Why don’t you want to “save the children”?
As homeschoolers, we chose to keep our children at home and not send them to public school. And every family had their own reasons for doing so- religious, academic quality, unique opportunities, travel, work schedule, learning challenges, bullying, etc. The idea that we only want our own children to have the opportunities that homeschooling can afford, or that we want to leave poor children languishing in bad public schools, is one of the most offensive talking points of “School Choice” advocates.
Many homeschool families are below, at, or just above poverty level. Many of them have made sacrifices to live on one income. And yet, almost every homeschooler you meet is excited to help their friends and their neighbors find a way to get their children out of public school. They are happy to offer suggestions and even very practical assistance.
Homeschool families may object to the government funding the private or homeschool education of others, but they are also more than willing to help other families and create opportunities without the government’s “help.”
“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”
-Frederic Bastiat, The Law
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”
-President Ronald Reagan
What are you so afraid of? If you don’t want the money, then just don’t take it!
Homeschool families realize that what the government funds, the government runs, and they are not willing to take on any additional regulations that might curb their ability to educate their children in the manner they see fit. After all, we just watched the culmination of decades of government funds being pumped into Higher Education.
The Higher Education Act of 1965, passed under Lyndon B. Johnson, paved the way for federal grants and federally backed loans for those seeking post-secondary education. It was also designed to “ensure that a school provides quality instruction.” Pell Grants started getting doled out in 1973 under Nixon. Its purpose was to help poorer students get into college and get a degree.
And what were the results?
“But here’s the deal: The cost of education beyond high school has gone up significantly. The total cost to attend a public four-year university has tripled — nearly tripled in 40 years — tripled.”
-President Joe Biden announcing the Student Loan Debt Relief Plan
In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has data on the education of workers from over 700 professions, and they have found that many professions are overstaffed with workers who have attained college degrees but do not need them for those professions. Some have said that is a result of too many college degrees. Or perhaps it is because too many received a less quality education which devalued their degrees when they got out.
So why would the quality of a college education decrease? Because the Federal dollars came with education standards.
Those education standards became what the Federal government used to verify their metrics of success, so they could keep the money flowing.
Very few colleges in the United States refuse to take those government funds, but the few who do know exactly why they turn them away.
“It’s ‘a matter of principle,’ David Whalen, Hillsdale’s provost, said of the college’s refusal to participate in federal financial-aid programs, which fall under what is known as Title IV of the laws that govern higher education. ‘The regulatory and bureaucratic intrusion that Title IV brings with it gets deeper and deeper with every passing year,’ Whalen said. ‘As everyone knows, where there is money there is control.’”
The results of government “saving the children” are:
Higher Costs For All, Lower Quality, and Control.