Should homeschooling be legal?

[dead0man]

I don't understand being against this unless you ignorantly think 85% of homeschooled kids fit whatever horrible stereotype you have in your head.

[dead0man]

Is there anybody on the "against" side that isn't against it because of <shakes fist> "arrrr RICH PEOPLE!, I hate them so much!"/"arrrr RELIGIOUS PEOPLE!, I hate them so much!"?  'cause that's all I'm seeing.

[dead0man]

(That's actually an interesting thing, as it's honestly not even an issue here. I imagine three-quarters of the population has never even heard of the concept.)

You say that as if it's an issue here.  Other than a few freedom haters like yourself making a little noise every so often, it's not an issue here.  It's legal, and it's going to stay that way.

[dead0man]

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons someone may choose to be homeschooled.  Thankfully we're free here (at least on this subject) and don't need a "reason" to do it.

[dead0man]

"Freedom" of child abuse is no freedom I wish for.

sheesh.....clearly you're bringing a lot of baggage to this discussion.

[dead0man]

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of reasons someone may choose to be homeschooled.  Thankfully we're free here (at least on this subject) and don't need a "reason" to do it.

That's a terrible argument. A non-argument, actually. "I'm free to discriminate," I guess. 

That's NOT the argument, but thanks for trying!

(plus....discriminate?....odd)

[dead0man]

Homeschooling is, in the majority of cases, a bad thing insofar as it serves to shelter children and, all too often, spoon-feed them religious and political dogma rather than actual knowledge about the world.  I share this trepidation with DemPGH, and wish to see it discouraged, stigmatized, and tightly-regulated.

Banning it entirely, however, is a cure worse than the disease.  The price of having a free society is that you, well, ultimately need to tolerate a certain amount of objectionable and even objectively false beliefs and actions.  It's a bit of an internal contradiction inherent to our society... but no ideology is consistent; I see no choice but to live with it, mitigate as possible, and muddle through.  I guess one could try and formulate an argument based on "children's rights" that would trump the parents' freedom to raise their kids as they see fit, but that's too much of a minefield for me to actually endorse.

Also the "what about severe bullying in schools?" point is in fact a salient one.

And if homeschooling is (your words) " discouraged, stigmatized, and tightly-regulated" it might not be that easy for them to escape the bullying (severe or the regular kind)....and you're ok with that?