Megan – yes, regulation can be a crucial aspect to ensuring a home-schooled child receives a TRUE education. Too often, homeschooling is used as an "easy out" for a lazy parent unwilling to wake up in time to ensure the child gets to school, or as a mechanism to more easily hide signs of abuse. Essentially, the rules in Florida require either a test or the presentation of a work portfolio. My daughter takes the test, as she takes online classes (through the state's more thorough online school district, and extra that I have to pay for) and interactive classes with her many instructors – family members and close friends of the family all participate depending on their expertise and/or interest. (One relative checks her math, and provides supplemental history lessons as he used to teach in those subjects; another teaches her botany as a supplement to her science lessons, etc.)
This was something we did as a "family", but also because I took her out of a traditional setting to keep her from indoctrination, including any that I might pass on . . . I have no interest in controlling everything she says or does and in that regard I KNOW I'm in the minority where homeschooling parents are concerned, I fully agree with ED that the person desiring that kind of control over someone should be watched closely and preferably not be allowed to procreate.

BRANDON AND J – both of you seem fairly well-read. Have you ever checked out a book called "The Edison Gene" by Thom Harmann? It fleshes out a pretty sound theory on the current evolution (psychological, philosophical, etc.) of our own species – and how our current educational systems are playing a part … ALSO – with regard to which is more fun "religion or science?"
I enjoyed Bible Stories while a child, but I also enjoyed Aesop's fables . . . neither compared to hanging out in the backyard with my dad doing "Test MacGyver's science" experiments.

However, regulation is important. Pennsylvania (where I was educated, yes, by my mom, from K-12) has the strictest home-schooling laws in the country, requiring that the school districts review samples of students’ work each year, standardized tests and an evaluation of each pupil by a certified teacher. Regulations such as these help to ensure that students are being taught what they need to learn. They might not prevent against “indoctrination,” but again, parents influence their kids no matter where they go to school and many private schools teach Creationism, conservatism, etc. as well.

While the movement was originally started by hippies who didn’t want their kids tainted by the establishment, it’s true that a large percentage of home-schooling families do so for religious reasons. I don’t want to delve too much into anecdote here, but in my experience (and I was educated in one of the most conservative counties in PA), most families are not grooming their children to be extremists or for world domination (as some seem to be worried about). Of the 100+ home-schooled students I know, only 2 have gone to Patrick Henry. The rest go to more nominally Christian colleges and a large percentage of my graduating class (I would say close to half) went on to liberal arts or state schools to become doctors, teachers, writers and yes, even political scientists.

Uh I mean. Oops.

J. Dryden – fascinating post. I think I would qualify Mr. Sagan's argument by saying that science can be just as "fun" as religion, but only after you go through the arduous process of learning the fundamentals. To me, black holes are exponentially more interesting than the thought of turning water into wine. For that matter, I find the prospect that we owe our existence to random processes occurring on a random planet in a random solar system in a random galaxy (in a random universe?) far more awe-inspiring than the creationist story.

Thanks Ed!

You all seemed to think that the homeschooling is the abuse – the mental abuse shown here – stems from the indoctrination . . . that can take place whether the parents have the child(ren) in private school, public school, or homeschool.

I homeschool only one of my kids – for very specific reasons, the rest go to public school. I teach all my kids science, social studies, and history at home with supplemental lessons. As a resident of the Bible Belt, they either learn EXACTLY what is tested by standardized testing, a faux lesson with creationist subtext, or nothing. If I want my children to have a firm grasp on astrology, evolution, or anything that directly challeges the biblical interpretation of the universe . . . I have to provide it, or a way for them to get it themselves! Quite honestly my 11 year old (a declared atheist who has been asked not to return to my grandmother's church) could debate these men down to the point of tears.

And of course it's terribly easy to indoctrinate children because the cool/easy explanation–the one that's all 'imagination' and no 'facts'–is going to naturally appeal to their undisciplined, excitable young minds. Plus they're being given a nifty Bad Guy to team up against (Big Atheism), so that's always fun. What's sad is that their imagination isn't, in the end, being encouraged, but stifled–they're not even being encouraged to explore/develop their faith, but to pigeon-hole it into a rigid, miserable conformity designed to produce the most joyless form of religious experience. Ah well, at least we don't elect these people to high office. Oh, wait…