A Harvard professor made headlines after calling for a “presumptive ban” on home schooling in an interview with Harvard Magazine. Among other things, the professor said home schooling can help fuel white supremacy.
Watch this video to learn more.
In an article published in the May-June issue of Harvard Magazine, professor Elizabeth Bartholet said there ought to be a “presumptive ban” on home schooling nationwide and that letting parents educate their children at home could help fuel white supremacy.
The article is filled with so much incorrect information that it is hard to know where to begin.
Among other things, Professor Bartholet claims:
We know from experience that home schoolers come from all sorts of faiths and backgrounds.
There is no evidence suggesting that children who are home schooled are likely to be abused.
And the article fails to mention that home schoolers have had no trouble getting into Harvard University itself.
In 2015 Business Insider profiled one Harvard student who was home schooled, saying,
While homeschoolers might still live on the margins of the US education system — they only make up 3.4% of America’s student body — the leading research suggests the education they receive is second-to-none.
In 2018 the Harvard Gazette profiled three students who were home schooled before being accepted by the Ivy League institution.
In Arkansas, home schoolers have routinely outperformed their public school counterparts on standardized testing.
In 2009, Arkansas’ home schoolers performed better on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills than 61% – 80% of the students who took that test, nationwide.
According to the 2013-2014 Home School Report from the Arkansas Department of Education, in 2014 home schoolers in grades 3 – 9 scored anywhere from the 51st percentile to the 65th percentile on that same test.
In fact, home schoolers in Arkansas have performed so well on standardized tests that the Arkansas Legislature ended state-mandated home school testing in 2015.
It’s a shame Harvard Magazine would publish such a one-sided piece against home schooling.
At a time when practically everyone in America is educating their children at home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, calling for a ban on home schooling seems a little out of touch, to say the least.
With schools closed for the remainder of the 2020 school year due to the coronavirus, a lot of people are trying to figure out how to educate their children at home during this time.
Our friends at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview have offered some good thoughts on home schooling “do’s and don’ts.”
John Stonestreet writes,
First, read aloud as a family as much as possible. Not only will this develop literacy skills, it’s a meaningful opportunity to connect with your children on a physical and emotional level during a stressful time, having conversations about things that really matter. Thankfully, there are many great book lists that can help parents choose age-appropriate stories that also build moral character, not to mention library apps that provide access to thousands of audiobooks and e-books for free.
Second, engage in worldview conversations. Current events have turned our world upside down. Ask your kids what they are thinking about all of this. The coronavirus pandemic will be a marker in their life they won’t forget, and an incredible opportunity for many real-life lessons. My recent book, “A Student’s Guide to Culture,” as well as our upcoming Truth.Love.Together. virtual event, can help fuel your worldview discussions around the dinner table. I hear from many families who use these daily BreakPoint commentaries as fodder for their meal-time conversations.
Finally, create space for self-directed learning. Invite each child to pursue a special project during this extra-ordinary time. A budding writer can start a diary about life during the 2020 Coronavirus Quarantine. A young entrepreneur might work on a website to support a charitable cause. Sometimes the best schooling looks nothing at all like school.
Stonestreet offers some other excellent thoughts that you can check out here.
