As millions of parents are now learning how to homeschool their children in the midst of the pandemic, a recent
article in the Arizona Law Review by Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet advocates for a “presumptive ban” on the practice. In this episode of
New Ideal Live, ARI’s Elan Journo and Aaron Smith expose the weaknesses of Bartholet’s argument (which was recently
profiled in
Harvard Magazine).
Bartholet argues that homeschooling allows parents to “escape” from the public school system and from government oversight of education. Yet she conspicuously neglects to acknowledge any of the serious failures of government schools, and takes their necessity for granted. Smith and Journo call out Bartholet’s naked assault on this pocket of freedom in education.