Today we are pleased to offer this guest commentary from our incoming Senate Republican leader (in just a couple of weeks)…
EDUCATION BEGINS IN THE HOME
By Senator Dave Cogdill, District 14
Senate Republican Leader-Elect
The very minute a person becomes a parent is the minute in which the education process begins. Parents teach their children how to feed, talk, and walk. We also lay the foundation for our children to learn logic, math, and reading among other things. We teach them basic social skills. These are parents’ responsibilities that last well beyond children’s formal education.
However, based on the recent 2nd District Court of Appeals ruling against home schooling, the court seems to be saying that parents cease to be qualified educators once children reach the magic age of 5. The court has made a value judgment that education provided by credentialed teachers is better than an education provided by parents. While there are many exceptionally talented and dedicated credentialed teachers at California’s schools, this decision both strikes at the core of the family unit and also defies commonsense. If the purpose of education is truly to teach children and not fill public school coffers, one only needs to look at results.
Are children educated in the home actually learning or is home schooling merely a “ruse” by parents to keep their children at home, as stated by the court?
There is significant research and analysis on the performance level of home schooling. Home schooled students consistently outscore their public school-educated counterparts. An independent 1997 study demonstrated that, on the average, home schooled students outperform public school students by 30 – 37 percentile points in all subjects. Another independent study in 1998 found that home school students score exceptionally high on achievement test with median scores in the 70th to 80th percentile. That study went on to cite that 25% of home schoolers are one or more grades ahead of their public and private school counterparts. Furthermore, their average test scores in 8th grade place home schooled students four years ahead of their peers educated at public and private schools. The scores speak for themselves. Does this sound like a ruse?
Apart from the positive track record of home schooling, this court decision questions our deepest philosophical principles. The family is the base unit of society. It is within family that we have all learned the basics of life. As a society, we have mutually agreed that it is in our best interests that children be educated and that the government provide free education. However, in our country which was founded on rights and responsibilities, we have not mandated the form of that education. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a constitutionally protected right to direct their children’s education.
It is not the government’s responsibility to micromanage families and their educational choices. A public education system is a valuable service offered to Californians and we are fortunate to have that service and the many gifted credentialed teachers who are committed to providing it. As a taxpayer funded service, the educational system should be accountable to parents – this is why we have credentialing. A glance at the mission statement of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing confirms this: “The purpose of the Commission is to ensure integrity and high quality in the preparation, conduct and professional growth of the educators who serve California’s public schools,” (emphasis added). Making public schools accountable and denying parents the right to raise and educate their children as they see fit are two different things.
Parental rights to oversee their children’s education and upbringing must be protected. If the law is unclear in this regard, causing the courts to question this right, then the law needs to be clarified. As lawmakers, this is our charge. If the courts won’t protect parents’ rights, then we must.
(This column first appeared in the Ripon Record. Never heard of Ripon?)
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