# Should Homeschooling be banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 13, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721 "2020-05-13T15:49:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/41 "2020-05-13T19:56:46Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I vaguely recall interacting with some homeschooled kids when I was around 12 or so, and being appalled at their utter lack of the very basic scientific knowledge (like not knowing the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates). But I know of some other homeschooled kids who are just the opposite. I don’t think it should be banned, but I do think homsechooling parents should be required to have some sort of certification at least to demonstrate that they have the requisite knowledge to pass on to their kids what every member of the community should know (i.e. the basics about the world around them, the basics of history, the basics of how society works, etc.). No they dont. You see most home school families follow a curriculum and sometimes its online based so the parents dont need that much knowledge. The knowledge is in the curriculum. Also they get together so maybe once a week they all get together at someones house who is big on science and they do that or music or art. As for socialization they: 1. Have their own sports teams. 2. Organize field trips. 3. Have clubs like lego club. 4. Have dances, parties, and proms. This is thru coops. [HERE](http://www.jocohomeschool.org/) is the site for the one in my area and [HERE](https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/homeschooling-in-kansas/homeschool-organizations-support-groups/) is a statewide one. [HERE](https://www.hspn.net/homeschool-sports-pulse.asp?ref=locator&lstate=KS) is another just for homeschool sports teams. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/42 "2020-05-13T19:58:18Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I don’t think it should be banned, but I do think homsechooling parents should be required to have some sort of certification at least to demonstrate that they have the requisite knowledge to pass on to their kids what every member of the community should know (i.e. the basics about the world around them, the basics of history, the basics of how society works, etc.). No they dont. You see most home school families follow a curriculum and sometimes its online based so the parents dont need that much knowledge. The knowledge is in the curriculum. Also they get together so maybe once a week they all get together at someones house who is big on science and they do that or music or art. As for socialization they: 1. Have their own sports teams. 2. Organize field trips. 3. Have clubs like lego club. 4. Have dances, parties, and proms. This is thru coops. [HERE](http://www.jocohomeschool.org/) is the site for the one in my area and [HERE](https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/homeschooling-in-kansas/homeschool-organizations-support-groups/) is a statewide one. [HERE](https://www.hspn.net/homeschool-sports-pulse.asp?ref=locator&lstate=KS) is another just for homeschool sports teams. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/43 "2020-05-13T20:01:56Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Since home-schooled children tend to exceed the standards of public education Well, it depends very much on the type of homeschooling practiced. Homeschooled children who take standardized tests on average outperform their school-educated peers. But many homeschooled kids from fundamentalist families aren’t encouraged to take academic tests or even to get their GED (especially if they’re girls). And the fundamentalist-Christian homeschool curricula often have catastrophic gaps or outright lies in, e.g., sciences and social sciences. [Over one-third of parents cite “religious or moral instruction” as their main motive for homeschooling,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling#Motivations) and [this 2014 research summary](http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2014/09/research-on-christian-homeschooling.html) puts it even higher: > [@](#): > > Although the modern homeschooling movement emerged from counter-cultural criticisms of public schools popularized by John Holt in the late 1960s, conservative Christians have constituted the majority of homeschooling families since the 1980s. […] reports from the National Center for Education Statistics reveal that over two-thirds indicate that “a desire to provide religious instruction” and “moral instruction” are two of their primary motivations. […] surveys indicate that theologically conservative Christians still represent the largest bloc. In addition, the most important institutions that influence public policies regarding homeschooling, such as the Home School Legal Defense Association, are Christian organizations. […] > > The production and distribution of textbooks and curricula for homeschooling is a billion dollar industry that is essential to the movement. Without these prepared materials, most homeschooling parents, who rarely have training in education or child development, would struggle to develop a structured educational program for their children. > > As one may expect, because a majority of parents choose homeschooling based upon religious motivations, many of the most popular curricula—Sonlight, A Beka, Alpha Omega, Bob Jones, Ambleside Online, Apologia, Seton Home, Christian Liberty, My Father’s World, and more—integrate religious references into their materials and align their content with conservative Christian theology. Thus, these religiously inspired curricula are shaping the education and consequently the future of hundreds of thousands of children each year. > [@Shodan](#): > > that Harvard harpy There there, I’m sure that with practice you can learn to spell “Dr. Bartholet” correctly even if you **were** homeschooled. > [@Shodan](#): > > parents have too much authority and (in her ill-formed and bigoted opinion) the state has not enough. Well, if the state constitutionally guarantees each child’s right to an education, the state obviously does need to have sufficient authority to ensure that each child can actually get such education. If the state is exercising no effective oversight on parental homeschooling, then there’s nothing “bigoted” about pointing out that the state’s authority is insufficient. