Education

Almost everyone recognizes that there is something seriously wrong with public education, or more properly: "government indoctrination centers". Too many kids graduate without being literate, and not just in the literary sense. They can't read, do basic math, distinguish between science and nonsense, or think critically about things they are told. What they can do, although some fall short here too, is jump at the sound of a bell, move with the herd, and believe it is normal to live under an authoritarian system. They may balk at this, but it is undeniably effective or else they would reject the current system in droves once they reached "voting age". That they don't, and only argue about which authoritarian to vote for (if they think about it at all), is proof that the government has indeed indoctrinated them to believe exactly what it wants them to believe.

I hated school. Every second of it was hell for me. I did not fit in. I was bored out of my mind. I was not a discipline problem; I just daydreamed. My teachers could never understand why I lacked motivation. I was too polite to tell them it was because nothing in class captured my imagination. When I got to high school, I frequently skipped class to stay in the library and read. Other than one spectacular teacher (who quit the next year in disillusionment), the library was where I learned everything I learned during high school. Obviously I thought home schooling was the answer.

After I graduated I began noticing that the home schooled kids I dealt with in my retail jobs were were almost invariably "socially awkward". This is a polite way of saying they were rude, and they tended to run amok in the store. I even saw one family's kids go from being a joy to wait on, to cocky little monsters, only a year or so after they switched to being home schooled. I also noticed that most of the parents I knew who chose to home school did so in order to keep their children from being taught science. After many years of seeing this pattern emerge, I began to dislike home schooling.

So, now that I have thoroughly confused you about where I stand on the issue, I will try to clear it all up. Government schools are awful. They are not designed for education, but for creating obedient commoners who think it is normal to have all-powerful "leaders" making nonsensical rules. Home schooling, if not done very carefully, can produce science-illiterate (but otherwise highly intelligent), self-centered authoritarians who think that no one would dare disgree with their wisdom. But... you have an absolute right to educate your children in any way you see fit. If it is important for your kids to grow up as good little factory cogs, then by all means send them to public schools as long as they continue to (unConstitutionally) exist. If you quake at the thought of your kids learning science and the scientific way of analyzing the universe, then home school.

If, however, you want to help your children become fully functional humans, it can be done with either system. Teach them to critically think about orders they are given, and not to automatically obey. Teach them how to analyze things they are told as "just so". Show them how to respect the rights of others. Expose them to things that may make you personally uncomfortable and allow them to explore. Give them a good foundation; you will not always be there to tell them what to think or do. And listen to them.