Abstract:
Amidst the heated debate for school funding, voices across politics, academia and wider society have pronounced schooling as a panacea for social and individual ills. Claims that every child is able to attend their local public school and receive the education they need is touted in prosecution of private school funding. Throughout this discourse runs another view of schooling, one that recognises inequality in access to resources and learning support, and positions Australian schools as 'falling behind' in the competitive international education race. Recognition that school is failing some students highlights the changing needs of schooling and the resulting need for a broader vision. This presentation will explore home schooling amidst the debates over funding, equity and schooling as the 'silverest bullet'. Through exploration of recent media attention on home schooling, the political depiction of schooling as social saviour and reflection on the lived experience of home schooling when school has failed, questions will be posed to challenge our acceptance of school as the only norm, contribute to revisionings of school and draw parents into the educative journey of their children.