Olive Sprouts

CNN story on homeschooling.
Interesting:

"About 1 to 2 million school-age children -- who make up 2 to 4 percent of the school-age population in the United States -- were home-schooled during the 2002-2003 school year, according to statistics collected by the National Home Education Research Institute."

Of course, they also quote criticism of homeschooling:

' "Unless we are prepared to keep our children in bubbles their entire lives, we have to give them an opportunity to have some exposure to real-world problems so they can develop coping strategies," says Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists..."It's one thing to read about it," he says. "Much of what we learn in life is a matter of interaction. I just wonder how that takes place in a home school environment."'

Unbeknownst to Mr. Feinberg, homeschooled children across the US are learning about real-world problems. Does he imagine that all homeschooled families are independently wealthy people who isolate their children on ranches and spoon feed them, therefore depriving them of the interaction that leads to learning? Please.

Most homeschoolers I know interact, on a regular basis, with people -- ok, here's where it gets shocking, people -- who aren't in the same exact age group!

That way, they learn how to interact with adults, like the little old lady they talked to when out taking a walk with their siblings and mom during recess. That way, they learn how to take care of little ones by watching mom and helping her out. They also learn how to interact with all age groups through family friendships, something that isn't peculiar to homeschooling, but does seem to be endangered in modern school systems.

Socially, of course, there are drawbacks: they may not meet drug pushers in junior high. Obviously sheltered, therefore, when, at the age of 35, they encounter one, they'll be ill prepared.

"Oh, no!" they'll be thinking, "I can't deal with this! I'm no longer an omniscient teen!"

However, if encountering drug pushers in j.h. is what's needed to expose them to real-world problems, then why are schools so upset about drugs on campus? Surely that too is just needed real-world experience, right?