That was the message of conservative educators and leaders at the Underground Education summit in Port Saint Lucie this month.

The summit, convened by home-educating mom and celebrity actress Sam Sorbo, drew a parallel between the American families trapped in public school deception, and those trapped in Plato's allegorical cave. Once a person leaves the cave (government "school") and discovers the incredible freedom and beauty of home learning, it is difficult to explain the wonders to those still chained up inside in darkness with nothing but shadows to see.

"The focus of this conference was to shake people's assumptions about education enough for them to consider the alternate, healthier paradigm of home learning and then cast that vision for them," said Sorbo, who hosts an education show at Epoch TV and has written several books. "Schools have abused us for long enough – so much that we feel incapable of education, yet rely on the institutions that schooled us to 'educate' our children!"

Sorbo argued that the education establishment controlling government schools has deliberately sought to convince Americans that "experts" with "degrees" are necessary to "educate" children. In reality, though, parent-led education can — and does — produce far more knowledgeable, productive and curious students.