Homeschool and sports

Tonight is the NCAA BCS National Championship game between 12-1 Florida and 12-1 Oklahoma. Set aside the sports questions for a second, like are these the best two teams in the country, what about undefeated 13-0 Utah, why don’t we have a playoff system? What is cool for me is that the starting quarterback for Florida and last years Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow, comes from a homeschooling family. There is an interesting article linked by the Home School Legal Defense Association from The Oklahoman about homeschooled kids and sports. Oklahoma does not allow homeschooled students to participate in public school sports. Florida does, and because of that Tim Tebow had the opportunity to play on a public school team in Florda, and in turn go to the University of Florida and play football, win the Heisman trophy and someday make a whole lot of money as an NFL quarterback. So is it unfair that kids in 26 states cannot play on public school teams while kids in 24 states can?

I have kind of a mixed response. First, I love sports. LOVE ‘EM! Second, my kids don’t. So it isn’t a huge deal for me personally, at least not at this point, because my kids would rather read than toss the pigskin around. But it is a valid issue and there are a couple of sides to that issue. On the one side, you can see where the schools are coming from. These kids don’t go to the school but they want full access to the extracurricular activities? Well then come during the day and you can have whatever access you want! If the kid doesn’t go to school there, the school doesn’t get state funding for that pupil. Plus there is the danger of people shopping for athletic programs so their kids can play sports at the best sports schools without having to attend classes there. On the other hand, homeschool families live in school districts and pay taxes to those school districts and get virtually no benefit from them. It would be different if homeschool or private school parents got vouchers for their property taxes so that if they didn’t utilize the school, they could keep the tax dollars.

I guess where I come down on the issue is this (and I know you are dying to find out what I think): when we choose to separate ourselves from the public school system, we do so voluntarily and fully aware that it means that we will not have some of the opportunities that public school kids do (field trips, organizations, clubs. etc.) but that the opportunities for a broader and better educational experience in a Christian home setting far outweigh the downside. We would like our kids to be involved the in the FFA as my wife and I both were in high school, but barring that we can still have our kids involved in 4-H. We have options. We make some sacrifices because we believe that the positives of homeschooling far outweigh any disadvantages.

This part of the article was troubling…

Austin Brown made the varsity football team as a freshman, was elected treasurer of his class and earned straight As his first semester in high school.

His mother wishes things were different.

"Although our son is doing well in public school, we desire to homeschool him,” Gina Brown said. "We miss our quality time together as a family.”

Gina and Vann Brown homeschooled their oldest son for years. When he started kindergarten and struggled, they decided to give home education a try. But when Austin started eighth grade in tiny Glencoe, Ala., he went to public school because he wanted to play football. There were no other options in rural Alabama.

I don’t want to criticize these parents for their choices, heck I get irate when people throw their two cents in regarding the education choices we have made for our kids, but if you are that committed to homeschooling, then homeschool your child! I get that he loves football, but in the grand scheme of things he could be involved with other sports opportunities. There is AAU basketball, wrestling, etc. The vast majority of high school athletes do not go on to become Tim Tebow, and even if they did that shouldn’t override the rationale to homeschool. My kids love videogames but I am not going to let them play videogames all day instead of doing schoolwork. Which is more important, playing a couple years of high school football and getting a varsity jacket that will collect dust for decades, or the lifelong impact of an education that is Christ honoring? I find myself agreeing with Chris Davis of Homeschool SportsNet…

This homeschool push into public school sports worries Chris Davis. He is the guru of homeschool sports, overseeing the national Web site for Homeschool SportsNet.

"I’m for any homeschooler that can participate in any way that they can as long as they don’t upset the apple cart,” Davis said.

He points to the struggle for homeschooling that has raged in many states.

"Then to have a few come back and complain?” he said. "To me, it’s a little dangerous.”

Very true. The struggle has been going on for a long time to make it legal for parents to homeschool their kids and that struggle is ongoing, and now some people are going back to the schools demanding to be let back in on their own terms? Let Caesar have his schools and his sports teams. We should seek ways to be involved in sports and other activities that do not compromise our core beliefs. The internet makes that a lot easier, so let’s band together and support one another and use our activities as a way to show other parents the benefits of homeschooling, instead of seeking to regain entrance on our own terms to the state schools.

(Brief correction, the championship game is TONIGHT, Thursday the 8th, not Wednesday. That is what happens when you don't get cable or braodcast TV...)