More than 40 million Americans between the ages of 5 and 18 attend schools throughout the United States. About 2 million school-age children are taught at home. While home schooling offers an alternative to the school environment, it has become a controversial issue.
Many public school advocates take a harsh attitude toward home schoolers, perceiving their actions as the ultimate slap in the face of public education and a damaging move for the children. Yet, as public school officials realize they stand little to gain by remaining hostile to the home-school population, the hard lines seem to be softening a bit. Some public schools have moved closer to tolerance, and，even in some cases, are seeking cooperation with home schoolers. " We are becoming relatively tolerant of home schoolers. Let’s give the kids access to public school so they’ll see it’s not as terrible as they’ve been told, and they’ll want to come back, " says John Marshall, an education official.
Perhaps, but don’t count on it, say home-school advocates. Some home schoolers oppose that public school system because they have p convictions that their approach to education—whether fueled by religious belief or the individual child’s interests and natural pace—is best. Other home schoolers contend " not so much that the schools teach heresy, but that schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately." "These parents are highly independent and strive to ’take responsibility’ for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient. " says Van Gallon.
But Howard Carol, spokesman for America’s largest teachers union, argues that home schooling parents are trying to hide their children from the real world, says Van Gallon. " Maybe we are going to run into people with problems, people that have a drug problem, people that have an alcohol problem, and teenage pregnancy. We have many problems that happen in our society and many of the children are victims. But shielding the children from the real mix of what happens every day is denying them something that they are going to need later in life. " Mr. Carol also questioned the competence of parents as teachers though he admitted that some home schoolers do better academically. " We want to make sure that a student is not denied the full range of curriculum experiences and appropriate materials, especially now with the new technology that is being introduced and the costs involved there. "
" The success of home schooling has been documented in standardized test scores administered by public school officials, " says Frank Bernet, the executive director of the National Association of College Admission Councilors. " I know why they are doing it, but I wonder why they can’t work with school officials and teachers to make the school what they want it to be. " The response from home schoolers: " We have tried that. NOW it’s time to strike out on our own. \
Public school teaching, in the opinions of home school advocates, is（）
A.systematic
B. inefficient
C. uninteresting
D. superficial
参考答案：B
解析：
细节题。本题问家庭教育倡导者对公立学校教育的看法。由第三段末句“These parents are highly independent and strive to ’ take responsibility ’ for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient. " 可知，在家长眼中，学校作为社会的一部分，是官僚化且效率低下的，他们希望自己能够担当起教育孩子的责任，因此B项正确。A项“系统的”是肯定态度，而家庭教育者对学校教育的基本态度是否定的，由此排除A。C项意为“枯燥的”，虽然在现实生活中，的确有不少人认为学校教育过于枯燥，但本文中并没谈到这一点。考生要根据文章内容作答，以免落入出题人的陷阱。D项意为“肤浅的”，第三段中，家庭教育者对学校教育提出质疑，主要是认为学校教育过于官僚化，效率低下，并没有谈到肤浅的问题，故该选项错在过度引申，可排除。