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/44 "2020-05-13T20:02:56Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > No they dont. You see most home school families follow a curriculum and sometimes its online based so the parents dont need that much knowledge. The knowledge is in the curriculum. That doesn’t sound good enough for me. Kids should be encouraged to ask questions and explore outside of just the curriculum, and teachers (parents for homschoolers) should have the knowledge of the basics to answer right off the bat, and the tools to find the answers for the things they can’t. Just as an example, those home schooled kids I associated with when I was 12 clearly had deficient education in science. That shouldn’t have happened, and those kids probably suffered for lack of basic knowledge. The rest of your post didn’t address anything I said. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/45 "2020-05-13T20:03:59Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > No they dont. You see most home school families follow a curriculum and sometimes its online based so the parents dont need that much knowledge. The knowledge is in the curriculum. Also they get together so maybe once a week they all get together at someones house who is big on science and they do that or music or art. Some do. Others don’t let the kids leave the house, end the education at basic math and reading (especially of girls). Others use it as an excuse to get CPS and truancy court off their backs, so they can better totally ignore their kids and let them run wild. What are your thoughts about parents like that? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/46 "2020-05-13T20:07:07Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Poking around for the [actual article](https://arizonalawreview.org/homeschooling-parent-rights-absolutism-vs-child-rights-to-education-protection/) published by Bartholet, Ok, when you were poking around that article does it ever mention Bartholet actually TALKING to people? I cannot believe that is if she is so darn smart she cannot go thru the simple trouble of looking up student records at her own university and finding some that are home schooled and talk to them. Why not? In her own community where Harvard is based I’m sure their are homeschool families. Why didnt she go and talk to them? But no. She based everything on published documents and news reports. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/47 "2020-05-13T20:09:55Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Some do. Others don’t let the kids leave the house, end the education at basic math and reading (especially of girls). Others use it as an excuse to get CPS and truancy court off their backs, so they can better totally ignore their kids and let them run wild. > > What are your thoughts about parents like that? What do you want me to say? Should we also talk about crappy public schools and kids graduating that can barely read or write? Why are you focused on the worse? Do you actually know many home school families? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/48 "2020-05-13T20:09:56Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > You see most home school families follow a curriculum and sometimes its online based so the parents dont need that much knowledge. The knowledge is in the curriculum. :dubious: We don’t accept “the knowledge is in the curriculum” as a sufficient excuse for a professional educator not having adequate knowledge of the subject they’re supposed to teach. Why should we accept such an excuse on the part of a homeschooling parent, who is legally and ethically just as responsible for providing proper education for their child? “Teachers don’t need to know very much because students can just get their information out of the curriculum” is not a persuasive argument either for regular schooling or for homeschooling. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/49 "2020-05-13T20:11:31Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Some do. Others don’t let the kids leave the house, end the education at basic math and reading (especially of girls). Others use it as an excuse to get CPS and truancy court off their backs, so they can better totally ignore their kids and let them run wild. > > What are your thoughts about parents like that? What do you want me to say? Should we also talk about crappy public schools and kids graduating that can barely read or write? As has been said there are good and bad homeschooling families. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/50 "2020-05-13T20:21:07Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, it depends very much on the type of homeschooling practiced. Homeschooled children who take standardized tests on average outperform their school-educated peers. But many homeschooled kids from fundamentalist families aren’t encouraged to take academic tests or even to get their GED (especially if they’re girls). And the fundamentalist-Christian homeschool curricula often have catastrophic gaps or outright lies in, e.g., sciences and social sciences. > … Yep, those kids never take the tests so they arent included in the stats. Some homeschooled kids learn nothing but how to read the bible, pray and do chores- it is God’s Will. Especially girls. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/51 "2020-05-13T20:33:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep, those kids never take the tests so they arent included in the stats. > > Some homeschooled kids learn nothing but how to read the bible, pray and do chores- it is God’s Will. Especially girls. Cite, please. And a link to Carrie wont suffice. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/52 "2020-05-13T20:34:46Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Ok, when you were poking around that article does it ever mention Bartholet actually TALKING to people? > > I cannot believe that is if she is so darn smart she cannot go thru the simple trouble of looking up student records at her own university and finding some that are home schooled and talk to them. Why not? > > In her own community where Harvard is based I’m sure their are homeschool families. Why didnt she go and talk to them? > > But no. She based everything on published documents and news reports. 