What are our responsibilities?

Browsing today through the various homeschooling blogs I've grown fond of, I came across this post over at Spunky's blog. Overall, I agree with the assessments and comments about the articles and the ideas presented. But it got me to thinking.

We should ask home school and private school families their opinions and determine why these parents make the choice to avoid the public schools and then respond appropriately, when possible, to attract those children.

Okay, not really thrilled with the idea of actively recruiting homeschoolers in an effort to draw them back into the government fold. But I think they are actively heading in the right direction by asking people, "what's wrong, and how do we fix it?"

While I wouldn't be able to answer any specific questions about my local schools, as my children have never attended them, I would be happy to explain some of the generalities of problems that I have seen in the news and what I know from friends. Violence, unsafe conditions, and ridiculous academic "standards" abound. I would love to be able to help school folks fix those problems and get things back to the way they used to be.

Why? Why should I care, right? I have my own kids to worry about, right? Au contraire, my friends! While the number of homeschooled children is somewhere between 1 and 2 million (and growing), the number of public schooled children is far greater, and always will be as long as this nation stands. These are the people we will have to deal with as they grow and enter the work force in the future. We should have their best interests in mind because it is in OUR best interest to make sure that the leaders of tomorrow know what they are doing, no matter their academic background.

I know that some homeschoolers moan and groan that they have to pay property taxes to help the schools, but they reap no benefits since their children aren't in school. I say, "shame!" First of all, you're not the only one in that boat - there are plenty of childless people out there who have to pay the same property taxes you do. Second of all, you chose to remove yourself from the system. And most importantly, you are helping to make sure that the children who don't have the same opportunity to homeschool that your children have will be able to go to school and at least have the *chance* to learn and grow.

What else can we do? Exercise your rights as a citizen and VOTE! Next Tuesday is the big day - get out there! Inform yourself. Vote for the candidates who you feel will best fill the roles and will do the best job for everyone, not just for homeschoolers. (Although, I realize that is *our* prime concern!)

What else? Volunteer at a local school or after-school program. If you can teach your own children, you can teach others. Schools are always after tutors for many subjects, most especially reading. This is a great opportunity to help just one more child. If your children are old enough, they could probably also help (depending on the school's regulations) and get a chance to pass on their own knowledge.

Mentor a child. Maybe a neighbor child who needs another listening adult ear, maybe a child through the Big Brother/Big Sister program. This would be a larger investment of your time than simple tutoring, but it can be so worth it.

While it can be so tempting to maintain the view of, "I'm handling my family, I don't need you, so you don't need me," I truly believe this is a wrong-headed and narrow viewpoint. We have a responsibility to be good world citizens, and if we can help just one more person, we should take it. Some day, those children are going to grow up and become our doctors, lawyers, government officials and more. Don't you want them to be the best that they can be?

posted by Homeschool Help Web at 6:16 PM |