Today even with the size of our public school system in the United States many parents feel that the schools are inadequate in that they do not challenge our children. Others indicate that they are unsafe due to kids bringing guns and knives to schools, along with the gangs and drug issues. Further many faith-based families are upset that sex education, handing out condoms and abortions without parental notification are an unfavorable situation for their kids.
Additionally, the size of the classrooms bothers both educators and parents; some even liken them to giant babysitting facilities. Taxpayers often complain of the top-heavy administration budgets and less money in the classroom; teacher’s unions also agree.
One of the biggest complaints is that kids in the past had actually gotten all the way through school and graduated High School without being able to read; to handle these problems the Federal Government has instituted the “No Child Left Behind Act” which teacher generally decry, parents are concerned about and employers demand. After all what good is an employee who cannot even read the company’s employee or operations manuals?
These are not all the issues, but some of the main points and this has lead to many families choosing Home Schooling, while other families endorsing Private Schools or looking into Charter Schools. The Home Schooling choice has been growing over the years and this concerns public school teachers unions, yet many believe that competition in education is the answer to getting the public schools to rise to the occasion of performance, thus in comes the voucher debate.
Why should parents pay for the school district if their kids do not attend? Of course other point out that if the school system does not have the money it needs; then we will all pay later with more police, court costs, rehabilitation centers and prisons.
As the debate rages on so too does the problem and it is noted by all that we will need a more educated workforce in the future as technologies increase and our nation progresses. I thank you for reading this article and hope you will enjoy the intellectual debate over the choice of Home Schooling. Perhaps this article is of interest to propel thought in 2007?