Whaddya bet me...

...that this article is being portrayed somewhere today as an example of the typical homeschooling family?

Yes, I do teach in the public school system, and my children attend a public school. But I am in favor of homeschooling. Actually, I'm in favor of parents getting to be in charge of their children's education. That probably goes against what many of my fellow teachers would say, and they would cite such examples as the one boy I know at school whose mother gave him one Christmas gift this year -- a bag of marijuana. But using that as a reason to take away parental or local control is just like using the example of the sicko abuse in Massachusetts as a reason to ban homeschooling. It doesn't wash. Why do we punish the decent law-abiding folks by taking away their rights, when what we should be doing is actually cracking down and punishing the lawbreakers by taking away theirs?

I chose to home-school for a while, then chose a small private academy where I could teach in exchange for tuition, then chose a public elementary magnet school where they could get a great deal of fine arts exposure. It's what works for our family. What works for yours might be different. That's for you to determine, not me. Or some bigwig at the Department of Education who thinks she knows what's best for your family more than you do.