😕 😕 😕 I must be misunderstanding you. Are you seriously suggesting that cherrypicking some personal narratives from homeschooled Harvard students, and Harvard-community students, would somehow be a valid rebuttal to Dr. Bartholet’s research involving “published documents”? Because if so, that’s the most godawfully feeble attempt at an argument I’ve seen in a long time. You seem to be imagining that the problem is just that Dr. Bartholet doesn’t happen to know about any homeschooling success stories, and if she only talked to some people for whom homeschooling works well, that would change her gloomy little outlook for her. But that’s absolutely absurd. She fully acknowledges the great diversity of the homeschooling population right there on p. 10 of [her above-linked article](https://arizonalawreview.org/homeschooling-parent-rights-absolutism-vs-child-rights-to-education-protection/): > [@](#): > > Some parents choose homeschooling because they feel that their children will be discriminated against in the public schools, denied disability accommodations, or bullied. Some choose homeschooling because they want their children to have the flexibility to pursue demanding commitments in dance, sports, or theater, or because they live in remote areas with no nearby schools, falling into a category characterized as “practical” or “convenience” homeschooling. Some choose homeschooling, as did the original progressive wing, because of the flaws they see in traditional education, such as an overemphasis on rote learning and testing. Some believe that they can provide their children a superior education because of the limitations of their local schools or because of the parents’ advanced qualifications, ability to engage superior tutors, or access to online learning opportunities. […] Many homeschooling parents work cooperatively with each other both to provide a quality education and to ensure that their children have significant contact with other children. Many make efforts to enable their children to participate in certain school programs such as sports. Everybody in higher education is aware of this diversity, and of the many spectacular success stories of homeschooling, especially if they teach someplace like an Ivy League university. I’ve taught at an Ivy League university myself, and at other highly competitive colleges, and I’ve encountered plenty of amazing homeschooled students. Bartholet isn’t trying to argue that there aren’t lots of amazing homeschooled students out there. Her concerns, on the contrary, are **whether the amazing success stories are representative of homeschooled students in general** , and **what protections the state should provide for students for whom the education provided by homeschooling is inadequate, error-ridden, and/or downright abusive**. Just “going and talking to” some local happy and successful homeschooling families wouldn’t accomplish jack-shit in answering those questions, and I can hardly believe that you were so naive as to assume that it might. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/53 "2020-05-13T20:40:32Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Cite, please. If what you want is a cite for the claim of mine that **DrDeth** was agreeing with, namely that “many homeschooled kids from fundamentalist families aren’t encouraged to take academic tests or even to get their GED (especially if they’re girls)”, you can find some likewise right there in Dr. Bartholet’s article (I’ve removed the footnote numbers for readability): > [@](#): > > As Dwyer and Peters say in their recent comprehensive book on homeschooling, many religious homeschoolers object in principle to some core goals of public education: > > > [@](#): > > > > [T]hey reject the value of independent thinking about values and aims in life, they oppose instruction in scientific methodologies . . . and they want to constrain their daughters’ lives to a single occupation— housewife. To the extent parents in this group do value secular learning, they treat it—even basic literacy—as of little importance compared to unflinching acceptance of religious doctrine and reactionary political views. > > […] > > Some homeschooling parents are extreme religious ideologues who live in near-total isolation and hold views in serious conflict with those generally deemed central in our society. For example, some believe that women should be totally subservient to men and educated in ways that promote such subservience. […] The “Quiverfull” and “Stay at Home Daughter” movements endorse confining women to the domestic sphere and subjecting them to the control of first their fathers and then their husbands. Some in these movements believe homeschooled girls should only be educated in household tasks. Many homeschooling families pursue a “less rigorous version of female submission,” limiting girls’ educations by assigning them extensive household and child-rearing duties. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/54 "2020-05-13T20:41:40Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Cite, please. And a link to Carrie wont suffice. Cite for what? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/55 "2020-05-13T20:43:37Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If what you want is a cite for the claim of mine that **DrDeth** was agreeing with, namely that “many homeschooled kids from fundamentalist families aren’t encouraged to take academic tests or even to get their GED (especially if they’re girls)”, you can find some likewise right there in Dr. Bartholet’s article (I’ve removed the footnote numbers for readability): I get that but he made the ridiculous claim that “Some homeschooled kids learn nothing but how to read the bible, pray and do chores-”. Those kinds of comments really dont add anything to the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/56 "2020-05-13T20:44:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Cite for what? To what you claimed in your post. