Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
This covers many areas and many objections that I have already encountered from ill informed, well meaning others. A good read. 
Fred Worth
Box 7783
Henderson State University
Arkadelphia AR 71999-0001
e-mail worthf@hsu.edu
You will note that I do not use the words “public schools.” The
government schools are not public anymore. There is less and less
parental involvement. That is in part because some parents have
abdicated their responsibilities. However, it appears that the
NEA, educational elitists and the government have worked together
to keep parents from having much control over what goes on in the
schools.
ACADEMIC ISSUES
1.) Objection - You’re not qualified to teach. Teachers are
taught how to teach in college, what makes you think you’ll know
how to teach? Why don’t you leave the education of your child to
the professionals?
Answer - Who taught your child to walk? Who taught your child
to talk? To feed herself? To share? If you taught your child to
do these things then you can obviously teach. Granted, some
subjects will be harder to teach because you don’t know them as
well as you do eating, walking, talking, etc. But you have shown
that you ARE qualified to teach.
Additionally, there are MANY resources available to home
schoolers to help them do the job well. There are conferences,
workshops, periodical, support groups, local and national
organizations, websites and mail lists to help those who have made
this commitment.
If you are a Christian then you have another factor to
consider. Proverbs 22:6 says ‘Train up a child in the way he
should go.’ I’ve been told according to the intent of the Hebrew
it’s meaning is more accurately interpreted ‘Train up a child
according to his bent.’ To raise a child according to his bent it
could only be done in a full-time tutorial environment, in other
words…home.
In many endeavors, motivation is at least as important as
ability. Parents have a great stake in their children’s educations
and therefore are going to put in a great deal of effort. Let’s
look at results. Statistically, (see
www.hslda.org/nationalcenter/statsandreports/ray1997/index.stm)
home educated children are better educated than their government
school counterparts. We must be doing something right. We are
constantly hearing about the poor quality of education in the
government schools. That does not speak well for the professionals
or the training they receive.
2.) Objection - Taking all of the home school kids out has damaged
the government schools.
Answer - Removing children from the government schools will
reduce class sizes. We are regularly told that reducing class
sizes increases the effectiveness of instruction. The teacher is
able to give more time to each student and therefore improve that
child’s education. Also, deterioration of the quality of education
in government schools is a large part of the reason that home
schooling is getting so popular.
3.) Objection - Home schooling children damages the government
schools by taking away needed funds.
Answer - Fewer students attending requires less funding since
fewer textbooks, etc. need to be purchased. Also, my primary
responsibility is MY child’s education. If I believe that home
schooling is the best option for my child then that is what I need
to do.
Secondly, legalized abortion has taken more children out of
the government school system than home schooling has. Perhaps those
who are concerned about the funding “problem” for government
schools should go after those who have aborted their children
rather than those who are trying to give their children a better
education.
Thirdly, the number of homeschooled children is small compared
to the number in private schools. Society has never complained
about this “drain” on government school funds. So why pick on home
schoolers? Why do educational elitists not complain about this?
The reason is simple. The educational elitists are the very ones
who have their children in private schools.
Lastly, this argument is essentially irrelevant. Many schools
that have very limited funds turn out very successful students.
Increased funding does NOT translate into increased results.
4.) Objection - What happens if your child wants to go to college?
Answer - Home schooled children have been accepted in (see
www.concentric.net/~kmbunday/colleges_4_hmsc.html) colleges all
over the country. They have been very successful in college. Home
schooled children have graduated from Harvard. Home schooled
children have been National Merit Scholars. Some colleges are
beginning to go out of their way to recruit home schooled children
because they are finding them better prepared and more
conscientious.
5.) Objection - Your child’s education will be inferior.
Answer - This is simply false. (see
www.hslda.org/nationalcenter/statsandreports/ray1997/index.stm)
The opposite is true. One on one tutoring is easily the most
effective form of teaching. No matter how capable a government
school teacher is, she can not give the kind of education to each
student that one on one tutoring gives.
Test results consistently show that homeschoolers test at a
much higher level than the government school children.
Additionally, home education allows a child to receive an education
that is uniquely tailored to his skills, interests and needs. Most
colleges have at least some remedial courses. The purpose of
remedial courses is to help students learn things they should
already know. Some colleges have as much as 60 - 70% of their
students in need of remediation. That doesn’t sound like the
government schools are doing a great job.
6.) Objection - Elementary school may be OK but you’re not
qualified to teach all of the high school material.
