{"id":152410,"date":"2025-10-13T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=152410"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T15:44:31","slug":"dana-criswell-homeschooling-the-old-way-that-still-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/dana-criswell-homeschooling-the-old-way-that-still-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana Criswell: \u201cHomeschooling: The Old Way That Still Works\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Let\u2019s start with a simple truth we\u2019ve forgotten:&nbsp;<strong>parents educated their children long before the government built a building.<\/strong>&nbsp;For most of history, kids learned at the kitchen table, at church, on the farm, or as an apprentice. Compulsory, one-size-fits-all schooling is the new idea. Parents teaching their own children is the old idea\u2014and in many cases, the better one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why homeschool works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Homeschooling gives a child what a bureaucracy can\u2019t:&nbsp;<strong>time, attention, and standards.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If a student struggles, you slow down\u00a0<strong>today<\/strong>, not next year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If a student is ready to move, you move.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You shape character and habits along with math and history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u2019t need a stack of mandates to do that. You need a plan, a kitchen table, and parents who care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cBut what about results?\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Look at what actually happens to homeschoolers when they reach college and the workplace. Study after study finds they perform&nbsp;<strong>as well or better<\/strong>&nbsp;than public-school graduates on academics. Many post&nbsp;<strong>higher first-year GPAs<\/strong>, keep that edge through senior year, and&nbsp;<strong>graduate at higher rates<\/strong>. Employers regularly praise their maturity and work ethic. Are there exceptions? Of course. But the overall picture is solid: a well-run home education holds its own\u2014and often wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cWhat about socialization?\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the laziest objection I heard in the Legislature. Homeschoolers play sports, join 4-H, work part-time, serve in church, and talk with adults every day. That\u2019s real socialization\u2014across ages, not just a hallway of kids the same age repeating the same lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mississippi gets this right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mississippi\u2019s homeschool law is simple and respectful. Families file a short notice each year and get to work. No maze of paperwork. No permission slip from Jackson. And support is everywhere\u2014co-ops, church schools, tutoring pods, online and classical curricula. If a student wants AP calculus, welding, or both, you can build that path without begging for approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The comparison that matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The public system measures success by&nbsp;<strong>inputs<\/strong>\u2014dollars, buildings, headcount. Families measure success by&nbsp;<strong>outputs<\/strong>\u2014what a child actually knows and who they become. That\u2019s the difference. Taxpayers can pour more money into a system forever and never fix a bad fit for a single child. Parents can fix that in one decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why homeschool is often the best way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>It fits the child, not the system.<\/strong>\u00a0Pacing, curriculum, and expectations match the student, not a statewide average.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It guards values.<\/strong>\u00a0Families can teach virtue, faith, and work ethic alongside academics\u2014no apologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It\u2019s efficient.<\/strong>\u00a0One focused hour at the table can beat three hours of classroom drift.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It builds adults.<\/strong>\u00a0Responsibility, self-direction, and real conversation with adults aren\u2019t \u201cextras\u201d\u2014they\u2019re the point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Mississippi plan that respects parents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If we want more kids to thrive, we should stop treating homeschoolers like a side note and start treating parents like partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Protect homeschool freedom.<\/strong>\u00a0Keep the law simple. Every new mandate punishes the families who are actually doing the work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Let funding follow the student.<\/strong>\u00a0Education Savings Accounts should work for homeschoolers, not just systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open doors to dual enrollment and apprenticeships.<\/strong>\u00a0A 17-year-old should finish with a transcript\u00a0<strong>and<\/strong>\u00a0marketable skills or college credits.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Homeschooling isn\u2019t anti-school. It\u2019s&nbsp;<strong>pro-child<\/strong>. It trusts the people who love that child most\u2014the parents\u2014to make the decisions and carry the load. Mississippi should keep backing those parents, not systems, and let every family choose the path that gets their child ready for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"16\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14544\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s start with a simple truth we\u2019ve forgotten:&nbsp;parents educated their children long before the government built a building.&nbsp;For<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124494,"featured_media":152411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32635],"tags":[32685,32754,32755,5],"class_list":["post-152410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dana-criswell","tag-dana-criswell","tag-home-school","tag-home-schooling","tag-mississippi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/homeschool.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152412,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152410\/revisions\/152412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}