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/57 "2020-05-13T20:54:10Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I get that but he made the ridiculous claim that “Some homeschooled kids learn nothing but how to read the bible, pray and do chores-”. Those kinds of comments really dont add anything to the conversation. I hate to disillusion you, and I certainly hope and trust that such extreme cases aren’t at all representative for even the most dogmatically religious subset of homeschoolers, but if you think that [such extreme cases](https://www.salon.com/2012/03/15/homeschooled_and_illiterate/) don’t exist at all, you are kidding yourself. > [@](#): > > Melinda Palmer, 29, is another home-school graduate who is forthcoming about the problems she encountered as a home-schooled child. […] > > Palmer sends me a note after we talk that reads, “I know of a family right now in pretty much the exact same situation we were in back then. They reported [their home-schooling status] to the state once, eight years ago, and never after that, to my knowledge. The state never caught on… They are one of the families I know whose children are functionally illiterate. Their 18-year-old daughter can read, but can barely write a paragraph… and the education goes significantly downhill from there. Her youngest brother, almost 11, has barely learned to read.” ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/58 "2020-05-13T20:59:51Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I hate to disillusion you, and I certainly hope and trust that such extreme cases aren’t at all representative for even the most dogmatically religious subset of homeschoolers, but if you think that [such extreme cases](https://www.salon.com/2012/03/15/homeschooled_and_illiterate/) don’t exist at all, you are kidding yourself. I never hinted that there aren’t rare cases of extreme abuse. But he claimed that ‘some homeschooled kids’ and I think that is an exaggeration based on religious bigotry. Cults are a minuscule subset of religious homeschooled children. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/59 "2020-05-13T21:09:37Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I get that but he made the ridiculous claim that “Some homeschooled kids learn nothing but how to read the bible, pray and do chores-”. Those kinds of comments really dont add anything to the conversation. > **[4 Tremendously Serious Problems within the Fundamentalist Homeschooling Movement](https://jesuswithoutbaggage.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/4-tremendously-serious-problems-within-the-fundamentalist-homeschooling-movement/)** > > Let me begin by saying that I do not oppose homeschooling. One of my best friends homeschooled his son, and that son was among the most broadly educated children I have ever known. A lot of this ha… \*ACE, the curriculum with which I am most familiar, is certainly inadequate. It consists of units on various subjects designed for student self-learning. The student reads through the material and then takes a test on that unit; answers are based on rote memorization. Then the student scores themselves using a scoring key. The curriculum also contains a lot of biblical material. Perhaps some former homeschoolers can provide information on other curricula. Another aspect of homeschooling quality is the level of the homeschooling parents’ knowledge and teaching skills. Often this is woefully inadequate and sometimes nonexistent. In 2016 16% of homeschooling parents had a high school or equivalency education; 15% never finished high school. In most cases the state is unable to track or evaluate the students’ level of achievement because homeschoolers have successfully demanded little or no monitoring by the state. Therefore, many students—who are promised that the homeschooling program matches or exceeds public education—find that they must take remedial education to get into college…Fundamentalist homeschooling has a very strong anti-science bias—especially in any field related to evolution, such as archaeology, genetics, and age-dating techniques. So far as I know, all fundamentalist homeschooling embraces Young Earth Creationism, which claims that the earth is no older than 10,000 years, that humans lived with dinosaurs, and that evolution is a lie…4. Widespread Child Abuse You probably have heard some of the horror stories of homeschooled children who have been severely abused—they seem to be far too common in the press. Not all parents are child abusers but many are, and I think there are two reasons for this connection. First, severe child-rearing techniques are widely popular among fundamentalists. There are a number of widely distributed books that promote these principles, which many outside fundamentalism consider abusive. One principle is to ‘break the spirit’ of the child—even as an infant. Another is to use corporal punishment (hitting the child) as a primary way to form control and secure obedience. Secondly, some parents are criminally abusive to their children in additional ways. For both groups homeschooling is a convenient way to avoid detection and possible arrest\* And this is from a Christian site that is generally in favor of homeschooling. > **[How Christian fundamentalist homeschooling damages children](https://www.salon.com/2014/09/10/how_christian_fundamentalist_homeschooling_damages_children_partner/)** > > The religious right touts homeschooling as a viable educational alternative. Parents, grads tell a different story _Poring over their stories, I was shocked to find so many tales of gross educational neglect. I don’t merely mean that they had received what I now view as an overly politicized education with huge gaps, for example, in American history, evolution or sexuality. Rather, what disturbed me were the many stories about homeschoolers who were barely literate when they graduated, or whose math and science education had never extended much past middle school._ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721/60 "2020-05-13T21:15:23Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I never hinted that there aren’t rare cases of extreme abuse. But he claimed that ‘some homeschooled kids’ and I think that is an exaggeration based on religious bigotry. Cults are a minuscule subset of religious homeschooled children. Yes, cults, like the Jack Mormons who live in compounds, where the Father’s rape their daughters, etc- are indeed \*a minuscule subset \*. But somewhere around 25% of Christians are Fundamentalists. That is by no means a a minuscule subset. And I would say 25% certainly qualifies as “some”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-homeschooling-be-banned/853721.md?page=4)