Online Homeschool Debates

I love a good debate. But, I really try to stay away from the online debates about homeschooling. There is currently a not-too-vitriolic debate going on here:

Is Home School a Good Option for Middle School

I read through all the comments. They are predictable. Then, one teacher decided that her experience with homeschoolers was more relevant than those of us who actually spend time with homeschoolers. She said

Here is the problem: if you are a homeschooling parent, you have seen its effects on your 2 or 3 kids. So it is 100%. I have taught over 1000 kids. Probably 3% or maybe 4% have been involved in homeschooling—it is not very common around here. So that would be 30-40 kids. My evaluation of 100% successful homeschool instruction is close to zero. Pretty darned successful: maybe 10%. Averagely successful: another 15%. Unsuccessful or a plain old disaster: 75%. Now, on the public school: more than 25% successful. So, as far as the chance a homeschooled child around here will have a markedly successful experience, it does not make much sense. But if it is YOUR child and it is successful, it is 100%. See the difference? I can only say what I have observed in the bigger picture.

I have a different take on this. Since she is not clear on this point, I'm going to assume that the only homeschool kids she knows are those that have returned to school. I'm guessing that 95 to 100% of those kids are returning to school because their parents believe that their homeschooling is failing. So, she only sees the part of the homeschooling population that is failing.

We, on the other hand, see it all. We see 100% of the homeschooling population. We see the homeschoolers that are failing, the ones that are succeeding, the ones that are just getting by, and the ones we think are just plain crazy. (We all have this opinion about someone, admit it. Then again, I'm pretty sure that all teachers probably have this opinion about some other teacher.)

We also see the public school students. We're not isolated, despite appearances to the contrary. We know that there are more public school failures than not. We talk to the graduates from public schools, and we know that they are almost none of them are 100% successful.

How do you define 100% success, anyway? Do you define it as a good working knowledge of how to find out the answer to a question? After all, if you know how to do this, you can learn anything, at any time. Do you define it as a comprehensive knowledge of literature, writing, mathematics, history, science, and foreign language? If so, then I would say that your 25% rate is closer to 0%. Do you define it as the ability to converse intelligently on any given subject? Again, your success rate is closer to 0%.

And, then, another commenter rolled out the old standby, saying that "Research indicates that parental involvement is one of the biggest predictors of school success.”

This, of course, was in response to questioning public school's ability to teach our children. The commenter was saying it's not the the school's/teacher's fault. But, if we are the reason our children succeed, why can't we teach them?

Businesses are frustrated by high school graduates' inability to do math. Colleges are frustrated by high school graduates' inability to succeed in college. Yet, both businesses and colleges are actively recruiting home school graduates. If that doesn't answer the question of whether or not homeschool is successful, please tell me what will. Because, honestly, you more than likely don't know anything about homeschooling if you don't believe in it.