My debate with someone who "thoroughly opposes homeschooling"

I had just been thinking a couple days ago how homeschooling is pretty much in the mainstream these days, and most everybody either admires it or thinks it's an acceptable option ....

And then yesterday I read this in the AJC Momania blog. And I had to respond. Maybe it was foolish of me, but I love a good challenge, and I was curious how people would respond to the points I was making.

Here's the excerpts of what I had to say.

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It started off with MJG, a teacher, saying:

This will not come as a surprise to anyone but I am thoroughly opposed to home schooling with the exception of a few circumstances.

WHY? One reason is because of the enormity of the task and the fact that I have met several folks who have tried it and then decided it was way too hard. Is this why we require formal education to teach? DUH!

This is kind of like: I can cook…I should open a restaurant. I will order a kit to show me how and then VOILA I am on my way! By the time you spend 40 hours per week preparing and teaching, anyone could work a job and pay the tuition of most schools.


Obviously, she is [understandably] seeing homeschooling as the equivalent of running a public school classroom, but inside your own home. But of course it is really nothing like that, which is the point I was trying to make when I said:

You give the analogy that homeschooling is like a good cook deciding to open a restaurant. But this is not an accurate way to describe what homeschooling is or what we are doing.

Homeschooling parents are not trying to open a restaurant (or open a school). It would be a more accurate analogy to say we are like a good cook who decides to cook for their family instead of taking them to a restaurant every day.

You also say, “By the time you spend 40 hours a week preparing and teaching, anyone could work a job to pay for school.”

First of all, it does not take nearly forty hours a week to “prepare and teach” when you homeschool.

But even the time it does take is very different that if I was out working a job.

For example, I have a two year old. If I worked 40 hours a week to pay for my older children to go to private school, I would also have to pay for the two year old to go to day care.

But since we homeschool, instead the two year can sit in my lap, or in the high chair with a snack, or playing at our feet, while I work with the older kids. Not only is he home with me instead of day care, but it’s free!

Another example: this morning my second grader was doing her math. After I got her started, I went in the next room and did laundry.

Often she works in the kitchen while I cook dinner and wash the breakfast dishes. I can easily answer her questions or check something for her when she needs me.

But if I was away at a job, I couldn’t be cooking dinner and doing dishes and laundry during those hours!

Also ... although obviously it takes effort, I would not describe homeschooling as “hard.” If it is “way too hard” for a family, my guess is that they are either taking on way more than necessary, and/or approaching it in a way that does not fit their family.

Her reply (edited to include the parts directed at me) was:

YES, extremely educated and devoted parents ( who are not throwing in a load of laundry or rocking the baby) CAN be affective teachers. Sorry but most of the parents I have known do not fall in this category.

Jenny, I would love to hear it from professional educators that it does not take 40 hours per week ( you have 2 different grades here) to prepare and instruct children. Your ideas seem ridiculous to me. I cannot imagine teaching 2 children and running around the house doing household things at the same time.

So ... I guess you are not allowed to have an infant or toddler if you are homeschooling -- or, if you do, you have to hire a nanny. See how she still thinks I have the 40-hour week job of a classroom teacher job?

So I tried again:

I think this is the core of why you are against homeschooling:

You are picturing a homeschooling parent to be duplicating the job of a full-time classroom teacher.

We are not classroom teachers. We are not professional educators. (Even the ones who have a teaching background.) I am not juggling the job of teaching second grade with the job of teaching kindergarten. I’m not trying to be. I don’t need to be.

You’re right, a classroom teacher would not bring their two-year to class every day. But I am not a classroom teacher.

You brought up the meal/restaurant analogy, so I’ll use one as well:

If someone ran and owned their own restaurant, they would surely need a babysitter for their two year old while they went to work at that restaurant.

But do most women (or men) hire a babysitter so they can cook dinner for their family? Not that I’ve ever heard of.

Here’s another point: You think it is “ridiculous” that I prepare dinner while my daughter does her work two yards away from me. But I am available in two seconds any time she has a question or needs something. When do public schooled kids ever get the teacher to come answer questions for them the instant they have one?

Similarly, how often does a public schooled child get one-on-one (or two-on-one) time with the teacher? I don’t know, but I would be surprised if it was more than 30 minutes daily (if even that).

My kids easily get more than two hours of it every day, and obviously that still leaves a lot of time left over for doing laundry.

Homeschooling and being a classroom teacher are not the same animal.

I actually thought that was a pretty good response. I like my restaurant analogies, which I just came up with on the spot.

And isn't that silly, for her to think my children can't be learning, because I throw in a load of laundry? What does she think, that I should sit and stare at her for hours non-stop while she works?

So I felt like I was really getting on a roll here, and was looking forward to her response (especially about the idea of how much one-on-one time a public schooled child gets), but all I got was this:

Jenny…respectfully, you are one of the reasons I am against home schooling. Some folks cannot see the forest for the trees.
You are not a classroom teacher and so you cannot understand my points. I am not a homeschooler and so I cannot understand your points. Thanks for sharing, you have made it perfectly clear…to me.

and this, unfortunately, is where everything pretty much fizzled out. She threw in a snippy little insult toward me, then said she was done discussing it, because we would obviously never agree.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it actually felt like she couldn't counter-argue my points, so instead she said, "Well, we'll never agree anyway, so forget it" and left with a parting insult.

Well, hopefully someone out there enjoyed reading what I had to say. And like I said, if nothing else, at least it was a fun challenge for me.