Just as a caterpillar changes into a complex and beautiful butterfly over time, education too is evolving and changing into something completely different than the “3 R’s” of the past. How education should evolve is a highly disputed topic. Although there appear to be many solutions these solutions often have many flaws. There has yet to be a single solution to solve this dilemma. Even though their perspectives on education differ, Brian D. Ray and Rachel S. Cox seek to tackle this issue in their respective articles, “Does Home Schooling Promote the Public Good?” and “The Home School Debate.” Ray is biased toward home-schooling being the solution to the ails of public education and believes that education issues can be resolved by encouraging …show more content…
Cox, a professional writer for the CQ Researcher, compiles information for and against homeschooling and its impact on fundamental American values. Her argument condemns homeschooling for threatening the American public school system. Cox states that public education is what enables democracy to work well as it levels the playing field allowing all both rich and poor opportunity to acquire an education. She also combats studies that show that home schooled parents are more likely to be involved in civic affairs with a conclusion from the Education Department that says, “We have reason to believe that the organizations and practices involved in private and home schooling, in themselves, tend to foster public participation in civic affairs” showing that there is not conclusive evidence that just home schooled parents are more involved. Cox addresses the fact that many parents are realizing the importance of their involvement in their children’s education, and that, “public education [is] the great equalizer in a democracy.” Without public education we cannot be equal. Cox knows that public schools are not perfect, but is an advocate for making them better for the good of …show more content…
Both authors want what is best for society overall, which in their views are individuals that are “socially well-adjusted and educated citizens who are industrious…[and] benefit society” (Ray par. 1) by creating a stronger work force. This issue is not only important for each student’s future, but over time it has become a focus of parents as they try to ensure the absolute best education for their child. As Cox found, “an increasing number of parents are recognizing the battle that is waged for their children’s hearts and minds” (Cox p. 34) and it is important that their children are equipped with the best hearts and minds so they can effectively function in society. Both of the authors for these articles acquired advanced education which may explain their bias toward the importance of education. However, evidence shows that education is one of the factors responsible for the success of a nation. Workers, who after graduation are able to “enter the working world equipped with the same basic education,” have a step up from those who were not able to fulfill those educational standards. While society says that it values education, it is apparent that actions are not being seriously taken by the educated population to effectively keep public education as a focus in policy holder’s hands. The topic of education often does not receive the
Spayde notes that education takes place in the classroom and university setting, as well as the hands-on experience that takes place in the world at large. One of the main points in his essay is that in society, education is a great value that separates classes from economics. The general understanding in society is that there is no divide in American life that hurts more than the one between those we consider well educated and those who are poorly or inadequately schooled (Spayde, 60). This understanding is defined by popular society stating that education is a big influence on how one lives their life and to what degree this is done. Society determines the difference between the educated and the uneducated in many ways.
Education has always been in existence in one form or another. As each child is born into this world regardless of who or where they are born, life lessons immediately begin. He/she will learn to crawl, walk, and talk by the example and encouragement of others. Although these lessons are basic in the beginning they evolve as the child grows. However, the core learning method of a child does not change. Learning from others, they will watch, listen, and then act for themselves. Thomas Jefferson believed that an education would lead men and women to the ability to be self-governed and become positive contributors to society (Mondale & Patton, 2001). Today, we can see how true this is by the examples of others. Those that are given the opportunity for education are more likely to find jobs and develop skills that not only improve a community, but influence the economic growth of their nation (Ravitch, Cortese, West, Carmichael, Andere, & Munson, 2009, p. 13). On the other hand, if an education is not provided to individuals, they can become a hindrance to that nation’s growth.
According to Gretchen M. Wilhelm and Michael W. Firmin, in their article Historical and Contemporary Developments, the Department of Education found that over 1,700,000 students are homeschooled. That’s 3.4 percent of all school age children (304). Homeschooling is defined as an education that contains less than twenty five hours of public school teaching each week and is based out of a household. The earliest forms of education were originally taught from home, then later developed into public schools (Wilhelm and Firmin). Homeschooling not only affects the students taught, but also fellow Americans in the race to advance a nation. Homeschooling needs to be understood in order to revise education into a better and
Homeschooling offers students a more time efficient education that allows the student to focus on education in which is the sole purpose for school. Homeschooling also gives the teacher a thorough evaluation of a student’s strengths and weaknesses by visually seeing what subjects they excel in and what subjects they are weak in. At this point students can increase their individual progression in each subject. Homeschooling permits control of the environment a student learns in to retain the focus of the student. This will reduce the chances of drug usage, bullying, and violence. Samuel Blumenfeld said this on the importance of homeschooling “The home is a safe haven for the children in a world awash with drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, and moral corruption” (Cindy Mur et al.76). When parents come to realize that the home is the safest place for their children, then will they act as Blumenfeld concludes “I look forward to the day when the public schools will be virtually empty not because we have abolished public education but because the parents will have abandoned it” (Cindy Mur et al.
