Twenty Eight: 15: Homeschooling

I will always advocate against unregulated homeschooling or "unschooling." I've experienced first hand how well meaning & good people can abuse it.

In spite of the publication date, the nationally syndicated newspaper north of my college hometown shared in all seriousness my 2017 opinion on homeschooling: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/apr/01/lance-lijewski-homeschooled-kids-would-benefit-fro/

Before submission, the column was longer.

I interviewed home school organizations who obliged until my questions got hard. Once the questions got hard, I was belittled or ghosted.

I talked with my family, who gave a similar response.

I got countless quotes from friends & their families - but ultimately redacted all of them out of respect for what I knew would inevitably cause heartache between them & others.

The column, which I'm still proud of, is a shell of what it could have been.

With six years now between me & the publication, I could write or speak an even stronger statement against unregulated home schooling.

Homeschooling is not a problem.

I've heard many stories & met many people who benefited or benefit from it.

They are blessed.

The people who carelessly submit their families to it are a problem. Emphasis on "carelessly."

Well being of a family or well being of a community should not & cannot succumb to the selfish ambitions or desires of others.

I love my parents. They did their absolute best given the education & resources they had. But even good parents make bad decisions.

Beyond a certain point, they could not sustain what is necessary for healthy homeschooling.

But their pride & adoration of us kids blinded them to their own mistakes.

I had to advocate for my own intellectual development & the development of my siblings.

I got myself out of homeschooling.

I will always use my personal experiences to support others out of it, too.

My experience always has & always will be useful in an argument for regulated homeschooling.

I do not like debating & will not debate this topic.

However, my argument is clear, & I'm more than happy to have this column or an extension of my testimony be leveraged in favor of regulation.

You can find this column at the link above.

It'll be accessible on search engines for a while.

Thankfully.

Cheers.