Your time as teacher: a wise investment, or wasteful spending?

As the US economy continues to waver, families react predictably; they curb their necessities allowance, take fewer trips, and avoid wasting money on entertainment and retail items by spending evenings at home.

But new data reveals that an increasing number of families are turning evenings at home into full days at home. The Department of Education recently reported that a growing number of parents are opting to teach their children themselves and either work from home or rely on a single income. Currently, around 2 million children are home-schooled—a number that has doubled in the past decade. But why? And at what cost?

According to a 2008 survey conducted by the National Home Education Research Institute, 83% of home-schooling parents said their local schools were “unsafe, drug-ridden” or “unwholesome” in some way. Seventy-three percent felt state-regulated education standards were consistently “shoddy.”

But the largest group of house-teachers polled specified that the non-existent “religion” and faulty “science” curriculum offered by their moderately secular public schools simply wouldn’t do for their offspring. Instead, 88% of parents adduced their children would learn “the science behind their creation and religious values” far better at home.

The number of home-schoolers pulling their kids out of public school for religious reasons has increased 16 percentage points in less than a decade—up from 72% in 2003.

Beyond the fact that families surviving on single-income livelihoods inherently face many challenges, comes the question of fairness (to the children, of course).

Sure, home-schooling is legal in most states—a few even require approved curriculums and regular visits by bureaucrats.

But some states require nothing more than a single statement to local authorities, like “I, Mrs. Paline, am withdrawing my son Joseph from real school and will from now on be teaching him ‘Intelligent Design’ from my intelligently designed living room! Hehe, good day now.” Yes, in some states this would actually satisfy the requirement. Worse, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) shows 11 states—including mine (Illinois)—require no notification at all.

Is it morally acceptable for a child to receive an education deemed “unverifiedly competent” (hehe) by his/her mom/dad? What if little Joseph’s mom decides to teach him that Santa Clause hates anyone who supports public healthcare, and that polar bears are demons who work for the devil our President? You get the jist of my argument.

On the other hand, a well-educated, practical, patient parent proficient in the subjects that comprise an adequate education would make an excellent teacher. Thus, he or she could potentially provide his or her child adept one-on-one instruction superior to most multi-student settings.

Both the pro and anti-home-school sides have solid arguments. The commonplace “nescient public school teacher” is met with the conventional “benighted Mrs. Mom.” More incidences of physical fighting and verbal abuse occur in public settings, but less often than group-game playing and the formation of strong friendships. Most public schools teach evolution as part of their science curriculum. For those who vehemently shun the Darwin theory (along with any other body of knowledge not derived from the Holy Bible), this is your uncontestable keep-the-kids-home argument. This is also where you end, and the rest of the United States’ population begins.