Vaccaro 1 Colleen Ellie Vaccaro Megan Keaton ENG 112 1st May 2013 Freedom or Protection for the

Homeschooled? Elie, Paul. "The Homeschool Diaries." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 310.3 (2012): 94-95. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. In the article The Homeschool Diaries, Paul Elie described his decision to, the process of, and the benefits of homeschooling his children. He progressed with his story in chronological order and began with why he chose to homeschool. He explained how dysfunctional the New York education system is and that it is constantly changing. This fluctuating system presented several issues with finances and the location of education. Elie, a teacher, decided that he would spend his time and money educating his children. The impact of homeschooling on his and his childrens lives was immense. He described taking fieldtrip days to the zoo, museums, and parks. These activities gave his children a love for learning and life. It was even stated that his children desired to continue homeschooling, because of their interest in education. Elie was an immensely persuasive advocate for homeschooling and surprisingly this was due to his lack of a strong position. The argument of the article was implied, but was not specifically stated. Elie never tried to force the reader to homeschool; he simply stated why his own children were homeschooled. This unbiased approach made Elie more credible, because it gave the reader the ability to decide for him/herself. He seemed to be informing his readers of the benefits of homeschooling more so than trying to convince them to homeschool. One such benefit of homeschooling was the stability that Elie could not find in the New York education

Vaccaro 2 system. He compared homeschooling to public education and showed that homeschooling was a practical alternative. He used logic to prove this, specifically offering the financial cost of both systems; he showed how homeschooling was more affordable. This use of numbers enhanced his credibility and gave the reader evidence for his claims about homeschooling. He was also clearly frustrated with the confusion of New Yorks education system and the lack of quality of teaching. His frustration transformed into an honest concern for the development of his children and this gave him a realistic appearance. This appearance was one of honesty that any reader or parent could depend on. This credibility was a significant piece of his argument. This article could be used as a personal testimony of why home schooling is better than public schools. Many facts about how homeschooling worked better than public schooling are listed, and some of the claims against homeschooling are listed as well. I could easily incorporate thoughts from this article to raise feelings and emotions in my reader. I would do this by explaining how homeschooling allowed Elie and his family to grow close to one another. To magnify this personal testimony, I would need to find statistics to support that this family is a common occurrence. What if I took the time and energy I was putting into arranging our sons' education and devoted it to actually educating them? Lenora could go back to work in the shrinking field of newspapering, with her salary enabling us to move to a neighborhood with better schools; or she could work full-time on our children's education, teaching them and organizing classes with other families, while we relied on my income as a book editor and part-time professor Higher education in America may be very different by 2022, when our twin sons would enroll, but I like to think that they will have had a taste of the university already.

Vaccaro 3 Downes, Stephen. "Homeschooling Parents Should Be Certified." Homeschooling. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Homeschooling, Abuse and Qualifications." Halfanhour.blogspot.com 22 Mar. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. Homeschooling Parents Should be Certified by Stephen Downes followed a simple yet complex form of organization. The article commenced with some brief credentials of the author. It then followed this major outline. It began with the subject that certification is better, then it discussed that qualifications are vital, next it progressed to parental involvement, and resolved that self-selection is not sufficient. Within each of these categories, Downes argued each side of the views about homeschooling. Immediately it was obvious that instead of preventing all parents from homeschooling, Downes questioned whether every parent is capable of this education. His solution for detecting incapable parents is mandating that all parents become certified. He used statistics, personal testimony, research studies, allusions, and common-sense reasoning as his evidence. His prominent example was when he offered Finland as a demonstration of proper certification and education. All teachers in Finland must have a high education, and this occupation is revered by all of the citizens. He concluded by restating his view that parents should be certified to homeschool their children and that not all parents should be allowed to educate their children. Downes composed a tactful, sly, and successful argument. To begin it, he took a step backwards and explained that certification is not always perfect. He actually referred to studies that agree with this idea. The reader at first might think it contrary to support the opposite side, but this simply heightened Downes credibility. He approached the argument with an attitude that he was not afraid to discuss the opposite view, because he recognized his view as the only

