November 3, 2006
Student Scores Proving Froma Harrop’s Bias
An article slamming homeschool parents was included in a recently published college research and writing handbook, The Concise Wadsworth Handbook, by Kirszner and Mandell, giving a homeschool student a chance to shine.
Columnist Froma Harrop’s 2001 editorial-opinion article entitled “Questioning the Motives of Home-schooling Parents” was included in the handbook as part of an exercise to teach students how to detect bias and understand how it undercuts the persuasiveness of arguments. The article was highly suitable for this use since it was blatantly biased against homeschooling.
Andrew, the Richmond, Virginia, homeschool senior who brought this to our attention, was required to purchase this book for a college writing class he was taking. In completing the exercise, he deftly pointed out Froma Harrop’s bias.
His instructor gave him a perfect 20 out of 20 for his essay and wrote at the bottom of his paper: “Really well done! Would you be willing to send an electronic copy of this to me? I’d like to post your response to blackboard as an exemplary model of the level of academic inquiry an assignment like this requires.”
I’m sure Froma Harrop never expected her article to give a sharp homeschooled student an opportunity to prove his mettle.
Homeschooled students continue to excel and confound the critics. Well done, Andrew!
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