Lessons in Hypocrisy: The Decision in a California Homeschooling Case

Abstract:

In February of 2008, California’s Second District Court of Appeal was ruled that parents without teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home. A. J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, has publicly said, “What’s best for a child is to be taught by a credentialed teacher.”

This article argues against such notions as homeschooling fails to protect children from child abuse, that lack of competition makes parents less motivated to ensure that their own children receive a solid education than are anonymous private or public school principals, and that all teachers are credentialled (private school teachers need not possess educational credentials ). Forcing parents to admit their children to public or private schools wrongly suggests that parents care less about their children than do teachers.