Retired Educator Praises Homeschooling

Though it may seem like a recent trend, home schooling is nothing new. George Washington, Queen Elizabeth, Theodore Roosevelt and Sandra Day O'Connor were homeschooled. However, a couple of decades ago, this option still seemed like a fringe choice.

We've seen what that 'Washington knows best' attitude has wrought. Our high standards of literacy and educational diversity have been slipping. Well-intentioned but misguided policymakers have stamped a uniform mediocrity on the rich variety and excellence that had been our heritage. I think most parents agree it's time to change course ... With common sense as our guide, we must put the basics back in the schools and the parents back in charge."

For the most part, home education has been extraordinarily successful. Data document the existence of a top tier of homeschool whiz kids, according to Maralee Mayberry of the University of Nevada, though she concedes that there may be an unstudied bottom layer of failures. She identifies the key elements of effective education as small class size, individualized instruction and a disciplined, nurturing environment, all of which are strengths of home schooling.

Read the rest of Duane Sheppard's (a retired St. Cloud educator) column here.