#I got multiple angry anons who think the cool leftist take is that tiny unregulated non-schools run by randos with no qualifications

[nothorses]

Oh god I would love to hear you go off about homeschooling

Oh absolutely.

So okay: the public education system is deeply, deeply flawed. Most notably, in the US anyway (which is what all of this is gonna be- that's what the material for my degree was on) our education system was built up from two primary sources:

1. Schools for rich white boys to learn how to continue their legacy of being rich white boys (rich white girls were added much later)

2. Boarding schools and attempts to convert Native children to Christianity, erase their cultures, and replace them with white Western culture- all using incredible amounts of truly horrific, unspeakable violence.

The remnants of both of these systems still exist today, though there are more steps between them now: #1 exists in wealthy upper-class schools with a high level of gatekeeping, and #2 exists in impoverished and underfunded schools with mostly students of color.

#1 schools tend to also have a really positive impact on kids; their teachers believe in and respect them, resulting in both a higher level of academic success, and a higher level of self confidence and ambition. They believe they can do anything- so they can!

#2 schools have the inverse effect; teachers resent their students and view them as burdens, or charges to keep in line and shuffle through to the end with minimal trouble. Their students are, as a result, demoralized and unmotivated. They don't believe they are capable of anything, and so they struggle and often fail.

The steps between the two are lower-class, middle-class, & upper-middle-class schools, which make up a kind of scale- the lower class schools tend to have lower ambition and achievement, but also lower ego. There's a sweet spot- kind of- somewhere just below the wealthy schools, where students are highly motivated, but still a little humble.

You can see how people might be having different experiences with the education system, even in the same country.

People coming from low income backgrounds understandably, even rightfully, really resent the education system. People coming from anything above that might see things a little more favorably, though- that's not because anyone is stupid or self centered or wrong, it's because those experiences are intrinsically very, very different, and that's not really their fault for falling into one kind of school over another.

So okay, the public education system is flawed; but we can also see that there is a sweet spot. What we need is to figure out how to get there, normalize it, and bring that positive and healthy experience to as many kids as we can.

There are also certain undeniable benefits to a standardized public education system: ideally, children with abusive families are given a space away from the violence they face at home. They are given connections to trusted adults, mentors, peers, and experiences & knowledge their abusive families cannot control. They are given access to help, and access to power. (This isn't up for debate; rates of child abuse rose dramatically when schools closed during the pandemic because it removed a vital line of defense).

In a perfect world, the public education system is a really, really good way to facilitate communal raising of children; and who better to participate in that than people who are trained and educated and devoted to doing it in the best way possible?

There's obviously a lot of ways this can go wrong: teachers can seek those positions out for the power they might gain, people can weigh in on or control the curriculum who should not have that control, etc.

But these are also problems with homeschool. Parents might choose to homeschool their child because they want more complete control over them; they might put their child into a religious "homeschool" system designed to brainwash kids into blind devotion to a harmful ideology; they might find creationist schools or schools that otherwise align more perfectly with their beliefs, and with nothing to challenge that or help them develop critical thinking skills, kids are less likely to ever question or grow beyond what they absorb in homeschool.

Sometimes homeschool works out- and sometimes it doesn't.

But the thing with homeschool for me, at least, is this: there is a severe lack of accountability. There is nobody else to ensure those children are being treated properly. There is no standardization of curriculum, no training, and no education on best methods to educate- not just on facts, but to teach kids to think for themselves, question authority, and be capable of independent thought and action.

If a teacher in a public school abuses a child, there are people nearby more likely to notice and defend the child (and, legally, they are obligated to in a way even police are not). If a homeschool teacher abuses a child, nobody knows about it.

That's why Christian conservatives are such big proponents for decreased public school and increased homeschooling & private schools. Money or they themselves control those institutions, and they want that power and control. In many ways, they need it.

Tne public education system is a direct threat to their political and social power. That is why we need to fix it- to make it a more effective weapon against fascism and abuse.