Harvard professor under fire for calling homeschooling 'dangerous'

A Harvard University professor has stoked controversy after she compared homeschooling to "authoritarian control," Fox News reports. Elizabeth Bartholet reportedly claimed that homeschooling violated "children’s right to a 'meaningful education' and their right to be protected from potential child abuse". Bartholet said that children are at risk of being isolated, especially in states where parents do not necessarily have to register their children as homeschooled. This can, in turn, lead to underreporting of cases of child abuse or neglect. "Teachers and other school personnel constitute the largest percentage of people who report to Child Protective Services," Bartholet told Harvard Magazine. Bartholet asserted that homeschooling poses a threat to U.S. democracy, arguing that the practice limits children’s exposure to not only democratic values but also community values. Michael Donnelly, director of global outreach for the Home School Legal Defense Association, accused the law professor of being "extreme". Bartholet’s claims run counter to Harvard’s "recent crusade of 'diversity,' 'inclusion,' and 'acceptance,' " Mebla Pearson, a Harvard graduate, said