"Meet My Teachers: Mom and Dad"

Business Week has an article on homeschooling in its February 20th edition.

The article asserts that homeschooling is a growing trend among the "educated elite," with some parents who could afford private school choosing homeschooling instead, because, among other reasons, they want to be a bigger part of their children's lives.

From the article: "The popular perception is that people homeschool for religious reasons. But the No. 1 motivation, research shows, is concern about school environments, including negative peer pressure, safety, and drugs. In some circles homeschooling is even attaining a reputation as a secret weapon for Ivy League admission.

"Homeschooling is also more prominent in the popular culture, which is helping to de-stigmatize the choice and lend it some cachet among kids and their parents."

Many thanks to Missy of Missyisms for sending me the above link.

Meanwhile, in a rather negative editorial on homeschooling for The Columbus Dispatch, Professor William Bainbridge concludes by saying: "While home schooling appears to meet the needs of some familes, society must consider whether it erodes support for public schools." (Hat tip: Spunky Homeschool.)

And Professor Bainbridge's point is...? Why must society consider that issue? Do we live in a country of individual rights, as the Founding Fathers intended, or does society have the right to choose how every child is educated -- even when it often doesn't work?