Letter: Columnist wrong about dangers of home schooling

I am writing in response to syndicated columnist Dan Thomasson’s op-ed piece on the dangers of home schooling (Aug. 12).

As a home-educating mother, I have several objections to Mr. Thomasson’s article. First, his one example of home schooling was a woman from a well-to-do family who was basically given a private education (albeit at home).

Second, Thomasson goes on to attack the lack of governmental regulation of home schooling. Though Washington state law does have minimum requirements for home schooling, that does not make our state any better than those states that have less regulation. On the contrary, as Thomasson rightly pointed out, across the board, home-schooled students outperform their public school counterparts on standardized academic achievement tests by 30 percent (from nheri.org).

Thomasson’s weakest (and most unoriginal) objection to home schooling is the lack of socialization. Had he talked to any home-schooled children, he would have discovered their involvement in a multitude of activities outside the home, including co-ops, sports, debate teams, music, art, theater, 4-H, scouts, church, politics and apprenticeships.

When I was in college taking journalism classes, I learned before you write, you should make sure your facts are correct. Mr. Thomasson would have benefited from following this rule.

Pasco

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Letter: Columnist wrong about dangers of home schooling."