To Homeschool or NOT!
‘The Reading Lesson’ by Ekvall Knut
Many families in California are waiting to see what the final decision will be about the guidelines for legal homeschooling in the state of California. The results could eventually very well affect homeschooling across the entire United States.
What began as a child welfare issue evolved into a hotly-contested argument over who is qualified to homeschool their child in California and who is not. With the teaching unions, especially the powerful California Teachers’ Association, violently opposed to the homeschooling concept, the courts decided that ONLY a parent with a teaching credential is qualified to homeschool. This effectively eliminates the majority of homeschoolers in the state of California. The decision has been met with great opposition and, in fact, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has said he will fight it.
Having the governor fighting the stricter regulations on homeschooling is ironic, as it was the passage of SB 777, “outlawing terms perceived as negative to ‘gays’”, which Gov. Swatzenegger signed into law earlier last year, that precipitated so many parents removing their children from public schools and deciding to homeschool instead.
As I stated in my post of Oct. 12, 2007, entitled “‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ Banned from California Schools”,
“Governor Arnold Swartzenegger has signed a law banning anything in schools that can be perceived as negative to ‘Gays’. Under the new law, ‘Mom’, ‘Dad’, ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ are not allowed.
“Boys and girls will now use the same bathrooms and locker rooms if they choose. The news report, (originally) published in WorldNetDaily, makes it clear that NO laws banning anything perceived as negative to ‘Conservative and Traditional values’ is in effect.”
Immediately after SB777 was signed into law, many Christian Conservatives made the decision to remove their children from public schools, as a way to avoid the policies they felt were in violation of their personal beliefs and standards. Several Christian parents have been interviewed as saying that they will be forced to move from California, and seek employment elsewhere, in order to keep their children out of California public schools.
This could be a landmark decision.
Brennan
Filed under: Education News
Leave it to California to try to make the government a better parent then parents!
Oh, Randy,
You hit the nail on the head! Yes, there are some lousy parents out there but who is California picking on? That’s right, the parents who care enough to make the effort.
Thanks for your comment!
Brennan
Thanks for sharing, Brennan. I didn’t realise that homeschooling is such a big issue over in Canada. In Singapore, homeschooling is virtually unheard of.
Evelyn
Yes, Evelyn, homeschooling is enormous in the USA, with anywhere from 1 to 2 million youngsters being homeschooled. (Varies from year-to-year.) Actually, I live in the Deep South of the United States (in South Carolina) and our schools are routinely ranked 48th or 49th out of the 50 states. SAD!
Now you know why so many of our children and grandchildren were homeschooled.
PLUS, you are in Singapore, ranked #1 in the world in math!
Check out my blog in a day or so. I’m doing a report on the success homeschoolers are having with the “Singapore Math System”. Those students are doing so well, that the Los Angeles School District is trying it. Isn’t that phenomenal?
Thank you for your comment, Sweet Lady!
Brennan
Hi Brennan,
I have a lot of friends who homeschool, so I was aware of this nonsense. It’s scary though, as it may well end up being the law of the land, which means a lot of folks will be outlaws! The main purpose of public schools is to produce worker bees, not people who can think for themselves.
Hello there to everyone who is reading this pay close attention to what is really happening here in California! What a joke I am a victim of the so called system here, and things will only get better if we all make a stand to make a change. Politics well don’t elaborate if we can’t take the heat! I have been in front of the boards and replemented for standing up for my child and children they are now grown up to understand what is happening here. My recent battle ,with the so called system, was when I was told I could not homeschool my youngest daughter for “social reasons”. They attempted to bring me down, though I still do not understand the real reason other than when your child not does not attend the public system, you can be destroyed from each and every angle. It’s all about the dollars, not the children. I use to be a teacher here in the district ,I refuse to go back they are not teaching our children the right way. My experience has been enough for me to make a change for the better stand up for what you beleive in!
I believe in myself and the rest is history!
It is scary, isn’t it?
@ Darlene - You are so right that there is a DELIBERATE attempt to dumb down schools. I don’t personally believe that any state will ever be able to abolish homeschooling, but it will take citizens and parents being vigilant and vocal.
@ Cynthia - I’m so sorry for the problems you’ve had with the school system in California. Schools are just one of the reasons we moved out of California, along with others in the mass exodus that is taking place.
California used to be a wonderful place to live, and my husband had fantastic success with students for years before he threw in the towel after repercussions for speaking up.
Since you were a teacher, I don’t understand why they would have a problem with you homeschooling, even with the new fascist regulations. But then, it’s all about money and politics, isn’t it?
It’s kind of ironic isn’t it?
I mean, I know quite a few people in the States (I’m Canadian, eh) and especially some in California, who choose to home school kids to keep them out of the negative influences that are rampant in the public school system.
And now, under the new laws, this choice is almost a “no-brainer” for many who have traditional beliefs.
You’re so right, Mark,
It really is a no-brainer for parents with traditional values they want to share with their children. But it is not economically-feasible for many of those parents to give up work to stay home.
The only suggestion I have for those parents who cannot homeschool, whether because of finances or if this new ruling is upheld, is to do what I did with my children as they were growing up. Monitor EVERYTHING your child is being taught and use it as “teachable moments” to show them the fallacy of bad information.
I continued this pattern into my children’s college careers, when they were given “tripe” information by their professors.
It’s important to open and maintain calm and affectionate lines of communication with your children so they feel free to discuss touchy issues with you.
Thanks for your comment, Mark!
homeschool curriculum
Are both parents in agreement? Certainly there are many different parenting and family architectures these days. But, the bottom line is it will be more difficult to homeschool if one parent is against the idea (or any family members for that matter). …
Dear homeschool,
You bring up a very valid point. No matter how bad public schools may be in a particular area, any improvement for the student must be fully supported by the entire family. Major life changes must occur and it’s too easy to sabotage efforts unless everyone works together.
It’s the same thing with straightening-out our public schools. We must work together as a unified force, or we can’t succeed on the scale needed.
Plus, we must always remember that many, many families will NEVER be able to homeschool, no matter how much they may desire it. For those families, it is IMPERATIVE that public schools be brought up to standard.
Thank you for your comment.
Brennan