Answer - There are many outstanding curricula available for
teaching every course imaginable. They come with teacher’s manuals
and other materials that help the parent teach anything from
Spanish to Calculus to Physics. Even if the parent is not well
versed in a particular field of study, they can work with the child
and learn together. Two people working together can learn
incredible amounts of material.
In areas where the parent feels inadequate they can always use
the expertise of a private tutor, a relative or a neighbor to help.
Also, for the Christian, we need to remember that God promises
to supply all our needs and He is even more intimately concerned
about the education and training of our children. As we seek Him,
He truly guides according to the child’s needs, which may not
necessarily be what this distorted world deems important.
7.) Objection - It must be difficult to teach more than one level
at the same time.
Answer - Not all subjects have a particular sequence of study
that is necessary. Mathematics, reading and writing have a fairly
fixed order in which they need to be done. But history, science,
social studies, etc. can be done in any order. Children of any age
can study Ancient Egypt. Children of any age can do studies on
magnetism. This is along the lines of what was done in the days of
the one room school house. It worked well.
When something is being done sequentially, it still can be
used for children of various levels. When one child is being
taught about something, it can be a review for older children and
an introduction for younger children. When the ages are further
apart, older children can help teach younger children.
Yes, it may be more of a challenge to teach different levels,
but simply being a challenge does not make it wrong or impossible.
8.) Objection - Who will recognize their diploma? Homeschooled
kids won’t have a real and acceptable high school diploma.
Answer - As stated above, many colleges are eager for home schooled
children. In any case, it would not be difficult for the home
schooled child to take the GED to get a “recognized” high school
diploma, if that is necessary.
9.) Objection - What about PE (phys ed.), Driver’s education?
Answer - At most government schools, PE is nothing more than
playing games for a little while as seldom as once a week. Most
children get at least as much exercise outside of school as they
would from a government school PE course.
Regarding driver’s education, parents all over the country
have taught their children how to drive without any help from
government schools. Also, there are curricula available that help
parents in teaching driving.
10.) Objection - What about them not having enough competition
from other kids challenging them to do their best?
Answer - In the average government school, children are not
challenged to do their best. Teachers have to spend time trying to
teach the slower students so the brighter ones are left
unchallenged.
11.) Objection - How will you know you are teaching the right
things and at the right times?
Answer - By personal observation of your child you can notice
when they are ready and able to learn something. Just like we
choose toys by our children’s abilities and interests, we can tell
when they are ready to learn. In a classroom of 20 or more in a
government school, such observation and individual adapting of
curricula is impossible.
Also, there are scope and sequence charts dealing with these
things that are available with the text books. But each child is
an individual and that is the beauty of home school. You can teach
and encourage when the child is ready, not push them when they are
behind or keep them back when they are ready to go ahead.
12.) Objection - How will you teach your kids the lab sciences?
Homeschooled high schoolers can’t have a good science course
because you can’t have a full lab in your home.
Answer - There are many science experiments which can be done
in the home with easily obtainable things to show all sorts of
scientific facts. Science with known and familiar items is more
likely to have a strong impact on the child and more likely to be
remembered and understood.
13.) Objection - You can’t possibly give the quality of education
that is received by children in the government schools.
Answer - First, I question whether the government schools are
giving a good quality education. We are constantly hearing that
our government education system is failing.
If that is the case, then certainly home education looks like
a good option. Even if that is not the case, the government school
education is not as good as it may appear. An education involves
learning how to learn. In most cases, the government school does
not provide that.
Most education there involves learning facts. While there is
nothing wrong with learning fact, there needs to be more and the
government school system doesn’t accomplish that. The old saying
goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”
Sitting in a government school classroom for 13 years does not
guarantee an educated student. Home education, with its capability
of being personally tailored to the needs and interests of the
child, is more likely to produce a child who retains a love of
learning. That child will know facts. But she will also know how
to find out facts she doesn’t know.
SOCIALIZATION ISSUES
1.) What about socialization?
Every parent who makes a decision to home school can be
assured that they are going hear the dreaded “S” word. “What about
socialization?” Often that’s the extent of the question. Sometimes
there is elaboration. It seems to me that there are 3 basic
implications in the question.
a.) Socialization is necessary.
b.) Socialization is good.
c.) To be properly socialized, children must spend large
amounts of time with their peers.
Before dealing with these assumptions, let’s first consider one
important question: “What is socialization?” I looked it up in my
“The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary.”
