According to Stephen Duncombe in his Introduction to The Cultural Resistance Reader, cultural resistance is “A ‘haven in a heatless world,’ an escape from the world of politics and problems.” (123). Increased privatization of public space was a major form of cultural resistance in 1998. Looking at other forms of cultural resistance I noticed homeschooling and the resistance it generates. In the early 1980’s homeschooling in America increased due to speculations that public schools were teaching unconventional ethics. Since this period, an increase in the number of children home schooled has been recorded. 2.9 percent, or about 1.5 million kids of age to attend school were home schooled in 2007, an increase from previous years. But why this sudden increase when public and private school have been around for so long? Looking further into it, I saw that parents felt that with homeschooling they had more freedom, family time and less worry about what their kids were learning since they are the ones teaching them. After looking at each of these arguments praising homeschooling, I realized that these were not aspects benefiting the children and their futures. Homeschooling is a form of cultural resistance because it escapes reality by having each family deciding their own curriculum and isolating them from social interaction, but since it doesn't generate broader change to the education system, it is ineffective.
Although the reason some families choose to home school is because they want a stronger, more personal education for their child, it has been seen that some children simply drop out of school and say that they are homeschooling, when in reality they are not studying anything since tradition education is not required in the Un...
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Duncombe, Stephen. "Introduction to The Cultural Resistance Reader." Critical Encounters with Texts: Finding a Place to Stand. By Margaret Himley and Anne Fitzsimmons. New York: Custom Pub., 2009. 117-23. Print.
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First of all, it is critical to realize that schools are merely a way of educating the youth, yet schools are not the only way, and there is no soild evidence to prove that schools are better than other methods. In fact, when compated to homeschooling, it is quite the opposite. After the study of Eric Rudner was rejected due to sample issues such as self-selection and socioeconmical differences, Dr. Sandra Martin-Chang, researcher in
Homeschooling is probably one of the least known and least understood issues in education. Many people tend to think that most homeschoolers are religious conservatives or extremists. However, the truth is that people from all walks of life are joining the homeschooling bandwagon (Ray, 2004). The main misconception is that homeschooled children don’t get the same academic and social education as traditionally schooled children. Contrary to popular perception, homeschooled children have the same, if not better academic opportunities, social opportunities and college admissions prospects than traditionally schooled students have.
Cox, a professional writer for the CQ Researcher, compiles information for and against homeschooling and its impact on fundamental American values. Her argument condemns homeschooling for threatening the American public school system. Cox states that public education is what enables democracy to work well as it levels the playing field allowing all both rich and poor opportunity to acquire an education. She also combats studies that show that home schooled parents are more likely to be involved in civic affairs with a conclusion from the Education Department that says, “We have reason to believe that the organizations and practices involved in private and home schooling, in themselves, tend to foster public participation in civic affairs” showing that there is not conclusive evidence that just home schooled parents are more involved. Cox addresses the fact that many parents are realizing the importance of their involvement in their children’s education, and that, “public education [is] the great equalizer in a democracy.” Without public education we cannot be equal. Cox knows that public schools are not perfect, but is an advocate for making them better for the good of
Homeschooling offers students a more time efficient education that allows the student to focus on education in which is the sole purpose for school. Homeschooling also gives the teacher a thorough evaluation of a student’s strengths and weaknesses by visually seeing what subjects they excel in and what subjects they are weak in. At this point students can increase their individual progression in each subject. Homeschooling permits control of the environment a student learns in to retain the focus of the student. This will reduce the chances of drug usage, bullying, and violence. Samuel Blumenfeld said this on the importance of homeschooling “The home is a safe haven for the children in a world awash with drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, and moral corruption” (Cindy Mur et al.76). When parents come to realize that the home is the safest place for their children, then will they act as Blumenfeld concludes “I look forward to the day when the public schools will be virtually empty not because we have abolished public education but because the parents will have abandoned it” (Cindy Mur et al.
