Caitlin wrote:
I know this discussion has diverged from the earlier point of homeschooling, however I wanted to encourage people to not paint all homeschoolers with a broad brush of freethinking contempt. Just as those on the autism spectrum shouldn't be stereotyped, neither should those of us on the homeschool spectrum. There are a very significant number of ASD parents homeschooling and I would wager the vast majority are not doing it to protect their kids from the 'evils of Darwinism'.
I homeschool my AS son because the public school teachers he happened to have last year were cruel, small minded, and frankly less intelligent than he was at the tender age of 6. They were incapable of teaching him, and I am capaple of teaching him, therefore I teach him. I also happen to be Christian, go to church every Sunday, don't believe the Bible should be taken literally, have a degree in History, am pro-choice, believe firmly in GLBT rights including marriage, vote consistently on the left of the political spectrum, and don't include issues of religion in any of the subjects I teach my son.
You know what they say about making assumptions
Oh, that's fine of you to do, Caitlin.
I actually made my own comment on homeschooling: "At the same time though, I would have to think that if I had a child and the time, then I would homeschool that child. Mostly because public education is sort of nonsensical and a waste of time for more capable students, and because I honestly hold my judgment on subject-matter in high esteem."
Honestly, I've heard of atheist libertarian homeschoolers. Like, I think Milton Friedman's son, David Friedman, homeschooled his kids(actually he "unschooled" them I think), and I know that fiercely anti-religious economist Bryan Caplan is looking forward to homeschooling his children.
That being said, I think the evidence disagrees with you, instead showing that these parents actually do want to save their children from evil Darwinism.
http://rawstory.com/2010/03/top-homesch ... evolution/
"Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction.""
""The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program.""