It’s important to recall from time to time that there are so-called intellectual elitist types out there who are uncomfortable with families exercising an educational choice they don’t agree with. Such appears to be the case with Robin L. West who wrote an article titled “The Harms of Homeschooling” (PDF) for a university publication.

There isn’t much left for me to say in response to this shoddy and prejudiced piece of work. Big Journalism’s Izzy Lyman and the American Enterprise Institute’s Jay Richards already have effectively skewered it. Let me just add: As Education Next writer Milton Gaither clearly showed a little over a year ago, people choose homeschooling for a wide variety of reasons. The caricature West tries to draw is simply a figment of someone’s imagination.

Sometimes I wonder if attack pieces like “The Harms of Homeschooling” primarily originate in the hearts and minds of those who simply despise the idea of parents having the freedom to choose an educational experience for their children different than what the state offers. I guess it comes down to whom you think knows best. Hard as it is for me to admit, my vote is for mom and dad — not Congress or the governor or the education commissioner or even my local school board member.

We should celebrate the freedom to choose, as the wonderful School Choice for Kids website does. Among other things, the site includes lots of information for Colorado parents who wish to teach their children at home.

Power to the people for a bright future!