Vaccaro 4 correct view. Downes knew the bad connotation behind the word certified so he compared it to the term qualified. By comparing these two terms, he showed that homeschool parents should be qualified. His example for the successful use of certifications was Finland. Though it was a good analogy, he failed to tie the gap between Finland and America as he did not explain in what specific way the American education system should duplicate Finlands. This analogical reasoning was used by Downes to prove that certifying teachers is important and works, but his point could easily be seen as a pointless tangent. The example could have been much more impactful. Downes developed another tactful reason by again acknowledging truth in the opposing view. He agreed that homeschooling has been efficacious in hopes that his agreement will influence homeschoolers to listen. By partially agreeing with their view, Downes appeared understanding of their decision. Since the homeschooler saw him reporting the truth they are more likely to listen to his negative claims about homeschooling. Downes used the fact that people are more willing to change some of their views when their strongest beliefs are agreed with. Here is a specific example of this reasoning. Downes recognized parents as the foundation of a child(ern)s desire to learn. If the child(ern) lived in a positive household that encouraged a proper education, the child was more likely to obtain that education. He then was able to flip this truth to prove his point that a negative household would have the exact opposite results. He used homeschoolers beliefs against themselves, because if they believe the first claim they must also believe the second. He used vocabulary like defend to define our obligation to determine if parents are eligible to educate their child(ern). With his concluding statement he raised fear. He warned of the negative consequences that will occur if certification requirements are not implemented. Downes attempted to use the appeal to pathos (emotion), by asking parents to

Vaccaro 5 protect their children. He questioned the parents desire for their children and forced an obligation on parents for their childrens sake. This article will be of great use for my research paper. I have had a difficult time locating essays that oppose homeschooling, but this article shows an appropriate angle to attack homeschooling from that not all parents are qualified to educate their children. I will specifically use his argument that parents should be certified in my final research paper. Downes mentioned throughout his article of a court case, and he stated that many children died because of neglect. I might be able to use this case to show that some neglectful parents should be prevented from homeschooling. The law must be made, not just for you, but for those other people. We need to know that you are not one of those people. 1,460 children died due to child abuse or neglect. Is it too much to ask for some guarantee that your children will not be among those statistics? the research citedsuggests that some parents may play a significantly negative role in their children's education: parents who are not involved in their education, who do not (or cannot) read to their children, who have limited, or negative, expectations of their children. If parents are not even going to subject themselves to a literacy testsomething that would be important, given the levels of functional illiteracy in the United States then how can we know they are even able to teach their children to read.[?] Badman, Graham. "Homeschoolers May Be at Greater Risk for Child Abuse." Report to the Secretary of State on the Review of Elective Home Education in England. London, United Kingdom: The Stationery Office, 2009. Rpt. in Homeschooling. Ed. Noah

Vaccaro 6 Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. In Graham Badmans article, he addressed his concerns with the well-being of homeeducated children. He established all of his opinions and recommendations on the simple idea that children that are educated at home are more at risk of being abused. He stated that many homeschooled children are isolated from the rest of the population and do not have access to a wide range of adults. Without this interaction with a wide range of adults, these children are more susceptible to abuse because they cannot contact the authorities for aid. Badman demanded that new regulations be implemented to permit authorities to evaluate homeschool families. He proposed that even without probable cause, authorities should be allowed more freedom to investigate families. This placed the safety of these children over the freedoms and rights of the parents and families. He concluded that extra monitoring of these families would allow the authorities to prevent abuse. The main discussion of the article was safety, and Badman used pathos (emotion), ethos (authority), and logos (logic) to support his view. In this article, Badman demonstrated pathos in his concern for the safety of all children, but more specifically for the safety of home-educated children. He used fear tactics to reach parents by stressing the risks of home education. The appeal to ethos was implemented by naming several organizations that are apprehensive of homeschooling as well. In naming these organizations, his concern was given more significance. He used weak research that he specified as small in an attempt to use logos. By using all three types of appeals, Badman strengthened his argument. Another concern Badman addressed was based on a common perception of homeschooling, the belief that home-educated children are isolated. He repeated this point several times, and by doing so he stressed the importance of this

Vaccaro 7 fact. If the children are indeed isolated, they lack the safety that publicly educated children have. Home-educated children do not have access to numerous adults and cannot easily report abuse. The fear Badman built on this fact was the heart of his article, but there was an issue with his reasoning. To prove a point from another statement, the original statement must also be true. He did not prove that home-educated children are isolated; he assumed this and assumed his audience would agree. His argument would have been more reliable, credible, and moving if he had proved this one statement. Badmans writing could be implemented into my writing by first defining another valid issue with homeschooling. To make his points relevant, I would need to find better research that would magnify the concerns. I would have to prove that this is a common enough problem that action should be taken. I imagine combining these ideas with the ideas of Downes and asserting that homeschooling is dangerous or that homeschooling can hurt a childs education and safety. I will probably argue that government regulations should be implemented to control home schooling. Local authorities have a general duty, when carrying out functions in the education context, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Children who are educated at home but are not known to the local authority may be more likely to be at risk. However, any regulation is only as effective as its transaction. To that end I believe it is important to hold local authorities to account, identify and disseminate good practice and ensure that in addition to the training proposed earlier, that local authority and other staff are adequately and properly trained in safeguarding procedures and requirements.

