I was homeschooled through high school. I learned to read at 3, I read my first (unedited/unabridged) Shakespeare play at 7. I graduated at 16. I had no problem getting into colleges with academic merit scholarships. I have made Honor Roll and Dean's List throughout my college career, and am finally working on an Honors Thesis to graduate with my BA from a good university (9-10 years after I started my degree, but, hey). I had an excellent, classical, "Great Books" education. I also had Biology, Astronomy, Anatomy, and Physiology, as well as Algebra, Algebra II, Geometry and Trigonometry. I had a 3.9 GPA in high school, I graduated massage school with a 4.0 GPA, and I currently maintain a 3.72 GPA in university (even after pregnancy).
I say all this because I have way too many friends who didn't have a good education. I have too many friends who had good exposure to literature, but not math and/or science. I have too many friends who didn't even have what could be considered an education.
If I say that because *I* had a good experience, they don't have the same right to education, because it's not *my* fault, then I am arrogant, egotistical, selfish, and uncaring.
Following regulations in homeschooling is not hard. I've seen groups (my parents ran a homeschool group, a NAPS [homeschooled in Maine, this is one of their options] and did portfolio reviews for other parents, amongst other things) do portfolio reviews and standardized testing. If homeschooling parents are doing their jobs, then the process is simple, and they have nothing to hide. If they are struggling with certain aspects, then that's no reason for which to be ashamed! Regulations can help parents know where they need to ask for help. One person's weakness is another's strength.
Yes, homeschooling absolutely deserves to be an education option for our children (and one I am seriously considering, should it prove most beneficial for my child and their learning style). But, to that end, it needs to be something that is reasonably regulated to help avoid abuse of the system. It's not about teaching to the test. It's about owning our responsibility.
I support homeschooling. I support regulating homeschooling. I do not support HSLDA.
