I was not shocked that the state, at least per capita, leads the nation in homeschooling. I’ve heard that before. What was a little shocking is that North Carolina is so far out in front. Arkansas is second with 3.7 percent of K-12 students classified as homeschool students. In North Carolina that number is 7.7 percent.
The changing face of education in North Carolina is the lead story in the August issue of Capitol Connection. Amazingly, twenty percents of students in the state are not attending traditional public schools. It gives tangible proof that parents desire options apart from a January Civitas Poll that revealed 92 percent of North Carolinians believe a choice is warranted for schooling.
We are not as homogenized as a society or culture anymore, so from that perspective alone, it makes sense that parents and families want options. The article notes that a rising homeschool category in the state is non-religious homeschooling. Even families that are less religious or secular altogether are looking for something different.
In the poll from January, by a majority, parents chose options over public schooling as their top preference for their child or children. Private schooling was the most popular response at 45 percent, while charter schools were preferred by by 13 percent, and homeschool was at 9 percent in the survey.
The deeper question many parents are rediscovering is what is the purpose of education? I wrote a little bit about that back in 2017. Just asking that question clearly empowers the conservative position for more school choice options because the state or public education may not address or touch on those answers for parents.
There is a lot of content in this issue. Particularly on elections, economic theory, and your state government. My hope is that readers of NC Capitol Connection will always understand that government is best when it is limited, and that the citizen are equipped to be masters and not servants of their government.
