While perusing this week's ediition of the Carnival of Education, I came across an entry that referenced these two posts on a third blog (yeah, I know -- Tinker to Evers to Chance) about a column on the official website of the NEA dishonestly trashing homeschooling -- and the author's clueless response to criticism.

I'll let you read about the initial coulmn yourself, but let me post you excerpts from the letter critical of the coulumn and the author's response.

Homeschool parent and column critic Dominick Cancilla wrote (as part of a much longer letter that you really should read -- it is priceless):

And socialization -- don't even get me started! No matter how many play dates and group classes or field trips a homeschooler participates in, there are so many lessons that a child can only learn on a public-school playground! This is where kids learn to stick up for themselves, where they discover their place in society, and where they find out who their real friends are. I got a lot of teasing myself when I was in grade school, and the teachers didn't make a big deal every time someone called me a name like my mom would have if she were always hanging around. I learned pretty quickly that I had to take care of these things myself instead of trying to get "authority" to take care of them, and knowing that I need to look out for number one has served me very well in the business world. If I'd been homeschooled, I'd probably let people walk all over me instead of putting them in their place where they belong! And how will a homeschooler, without school-yard experience, know how to handle some idiot who cuts them off in traffic? What'll they do -- just let it go?

I recently read an article about a 13-year-old girl who was taken away from her family and put in a mental institution with no contact with anyone because she had behavioral problems in school. If that kid was homeschooled, would her parents have given her the isolation and anti-psychotic drugs she needed? And how will kids learn how to deal with cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol if they are homeschooled? Not that kids should be using this stuff of course, but if you keep kids completely sheltered from them, they're going to go nuts with the stuff when they become adults. The same is true about sex -- isn't that too important a subject to be left to parents to teach? Again, what does a parent know about sex that a teacher doesn't know much better, particularly if the parent is just going to blindly teach abstinence or have some other unrealistic expectation!

As you can see, the satirical tone of the letter just bleeds through. But I guess it was too subtle for column author Dave Arnold, who replied in part (you really have to read the whole thing):

I deeply appreciate hearing from you and receiving your fantastic comments and compliments concerning my article on the fallacies of home schooling. As you likely gathered from my article, it is a subject that is truly a thorn in my side.

Like I said -- sarcasm and satire are just wasted on some people.