I came home after a hellish day of work, plugged into the Internet, checked Joanne Jacob's site, and just about knocked my jaw out of alignment when it dropped open after I read this smarmy, condescending, arrogant article by NEA member - and elementary school head custodian - Dave Arnold:
There's nothing like having the right person with the right experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Certain jobs are best left to the pros, such as, formal education. There are few homeowners who can tackle every aspect of home repair. A few of us might know carpentry, plumbing and, let’s say, cementing. Others may know about electrical work, tiling and roofing. But hardly anyone can do it all...So, why would some parents assume they know enough about every academic subject to home-school their children? You would think that they might leave this -- the shaping of their children’s minds, careers, and futures -- to trained professionals. That is, to those who have worked steadily at their profession for 10, 20, 30 years! Teachers!
Well, we have to believe him - he used multiple exclamation points! Doesn't that make him right? Especially when he flat-out states that parents have absolutely no idea how difficult teaching can be (um, haven't they already realized how hard child-rearing is?), and they're creating social misfits by not allowing for proper socialization (because, as we all know, homeschooling parents never let their kids leave the house).
Oh, and he's quick to remind parents that pulling their kids out of the public school system - either for homeschooling or private school - is "not the best way to fight the laws that govern our education system." That's funny, I thought boycotts were not only beloved by those who champion the government schools, but a pretty damn effective, nonviolent, and legal way to make one's viewpoint known. I guess Dave would have advised those protesting Rosa Park's treatment to keep riding the buses, no matter what.
Yeesh.
Natalie Narxus posts a lovely, nasty letter written to Dave Arnold by homeschooling parent Dominick Cancilla. She also quotes Dave's reply, in which he makes it clear that (a) his strong and principled stance against homeschooling seems to be based solely on his extremely limited experience with it and (b) he's incapable of recognizing sarcasm:
I deeply appreciate hearing from you and receiving your fantastic comments and compliments concerning my article on the fallacies of home schooling. As you likely gathered from my article, it is a subject that is truly a thorn in my side.I'm acquainted with a couple that have adopted two very cute and fairly inelleligent [sic] little boys, but they are turning them into social misfits by not allowing them to attend public school. The only friends they have are home schooled as well and social misfits also. They spend the great majority of their lives within the confines of their own home being home schooled so their lives won't be corrupted by the evils of this world. Perhaps their lives won't be corrupted, but it is primarily because these poor children aren't being allowed to have a life.
That's it. He doesn't mention any research on homeschooling, doesn't even give evidence for why he's decided these kids are social misfits. Just says what it shame it is that their only friends (there could be dozens of them, for all we know) are also homeschooled.
Woody's Woundup goes for a full-bore fisking which is worth a read.
Posted by kswygert at July 25, 2005 08:31 PM