Re: [IAC#RG] Need help securing the rights of homeschoolers

'DON'T FORCE KIDS TO BE PART OF FORMAL SCHOOLING SYSTEM'

(Hindustan Times (Mumbai), Jun 18 2015, Page08)

http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=KBWXH80IYVS6&preview=magnifier&linkid=1abe75a2-7aea-4f80-8a55-4835c8a6cddb&pdaffid=OjfV6B9jmNfzSZBlOLfRBg%3d%3d

MUMBAI: Ink should not be used to mark children who do not attend a school, and youngsters being home-schooled or pursuing open or distance education should not be counted as out of school, a petition filed by education activists on Wednesday has urged.

On Sun, Jun 14, 2015 at 5:46 PM, Vidyut <wide.aware@gmail.com> wrote:

With due respect, R. Dua, it is as easy for me to say homeschooling has no parallel at any level or grade. Neither claim makes sense without providing the reasoning behind it. You might as well say people were high sounding empty vessels before the industrial revolution resulted in schools to free parents to work in factories. This effectively insults the foundation of a lot of knowledge we still use today.

Here is some information:

You may find the section on performance interesting. https://nheri.org/ResearchFacts.pdf

A three way study - school, structured homeschooling and unstructured homeschooling (unschooling) http://www.parentingscience.com/homeschooling-outcomes.html

Here is an overall bibliography of research, if you are interested in evaluating rather than beginning with an assumption that what you don't know about is inferior. http://www.nheri.org/research/bibliography-references-studies-international.html

I would urge people to keep in mind that a choice made to go so drastically against the grain with stakes as high as the lives of own children is never made lightly. Parents are convinced that they are offering their children a superior opportunity. Any dismissals ought to at least give some serious effort toward evaluation rather than assuming that schooling system is the only possible method of preparing children for life.

Regardless of your opinion or mine, the issue is not one of what is better - I merely put this information up because it is important to address prejudice. The issue is one of choice and freedom as citizens.

The largest, most exploited, abused, completely unrepresented and devoid of political power minority anywhere in the world is children.

People who put their children through 10 years of school won't see a film without knowing whether it is worth watching or a trailer or something. And that is just 2-3 hours. Yet no one asks a school whether taking up 10 years of a child's life is required for what they will be imparting to the children. It may be fine for your children, but I'd rather go to jail than send my child to one.

I request the group to consider children as real people instead of objects to put through a machine to get a desired shape. More importantly, to recognize that what is a satisfactory compromise to you cannot be imposed on everyone.

Vidyut