Home schooling should be board election topic
As the 2006 election year goes into high gear, we have 18 candidates seeking to be elected to Vanderburgh County's School Board, a record number. The debate over educating the county's estimated 30,000 school-age children will be interesting and, we hope, productive.
In addition to the public, private and parochial schools in operation, there is a segment of the younger-than-18 population we don't read or hear much about, but who can, in some cases, have a greater impact than we might assume.
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Home schooling is a growing phenomenon in the Midwest and South. Many education professionals believe that if the home educator is not well qualified or fails to include a child in group activities outside the home, it can produce young adults who have insufficient social skills and, in the extreme, borderline xenophobia. Lack of socialization and life experiences can stifle a child's maturation and his ability to mentally process disappointments and life changes.
David Ludwig, 18, and Kara Roth, 15, were Pennsylvania teenagers who met at an outing for home-schooled teens in Lititz, Pa. In November 2005, Ludwig shot and killed Kara's parents when they banned him from seeing their daughter. The two fled to Indiana, where they were captured.
Experts said that Ludwig had a self-indulgent apathy toward others' feelings and property and never showed remorse for the murders.
Home schooling can also be a cover for abuse. There have been many foster-care children who have fallen victim to neglect and worse, and no one outside the home had any idea of the desperate situation. In the cases of Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children, and Deanna Laney, who beat two of her three sons to death with a block of concrete - none of the children ever attended public schools.
A 14-year-old North Carolina boy killed his two siblings with a handgun, and then killed himself. They were all home-schooled in a shockingly impoverished rural dwelling. Their mother was quoted as saying she would rather all three be in "God's hands" than the public schools. Marjorie Lavery, second- place finisher in the National Spelling Bee, was beaten and threatened with death by her father for losing. He pleaded guilty to child endangerment.
These examples are probably the exception to the rule. Not all home-school environments are negative. Nationwide there are networks of outstanding examples of home-schooled youngsters who win awards and achieve high honors. But those "exceptions" underscore the need to be watchful in any community for abuse, especially for kids the rest of the world may not see on a daily basis. America's public schools produce their share of dysfunction, and defenders of home-schooling point to the violence and social ambivalence of some students and educators.
It is not a perfect world. However, in today's society, employers, colleges and the majority of the public in general expect all children to have a level of education and development. In states where the aforementioned violent episodes occurred, laws were subsequently modified concerning home education, and rules on who can keep their child out of school and out of the public eye have been passed. In Indiana, we have no way to tell if home-schooled kids are being prepared. There is virtually no regulation of home schooling in Indiana. A parent can take a child out of public school at any time. The only rule that must be followed is attendance. The parent must complete 180 days of instruction, and the records can be requested by the state superintendent of public instruction.
Although the statute also says home educators must provide an equal program of learning, there is no enforcement. There are no requirements for curricula, formats for math, science or social studies. Home- schooled youngsters do not have to take the ISTEP exams, nor are they required to master certain levels before "graduation." They do not receive a diploma.
I would like to propose the following for discussion in the community and the upcoming School Board campaign debates and the mayor's education roundtable:
- Should we amend Indiana law to require home-schooled students to take and pass objective, grade-specific exams each semester, and require proficiency in all curricula required of public school students at each grade level?
- Should a home-schooled child who does not meet the minimum required level of ability be required to re-enroll in an Indiana public school until that child can pass such objective tests?
- Should home educators be required to have minimum requirements and follow specific curricula outlines, as do the public schools, in order to adequately prepare the student for a comprehensive exam to obtain a high school diploma?
- Should home-schooled children's physical exams be made part of the school corporation's records, and should the children be visited by social service representatives throughout the year to evaluate their condition?
It is the obligation of a community to ensure home- schooled children are not at risk from becoming neglect/abuse statistics, and that they be adequately prepared to thrive in the world at large in the 21st century.
In the cases of the deceased children mentioned above, had they been seen daily by many other people, their desperate home situations might have taken a different turn.
If amending the rules for all saves one child from failing or worse, then let's at least discuss it.
Perhaps now is the time to look at this issue, especially as we engage in debate on the upcoming School Board elections and Indiana's place in the 21st century.
Kelley Coures is a member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Courier & Press.
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© 2006 The Evansville Courier Co.
