Sandy's wager

[Robert Hotz]

     The model that Stephen Gilles describes and advocates is not only
     plausible, but it is regularly being done in an average sized city in
     Nebraska.  My nephews and neice have benefited greatly from the
     cooperation of the public school district's willingness to work with
     their parents as the children are "opted in" or "opted out."

     Rob Hotz
     Lincoln, Nebraska


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But I want to go beyond this.  I think we should encourage
home-*education* -- defined, not as opting out of public
(and private) schools and providing all formal schooling in the home,
but as making a commitment, as parents, to be heavily involved in,
and to use one's best efforts to maximize the quality of, the
education one's children receive.  Now obviously that commitment can
be met in a variety of ways.  At a minimum, however, the evidence
suggests that home schooling is for many parents an
attractive way to make that commitment -- a way that can induce them
to redouble their efforts on behalf of their children.  We should
encourage these people and facilitate their efforts.  For
example, public schools should be required by law to allow home
schoolers to enroll in gym, band, art, music and other classes for
which it is difficult for home-school families to find good
substitutes.  At the same time, we should encourage parents who want
to be more, not less involved, with their public schools.  There is
no contradiction in doing so.  For what we need is increased parental
investment in the education of their children, and both home
schooling and being a teacher's aide in your child's classroom are
good ways to do that.


Steve Gilles
Quinnipiac College School of Law (visiting at Washington and Lee)