Odd bedfellows I say, but both have demonstrated varying levels of opposition to the growth of charter schools. I guess this isn’t surprising in itself, since both of these organizations have their power structures threatened by the alternative presented by charter growth.
Unions fear loss of membership and power because of the freedom of choice exercised by the staff at most charter schools. Some choose to unionize, some form alternate associations, and most teachers at charter schools report high levels of job satisfaction, in spite of the fact that the NEA or AFT is not there to protect them.
CHEA is even more direct, attacking the emergence of homeschooling via charter school, where parents can procure governement funding to educate their children at home. Literature from CHEA and other evangelical homeschooling groups refer to state-sanctioned homeschooling as “a trojan horse,” a “tool of the enemy,” “the plague,” and other nefarious something or other.
CHEA and the NEA have about as much in common as Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson, so this momentary unification in purpose is striking, even though it makes sense. If public homeschooling is indeed a “trojan horse” being used by the minions of the state to usurp parental authority and reel children back into the folds of government education, it’s paradoxical to find the NEA, one of the most powerful influences in government education (and elsewhere, despite the fact that they are an “education” association) opposing the trojan horse that is preparing to infiltrate the fortresses of Christian homeschoolers.
Now that has the makings of a serious conspiracy. Maybe the NEA is pretending to oppose the trojan horse, and when the perfidious soldiers leap from the belly of the horse, the NEA will suddenly join forces with a diabolical “GOTCHA!”
Perhaps I shouldn’t make light of a serious issue, because I respect and advocate for parents’ right to education their children as they see fit without any interference from the state or federal governments. I am a product of public, private, AND home schooling, with the latter making up the bulk of my education. I have taught in a public school for 6 years, and my wife and I will likely homeschool our own children, with God’s help raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
I find it troubling AND manipulative to see CHEA and others using scripture (out of context at times) to demonize what can be a viable educational choice for Christians. I fear that they may even be using scripture to preserve their existence, and while I support their existence, employing the word of God in service of sustaining a physical endeavor is an inversion of priorities.
For example:
In government homeschooling, you place those who hate God over your homeschool. God is the head of the husband who is the head of the wife. The divine lines of authority established by God are disrupted when you insert the public school system into this holy order.
I do not disagree that much of what is encountered in a public school system can be hostile to God. However, it is disingenuous to make claims like this, ESPECIALLY when all legal homeschoolers are registering as private schools that pledge to teach the same basic subjects, as dictated by state regulations. This legal reality, then, is subject to the same criticism of placing “those who hate God over your homeschool.” Most would consider this a false dichotomy, and it is. Using state funds to homeschool your kids is a free exercise of choice on behalf of the parent, who are the ones responsible for educating their children. To demonize such a decision as ungodly is to inject a third party human perspective into the family unit, which ironically is what is supposed to be preserved.
EVERY parent/guardian is a homeschooler. Some suck at it. Some are brilliant. Many choose to use a public school as a tool, others choose a private school, and still others opt to homeschool. A variety of tools are at the parents disposal, and each parent is responsible to make the best use of such tools. To assume that employing one tool over another is to reject biblical authority is to assume a false dichotomy. This dichotomy, in essence, holds that public resources and spiritual integrity are mutually exclusive. This is not the case, and I would argue that acknowledgment of this dichotomy, at its root, is fairly common sense. I may take the time to argue the specific reasons later, as my goal is not to diminutive towards those who hold otherwise. It is this false dichotomy, I believe, that permeates every Christian rejection of the charter school movement for homeschoolers.
I will take a moment to point out one obvious inconsistency: Public schools are often demonized as indoctrination centers, and often they are. It is not so much the texts, but the philosophies of the educators that are the method of indoctrination. This “indoctrination” can and should take place at the home, where even public school children spend the majority of their lives. The parental influence made possible via home charter schools allows for ample infusing of a biblical world view. Under a parents’ watchful eye, critical examination of “worldly” texts, alongside systematic biblical teaching is perhaps a superior method of instruction.
Ultimately, CHEA’s wholesale assault on homeschooling via charter makes me squirm, as does their employing scripture to promote what is an arguable position. If charter schools show themselves to be a trojan horse, then they must be resisted. But they are miles removed from it thus far, and homeschooling is enjoying soaring public approval. If preservation of freedom is paramount, it does not make sense to restrict freedom of other individuals to make use of the tools available in this country.
Farts and Letters 