According to Gretchen M. Wilhelm and Michael W. Firmin, in their article Historical and Contemporary Developments, the Department of Education found that over 1,700,000 students are homeschooled. That’s 3.4 percent of all school age children (304). Homeschooling is defined as an education that contains less than twenty five hours of public school teaching each week and is based out of a household. The earliest forms of education were originally taught from home, then later developed into public schools (Wilhelm and Firmin). Homeschooling not only affects the students taught, but also fellow Americans in the race to advance a nation. Homeschooling needs to be understood in order to revise education into a better and
An estimated 4 million children are currently home schooled with a 15-20% yearly growth rate. According to a California study by researcher Dr. Brian [D.] Ray, 92 percent of school superintendents believe that home learners are emotionally unstable, deprived of proper social development and too judgmental of the world around them. The latest claim against home schooling suggests that home schoolers are potential child abusers. Mr. Ron Barnard, a Holly High School teacher says that he would prefer public schooling for his children because of the peer socialization, extra curricular, and mandated curriculum. Public schooling is more efficient in educating our youth than traditional home schooling.
While the majority choose to do so for academics, the reasoning goes beyond simply that. Homeschool families are often stereotyped as extremely religious and attempting to hide their children from the corruption and sin of the world. Families that do keep children out for these reasons are still prevalent within the homeschooling community; my mother contemplated homeschooling me and my brothers for this reason, and one of my best friends is homeschooled in a religious home. As homeschooling grows more mainstream, more families believe that public school squashes a child’s creativity and attempts to conform all children into the same person. Lynn Schnaiberg, a writer for Education Weekly, gives the reasons for four homeschooling families in her article “Staying Home from School.” In this article, the first family, the Scandora’s, believe “learning is not a product of teaching” and that their children should be free to learn at whatever pace they want. Another family featured in Schnaiberg’s article, the Collins family, is dissatisfied with the Baltimore city schools, which had some of the lowest test scores in the state. The Hoyt family has two children who are considered “gifted.” Because public schools do not give proper attention
Rivero, Lisa. The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It's Right for Your Family. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.
One might ask why some parents decide to home school their children rather than send them to public school to receive a traditional public education. In his article, “What Have We Learned About Homeschooling,” Eric Isenberg offers data which says, “Families choose to homeschool their children for both academic and religious reasons” (407). Even so, most people claim that public school offers the perfect environment for learning and developing. They argue
Romanowski, M.H. (2001). Home school and the public school: Rethinking the relationship. Streamlined Seminar, 19(3), Spring 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2004 from EBSCO database.
All children in America have the right to a quality education. Most students receive that education through conventional means, going to a public or private school. There is another option for today's children, home schooling. Home schooling is a controversial issue. While it does have its benefits, some people believe it has too many downfalls to be an effective method of education. In this paper, topics such as academic impact, social impact, and parental opinions of home schooling will be discussed.
Studies have shown year after year that homeschooled students consistently perform just as well as (or in many cases better than) traditionally schooled students on standardized academic exams. But very rarely does anyone ask why this is, or what caused the student to do so well, because they are usually too concerned with questions about the student’s social life or if they would be able to handle the transition into college. Therefore, my thesis statement is: Homeschooled students often achieve higher academic success and are more active in their communities than traditionally schooled students, due to a personalized approach to learning that emphasizes individuality. My research paper will debunk some popular myths about homeschooling, and give the real reasons why homeschoolers are so successful.
Today, many parents are homeschooling their children. A U.S. Department of Education’s report shows that approximately 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007 (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). This is almost 3 percent of all school age children (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). A private researcher, the National Home Education Research Institute, estimates 2.5 million children were being homeschooled in the 2007 – 2008 academic years (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). By either count, homeschooling is growing exponentially.
Homeschooling is a rising alternative in children’s education. As with any other major movement there have been doubts and debates as well as support and promotion for this educational approach. Homeschooling was once the norm in society before there was a public school system. But the parents involved in homeschooling feel very strongly about the positive outcomes that it has brought about in the lives and success of their children. It has once again surfaced and become popular but there are several people who question the possible negative effects this option creates.
As the population in public schools increase, the problems in these schools are also on the rise. These changes are leasing to the way parents are schooling their children. Many parents are leaning towards homeschooling as a solution to this problem. This increase in homeschooling can be directly related to an increase in school violence, the offering of a lack luster curriculum, and lack of student teacher interaction.