Why are parents suddenly qualified to be teachers??

Question

Home schooling...it drive me crazy. How did all these parents suddenly become qualified to teach. Is home doctoring next??

Answer 1

Some parents disagree with what is being taught in the public school systems and opt to do the home schooling thing, some send their children to private schools, some hire tutors, etc. It is the parents right to choose what sort of an education their children will receive. It is the law that all children need to have an education, just hope and pray that those doing the "home schooling" are giving their children the best education and are qualified to do so...

Answer 2

Have you looked at the results? Have you even tried to see what the college grades of home schooled high school students are?
Let me say this: I am a home schooled student (never been to "school" a day in my life) entering college this fall to the University of M. I am going on an all-tuition-paid ride (note - I am out-of-state... meaning the school is giving me over $15,000 a year). I have already gotten most of my general required courses out of the way through CLEP and exam. And I have already worked in apprenticeships and internships usually reserved for Grad. students.
I personally think that I have received a much better education than many of my friends that went to top dollar private institutions.
I leave you with this question: When was the government or the "institution" given more say so in the lives and development of children than the parents? The way I see it the parents understand more about the way that child's mind works than anyone else. I am a creatively gifted person; if I had been in a "normal" school setting I probably would have been put on meds and labeled "problem". As it is, I am ahead in my studies, entering college as much or more prepared than any school-taught student I have ever seen.
I'm sorry, I read some other answers and must touch on the "social problems" issue. Have you known many college or high school students that worked to perfection socially? It has been my experience to know many insecure, over-pressured individuals much more emotionally damaged than myself that came from schools. True, not everyone is, but if you are on the wrong end of the totem pole you probably will be. Schools teach social age segregation as well - something you never see in the "real world". In the real world you compete or form some kind of relationship with or against any and everyone. You don't have the option of not talking well with adults, or feeling uncomfortable in a group by yourself. It's just life. I will admit that some homeschoolers have social problems, but no more than some school students.

Answer 3

I hate to burst your bubble, but they're not qualified to be teachers: home schooling is referring to the manner the work is done. The curriculum, materials and textbooks are all written by educators, and merely given and administered by parents.

Think of homeschooling as a huge classroom: one teacher for every two-thousand-five-hundred students. No discipline problems, no state sponsored meals, no administration. Major tests and metrics are still taken there, progress is monitored by counselors, and Development Plans are done up by someone with a Master's Degree who determines the direction of a child on an individual basis. All a parent does is read a book or give out a quiz and makes sure the kid finishes it under the allowed means. (Timed, Calculator/No Calculator, open or closed book.)

Answer 4

Statistics show that homeschooled children fair better academically. They are able to work at a pace that is more individualized to their needs. They also tend to be smarter due to the personal attention versus a classroom setting. And there are also social activities for them to attend with other homeschooled children and sports activities they can join in their "zoned" schools, so they are not lacking social interraction with other peers their own ages.

I personally do not believe that some fancy degree placed on your wall collecting dust, makes you "qualified" to teach. I remember in grade school asking my english teacher a math question which she couldn't answer. Decades ago you could ask one teacher any question about any subject with no problem. I am not bashing teachers, as I am proud of the jobs they do on a day to day basis, extremely overworked, underpaid in overcrowded classrooms with disrespectful, mouthy students. However, take a parent who reads alot and knows just as much as a teacher with a degree without ever stepping foot into a college , and they have the ability to teach their own child just as much as that same person who forked over 30 grand to a fancy institution. I hope this answers your question.

By the way, see how the local schools in your area are faring as far as overall state testing scores and wonder why more parents are pulling their kids out of the mainstream schools and doing it themselves. It just makes sense.

Answer 5

I can't answer the "why"; I can answer the "when". And that is when they become parents.

And there are many qualified teachers who can't teach. Especially when they have to teach 25 Grade 9 "students" who would rather be anywhere but in that classroom.

O.K. So parents may not be the best teachers when it comes to traditional methods but they do have the content and that special interest: unconditional love. You don't have to compete for "favorite student" and if you fall in your class work, you loose that position.

There are some disadvantages, I'll concede.

Answer 6

If you are a parent.... than you have already done the "home doctoring" that you speak of. Parents are expected to teach their children basic life skills before they can even go to school....so why stop there. The only thing kids learn in public schools that they don't learn in home schools is how to lose your virginity by your 9th birthday, how to "properly" administer street drugs, a general disdain for humanity and the wonderful concept of "Group Think". So hats off to all the parents with the patience and concern for their childs' wellbeing, that give up their Soap-Operas and Oprah to actually raise their children. Rather than pawning them off to society and blaming the schools when their children learn nasty social behavior from other peoples delinquent children.

Answer 7

Parents have always been qualified to be teachers. It is only in recent history that there have been public schools and professional teachers. And yes, there is home doctoring. It is called 'first aid', and it is a lot better than letting someone bleed to death or asphyxiate when you could help them. Most states even have 'Good Samaritan' laws, which exempt you from personal liability if you make a mistake which harms someone when you are trying to save their life. You don't have children, do you...?

Answer 8

I would be happy to direct you to many resources, including an essay I wrote, discussing just this myth.

Parents have been home educating their children for hundreds of years.

Home school students self-teach, learn from their parents, learn from other parents, go to college for dual-credit courses, go to full classrooms with other students.

Home schooling isn't new. Parents are qualified.

24% of public high school math teachers and 29.4% of publich high school science teachers have no more than a minor in their subject. Food for thought.

Answer 9

I completely agree, and I've never seen the point of home-schooling. Unless parents actually went to school to become teachers, I don't think they should be allowed to home-school their kids because they are just not qualifed. To me, it just seems to be a way to shelter them from the real world and keep them from learning any ideas that they don't want them to learn about, when that is the whole purpose of education-to learn things you don't know outside your experience. That and they don't learn how to cope with all kinds of people socially, because they're stuck at home all day with mom or dad. I really don't understand who would want to isolate their kid so much! I think home-school should be illegal, and you should at least be required at attend a public school. I know it's suppossedly the parents' right to home-school and teach in their own way if they choose, but it's also society's job to produce future successful members of society.

Answer 10

Yes, I agree with you. I also wonder about kids being at home all the time. Won't it turn them into a bunch of shut-ins? What about experiencing team work and the dynamic with working along side peers? I think this home schooling trend is just another way for the local, state and national governments to justify taking money away from public schools.

Answer 11

First of all parents are always a child's first teachers. We teach them how to walk, talk, and care for themselves. Most of us taught our children how to read, write, count, and say their ABC's. God gave my children to me not to the government. "render unto Caesar what is Caesar." When the government gives me children then they can have a say. This is the U.S.A. not Ancient Sparta. Also check it out: 1. Home school kids out score public school, 2. Almost all of our nations fore fathers where home schooled.3. I can't do a worse job than the school system.I can also tell you this I am a stricter teacher and harsher grader than anyone else could possibly be. No one cares more about my sons education than I do except God.
Love in Christ,
Debra