Letter: Want to teach? Get a credential

I believe there are too many choices regarding education for our children. There should only be the following options: public school or private school.

Too many parents feel they are capable of home teaching/schooling, and they are not. They are not qualified to do so, based on their educational backgrounds — wonderful parents/adults but not accredited teachers.

I don't care who it is, without the necessary credentials, one should not be allowed to keep their children home and try to educate them. The standards used at home do not meet with the standards required in a public school, even though they say they use the state curriculum as their guideline and accredited teachers to oversee it all.

I worked in the public school system for 11 years and saw quite a lot of what went on with the home schoolers/independent study students with regards to their lesson plans, their grading system, their homework and the social aspects. They are treated differently than the regular students attending school, and they are graded differently.

I realize there is an exit exam to be passed by all students before graduating. How much help is given to the home schooler, at their meetings, compared to the regular in-school student?

Some say home schooling is a way to avoid the gangs, the riff-raff. It's not just in the schools; it's in your backyard.

Want to teach at home? Get a teaching degree.

-Kitty Garofalo

Colusa