The nation’s education secretary recently disparaged homeschooling to a group of reporters.
Homeschooling has been growing in popularity in recent years, and now accounts for about 3.4 percent of the school-age population. That’s more than double the percentage of homeschooling families in 1999.
Yet, in remarks last month to reporters Education Secretary John King told the audience he worries that homeschooled students aren’t “getting the range of options that are good for all kids.”
King said he worries that ‘students who are homeschooled are not getting the kind of the rapid instructional experience they would get in school’—unless parents are “very intentional about it”.
He also claimed that school experience includes building relationships with peers, teachers and mentors—elements which are difficult to achieve in homeschooling. Lindsey Burke, writing for the Daily Signal, called King’s views problematic on several fronts.
She points out that many homeschooled students attend some of the most rigorous and intellectually challenging schooling there is. Many families pursue a rigorous classical curriculum. Others choose to homeschool because their children wanted more challenging options than their assigned public school provided. And she pointed out that research suggests homeschooled students are better prepared for college. Colleges likes Hillsdale and Grove City have become renowned for their rigor and high proportion of homeschooled matriculates.