In case you’re wondering what a mugwump is, it describes people who can’t make up their mind.
In the last post I emphasized how it seems more and more evident that there are those in our government and other positions of authority who are trying to convince the nation that parents are not needed and not wanted when it comes to the education of their (OUR) children. I’m sure some of you finished reading it and were perplexed.
As I say in chapter 11 of my book Who’s Got Dibs on Your Kids?:
You have just read about a few of the many pied Pied Pipers who are dedicated to leading your kids on a path away from God. If you’re all right with that happening, or don’t see it as a serious concern, you can close this book and go on your way. Not taking God seriously goes back a long way, as we learn in Jeremiah 7:24: “But they did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me.”
However, if what you read here sends shivers through you, and you worry about how you are going to keep your kids on a Godly path through their life, it is going to be up to you to take action. If a waiter in a restaurant spills a plate of food on you, do you patiently wait and hope someone will bring something to clean it up, or do you grab a napkin and start wiping? That’s what you have to do now. Don’t wait for someone else to magically appear and tell you, “Don’t worry. I’ve got everything in hand. I’ll take care of it, and all will be back to normal.” That’s living in a dream world.
You may not think you have options. You believe you have no choice but to send your kids to a government school and haven’t even looked into what is available. Or, you may have thought about it, but can’t really make up your mind which option would be best. Or, you know what you should do, but it seems like too much trouble. If you fit into any of those categories, you may be a mugwump parent. Let’s get you off the fence.
School Choice: Education must be about choice! Your choice!
Government Schools—Government schools will teach your kids what they want them to know. Your opinion is not wanted. Some states are making laws regarding this, but most do not have restrictions on the government requirements. There are charter schools, which have fewer regulations than regular government schools, but are still paid for by tax dollars, and magnet schools which have a particular focus, such as math, sciences, technology, art, etc. I recommend you go to the National School Choice Week website and click on your state on the map. It will tell you what school choice options are available to you. Once you know whether you have funds available for alternative schooling, you can better evaluate the schools in your area. Another informative website is EdChoice.org. This link is to their main Research Library page where you can select information relative to your state.
Not-Government Schools—Even within the “not-government” schools, you have choices: large private schools which have a national footprint, small local private schools, and religious schools of various denominations. Again, I recommend you read chapter 11 of Who’s Got Dibs on Your Kids?.
Not all private schools are alike in quality of education, curricula, and price. For instance, if you do not approve of DEI and CRT being taught, ask to see their syllabus. You have to do your homework. Here is a state-by-state summary of what is happening. I recommend you do not use this to the exclusion of asking about your priorities at each school you are considering. Also, demand to check out their libraries. Don’t just do this for the grade level your child will be in. Look at as many as you have time for. This one thing will tell you a lot about the direction of the teaching at that school.
Homeschooling—Don’t confuse what was happening during the Covid-19 pandemic with traditional home schooling. That was an abomination. True homeschooling can be very beneficial for your kids. The website The Homeschool Mom provides some great insight. Here is an excerpt:
Homeschooling is an education option in which parents direct their children’s education rather than enrolling them full-time in a public school or private school. Homeschooling parents take charge of their children’s education through learning at home, joining co-ops, hiring tutors, participating in academic clubs, taking community college classes, and much more.
Notice the mention of joining co-ops and hiring tutors. One of the mental hurdles you have to overcome is that homeschooling is not something you can do. There are very workable options. Did you know there are at least 5 million families homeschooling now? If 5 million others can do it, there’s a good chance you can, too. You can’t go wrong by visiting the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) website and taking a virtual tour there before you do anything else.
Are you ready to get off the fence yet? Maybe the following excerpts from Admissionly will help.
HOMESCHOOLERS WERE SEEN TO HAVE AN AVERAGE STANDARDIZED TEST SCORE OF 87TH PERCENTILE AS PER THE NATIONAL HOME EDUCATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE’S STUDY.
Compared to this, the score of those going to public school was only 50th percentile in certain subjects. Generally, standardized tests are not the best method of gauging a student’s academic performance.A STUDY RELATED TO THE DATA OBTAINED FROM THE 2007-2008 SCHOOL YEAR BY HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION (HSLDA) SHOWS A DIFFERENCE OF 34 PERCENTILE
There was 39 percentile points excess in the case of homeschoolers as compared to others, in all subjects. If some parents found teaching math a challenging task, their children could not excel in it like those in public schools.HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS GRADUATED COLLEGE AT A RATE OF 66.7%,
A study led by Michael Cogan by the University of St. Thomas revealed that the homeschool graduation statistics is 10% higher than that of students from public schools.HOMESCHOOLERS SCORE 15%-30% MORE THAN STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE STANDARDIZED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT EXAMS.
This is in line with reports from The National Home Education Research Institute in 2015. It shows that irrespective of the parent’s educational level and financial level, homeschoolers can score well. (Emphasis mine.)
There were false prophets also among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Peter 2:1