After seeing the Dr. Phil show on homeschooling, I could not just sit there without a response, so I sent one.  I know that we are not promised justice in  this world, which can be hard for me to accept at times , but when it is so blatant, it drives me nuts!!!  Also, I could not believe some of the ignorant messages on the message board for this show.  There are a lot of people, including Dr. Phil, who are extremely ignorant of homeschooling in general and who, it seems, feel very threatened by it.  If interested in sending Dr. Phil your thoughts on the show, you can get there here http://www.drphil.com/.  Here was my response:

I sat through your episode on "The Great Homeschool Debate", waiting for there to actually be a "debate," as defined in the Webster Dictionary as "A discussion between sides with opposing or different views." What I saw "appeared" to be a discussion, but in reality it was a media pulpit that was very manipulative and set on making it clear to the American public that homeschooling is not an intelligent option and will actually bring harm to your children, as insinuated by Dr. Phil.  You cannot have a discussion about such a controversial topic without bringing in all sides of an issue.  Not only did you just have one style of homeschooling represented, you chose one of the most controversial within the homeschooling community itself!  As well, there were many other "invited guests" in your audience from the homeschool community who represented other styles of homeschooling and yet they were never called on to comment…why invite them?  The one lady who quoted from the book of Proverbs in the Bible, did not get to explain her comment further and, in my opinion, was portrayed as one of "those religious fanatical homeschoolers."  Again, this show was highly manipulative in nature.  The woman who spoke from the school district was given carte blanc as an "authority" and her comments were far from scrutinized by Dr. Phil.  Remember the title of YOUR show…"The Great Homeschool Debate"…it was obvious that Dr. Phil was unwilling to acknowledge the homeschool community as a valid option by parents in educating their children and by his questions and comments to his homeschooling guests,  seemed to take pleasure from showing how "absurd" this choice was.  If my memory serves me correct, it was his final statement of the show in which he made a quick and unenthusiastic comment that homeschooling can be an option BUT only before a child reaches puberty.  Thanks for the equality.  As well, the "spontaneous" vote from the audience as to whether or not they agreed with homeschooling was a pitiful setup, as most of the audience was high school students bussed in, obviously for that "legitimate" vote.   If Dr. Phil really cared to discuss the option of homeschooling and wanted to fairly represent it, with all of its pros and cons, to the American public, he would not have produced such a one sided, skewed view with very little true discussion.  Rather it was a slander and an offense to those of us in this country that have made the choice to homeschool their children.  I do not have to answer to Dr. Phil, nor do I care too, but I cannot stand when those with the journalistic authority and influence on the general public abuse their positions of influence.  Up to this point, I have randomly watched some episodes of Dr. Phil (because I am very busy running my home and educating my children), and had thought him to be fair and provide some good counsel to people.  After this homeschooling episode and all the experiences I have heard from those homeschoolers as guests on this show, I now question some of the other episodes I viewed and how authentic or slanted they were. 

As well, I thought I might add that I have a B.A. in Psychology from a University of California and my Masters in Social Work.  Also, my husband is a public high school teacher within the greater Sacramento area and has taught for 9 years in a high minority, low income, low performing school.   There are many well educated parents in the homeschooling community who have chosen this path because they ARE well educated and have witnessed how successful homeschooling can be…I say "can" because OF COURSE not all homeschooling families are alike just as not all public or private schools are alike.  That would have been a nice comment for Dr. Phil to have stated in regards to the young lady who seemed to resent her homeschooling background…AGAIN…where was the discussion?  What about the young people who have been very successful and were homeschooles? Check the enrollments of many of the Ivy League schools and State Universities.  Also, what about the homeschoolers who have won the National Spelling Bee?  As well, there is a very popular science fiction novel written by a former homeschooler at a very young age!  Again, if you really wanted to have a DISCUSSION on homeschooling, there is not a lack of information on the issue.  Rather, in my opinion, it is more a lack of interest by Dr. Phil.  If a "Great Homeschool Debate" is truly what Dr. Phil is interested in, than he should consider doing another show in which he apologizes to the homeschool community for this offensive, biased episode and have one in which he actually does have an intelligent "discussion" with those who represent all the various styles of homeschooling and the successes along with the failures.  I won't hold my breath, but I hate to see another public figure so arrogant in their ignorance.

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Posted by joyousheart

Great response. I think Dr. Phil and his wife are just out to make money and so they say whatever they think will be received by the popular culture. They claim to be Christians but I haven't noticed any fruit.

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Posted by midnitemama

Thanks. I would not say that Dr. Phil and his wife seem concerned with truth, but rather with what most Americans agree on...just look at the majority of his shows. To be popular, you cannot be controversial with the populace...anyway, look who groomed him..Oprah ( who states that many roads lead to God...Christianity is not Relativism).

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