‘Socialization’ is the noun form of the verb ’socialize.’
Socialize
1.) To place under group or government control; especially,
to regulate according to socialist principles.
2.) To convert from an antisocial to a social attitude; make
friendly, cooperative, or sociable.
3.) To convert or adapt to the needs of a social group.
4.) To take part in social activities.
Let’s consider the answers to the implications of the socialization
question for each of these definitions separately.
* To place under group or government control; especially, to
regulate according to socialist principles.
- Socialization is necessary. ABSOLUTELY NOT!! This form
of socialization is in direct opposition to the ideals of
freedom and independence on which the United States was
founded. Scripturally this is also unacceptable. Nowhere in
scripture does it tell parents to give control of their
children over to the government or any other group.
- Socialization is good. Again, ABSOLUTELY NOT!! We do
not need, nor should we want, a nation full of children who
think exactly alike and behave exactly alike. I truly believe
that our current forms of government education are designed to
pour all of the children into the same mold. Our government
school system is patterned after the German system that was
used to produce the “good German” citizens that helped bring
us World War I and World War II.
- To be properly socialized, children must spend large amounts
of time with their peers. This one is certainly true. If
this is the kind of ’socialization’ we are seeking then
keeping children in groups of children is the best way to do
it. Separated from adult influence children are more likely
to be molded into the form the government desires.
* To convert from an antisocial to a social attitude; make
friendly, cooperative, or sociable.
- Socialization is necessary. When raised properly, most
children will grow up fairly friendly, cooperative and
sociable. So putting kids in some artificial setting for this
purpose is unnecessary.
- Socialization is good. When not raised properly, or when
for other reasons children become unfriendly, uncooperative
and unsociable, it is a good thing to try to reverse that
pattern.
- To be properly socialized, children must spend large amounts
of time with their peers. Being around other children is not
going to help with this kind of socialization. If a large
number of children are together, it is typically the bad
examples that are followed rather than the good examples. One
of the strongest memories I have of my government school
socialization is hiding behind the building during lunch so I
wouldn’t be beaten up by the school bullies. That was not
helping me or anyone else become friendly, cooperative or
sociable. Indeed, much time is spent in government schools in
trying to help students resist peer pressure. What is peer
pressure if not the ’socialization’ that government schools
provide?
* To convert or adapt to the needs of a social group.
- Socialization is necessary. Yes, it is necessary that
children learn to adapt their behaviors in order to meet the
needs of many social groups. The family only functions well
when all members convert or adapt to the needs of the family.
The church only functions well when all members convert or
adapt to the needs of the church. The country only functions
well when all members convert or adapt to the needs of the
country.
- Socialization is good. It depends entirely on what the
needs of the group are and who defines those needs. If the
“needs” of the group are independent thinking, responsible
adults, then, yes, socialization is good. If the “needs” of
the group are likeminded automatons, then, no, socialization
is not good.
- To be properly socialized, children must spend large amounts
of time with their peers. Again, constant exposure to the
immaturities and abuses of other children does not effectively
bring about the good aspects of this form of socialization.
Peer pressure brings conformity, not individuality. And it
brings conformity in superficial or harmful ways. Everyone
dressing the same and piercing body parts the same does
nothing to help family, church or country. Being pressured
into using tobacco, alcohol or drugs does nothing to help
family, church or country.
* To take part in social activities.
- Socialization is necessary. In this form, socialization
is not only necessary, but unavoidable unless one chooses to
become a hermit. Going to church is a social activity. Going
to the grocery store is a social activity. Every time we come
into contact with other people we are participating in social
activities.
- Socialization is good. Yes, this kind of socialization
is good so long as the social activity is not destructive to
mind, body, spirit or property.
- To be properly socialized, children must spend large amounts
of time with their peers. Since most social activities that
people will encounter in life are not exclusively with
children, it is not helpful if the majority of their social
activities as children are exclusively with children.
Clearly there is positive socialization and negative socialization.
Yes, children do need positive socialization. They do not need
negative socialization.
Let’s examine what would be classified as “Positive Socialization.”
Let us also consider whether these traits are more likely to be
instilled in a government school environment or in a home school
environment.
* Learning how to get along with people. By this, I mean
learning how to get along with a variety of people of diverse
backgrounds in diverse situations. The artificial, age-segregated
government school classroom does not afford any such opportunity.
