieves the kid’s goal of getting both attention and out of class) and principals don’t have the time or legal power to do much more than make phone calls to parents too busy to care. And as for the ‘social aspects’ of classwork, most kids learn by second grade to do as little as possible in order to pass. Not to excel, mind you, just pass.
Nevertheless, the Superintendant of the Mason County schools believes he’s doing a service for students by pulling them out of one-on-one home education programs where children learn to work on their own, get along with adults, and take pride in their behavior, their efforts and their accomplishments.
I can only assume that with logic like his, he’s a product of the public school system himself.
Friday, September 22nd, 2006, 12:41 pm | 
Education Bites, School Bites | 
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September 22, 2006 at 12:52 pm
I am very happy with our homeschool experience, especially considering the poor DODS options in Korea. Socialization is no problem at all – there are Scouts, sports, Sunday School, homeschool group trips etc. etc. etc.
I have been completely impressed with the progress my wife has made with both the kids this year compared to all previous years of public edumocation
September 22, 2006 at 9:04 pm
One of the reasons we started homeschooling our kids was the bullying my oldest son got. We had to keep a very close eye on him after it started because bullys don’t hit in front of the teacher. In a world where “fighting” gets both kids suspended, the bully who hates school can’t loose. To her credit, after we threatened to sue the school the principal did the right thing. She gave my son the right to fight back. The last time the bully came at him my son walked towards him, not away from him. The bully backed off and never bothered him again.
September 22, 2006 at 9:13 pm
There is something else that bothers me about this case. What do the children and parents get for returning their kids to school? When we started home schooling we visited the local school district to let them know what was going on. They said they had a great program where we could borrow books the year. After looking through the paperwork my wife asked the administrator how much she would get for enrolling in the program. The administrator replied that my wife would receive nothing. After some more questioning we discovered that the local district would receive almost $10,000 a year per child for “administration costs”. My wife and I decided we could manage without them, and we did.
September 22, 2006 at 9:36 pm
What is interesting about the “socialization” aspect of schools is that when you read 18th and 19th century novels, “socialization” is viewed as a necessary evil that has to be endured as the price of specialized schooling.
Folks in those days realized how artificial it was to clump people together for no other reason than they had birthdays within a year of each other. They also realized that kids clumped together that way did not relate well to the real world when they got out — but educational opportunities were limited, so that was a price that had to be paid.
It was not until the homeschool movement ballooned in the late 20th century (due in part to parents being tired of watching their kids reap the dubious benefits of “socialization” without actually — you know — getting an education that educators began promoting the virtues of socialization.
September 23, 2006 at 9:43 am
Socialismization.
These administrators want the headcount not for the benefit of the children, but of their budgets.
September 23, 2006 at 4:07 pm
I wholeheartedly agree with your definition of socialization in the school setting. Like the Big Eyed Boy, my son was absolutely miserable in public school. He is thriving – calm, content, eager to learn – now that we are homeschooling.
September 23, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Amen!
September 26, 2006 at 10:32 am
Our compulsory education system is not about education — it is about indoctrination.
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November 15, 2006 at 5:07 pm