Each month, we will profile individuals who have signed the Proclamation for the Separation of School & State.

Fluff vs. classics:
A dad decides to homeschool

Ben Stein tells of a conversation he had with two 15-year-old students who were taking keyboarding and yearbook in school but who had never had a class in English literature, had barely heard of Shakespeare, and had never heard of Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, or FDR.

Rand Kuhl has set the bar a tad higher for his 14- and 16-year-old daughters. A technical writer and consultant in San Diego, Mr. Kuhl saw his hopes for reducing wasteful government defense spending realized in 1993. Surprised that he was among the first casualties, he moved to a more rewarding venture-homeschooling his two daughters in the classics, both ancient and modern.

Kuhl didn't have time for fluff. As it is, there aren't enough hours in the day for Paradise Lost, Saxon math, medieval Latin, and selections from J.I. Packer and Scientific American.

Mr. Kuhl believes it is his responsibility as a parent to oversee the education of his children-to transmit knowledge and understanding consistent with his worldview. He believes each parent has this responsibility-and should have that freedom.

"The state should not control education," he says. "This government monopoly on schools promotes a singular view that is deadening. When you have mandated methods; a credentialed, unionized priesthood; and a confining curriculum, that's not education. That's brainwashing.

"Separation will not be a panacea, but it will bring with it a new vigor, excitement, and creativity that will propel parents and students, educators and entrepreneurs to address the dozens of difficulties in today's education world."

Of his activities as a Separation volunteer, Mr. Kuhl says one of the most rewarding was critiquing Marshall Fritz after hearing him speak twice, and seeing Fritz accept his idea for how to communicate a particularly sticky point.

This article is copyrighted by the Alliance for the Separation of School & State. Permission is granted to freely distribute this article as long as this copyright notice is included in its entirety.

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