Vaccaro 8 Cogan, Micheal F. "Exploring Academic Outcomes Of Homeschooled Students." Journal Of College Admission 208 (2010): 18-25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. Micheal Cogan developed a research essay titled Exploring Academic Outcomes of Homeschooled Students. This scientific article explained, analyzed, and concluded upon the research Cogan performed. The study was exploratory and it was conducted at a smaller Midwestern University. Not even 11,000 students attended this small secondary-institution. Limitations to this research are addressed by Cogan. He specifically acknowledged that the sample size was small and that his research should be considered preliminary study. As the title suggests, this research was conducted to compare homeschoolers academic achievements with those that are traditionally-educated. In the conclusion, the findings implied that homeschoolers have higher ACT scores, GPAs, and graduation rates. It was qualified by Cogan, by again mentioning the small population size. Since this was a research essay, Cogan did not argue for or against homeschooling. He clearly stated the facts that he discovered during his research. He approached this article in an un-biased fashion and this established credibility for him. Since he was not trying to persuade, his discoveries can be presented more strongly than a group that supported or opposed homeschooling. He also elevated his credibility be explaining all of the steps of his research. He explained how he conducted the research, how he analyzed the data, and how he came to his conclusion. He gained the most credibility from his limitations section of the article. In this paragraph he explained how the sample size was small and that this article should be used to represent homeschoolers across America. This statement addressed a common concern critical readers ask while reading research. By qualifying his research, he appeared straight-forward and

Vaccaro 9 honest. He clearly used logos to develop his point, as the article was written through research, data, and facts. This article will be most beneficial to my article. Since little research has been performed to prove or disprove homeschooling, the data can be used to establish a correlation between homeschooling and academic success. If I use the data and results of this research, I will have to clearly state the limitations that Cogan made so apparent. I will also urge for more research to be performed on homeschooling. the number of homeschool students is relatively small. As such, the results of this analysis should not be considered inferential to the general population of undergraduate students in the US. Rather, the results of this research should be considered a starting point in order to better understand academic outcomes of homeschool students entering postsecondary education. Descriptive analysis reveals homeschool students possess higher ACT scores, GPAs and graduation rates when compared to traditionally-educated students. In addition, multiple regression analysis results reveal that students, at this particular institution, who are homeschooled, earn higher first-year and fourth-year GPAs when controlling for demographic, pre-college, engagement, and first-term academic factors. Stevens, Mitchell L. Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. 45-60. Print. This section from Mitchell Stevens book, Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement, discussed four main components of home education. These main points are parents positive involvement, individual styles tailored for the

Vaccaro 10 student, reasons for homeschooling, and goals of homeschooling. These four issues are woven together and discussed simultaneously. The first three components are developed with the goals of homeschooling in mind. Stevens stated that the major goals of home education are for children to be flexible, to love learning, and to learn everywhere. The article explained that homeschooling accomplishes these goals because the parents are involved. Stevens stressed that a prominent reason for homeschooling success was the involvement of the parents. He explained that this involvement transforms childrens perspective of education. They enjoy learning and enjoy spending time with their parents. Stevens also explained that each homeschooling family is extremely unique and it should be. He showed examples of many different types of homeschooling all the way from Cathy Erikson, who had no schedule, to students that use A Bekas structured video programs. These differing styles of education allowed the needs of the individual child to be met and optimum learning to occur. Some common reasons for homeschooling are also addressed. Some reasons to homeschool included the benefits of homeschooling such as the shaping of more independent children, while other reasons are concerns with the public education system such as negative-peer pressure. Stevens did not strongly argue his position, but merely stated it as truth. His approach to writing this book is developed because of his desired audience. Stevens did not address antihomeschoolers, but instead addressed homeschool advocates. The message was presented to encourage and not simply to persuade. His desire to encourage led him to present specific examples of successful homeschoolers. His book is over-flowing with testimonies and personal experiences with homeschooling. By showing other efficacious homeschoolers, Stevens demonstrated that homeschool can be accomplished. His attempt to rejuvenate homeschoolers was well organized and accomplished. The continuous testimonies and stories amplified the

Vaccaro 11 success rate of homeschooling. Subsequently, this would encourage the parents of their decision to educate at home. I could use this section of Stevens book in my research paper specifically by presenting the reasons for homeschooling. The book gives exceedingly strong concerns for the public school systems on page 51, and I could use them to increase the desire of homeschooling. Overall the testimonies and examples of homeschooling success in the book will be extremely helpful in my research paper. The believers fear the loss of their childrens minds and hearts in the tide of peer culture. Step by step parents lose control, their authority usurped by the school authorities to whom they delegated responsibility for their children, warns the Moores. For the Ericksens, home education is a series of excursions, clubs, and classes. Everything we do is a lesson, Cathy explains. 50 percent of the girls [in public school] will become pregnant out of wedlock 70 percent of the boys will become sexually active before they leave high school.. Communism and socialism may be presented in the best possible light and capitalism taught as a greed-motivated economic system