All that children learn there is how to interact with the same 25
or so children of the same age, with one adult thrown in as a
balance. In a home school, in addition to the classroom learning,
children will often accompany their parents during errands and
chores during the day. They will encounter people at the grocery
store, hardware store, post office and all of the other settings
that they will encounter throughout life. They will see people of
all ages and all backgrounds. They will see them in all kinds of
situations. Clearly, if you want a child who will grow up knowing
how to interrelate with a wide range of people then home schooling
is the best choice. Home school wins.
* Learning how to treat people with respect. I attended
government school. I do not recall my interaction with my peers as
a positive force in learning to treat people with respect. I
recall slower students being called “retard.” I recall people with
acne being viciously ridiculed. I recall children from poor
families being ridiculed for not having the best clothes. I recall
smart children being ridiculed for being smart. I recall children
being beaten up for no reason. I may be missing something but that
doesn’t seem to me a good way of teaching children to treat people
with respect. When children are the primary source of
socialization then childish values will be transmitted. Mature
adults are necessary to teach the proper values. A government
school teacher with a classroom of 25 or more children can not
overcome and counteract all of the negative behavior of the
students. A home educated child is in constant contact with an
adult who can give careful attention to the behavior of the child,
reinforcing the good and correcting the bad. Home school wins
again.
* Learning to conform to standards of good behavior What
standards of behavior are learned through contact with children?
Good ones or bad? Watch a group of children. Does the behavior of
the crowd get more greatly influenced by the example of the good
child or the badly behaved child? Crowds tend to follow the lowest
examples. I honestly think this is why so many churches see their
youth begin to rebel and walk away as they reach their teens. The
positive training that took place in the home and church during the
formative years gets worn away by constant exposure to the negative
behavior of government school classmates. Jonathan Lindvall deals
with this VERY well. He points out that in scripture we are told
that “foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.” (Proverbs
22:15) So when a child gets his main interaction from other
children then he grows up as a companion of fools. Those who get
their main interaction from fools grow up to be fools. Home school
wins again.
Now, let’s examine what would be classified as “Negative
Socialization.” Let us also consider whether these traits are more
likely to be instilled in a government school environment or in a
home school environment.
* Developing peer dependence. We all naturally want the
approval of those around us. Children who are in government school
are around other children most of the time. Therefore they look to
other children for their main source of approval. In order to gain
the approval of a group, it is necessary to conform to the
behaviors and norms of that group. Thus, government school
children, by the very nature of the design of government school,
will grow up dependent on their peers for approval. It doesn’t
really matter that they are eventually told to “resist peer
pressure.” That would be like putting a child in a room filled
with candy and letting them eat all they want. Then a few years
later you start telling them not to eat it. The habits are
developed and will not easily be changed. In home education, the
primary source of approval is the family. The family values and
behavior are transmitted. Those values are dictated and patterned
by the parents. Home school wins again.
* Drug abuse. Alcohol abuse. Tobacco use. Profanity.
Promiscuous sex. Other anti-social behavior. The standards of the
group become the standards of the individuals in the group. If a
child is constantly in a place where these behaviors are exhibited
then the child is likely to participate in them or at least view
them as acceptable even though they are not. How many of us have
heard “good” kids use bad language? If they hear it enough they
become accustomed to it. It they become accustomed to it they
become accepting of it. If they become accepting of it they start
using it. In a home where those behaviors are not accepted or
exhibited then the children are much less likely to accept or
exhibit those behaviors. Home school wins again.
* Cliques. There is nothing wrong with having a close group
of friends. However, there is something badly wrong when the
attitude becomes that of a clique. That attitude is “If you’re not
one of us you are nobody.” All of us who attended government
schools remember cliques. Some of us were in them. Some of us
were not. In neither case does the child benefit. The government
schools, with the patterns of behavior discussed above, are a
fertile breeding ground for cliques. Home school wins again.
Government school provides virtually nothing of positive value to
the socialization of children. What little it does provide is more
than outweighed by the negatives that come with it. Home education
is a far superior method for developing a mature, responsible, law
abiding adult.
Yes, some children do go to government school and come out as fine
young adults. But that is IN SPITE OF the government school
socialization, not BECAUSE OF it.
Now let’s consider some other specific objections to home schooling
that are related to the socialization question.
1.) Objection - Your child won’t know how to interact with people
of different backgrounds.
Answer - Very few home schoolers teach their children in a
vacuum. Most attend church, play in little league or do other
things that bring them into contact with people from other
economic, social or racial backgrounds. They encounter those
people in varied situations. They encounter people of more diverse
backgrounds since they are not spending all day in an age
segregated environment.
