Saturday, June 20, 2009

Strange Bedfellows: Home Schoolers in the Teacher Certification Debate

WorldNet Daily serves up this report on the home schooling community's stance on teacher certification (like I said, strange bedfellows).

As one might guess, many in the homeschooling community are skeptical of teacher certification laws, particularly when they stand in the way of educating one's own children. The "Myth of Teacher Qualifications," as the report dubs it, is a sort of intellectual defense for homeschoolers against state efforts to place certification rules on them. At present, the certification laws vary widely by state.

What strikes me about this report is the extent to which it reveals my own double standard. As opposed as I am to typical teacher certification requirements, I'm inclined to agree that the homeschooling community ought to live up to a certification standard of some sort. Whereas a public school student is, at any given time, under the influence of multiple administrators and teachers, a homeschooling student is much more dependent on the quality of 1-2 teachers. In this situation, the risks of gross underqualification are just too high. If states see fit to require rudimentary certification of some sort, I'm inclined to agree.

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