So this PBS article is an exposé on how the state of Texas is cheating on its dropout numbers to the point of where some schools have listed zero dropouts. While this finding is understandably embarrassing to Texas education officials, and likely infuriating to Texas parents and students who have worked hard to have that diploma and rightly believe it should mean something, this brings up another issue closer to home for me: homeschooling is being used as the preferred method of cheating.
Obviously this is not okay. It’s a huge problem to have homeschooling serve as this kind of a loophole. It reduces credibility and sends too many “homeschooled” students out into the world who can both be expected to reflect badly on the concept of homeschooling, and consigns too many young people to struggle as human beings with a sub-par education.
It is unconscionable that underperforming public schools are being systematically hidden by this “private school” option in Texas. I wonder how many other states have a similar issue. Unfortunately I already know from personal experience and research that Texas is not alone in the problem of homeschooling not really being homeschooling. In general I find the widespread laws that allow homeschooling parents to register as a private school to be very suspect and I think they should be done away with. So many states need comprehensive homeschooling regulatory reform. So many kids need an outside person peeking in every once in a while and making sure learning is taking place. So many people need to recognize this problem is going on and it is good for no one. Cheating cheats us all.
Homeschools and private schools are like apples and oranges and the laws should reflect this reality. In some ways my strong feelings about this issue are because this is the loophole my own parents took advantage of in Louisiana. They sent in the private school paperwork and nobody ever checked on us again. This type of registration circumvented the state oversight and standardized testing procedures for homeschoolers, so plenty people who wanted less work used it. Nobody was checking in and there was no outside accountability, so we got maybe 2-3 hours of “school” time per week. I didn’t learn how to do multiplication. My sister didn’t even learn how to read. I washed a lot of dishes, did a lot of house work and babysitting, and answered phones and filed paperwork for my father’s home business. If my grandparents hadn’t intervened when I was 12 and my sister was 10, I wouldn’t likely be here writing this. I’d probably be working in a fast food restaurant somewhere, collecting food stamps, and maybe I’d have about 5 or 6 kids right now, raising them kinda like how I was raised. What a nightmare, right? It sure is for me and it’s a nightmare that’s true for way too many young people raised in such a neglectful homeschooling environment.
Thankfully I got out, but I should not have needed to have my Grandfather come in, threaten my parents, take over my education, and drill me ferociously on “catch-up” material. I should not have had to feel “survivors guilt” as I saw homeschooled friends and acquaintances struggle with having such poor home education that they couldn’t take the GED, much less succeed in college. It was a painful thing to witness because they were good people and I knew I was only a hair away from the same struggle. Maybe that’s why I put everything I had into getting an education. I was so scared of falling back and being stuck under my parents’ thumb, being in a situation like a couple homeschooled friends of mine who had no GED, worked at a grocery store, lived at home, and gave their parents their paychecks. Some homeschooled girls get stuck that way until they “marry out.” Others are even less lucky, in that their parents force them to be “stay at home daughters” and don’t even allow them to work.
That’s why I am a big advocate of a number of homeschooling reforms. This is the United States, the “land of opportunity.” We tell all these other countries that they need to educate their girls, they need to provide appropriate schooling for all children, they need to be prepared for the global economy and the digital age. Then we pull this kind of stuff in our own nation. We turn a blind eye to the havens for abuse and neglect that these poorly designed homeschooling laws and regulations allow. It is hypocrisy and we need to stop it. We need to practice what we preach and design our laws accordingly.
Dropout rates are an unfortunate statistic to collect, but they should be accurate. High rates are a signal that a school or school district is not doing what it takes to keep students engaged, learning, or looking forward to obtaining a diploma, and changes need to be made. We need to make clear that as citizens, homeschoolers, private-schoolers, public-schoolers, and employers that we want to be able to discern qualified graduates and quality schools, and that we will not tolerate school districts covering for their sub-par performance by using some “private school homeschooling” as a cop-out.
We need reform to where homeschooling laws mean homeschoolers register as homeschoolers and private schools register as private schools, and they both mean the student has a certain baseline level of knowledge and skills. We don’t need to be having loopholes that allow “fake education” and “diploma mills” for high school dropouts, and we don’t need to be having them for the kids in even one homeschooled family. We need standards. We need a public high school diploma, a private school diploma, and a homeschool diploma to all mean something. We need to recognize that because of the laws we have allowed to be passed, right now it often doesn’t. For all the kids who’ve worked hard for their diploma or never got the opportunity to do so, we need to make it right.