Additionally, they may even be more likely to develop
friendships with people of different backgrounds since they won’t
need to deal with the peer pressure to conform to the behavior of
“their” group.
2.) Objection - Your children will be sheltered.
Answer - Children are supposed to be sheltered. That is the
whole purpose behind parenting. If a toddler tries to put his hand
on the burner on the stove, we stop him. That is not “sheltering.”
It is protecting the child. When children are protected from the
negative influences so prevalent in the government schools, they
will grow up more emotionally healthy. They will grow up more
firmly established in the values of their parents. That way, when
they do need to make value decisions later in life, they will have
a firmer base on which to make their decisions. When banks train
tellers to recognize counterfeit money, they do not show them
counterfeit money. They make them very familiar with real money.
Then, when they see counterfeit money, they will know it is not
real. Likewise, if children are immersed in positive values they
will be more able to recognize negative values later.
Also, from what are they being sheltered? Gang violence.
Drugs. Bullies. The latest educational fads. Ungodly
philosophies. Immoral sex education. They are not ready to be
exposed to those things and therefore they shouldn’t be. We don’t
ridicule a florist for keeping a young, tender plant in a green
house to shelter it from things it can not handle. Why should
parents be ridiculed for shelter young, tender children?
3.) Objection - Your children won’t know how to deal with the real
world.
Answer - I have never been in a situation, outside of
government school, where everyone in the group is the same age and
is forced to do the same things. I have always been in groups of
people of various ages. Age segregation is not the “real world.”
In the “real world,” people who can excel are not held back until
the people who are slower catch up. That is how things are done in
government schools.
4.) Objection - Your children will grow to be too dependent on
you.
Answer - A little more dependence is a healthy thing. We see
too many children who are disrespectful of parents and all
authority. As they get older they care less about their parents
and families. Close knit families and consideration for others are
things that are necessary for a strong, stable society. Everyone
needs something or someone to depend on. Better that the child
depend on his parents and the values that will be passed down in
such a relationship than depend on the government and its values.
5.) Objection - Your child will be lonely or not have any friends.
Answer - It is true that home school parents might have to go
to a little more effort to give their children opportunities to
meet other children. But it is also true that with the government
schools not being a factor, the parent is better able to monitor
the kinds of friendships that their children develop. Since home
schoolers tend to be active in church, clubs, etc. their children
are not likely to lack for contact with their peers. Many
homeschoolers are active in home school support groups. Those
groups provide further social activities.
6.) Objection - The child will be socially stigmatized.
Answer - Differences are usually criticized out of ignorance
or jealousy. To combat this, simply help the child to realize that
what is being done is good for her.
7.) Objection - The child will not be able to interact when
swapping stories about school once he has grown.
Answer - This is not true at all. The home schooled child
will have his own stories to share. There are many other home
schooled children so there will be many other children with similar
experiences. Further, in my experience, such swapping of stories
in society is rare. Typically, the stories swapped are negative in
nature.
8.) Objection - Your kids are socially younger than their
government school peers and this is due to the fact that they
aren’t in government schools.
Answer - Home school children will not be forced to act more
mature than they really are to try to protect themselves from being
mocked. They are permitted to enjoy their childhood by not being
exposed to things that rob them of their youth and innocence. They
will not be forced to become prematurely independent. Independence
will come after they have developed the moral and emotional
maturity to handle it.
My experience shows me that home schooled children tend to be
more respectful, more self-confident, more mature and more capable
than government school children.
9.) Objection - The kids won’t be able to learn how to fail or
succeed in front of other people.
Answer - They will fail or succeed in front of their teacher
just like government school children do. They will fail and
succeed in front of their friends, siblings and family members. In
home school, however, the failures are not going to be ridiculed by
others, causing the children to become less likely to take risks.
Also, most people do not home school in a vacuum. Home school
children typically participate in church activities, little league,
etc.
PARENTING/FAMILY ISSUES
1.) Objection - Families today need two incomes so you’re robbing
your family if you stay home to home educate your kids.
Answer - A differentiation needs to be made between families’
needs and families’ wants. It is sometimes true that a family may
need two incomes to meet their needs. In many cases, though, it is
possible for one parent to stay home if the family is willing to
give up some luxuries. Besides, is there really any comparison
between the “need” for extra income and the need for a nurturing
environment provided by a full-time stay at home mother? How much
is that nurturing environment worth to a child?
