The first topic that Dr. Albert Mohler discussed on his program after I started this blog was homeschooling. There couldn't have been a better one for me even if I was allowed to choose the first topic. Homeschooling is of all the topics the constantly re-arise on the program the only one in which I have to disagree with Dr. Mohler because I'm more conservative than he is.
When looking at the history of homeschooling you will find that homeschooling arose from the very left of society. The reasoning for it was that in a society of fully autonomous citizens every parent knows best what is good for his/her child an is therefor entitled to make a fully free education choice for his/her child. Those early parents who did to teach their children at home did so to protect their children from conformist influences of society teaching their children to be fully autonomous persons.
Dr. Mohler generally disagrees with the precept of personal autonomy especially when it comes to the abortion issue. So why would he turn around on the issue of homeschooling? What is it that makes him suddenly believe in the personal autonomy of parents when it comes to the decision to home school their kids?
It boils down to the issues of sex-education and evolution. The evangelical right has lost one lawsuit after another to get evolution out of biology classes or to get creationism taught as equal in science class. I haven't heard as much on sex-education in the United States as I heard on the campaigns for creationism (against evolution) so I can't go deeper into that.
So homeschooling from the viewpoint of conservative evangelicals is a tool to protect their children from liberal agendas and ideas. I'm a social-democrat and as such I would if I had children raise them to recognize that freedom and wealth always come with a responsibility for the society, and especially for the weak in this society, you live in. Therefor I won't criticize him for trying to raise his children in the Christian faith and according to a conservative agenda.
Handle nur nach derjenigen Maxime durch die du zugleich wollen kannst, dass sie ein allgemeines Gesetz werde.
Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.
Is the first formulation of the categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant. When we are talking about whether someone should be allowed to pull his children out of public-school to pursue his own political agenda, we should ask ourselves whether one could make that universal law. If it was a universal law than we would also have to allow members of the ku klux klan or neo-nazis to pull their children out of school to pursue their own political agendas.
Secondly, can we allow anyone to teach his child at home?
American idol taught us all that not everyone who believes that he can sing is really able to sing. Why should we believe that every parent who believes she/he can teach her/his child is able to teach the child? Teaching requires a certain eloquence, knowledge of the subject, passion to see someone improve but also patience. I've already taught physics and English (foreign language) as a mentor. From my own experience I know that there's a huge difference between knowing something and teaching it. If I would homeschool I might be able to teach mathematics, natural sciences and politics. But I wouldn't be able to teach musics, foreign languages I don't know like Spanish (which is getting more and more important on the American continent) or art.
I'm aware that homeschooling-students are tested whether they achieve the standards that are required of public-school students. By this it is guaranteed that homeschooling students receive the same education. What isn't tested and what can't be tested is what kind of worldview is taught to them. I'm not concerned about the Christian worldview at this point, but I would seriously be concerned if a child of racist, nazi, communist or any other form of autocratic worldview affiliated parents would be deprived of the chance to get instructed by and under the influence of freedom loving persons.
Furthermore those tests for what is taught and how the children are taught within their homeschooling families can just work as long as the number of homeschoolers doesn't grow too large. Besides the ones within the evangelical community who openly campaign for those tests to be removed there's also a large faction of pragmatics. Those pragmatics know that any effective control of what and how is taught in homeschooling families will become impossible in practice as soon as the number of homeschoolers exceed a critical point.
Finally we also have to keep the future of those children in mind.
It isn't just enough to know something. You also need to have it certified. If Dr. Mohler works on his campus with students from homeschooling families than this is surely laudable, but very rarely you will meet universities and companies in our modern world who have the time and patience to assess each applicant.
In Germany and in the United Kingdom (I just know those two countries in that matter) before the real choice process starts those applications that doesn't fit the standard (missing documents, remains of spilled coffee) aren't read but sent immediately back (Germany) or thrown into the bin (UK). I dare to doubt that the process of choosing candidates is that different in the United States.
Do I need to add that missing school documents would fit those criteria for an application to be sent back or to be recycled?
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