Homeschooling and Scouting: An Unfair Advantage?

by Julie Gentry | More from this Blogger

26 Feb 2007 01:16 AM

At the Eagle Ceremony we recently attended, I got into a discussion with another parent about the merit badges my boys are working on. One of them is Citizenship in the Nation. It's a fairly involved badge with a lot of requirements. I'm blessed that my mom has agreed to be their merit badge counselor and is giving them a weekly class that incorporates the BSA required study. The other parent, whom I'll call Michael, gave me a lecture on how that was unfair to the boys in the troop who were government-schooled. His main point was that to use the Scouting requirements as curricula meant that homeschoolers would only have to do half as much work. After all, government-schooled children had to go to school all day and then do the requirements for the badges.

It took me a minute to absorb what he was saying, and I had to agree with him that my homeschoolers definitely do have an advantage. Michael looked pretty smug at my admission. I did not, however, say that homeschoolers have an unfair advantage. Giving your child the freedom to pursue his interests, the flexibility to learn in an unconventional manner, and the resources to do his best is what homeschooling is about. Parents who don't homeschool have made a choice not to do so. Maybe the choice is the right one given their circumstances, but it's still a decision. Whichever decision a parent makes, they need to be prepared to deal with the consequences .

Fifteen years ago, when my mom was still homeschooling the last of my siblings, the argument was that homeschoolers weren't going to be up to par with their government-school peers. With that disproved, I've noticed in the last few years that the new argument is that homeschooling is unfair to other children. While the change is a welcomed break from the previous trite comments, the comment's focus is wrong. It's not that homeschoolers don't have an advantage in activities that government-schooled children must do as extra-curricular, they do. It's just that it's not an unfair advantage.

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Julie is affectionately known as GoGo Mama to her friends since she seems to always be out and about.

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Tristi Pinkston (10839) 26 Feb 2007 01:57 AM

I'm the Wolf leader in my son's den as well as being a homeschooling mom, and I can totally agree with you on what you're saying. It's true that we can use the scout requirements for part of our school time, but that's not unfair. I think that rather, the scouting principles should be more a part of the public school curricula! Scouts teaches fabulous principles; everyone can benefit from them. Thanks for this blog.

Pam Connell (2658) 28 Feb 2007 01:28 AM

I totally disagree with "Michael". I think it's great that you can use homeschooling time to fulfill Scout requirements. I'm a Cub Scout leader. The boy in my den who makes the fastest progress and gets the most Academics belt loops is homeschooled. I sometimes wish I had the time to work with my son like that, but it never dawned on me to consider it "unfair"--it's a choice. (I've considered homeschooling but he's doing well in our church school for now.) I remember thinking that the Academics and Sports program could serve as a pretty good homeschooling curriculum if I ever do switch to homeschooling. And I certainly have no hesitation about letting research my son did for a school assignment count for his Cub Scout requirement about finding information, writing an essay, using the printer, etc.

Just tell "Michael" that it is a great blessing that you've decided to make sacrifices in your life so that you have all this time with your kids, but your kid still had to do the same amount of work for the badge as the other kids did.

Julie Gentry (5915) 28 Feb 2007 11:30 AM

Thanks, Tristi and Pam. We have one govt-school mom is who learning. lol. Last night she had all the 6th grade p.s. children come over and open up a MB card with her for Geology. She laughed and explained that in 6th grade, a whole semester of Geology was required. Good for her! :-). I'm mostly surprised at the new mantra, though. I think I first heard it when the homeschooler won the spelling bee a few years back. I'm hearing it more and more, though.