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A Harvard University law professor has sparked controversy after calling for a
ban on homeschooling.Elizabeth Bartholet told
Harvard Magazine that
it gives parents "authoritarian" control over their kids โ and can even expose them to white supremacy and misogyny.
"The issue is,
do we think that parents should have 24/7, essentially authoritarian control over their children from ages zero to 18? I think that's dangerous," Bartholet said. "I think it's always dangerous to put powerful people in charge of the powerless, and to give the powerful ones total authority."
Bartholet's comments were met with backlash from homeschooling parents who said she unfairly stereotyped the practice.
"Aside from its biting, one-sided portrayal of homeschooling families that mischaracterizes the vast majority of today's homeschoolers,
it is filled with misinformation and incorrect data," wrote Harvard graduate and homeschooler Kerry McDonald in a letter to the magazine's editor.
"She is concerned with families having this power,
while I worry about giving that power to government," McDonald said.
Writing in
Forbes, education policy analyst Mike McShane said Bartholet relied on "lazy stereotypes."
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