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Statistics please
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Question:
My 'ex' is taking me to court in an effort to force me to send our four year
old son to public school. We separated soon after he was born and I am now
remarried (to a wonderful Christian man who loves my son dearly) and we are
planning to move (from Wisconsin to California) in the next month. My ex has
had 8 visits with my son in the last year, however WI feels that the natural
father has "rights". At any rate I think my best line of defense is to
present the facts : Home-schooling is the best thing for my son. My problem
is I don't know where to get the stats to back this up. I have all kinds of
stuff about how our public schools are not teaching our kids "doody", but I
need numbers that show home-school kids do better and really are socially
adjusted.
Answer:
-I don't understand how your ex can force you to send
your son to public school at his age. I'm not sure
what the compulsory age is in California but I know
that it's not four.
It sounds like what he is trying to do is limit your
future options in seeking education for your son. You
don't want to come across sounding like you are doing
the same. How can you *know* at this point what is
best for your son?
Homeschoolers do well. Some of them do *very* well.
But homeschooling isn't something so easily defined.
There are many options and in years to come there
will be even more. Setting your son's educational
future in stone at this point makes no sense.
The
closest definition of homeschool that I've been able
to come up with is that parents are in direct control
of the child's education. This doesn't mean that
the parent does all of the teaching. Homeschoolers
are free to use tutors and to send their children
to "classes" and still be homeschooling. Public
schools often, here in California at least, provide
homeschool options with teacher supervision. (We
on this list might not approve, but that's a different
point. You can always express willingness to use
private school services if needed.)
Web search "school is dead learn in freedom," Karl Bunday
has good references to studies on homeschooling. The
homeschooling option is effective. I think it's the
best. But no study or statistic is going to prove
individual results.
You may be able to get _some_ mileage out of the
fact that you will be dealing with *California*
schools. Some of them are considered good. Many
of them are considered the worst in the country.
You *can't* have your hands tied before you even
know what you'll be dealing with.
-School is Dead, Learn in Freedom - Research about Homeschooling Socialization
http://learninfreedom.org/socialization.html
Holt Associate Growing Without Schooling - Research on Homeschooling
http://www.erols.com/holtgws/RESEARCH.HTM
Home School Legal Defense Association- Statistics & Reports
http://www.hslda/nationalcenter/statsandreports/index.html
Education Statistics: News Short - Home-schooling July 1998
http://www.education.govt.nz/DataManagement/schools/reports/homeschoo
ling_98.htm
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