by Mashal Batyah
An increasing number of Blacks and other minorities in America have elected to homeschool their children for academic as well as cultural reasons. While many challenges exist for these families, they still value the opportunity a homeschooling environment provides for discussing these particular issues. Consequently, many African American educators and leaders have criticized the minority plight from public schools contending that the civil rights struggle for equal education was arguably in vain. As a result, the new debate has become whether or not public school education in the 21st century is serving the needs of our children. Herein lies the case for homeschooling in Black America.
Within the last two decades alone, the evolution of homeschooling has become America’s most successful educational development and encompasses every ethnic group in our country. The movement has impacted many educational reforms (Farris, 2002) and is forcing the Black community to take notice of the failing condition of America’s public schools (Bauman, 2001).
Black American and other minority parents decide to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons. According to the National Household Education Surveys Program (2007), the three most common reasons given for homeschooling are (1) being able to provide a better education in the home, (2) circumventing poor learning environments in public schools, and (3) having the freedom to observe and practice religious customs. Steady increases in public school drug use, gang activity, and violence have also been found to be other popular reasons for parents to homeschool their children.
While many concerned minority parents have decided to turn their backs on public schools and embrace other alternatives for educating their children, national leaders and officials continue to espouse a failed system. Teacher shortages are just one of the many growing complaints of public education, and more studies are surfacing that prove Black and minority homeschool parents have witnessed this failure first hand. Public schools in high ethnic demographic populations have almost twice as many educators who have no qualifications for the subjects they teach. In addition, public schools that frequently serve minority students have unqualified teachers in 29 percent of classes (Sappenfield, 2007). These schools are often overflowing with examples of inferior Math teachers who never majored in Math during college, French teachers who teach Biology, and Art teachers who teach History. Needless to say, these educators have no specialized knowledge about the subjects they have been assigned to teach. One of the public school system’s main concerns seems to be the self-preservation of its tax-subsidized teachers instead of the educational enlightenment and advancement of underserved minority children. It is safe to say that today’s public education may be bordering on malpractice. As a result, teachers are leaving public schools due to collapsing educational standards. In defense of the small population of qualified educators who serve in the 21st century public school system, very little incentive has been offered in favor of their support. Teachers have begun to question many public school policies and are stating that public school administrative pressures are a major determining factor in their decision to resign. In 2005, it was asserted that a segment of fourth- grade teachers in a well-known low-income rural county was being held accountable for the failure of their students when, in fact, many of the skills the children lacked should have been taught in kindergarten. In contrast, many urban teachers in higher-income areas are able to evade this tragedy by not sending their own children to the schools in which they teach (Haberman, 2006).
It is also a well-known fact that public administration has escaped much of the blame for America’s failing school systems. An overwhelming consensus of minority community members believe the National Education Association (NEA) is not held accountable to local school boards or parents and answers only to its membership. This public education monopoly will only lose its leverage and control when teachers and parents begin to abandon the public school system. The NEA opposes everything and everyone in a continued quest to maintain its power base and influence with American education…
Case and point:
During the Bush Administration, Dr. Rod Paige (the first Black Secretary of Education) came under fire from civil liberty groups as well as the National Education Association when he made a comment about a parent’s right to select a school that meets a child’s needs. Secretary Paige asserted that this could mean a public school, private school, or homeschool. Dr. Paige said “the United States educational system is under performing, leaving many minority children behind” (Stames, 2005). Shortly after Secretary Paige made his comment, civil liberties and education groups called for his apology and resignation (The New York Times, 2005).
Educational bureaucracies like the NEA are at the center of America’s dysfunctional minority public schools. These bureaucracies continue to endure while minority children become entrapped in a failed public school system. According to a recent study, children of color must attend public schools in 120 of the worst school districts in the United States (Haberman, 2006). This devastating statistic is just one of many that proves the public school system is designed for Black and other minority children to fail.
Unfortunately, educational bureaucrats and unions have contributed more than their fair share to the demise of American education today. As a result, many local communities consider their public schools to be a waste of taxpayers’ money, thus making it more difficult to justify local tax increases for public education. The case for homeschooling has served to discredit public schools through its utilization of less money and higher test scores (Wall Street Journal, 2007).
Ethnic minorities in America are just as concerned as their White counterparts about the quality of education their children are receiving. As Black Americans continue to suffer betrayal caused by the public school system while simultaneously hearing about homeschool successes in the United States, the benefits of this alternative form of education become more feasible. It has been determined that minority and white students test out at equivalent levels when they are homeschooled (Gillespie, 2008). Any falsehood regarding minority students’ abilities compared to their white peers is nothing more than political propaganda. As long as our children are free of institutionally supported racism they will perform as well as, if not better than, their white counterparts. A loving and parentally-supported homeschool environment can undoubtedly give them the proper atmosphere they need to prosper and do well while fully realizing their true potential.
Mashal, this article is a true testament to what can be learned with just simple research. You have summed up homeschooling with this well thought out article. I am glad that you took the time to provide us with references of your research on this topic.
It is very important that parents don’t opt out of homeschooling because of the fight to gain entry into public schools during the civil rights movement. If the system is failing it’s just failing. We can’t support or put up with inferior public schools just on the basis of our civil rights. It is also a parent’s right to have quality education for their children and if that is not being given we must move on.
@BHS: I so appreciate your comment. Homeschooling is becoming a more viable option for Black families as we come into the knowledge of who we really are. Our history didn’t begin with slavery, nor did we fulfill our destiny as a people with the Civil Rights Movement. Todah to Black Homeschoolers Magazine for providing the resources and tools we need to teach this kind of information to our children!