In both concept and practice, such efforts of parents and children to do better than abysmal public schools should not be denigrated. Eragon:Do Try This at Home

Christopher Paolini is the author of Eragon, an elaborate fantasy novel that was last week number three on The New York Times bestseller list for children’s books. Christopher Paolini was 15 years old when he wrote the book. Christopher Paolini has been completely home-schooled by his parents.

In an October 7 Times article about Paolini, his family and the book, Dinitia Smith writes, in the fourth paragraph: "Despite his lack of formal schooling he invented three languages for his characters of dwarves, elves and humanoids, some based on Old Norse, some from scratch."

Despite his lack of formal schooling?

Whether that phrase was intentional, subconscious or just unfortunately worded, the clear implication is the stunning remarkability of such achievement without benefit of "formal schooling," (widely but erroneously believed to be the prerequisite of human accomplishment).

We need not question the uproar had Ms. Smith written (about anyone’s accomplishments) despite his being black or despite his being an undocumented worker (pc euphemism for illegal alien) or despite his being a transgender who wears animal costumes to bed. Nope, she would have been instantly Limbaughed or Schwarzeneggered (suggested new verbs to replace the now archaic Borked).

The purpose of this discussion is not to beat up on Ms. Smith or even that favorite whipping paper, The New York Times. Smith is an accomplished writer in her own right, regardless of what educational process got her there, and her article is, actually, an excellent profile of an intriguing family and enticing discussion of Christopher’s book.

We prefer to think that Ms. Smith’s bias against home schooling, if any, is benign, a not atypical reaction of many of us to anything that is new and different, that takes us out of our intellectual or emotional comfort zones.

Proponents of home education proudly point to the practice as the fastest-growing form of education, with somewhere around two million children in grades K through 12 currently getting their education that way. The average grades of home-schooled students on standardized tests consistently exceed those of their public-school counterparts by impressive margins. In fact, in areas of education, socialization and behavior that have been measured, home-schooled students, on average, appear to excel.

It is, of course, impossible to fairly dissect all the implications, positive and negative, of home-schooling without writing a ponderous tome. Home schooling is not and cannot be appropriate for any but the self-selecting few (parents and children) who have the qualifications, motivation and commitment to make it work, reasons enough for its comparative success.

It is for some, however, a more than viable alternative to rusted, busted public school conveyor belts too extensively dominated more by the interests of teachers unions, political hacks and bureaucratic numbskulls than any deliverable commitment to quality education. Unlike other alternatives, such as charter schools, special skills schools, vouchers and the privatization of schools, home schooling has the advantage of being self-actuating. In both concept and practice, such efforts of parents and children to do better than abysmal public schools should not be denigrated.

By the way, Christopher’s sister, Angela, is working on her own novel. She’s 17. We’ve petitioned the Paolinis to adopt us.

October 10, 2003
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