If you google "Graham Badman" the number one hit is a Wikipedia article about the Badman Review. Google believes the most important--or highest internet ranking--thing about this man's life is how he handled a government report about homeschooling. The short, short version: He recommended increased regulation, mandatory annual registration, and surprise home visits.
He had no data to support his suggestions. In other words, his 40+ years in Education and Children's Services have left him biased against homeschooling. Or, at least, he is drawn to his areas of expertise. Sadly, homeschool researchers aren't immune to bias either.
Where else do we see bias in education? It looks like female teachers are biased against boys. I certainly had bad teachers in high school, but I did just fine. I didn't notice any sexist discrimination in the classes I was in. Did you? [I realize that the majority of my readers are female, so this is certainly not a representative sample. <smile>]
In the home, I could see favoritism as an issue. That's certainly been around for a while. So we're also not immune to these kinds of things. I'm well aware that kids know how to push their parent's buttons, but some personalities clash more than others. Have you dealt with that? How have you been able to overcome it?
I've run out of time for today, so I don't have any insights or conclusions from all this. Mostly, I've just found this topic fascinating and would love your input!
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