Education has become such a common commodity in America that people have forgotten how important it truly is. Important to the point that it might be the difference between living a long and happy life, and living a terribly short one. The problem is that schooling isn’t as evenly spread-out as people would like to believe. There is a clear divide in the level of education that people receive between people of small rural towns and big urban cities. The divide doesn’t just end at schooling though, the level of schooling has a clear correlation with life expectancy; higher levels of education lead to longer lives lived. Education is what teaches people the health benefits from eating a salad instead of a juicy
The Minnesota Homeschoolers Alliance makes it clear that homeschooling is designed to not only impart children and teens with an education, but teach independence and develop a “zest for life and learning that institutionally schooled kids sometimes lack.” Homeschooling allows, in their view, a one on one learning experience that is focused on actual learning. While public school curriculums focus on tests, common core, and repeating what a teacher wants to hear. It is true that some public schooled kids manage to escape with their critical thinking skills intact, but children like that are naturally gifted and public school only succeeds in allowing them to pass through unscathed. Boyce counters that there is no evidence to suggest homeschooled children perform better at a college level than their public school counterparts. Homeschoolers gain meager amounts of independence, if their parents even allow them that, in exchange for losing the opportunity to be part of something bigger, to have a sense of comradery with their classmates that will last their entire life, and the chance to be evaluated by someone they’re not related to. Boyce argues homeschooling parents are selfish for denying their child a social, fulfilling, school experience in exchange for being able to raise their child in a supervised and controlled
An estimated 4 million children are currently home schooled with a 15-20% yearly growth rate. According to a California study by researcher Dr. Brian [D.] Ray, 92 percent of school superintendents believe that home learners are emotionally unstable, deprived of proper social development and too judgmental of the world around them. The latest claim against home schooling suggests that home schoolers are potential child abusers. Mr. Ron Barnard, a Holly High School teacher says that he would prefer public schooling for his children because of the peer socialization, extra curricular, and mandated curriculum. Public schooling is more efficient in educating our youth than traditional home schooling.
Rivero, Lisa. The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It's Right for Your Family. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.
In today’s American society, quality education is important for one to succeed. Without proper education, a person will find it extremely difficult to apply for college, a job, or to pursue his or her dream. Typically when Americans think of education, public education is the first to come to mind. Public education has been around for centuries and is provided to most children throughout the United States. Due to this fact, public education has been the go to education source for years. Though, this trend is slowly changing with many parents deciding to home school their children instead. Many factors are the cause for this issue, but the common arguments arise from a certain few. For students, public school provides many opportunities ranging from social connections, school sports, and the exposure to teachers who are experts in their fields. But homeschooling is often superior because it offers additional time for students to participate in various extracurricular activities and community service, allows for more individual attention, personal character development, and it offers less exposure to discrimination that is received in the public school environment.
Romanowski, M.H. (2001). Home school and the public school: Rethinking the relationship. Streamlined Seminar, 19(3), Spring 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2004 from EBSCO database.
Many people believe that “having an economy that places a greater value on skills and education is a good thing” and that is the thing that is needed to improve people’s lives and futures (Baicker, Lazear). If what our economy is trying to do a good thing they why are so many students still suffering? The main issues are the low-income education that many students have. Many schools are getting money from the government but that is not enough to pay for everything students need. Educational standards have continued to increase throughout the years but that does not help the students who are unable to pay for the better education. These students who cannot pay for the better education are stuck barely getting by with a low education. A low-education can affect many areas of regular schooling. The students who are at low-income schools do not know what type of disadvantage they have compared to other students across the country. These students believe that they are getting the best education, but there are many students who are getting a better education at a school that has the funds to pay for everything their students need. Low-income students are suffering due to the environment they are in at school and they continue to suffer throughout their life due to it. These students will continue to suffer unless something is done about the low-income schools and improve them for the future. Improvement has to come from all areas, not just one aspect of schooling but from all aspects. Although education has improved along with technology many low-income students still suffer from the vast inequalities. These inequalities will take many years to find a way to fix and even more years to actually fix, until this happens the students will...
All children in America have the right to a quality education. Most students receive that education through conventional means, going to a public or private school. There is another option for today's children, home schooling. Home schooling is a controversial issue. While it does have its benefits, some people believe it has too many downfalls to be an effective method of education. In this paper, topics such as academic impact, social impact, and parental opinions of home schooling will be discussed.
“Is getting a good education important to you?” Most people when asked this question would answer, “Yes.” This is because it teaches us valuable life skills and prepares us to communicate and engage with others in the world. Education has taken on many forms over the years, and one of the more successful components of education has been homeschooling. Once considered a criminal act of defiance, homeschooling is now legally an option in all fifty states for parents to consider, and it has a substantial
Today, many parents are homeschooling their children. A U.S. Department of Education’s report shows that approximately 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007 (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). This is almost 3 percent of all school age children (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). A private researcher, the National Home Education Research Institute, estimates 2.5 million children were being homeschooled in the 2007 – 2008 academic years (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). By either count, homeschooling is growing exponentially.
I hated waking up 6A.M. in the morning to see faces I’ve been seeing for years and teachers who pressured me to finish assignments in an accordingly time frame each class and oh don’t get me started on school’s food ugh! Just nasty. I’ve always wondered what would it be like to be home school at home, doing work at your own pace and all the food I wanted with no distractions. I know I’m not the only one who imagined how great it would have if we as public school students were home schooled instead. As I’ve got older while knowing some of my own friends taken out of public school for home schooling, I can see why public school is the better option. The socializing, leverage of knowledge, and experience