One of the few good things to come out of the government-mandated shutdown is that many parents have started homeschooling their children.Many of these parents are likely to continue homeschooling after the government schools reopen.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did its part to encourage homeschooling when it unveiled “guidelines” for schools to follow when they reopen. Among the CDC’s guidelines are that schools put tape on the hallways, directing children which direction to walk and how much distance to keep between themselves and their classmates. The CDC also recommends children do not share electronic devices or learning aids. The guidelines even say children should wear masks at school.
The CDC’s guidelines instruct schools to close playgrounds and cafeterias, and to cancel all field trips and assemblies. Instead, students are to spend all day at their desks, not even leaving classrooms for lunch or recess.
The CDC’s guidelines may not have the force of law, but it is likely most government schools will adopt them in order to ensure continued access to federal funding. Schools will do this even though children are at a very low risk of being seriously harmed by coronavirus. In fact, by forbidding children from going outside to play, exercise, and get sunshine, the guidelines actually endanger children’s health. The guidelines also harm children by limiting their ability to interact with their fellow students and develop social skills.
Opponents of homeschooling claim that homeschooled children lack proper socialization. Like many attacks on homeschooling, the claim that homeschoolers are not “socialized” is the opposite of the truth.
Education researcher Corey DeAngelis recently told journalist John Stossel in a Reason interview that “children who are homeschooled get much better academic and social results than kids in government schools.”
Mr. DeAngelis pointed out that “homeschoolers score about 30 percent higher on the SAT test than kids in regular schools.”
Which may be why colleges are dropping the SAT and ACT.