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Adrienne Green

Professor Zenobia Redeaux

English 001

6 October 2020

Is Homeschooling the Future of Education?

Before Covid-19, there were around three million k-12 students that were enrolled in a

homeschooling program, while around fifty million were enrolled in public education or

traditional education. Traditional education is defined as teacher-centered delivery of instruction

to classes of students who are the receivers of information. In the essay, ​Against School,​ John

Taylor Gatto, explains his view on the modern day American school system, he believes that

schools restrict students from growing, and becoming independent free thinkers. ​Education

Attentional Disarray​ , debunks the myth of multitasking. Sherry Turkle claims technology

disrupts the way that students learn, making them bored and unengaged. In ​City of Broken

Dreams, ​Sara Goldrick-Rab discusses the hardships that occur during the process of obtaining a

degree and how many college students have student debt. People can receive a ​ ​non-traditional

education such as homeschooling, that provides them the means to compete in today’s society

because it will provide the proper skills that will help with bettering student’s attention spans,

provide all the elements needed to become an independent free thinker, and help prepare children

and adolescents for higher learning such as college.

To begin, in order to become a successful adult in life one must learn how to freely think.

This is important because when one becomes an adult it is crucial that they know how to think

for themself and make their own decisions. One might believe that most people are not taught

these particular skills in school. John Gatto believes that modern day public schools are teaching
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children not to independently think when in school. ​ “School didn’t have to train kids in any

direct sense to think they should consume nonstop, because it did something even better: it

encouraged them to not think at all.” (Gatto 120). Without the proper thinking skills it would be

difficult to function as an adult. ​ Another reason why children aren’t getting the necessary skills

they need is because they are bored with the material that is being taught to them. “...why they

felt so bored, they always gave the same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no

sense, that they already knew it. They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just

sitting around.”(Gatto 114).

In the modern era, there has been a significant amount of technological advancements

for​ instance, students can now do all of their assignments on a computer or most people have

smartphones that can store all of their personal information. One might claim that students can be

distracted when their phones are nearby.“...more students admit that they, too, text in

class...when they are not tempted by their phones, they feel more in control of their

attention.”(Turkle 179) Students having their phones nearby in class may cause them to lose

focus on what they are supposed to learn. This is an example of multitasking, “When we think

we are multitasking, our brains are actually moving quickly from one thing to the next, and our

performance degrades for each new task we add to the mix.” (Turkle 184). Multitasking can also

be a source of unnecessary stress that can lead to students doing poorly academically. A solution

to this would be to practice unitasking which is essentially the opposite of multitasking, where

one would focus on one task and one task only.

Finally, college is necessary in order to obtain a high paying career. Many adults who did

not go to college after high school eventually go back because they want a job that pays higher

than their current salary. According to a college student, Alicia, “Without a college education
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you can’t get a decent job anywhere.” (Goldrick-Rab 213). However college can be expensive

and some people who have a low income cannot afford it, which can be extremely difficult for

someone that is looking for a high paying job. In addition, a majority of minorities have a hard

time continuing school when the price of the tuition is increasing. By the time students' graduate

school, they are in more debt, and struggle to get out of the debt. At UW-Milwaukee there is a

lack of equity for certain minority groups, “At UW-Milwaukee, around 1,800 first year students

need math remediation each year compared to UW-Madison. Higher education scholar Estela

Bensimon… describes the UW-Milwaukee situation perfectly as “diversity without equity”. (

Goldrick-Rab 221)

In conclusion, students can receive a ​ ​non-traditional education such as homeschooling,

that provides them the means to compete in today’s society. With implementing homeschooling,

it would be beneficial by providing the necessary tools that will improve a student's attention

span, teach students how to be independent thinkers, and help children adolescents prepare for

college and beyond. ​Against School,​ written by John Taylor Gatto, demonstrates how the

American school system should be improved. In the reading, ​Education Attentional Disarray​,

Sherry Turkle debunks the myth of multitasking and explains that technology disrupts student’s

attention spans. In ​City of Broken Dreams, ​Sara Goldrick-Rab discusses the hardships that occur

during the process of obtaining a degree and how many college students have student debt.

During these uncertain times, it is unclear whether or not everything will go back to ‘normal’,

online schooling or homeschooling is the new norm, and some teachers and students have

adapted to it. This might become the future of education.