However, even if both parents work, it is still possible to
home school.
2.) Objection - You need time for yourself. Mothers who
homeschool their children won’t have enough time to fulfill their
own needs. It will drive the mother crazy to have the kids with
her 24 hours a day and have no time to herself. If you are not
happy with YOUR life because you are always sacrificing for the
kids, your family won’t be happy.
Answer - Home schooling does not take eight hours each day.
Even during the home schooling time, there are times that the
children will be working on their own. Some time for the parent to
be alone can be available. But, again, even if it isn’t easily
available, good decisions sometimes mean sacrifice.
Also, home schooling is a family decision. It is not
something that is just placed on one person’s shoulders. If mom
does most of the schooling and needs some time to herself then dad,
other members of the family or friends can watch the younger
children for a while.
Lastly, the emphasis on time for ME is a fairly recent
phenomenon in American history. Previous generations were more
willing to be self-sacrificing for the good of the family.
RELIGIOUS ISSUES
1.) Objection - If all Christians take their kids out of
government school then their will be no Christian influence left in
the government schools. Who is going to witness to the unsaved
kids in the government schools?
Answer - Children are generally not mature enough to act as
missionaries. We don’t send physically immature people into a war
situation. Neither should we send children into a spiritual
warfare situation for which they are not prepared. It is typically
the Christian child that gets influenced by the other children
rather than the other way around.
Also, consider that many of the home schooled children may not
yet be saved — do we send the lost to teach the lost?? Also, we as
adults must really struggle to be a witness in job situations with
lost bosses and co-workers. Many Christians work hard for weeks or
months to get the courage to say something to one co-worker — Is
this a job for children who are new converts?
2.) Objection - You are brainwashing those kids with all that
religious nonsense! Homeschooling is the Devil’s tool to tear down
churches and Christian schools. You are not supporting the
ministry and are hurting the cause of Christ.
Answer - Some objections to home schooling are reasonable
questions. Others, like these two, are simply an insulting attempt
to manipulate people into doing what the other person wants. Such
a person fits the description in Proverbs of a fool. In that case,
it is best to take the advice of Proverbs 26:4, which says “Do not
answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him
yourself.”
MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
1.) Objection - This is a new idea. How do you know it will work?
Answer - Home schooling is not a new idea. It is how
education was done in Biblical times. It is how many of the
founding fathers of the United States were educated. Abraham
Lincoln and Thomas Edison were home schooled. So we know it will
work because it has been working for centuries. Government schools
are the new idea. It is an experiment that is not proving to be
very successful.
2.) Objection - Your child won’t be able to participate in high
school athletics.
Answer - That may or may not be true, depending on the area
where one lives. However, even if it is true, making right
decisions often involves sacrifice. I would rather see my child
get a quality education in a loving Christian atmosphere than have
him play football. Additionally, what percentage of students
really get to play high school sports? Only the best make the
team. And only the best of those actually get to play. But there
are many ways (little league, recreation leagues, etc.) to
participate in sports without being on a high school team.
3.) Objection - The shared government school experience is
essential to our nation.
Answer - The nation was doing just fine before the “government
school experience” began. Government schools did not start
becoming common until well after the founding of the United States.
4.) Objection - What if they *want* to go to government school?
Answer - Suppose children *want* to do cocaine? Does that mean
they should be permitted to do so? Children are not allowed to
make all of their own decisions for the simple reason that they are
not mature enough to do so. They are often unable to assess all of
the necessary information to make the right choices. That’s what
parents are for. It is their responsibility to make those
decisions for their children.
5.) Objection - Is that legal?
Answer - Home schooling is legal in every state of the United
States and in many other countries. There are varying
restrictions, depending on where one lives.
6.) Objection - Government schools were good enough for us, so
they should be good enough for our children (implied here was also,
“They should be good enough for your children, too!”).
Answer - Outhouses were good enough for earlier generations of
my family but that doesn’t mean I should get rid of my indoor
plumbing. Also, the people teaching, the children going to school
and the curricula in use are not the same as they used to be.
Besides, I don’t want what’s “good enough” for my child. I want
what is best for him.
Source - http://fac.hsu.edu/worth/argue.txt
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We journeyed back a few hundred million years today and went along with some friends to see the 
pressure. Each major body part could be moved with lever’s. This was the definite number one hit out of the whole exhibition. I think they would have been thrilled if every dinosaur in the exhibit was presented like this. The whole thrill of deciphering how it all worked was no doubt the best part of the morning.
