BETSY DEVOS TO PRENDA
HOW HOME SCHOOLING WENT FORM A JOKE TO A PROFITABLE JOKE
Home schooling used to be a joke. It was the excuse we all used for poor behavior, lack of intelligence, or poor social graces. Must of been homeschooled... But now, it's a profitable joke.
Thanks to government funding, nonprofit grants, and venture capitalist investment, home schooling has exploded in popularity. In the last three years alone, hundreds of thousands of children have been pulled out of public schools and into the comfort of their own homes.
Start-ups like Prenda have emerged to offer alternatives to unsatisfying online public school during the pandemic. And let's not forget Outschool, an online marketplace for classes that has raised a whopping $255 million since 2015. Who knew home schooling could be so lucrative?
But with this rise in popularity comes a concern about the lack of regulation and academic standards. Sure, little Timmy might be learning how to bake bread with his mom, but is he really getting the education he needs to succeed in the real world?
And let's not forget about the potential for horrific incidents. We've all heard the stories about parents who are too busy running their own businesses to properly educate their children. It's a recipe for disaster.
But hey, who cares about all that when there's money to be made? The voucher privatizers are eating it up. Anything that hurts public education serves their cause to defund and privatize public education and other services.
It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. Parents get to spend more time with their children, start-ups get to make a profit, and the voucher privatizers get to further their agenda. Who needs academic standards when you've got cash in your pocket?
But let's not forget about poor Betsy DeVos. She was home-schooled (not really), and look where she ended up. As Secretary of Education, she had the power to push her own agenda and further the cause of voucher privatization.
So, if you're thinking about home schooling your children, just remember: it's not about their education or their future success. It's about the money. And who doesn't love a good profitable joke?
Home-schooling's growth fueled by money from investors, nonprofits, vouchers - Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/homeschooling-microschools-pods-esa-vouchers/
