# Homeschool family not educating kids expecting rapture: what should happen in court? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 3, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479 "2015-11-03T00:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/41 "2015-11-13T04:00:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > And it’s only going to get worse as teaching becomes a less and less attractive career choice. That’s the real problem, teaching, government employees, etc. have this vicious cycle where people say “we are attracting poor employees, therefore we should pay them less money”, rinse, repeat. To improve quality, you need to take steps to attract better employees. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/42 "2015-11-13T04:18:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > And it’s only going to get worse as teaching becomes a less and less attractive career choice. It’s only worse if teachers with emergency certification are worse teachers. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/43 "2015-11-13T05:20:42Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > That’s the real problem, teaching, government employees, etc. have this vicious cycle where people say “we are attracting poor employees, therefore we should pay them less money”, rinse, repeat. > > To improve quality, you need to take steps to attract better employees. To be fair, I believe their mantra is akin to - we are wasting money on this program, we should pay people in charge of it less as a result because throwing more money at a situation injudiciuously does nothing to solve the problem. But then these would also be the same people who complain there are not enough good teachers to fill the positions and wouldn’t flinch at paying a quality college coach millions. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/44 "2015-11-13T05:36:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > …the oldest girl ran away from home and tried to enroll herself in a public school. This is what gets me. How sad. How telling. They know they’re missing something. ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/45 "2015-11-13T08:13:29Z")
Anyway, these parents are negligent and can stick their rapture delusions up their arse. I would force them to send the kids to school. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/46 "2015-11-13T16:15:25Z")
The belief or non-belief by the parents of a pending rapture is irrelevant. The parents should be educating the children, and there should be a basis by the State for determining if that education is being done. The rapture discussion is a red-herring. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/47 "2015-11-13T17:42:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Because at least some of the kids in the public school get sufficient education, and they certainly are in a better situation than a kid who stays home and whom no one bothers to try to educate at all. I think it’s best handled on a case-by-case basis. My niece was home schooled her entire young life (never went to elementary or high school), and she’s now at a prestigious university getting a degree in math. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/48 "2015-11-13T17:46:25Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > It’s only worse if teachers with emergency certification are worse teachers. “Worse teachers” is a fairly meaningless term. There are many reasons why teachers on emergency certification often do poorly, and only some of them have anything to do with actual teaching skills. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/49 "2015-11-13T19:02:00Z")
Nothing to add here except this anecdote: A friend of mine, married with two kids, once told me they’re not saving for retirement because Jesus was going to return in the Rapture before they reached retirement age. So why save that money vs. having more money now? I let them know that when they got to retirement age they could not live with me. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/50 "2015-11-13T19:12:48Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Because at least some of the kids in the public school get sufficient education, and they certainly are in a better situation than a kid who stays home and whom no one bothers to try to educate at all. At least some of the homeschooled kids get sufficient education, too, as the Vanderbilt study demonstrates. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/51 "2015-11-13T19:49:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > At least some of the homeschooled kids get sufficient education, too, as the Vanderbilt study demonstrates. Does the study break it down state-by-state? For example, [Idaho](https://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/home_school/), which does not regulate or monitor homeschool education at all-how is reliable information gathered? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/52 "2015-11-13T19:55:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Does the study break it down state-by-state? For example, [Idaho](https://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/home_school/), which does not regulate or monitor homeschool education at all-how is reliable information gathered? That breakdown is not necessary to be able to reliably assert, “At least some of the homeschooled kids get sufficient education.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/53 "2015-11-13T20:01:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That breakdown is not necessary to be able to reliably assert, “At least some of the homeschooled kids get sufficient education.” The devil is _always_ in the details, **Bricker** …if nothing else, I learned that from you. There are different ways to homeschool, and knowing which type works makes a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479/54 "2015-11-13T21:07:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > “Worse teachers” is a fairly meaningless term. There are many reasons why teachers on emergency certification often do poorly, and only some of them have anything to do with actual teaching skills. My point was that it’s not a given that alternative or emergency certification is a problem. For students, that is; I expect it to interfere with rent-seeking by established teachers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeschool-family-not-educating-kids-expecting-rapture-what-should-happen-in-court/736479.md?page=2)