The Civic Perils Of Homeschooling Analysis

In addition to gaining the primary authoritative role, parents who homeschool their children are customizing the student’s democratic citizenship as well as taking away their child’s independence. Rob Reich, an assistant professor of Political Science, Ethics in Society, and Education at Stanford University, informs the readers on how a parent who teaches their child at home is practicing customization in his thought-provoking article, “The Civic Perils of Homeschooling”. He explains how the parent is tailoring the education environment to their own conviction and beliefs about what the child should be interested in. “Each kind of homeschooler--the family who teaches the child solely at home and the family who seeks some interaction with the

public school system--is practicing customization in education. For the first, parents can tailor the education environment to their own convictions and to their beliefs about what their child's needs and interests are. For the second, parents can select the aspects of the public system they and their child want, creating an overall program designed for their child” (Reich). By customizing the education to the standards and beliefs of the parents, Reich states a proposition in which the parents are viewing the education in a matter only under their control. “My point is that many homeschooling parents view the education of their children as a matter properly under their control and no one else's.

They feel entitled to "purchase" the education environment of their children from the marketplace of learning materials, with no intermediary between them and their child” (Reich). There are no set rules or curriculums for homeschooled parents to teach in this country. It is not a requirement for a parent to have a degree in education or those subjects in order to teach the homeschooled child. “On the flip side of this coin, however, is what some perceive to be a lack of oversight and consistency. Detractors of homeschooling worry that the laws governing parents are too lax, and that there is no guarantee that children will receive a quality education. Requirements for homeschoolers vary by state: some states insist on annual testing to ensure that homeschooled children are keeping up with their counterparts; other states only require that these students be tested if and when they decide to enter the public school system” (Baker). By not having an education degree, the responsibilities brought upon the parent may not be attainable and the student has the possibility of suffering both academically and

socially.