Overturning establishment oligopolies

Another voice added to those who applaud parents for their creative "entrepreneurial skills" in education and elsewhere.


The Washington Examiner (Click on the title above to read the article.)

By Paul Chesser

The success of Lowe's and Home Depot aren't the only reflection of the do-it-yourself movement's popularity. An increasing number of Americans are discovering that they can handle the work of two other traditionally outsourced services all by themselves: education and the media.

Sure, there are some that are sloppily measured and whose angles are off, but the successful ones that make people take notice are doing so because they outperform the so-called "professionals."

The academic achievement of homeschooled students is well-documented. Set aside the highly publicized victories in spelling and geography competitions and just look at the overall statistics. As a group they do better on standardized aptitude tests than publicly schooled children. For those concerned about "socialization," studies show that they adapt to society just fine.

As for bloggers, they are the standard-bearers of the Internet. The line on the news is not official until the bloggers have scrutinized it and made sure all the facts are known. They include important context that newspapers often can't or won't provide (largely due to space limitations).