Salon: Home-schooled and illiterate - for some kids it means isolation with little education

[Skelly]

16. Still a state issue?

I have to admit I have been out of the 'home schooling' business for quite a few years now. However, when we home schooled, it was a state issue. Some states it was legal, some it was not. 'Oversight' depended on the state. In Texas (at the time), there was little oversight. In Ohio, we were put through the proverbial wringer (sending in documentation of curriculum, yearly state testing or evaluation by a certified teacher, etc.). Support from the school district was extremely varied. We lived in the city school district. They offered no support to home schoolers. As I was told when I sought out help for one of my children (I suspected a learning disability), all responsibility was on me, "from pencils to graduation". We paid for testing and private tutors. Other districts allowed home schoolers to attend classes (for example, biology lab) and/or extra curricular activities (band, sports, etc.).

But I disagree about the educational level of the parent. Even my advanced degree did not prepare me for high school level calculus. When that was needed, we sought help. Of course, I couldn't teach my son how to play soccer either. Or Drama to my daughter. Or swimming to any of my children. But they learned these things because we were committed to them learning.

As I look at my children now, I see the greatest advantage they received from being home schooled is the ability to understand themselves apart from anyone else. Their critical thinking skills amaze me. They are so different from one another in many ways, but their love for each other taught them how to accept and appreciate the differences among everyone.