Becoming Worldly 
I was a stay at home daughter, marriage to be arranged, all that crap. Well, the guy they wanted me to marry was twice my age, and insisted that before he marry me he wanted me to have a year away from them. So I was sent to a bible school. My education was about eighth grade level (still is, since I have severe learning disabilities.) I found a guy at the bible school that I wanted to marry. It ended up being a five year long secret romance. Finally after five years of being locked in my room and fed through a cat flap (I at least had an adjoining bathroom) I became homeless to get out. That was three years ago. I still have no job, and while I am no longer homeless (and I am married to the guy I wanted, who happens to be disabled) things are still very tight financially.
I turn 30 this week and have an 8th grade education, can not drive, have never had a job, etc. And no job history in this economy means nobody will give you a chance. We are on the verge of homelessness again. And my family just says that if I had married who they wanted I would be happy and secure. I cannot deny that, the guy was fairly well to do, and while he was very kind to me there was just nothing there.
My problem is there is nowhere I can turn to fill in the missing holes in my education. My math disorder is so severe I can barely do 5th grade math, after a year of being stuck at the same level. People aren’t willing to teach me to drive using their vehicles, and of course, on $700 a month for two people, there’s nothing to set aside for a car.
Fortunately my husband is much more liberal than my upbringing. I just wish there was help and training for girls like us. I have had numerous people tell me to my face that I am lying, that this doesn’t happen in America, etc. If only they really knew.
Hi Revenwyn,
I just wrote a post on “How to Escape Bad Homeschooling” with some ideas that I think may be able to help in your situation and other people’s.
I think the first step is to celebrate that you are out and have found human connection and love. Finding people who care about you for who you are counts for a lot. I know it does for me everyday.
It sounds like you have a place to live where people let you be yourself, so now education, developing friends and a sense of community, and a stable income are all important. Mental health care may also be necessary because the experiences you describe would be traumatic to anyone. I am going to suggest looking into government and nonprofit services in your area. I figure you were raised to avoid such stuff but it’s there to help people on hard times get on their feet, so use it.
As far as education and employment prospects, it appears you are able to read and write well, so that’s a good start. When I started public school one of my teachers thought I had a learning disability but later realized I only had social anxiety and educational neglect. I struggled terribly with math because I hadn’t had much and when I did it was often taught in a verbally and physically abusive manner. I’m not saying your disability isn’t there, just that it might be hard to figure out what’s disability and what’s the result of maltreatment.
There are job centers in most cities and although they aren’t often as helpful as you’d like, there are certain types of funding that you may be able to access to get on the job training so you can work. There are also adult education opportunities and help from people trained to teach around learning disabilities. Neither of these are perfect and both systems generally very bureaucratic, but they might be good resources for you. I don’t know what state you live in, so I’m not sure what particular resources are in your area, but if you suffer from social anxiety thinking about doing any of these things (and that would be understandable) you may be able to get counseling in your area on a sliding fee scale, meaning if you are low-income you would not have to pay much. I realize transportation may be a huge problem, but see if you can find things within walking or bike-riding distance or can catch a ride with someone willing to help. If your husband is disabled, perhaps there are transportation services for the disabled and you can work it out to where you “tag along” for the ride. Once you find work you can pay for driving lessons and buy a car.
Forget about feeling ashamed while publicly admitting or doing any of these things and just think about feeling better and fulfilling your potential. That’s what I had to do to make myself do anything and I’m glad I did. I was a teenager instead of 30, and the first year or so was incredibly hard, but that doesn’t mean 30 is too late to get a first job, get started on obtaining a 9th grade education, and be able to pay for driving lessons with money from your own paycheck. After all, you didn’t let your family convince you to marry some old guy you didn’t like. Also, what your parents are saying is still abuse. Your current struggles are a burden from them mistreating you and leaving you unprepared for independence, not punishment for rejecting their crazy ideas. Those things never should have happened to you but they can be overcome. Also, I am rooting for you, so feel free to keep in touch. 🙂
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