Posted in Interviews
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Dr. Kim: Hello, Dr. Block. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to be a part of our interview. I would like to get your thoughts on a few questions that tend to sit in the back of the minds of most homeschool parents. To begin, as a Professor of Economics, could you give us your opinion as to why government schools may spend up to $14,000 per child in a failing school system and many homeschool families can be quite successful in teaching their children for an average of $500-$1,000 per year? Dr. Block: This is part and parcel of the failure of socialism: private activities are inevitably cheaper than governmental ones. If a private enterprise is inefficient, those responsible for this failure bear the burden, and are led by Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” to cease and desist. Those that remain in business tend to be the more successful. In contrast, in government, there is no such “weeding out process” of the inefficient. Those who waste resources, and fail to satisfy customers (think, in addition to public education, most notably, the military, the post office, the motor vehicle bureau) are not forced to retreat. Bankruptcy never hangs over their heads. A large part of the excessive costs of state schooling stems from over bureaucratization. Public school systems retain large numbers of functionaries, paper pushers, hangers-on, who circulate paper and make the lives of those in the classroom more difficult. Kim: Here’s another homeschool economics question. A few years ago, my husband and I were watching an evening news program that dedicated an entire show to the “myth” of the success of the dual-income family. They followed 3 “average” families whose parents were both working and sinking in debt. They sat down with a financial advisor and found that if the wife/mom would stay home that, between all the added expenses of her working outside the home, they would actually be AHEAD! Since so many homeschool families are one-income families with mom staying home, could you expand on this idea and give us some encouragement to take with us through out day? Dr. Block: What you are saying is that the actual take home pay of these women is negative. I find this hard to believe. Thus, I can’t give you much encouragement in this regard. Kim: Sorry. My fault; I probably didn’t explain that well enough. The show’s financial advisors concluded that with all the extras that are spent on moms working outside the home – car repairs, work clothes, lunches, travel/gas expenses, taxes, day-care/babysitting, etc. – that the families actually saved money by allowing mom to stay home and raise their own children. Now to our students! When would you recommend homeschool parents begin to teach our students about economics and finances…would it be better to begin in the Jr. High years or wait until Sr. High? Dr. Block: Based on my experience with college and university teaching, most places don’t allow students to take economics until their sophomore year. If we extrapolate from this, home schooled children should not be introduced to economics at all. Certainly not until their senior year of high school. On the other hand, home schooled kids tend to be much smarter than their contemporaries, so maybe you have to take this experience with a grain of salt. Maybe a few grains. I would recommend to anyone taking economics in high school the following book: Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. Also Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. These are the two books that started me off on my career in economics. (I didn’t read them, however, until I was a senior in college.) Kim: Do you see a difference in students that you know are homeschooled and those who were public schooled? If so, what differences do you see? Dr. Block: I meet dozens, hundreds of students every year when I gad about lecturing on economics. It is rare when I become acquainted with the high school and lower grades experiences. On the few occasions when this occurs, however, home schooled kids are invariably brighter, more articulate, smarter. Kim: This may be a little shocking to ask a professor, but do you think that college is for every student? Many that I know are wondering if “the college experience” is becoming an idol and that just as much could actually be learned through on-the-job training or apprenticeships; after all, every employer trains everyone to do the same job the way THEIR business wants it done. What are your thoughts on this issue? Dr. Block: Not only do I not think that college is not for every student, I think the same is true for high school, and even elementary school. For many kids, this is like a prison; and they haven’t (yet) committed any crimes. All too many children graduate from high school without knowing how to read. A horrible indictment of public education. Kim: Yes, it certainly is. Thank you, Dr. Block, for your honesty and your enthusiasm for what you – and we - do. Dr. Block: One final point. I hope and trust you won’t mind me answering questions you haven’t asked. A recent episode of South Park criticized home schooling not on the basis of not being able to transmit knowledge and information (the opposite), but, rather, for not being able to socialize kids. Although I am in the main a great fan of South Park, I do not agree with this critical assessment. Maybe, there is some danger in this if two kids, say, are kept at home all the time, and never get to interact with other kids. But, this I think is a travesty of what [actually] occurs in the overwhelming majority of cases. There, groups of home schooled kids often get together for sports, or music. That, alone, certainly helps with the socialization process. But more. In my experience, up to a dozen home schooled families “pool” resources and expertise. Thus, if one of the fathers is a doctor, he will often lecture all the kids in this home schooled group on biology. Ditto for other parental expertise. Home schooling need not be a total abnegation of specialization and the division of labor. Kim: Thank you, Dr. Block. The “socialization” question crosses everyone’s mind – especially grandparents! – and this endorsement means a great deal coming from someone like you. Blessings from
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