Can We Afford Public Education?

Public schools, are schools mandated for or offered to all children by the government, whether national, regional, or local, provided by an institution of civil government, and paid for, in whole or in part, by taxes. ("State School")

Homeschooling or homeschool (also called home education or home learning) is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. ("Homeschooling")

"Natural learning" refers to a type of learning-on-demand where children pursue knowledge based on their interests and parents take an active part in facilitating activities and experiences conducive to learning but do not rely heavily on textbooks or spend much time "teaching", looking instead for "learning moments" throughout their daily activities. Parents see their role as that of affirming through positive feedback and modeling the necessary skills, and the child's role as being responsible for asking and learning. ("Unschooling and natural learning")

The term "unschooling" as coined by John Holt (Educator) describes an approach in which parents do not authoritatively direct the child's education, but interact with the child following the child's own interests, leaving them free to explore and learn as their interests lead. "Unschooling" does not indicate that the child is not being educated, but that the child is not being "schooled", or educated in a rigid school-type manner. ("Unschooling and natural learning")

"Holt argues that children fail primarily"because they are afraid, bored, and confused." This, combined with misguided teaching strategies and a school environment that is disconnected from reality and 'real learning' results in a school system that kills children's innate desire to learn." ("How Children Fail")
When I was coming up through the public school system you only had two other options...private or Parochial schools. I had some fantastic teachers and I had some fanatical teachers who had no business teaching but, all things considered, licensed professionals in the Public School system far outweighs a Homeschooling parent who does not have any credentials except maybe a high school diploma or as a minumum a General Educational Development (GED) Certificate.

I have absolutely no reservations for those parents who have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in order to home school and follows the approved curriculum of quality at least equal to that offered by public schools.

However, I do have a problem with those states that do not hold homeschools accountable because it is the parents right to choose the education for their child. I am only guessing but one has to assume that this is the loophole for Natural Learning and Unschooling. The idea that a child will Learn-On-Demand, in my opinion, is just ridiculous.

There are some great free online schools that are supported by our taxes that pretty much take the teaching away from the parents and turn it over to licensed professionals. What a great way to homeschool your child.

"Even more alarming is the reduced quality of public education. Many adjunct professors are being laid off and classes are getting consolidated, resulting in fewer course offerings and much larger class sizes. This means many students are being forced out of courses they need to complete in order to graduate, and the quality of classes is also going down. Professors overwhelmed with hundreds of students struggle to find time to create new coursework or offer thoughtful criticism with grading, and forget about meeting with them if you're having trouble with the material."
(" Are State Budget Cuts Affecting the Quality of Public Higher Education?
Oct 16, 2009 ")

The primary and secondary Public Schools have it just as tough if not tougher.

That coupled with the current economic crisis facing the United States; perhaps we should take another look at Homeschooling and Unschooling. Who knows, maybe John Holt and his followers have hit on something that will actually work.

Resources

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_school

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_school

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Caldwell_Holt

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_school#Unschooling_and_natural_learning

education-portal.com/articles/Are_State_Budget_Cuts_Affecting_the_Quality_of_Public_Higher_Education.html

educationreformbooks.net/failure.htm

law.findlaw.com/state-laws/compulsory-education/