In several studies that have spanned several decades, since the 1940’s, it has consistently indicated that students that have majored in education have had a lower academic aptitude. These studies, as with many studies, are a general observation and not indicative of individual intelligence.
Study 1
Army General Classification Test (AGCT) of 10,000 US college graduates from 40 universities in 1946
Study 3
1.2 million students who took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) between 2002 and 2005
Study 2
Selective Service College Qualification Test (SSCQT)of 38,420 US college seniors in 1951
Study 4
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) of 1.6 million college bound seniors who indicated their area of study
These studies are not intended as an indictment of public schools being inferior to that of a homeschool education. It really has little to do with the public schools system and more to do with those embarking on, or considering homeschooling.
You are qualified to teach your children
When homeschooling, one of the hardest things for a parent is that they feel unqualified to be an educator. If we go back to the studies it may seem ironic that those that desire to become educators tend to have the lowest aptitude for academics. But if you consider the type of person that you want to educate a child – you want them to have compassion and concern for these young people. We rarely consider what their qualifications are. This much we know is that they have been deemed proficient to be a teacher by another institution full of educators that share the same general lack of academic aptitude.
Since academic aptitude is not, generally speaking, an educators forté you do not need to be an Albert Einstein to teach your children. If it is compassion and concern that determines the best teachers, I suspect there is no one more qualified to teach your children then you.
You are qualified to teach your children and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – not even yourself.