To the Academic Boogie Man
The Academic Boogie Man is watching behind every tree, just waiting‹ to jump out at homeschoolers and say, "Ha! I got you now! Your child didn't get a good education at home!"
There are several things I'd like to say to this guy. (By the way, his brother is the Socialization Boogie Man but more about him later.) The Academic Boogie man is a very scary guy! He scares some people away from homeschooling all together, making them believe that they will just never be good enough. I can hardly believe the gall of this guy telling homeschoolers that we don’t know what is best for our children. He is trying to make us feel bad for wanting to keep our children home, while we are just wanting to best life possible for them away from the stressful influences of the world.
But one question I want to ask this guy is, "Don't kids ever get a bad education in public school too?" Yes, schools miss things too, even important academic concepts. According to international standards, the USA is far behind other countries academically. Public schools do not teach every concept masterfully, though they try, so let's give homeschoolers the same break. Education is more about learning to learn than mastering every subject. Also remember, homeschoolers receive one-on-one attention and care is given to them and it doesn't take all day. There may be times when your homeschooler is missing a piece of knowledge, but if they are, they will still likely be better off than if they went to public school. And every school is allowed to have a few bad teachers and every kid in school has a "bad year" or two (or three or four ), so homeschoolers should too. Let's tell this Academic Boogie Man to go away!
Furthermore, I'd like to remind Mr. Academic Boogie Man that life isn't all about academics. Homeschoolers learn to think for themselves and explore opportunities. They are taught to be kind others and can even bond with people of all ages. These kids often have a deep and abiding faith, a rock to anchor life's storms. That's worth a lot more to most than an "A" in Algebra or Grammar. They are more likely to build a sweet character and rise higher on the academic ladder while doing it.
So, Mr. Academic Boogie Man, we don't need you to scare us any longer. You have no place in our homeschool world. We will admit our academic faults freely and hope the rest of the academic world does the same. But we will defend our faith and our way of life. You do not scare us.
A few resources:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/12/03/248329823/u-s-high-school-students-slide-in-math-reading-science
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/30/home-schooling-outstanding-results-national-tests/
http://www.techinsider.io/homeschooling-is-the-new-path-to-harvard-2015-9
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/08/28/public-high-schools-are-not-doing-their-jobs
