Home Educators and Certification

I recently read a poll question that asked if home educators should be required to be certified. Here is the article if you would like to read it and/or vote. You will need to click on the September edition and go to page 14 for their debate section.

I agree with everything that Michael Smith, from HSLDA, said and I voted no, home educators should not be required to be certified. There are a multitude of state and national tests out there that prove home education far exceeds public school education. Why then would they suggest trying to conform home school to public school?

Teachers receive training to be a public school educator. My questions would be three things.

The first is, do they receive ample training in each individual subject or do they not use curricula and teacher guides just as home educators do?

Secondly, how much of their training is spent on classroom management? They are trained to control a large group of students from vastly different backgrounds and upbringings. A home educator needs only know how to handle their own children. Something that doesn't require training since they do this 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Home educators also have the ability to use discipline however fits their family values, something public school teachers can not do.

And lastly, does having credentials guarantee a passion for educating? Home educators have a large personal investment in their children that is voluntary and natural. They do it out of love and a passion for their children's future success. Clearly they are not being paid to educate their children, and in fact home educators pay taxes to local public school systems withough requiring anything in return. They make financial sacrifices and educate their children, in most cases, on one income and still produce higher educated children than the public school's do.

With all this being said then why would we want to reinvent the wheel? If something is working then let it be. There are ample state and college testing results that confirm the success of home education. Let those speak for themselves.