Three hundred and sixty days a year Janine and I blog about homeschooling, family, education and related issues.
For the next three days I'll be blogging about Space Access.
One of my brothers said:
"There are lots of people thinking about getting into space. There are lots of people who talk about getting into space. Space Access is run by people who are doing the work."
I'll post about each talk.
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Technorati tags: space access
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Good News Thursday: 27 March 08
Much of the news today is depressing. Newspaper headlines tell us about awful things happening in our neighborhood, at the national level, and around the world. Google News today reports that the fighting continues in Iraq and the conflict escalates in Tibet.
I am trying something different. I invite you to join with me in focusing on good news. This can be as local as the newspaper boy put the paper on your doorstep. It could as earth shattering as peace has broken out all across the world. It could be some new insight you had about a topic you are studying, or life.
If you would like to contribute, in the "Your name" field put the name of your blog, then in parenthesis include a short summary of the good news. For the "Your URL" field put the link to your post about the good news, use the perma link. Then mention Good News Thursday on your blog.
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Technorati tags: Good News
I am trying something different. I invite you to join with me in focusing on good news. This can be as local as the newspaper boy put the paper on your doorstep. It could as earth shattering as peace has broken out all across the world. It could be some new insight you had about a topic you are studying, or life.
If you would like to contribute, in the "Your name" field put the name of your blog, then in parenthesis include a short summary of the good news. For the "Your URL" field put the link to your post about the good news, use the perma link. Then mention Good News Thursday on your blog.
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Technorati tags: Good News
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Carnival of Education is up
This week's Carnival of Education is up at Bellringers.
If you would like to submit to the next Carnival of Education, go here.
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Technorati tags: education, school
If you would like to submit to the next Carnival of Education, go here.
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Technorati tags: education, school
Glen Sacks on the importance of fathers
Glenn Sacks writes and speaks often about men's issues and fathers' issues. In 'Daughters love to boast how strict their dads are...this allows them to ‘show off’ how much their fathers love them' Glen writes about Dr. Meg Meeker's book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. He quotes from Dr. Meeker:
"Let me tell you a secret about daughters of all ages. [Daughters] love to boast about how tough their dads are—not just physically, but how strict and demanding they are. Why? Because this allows daughters to ‘show off’ how much their fathers love them."
Sounds like an interesting book.
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Technorati tags: parenting, children, education
"Let me tell you a secret about daughters of all ages. [Daughters] love to boast about how tough their dads are—not just physically, but how strict and demanding they are. Why? Because this allows daughters to ‘show off’ how much their fathers love them."
Sounds like an interesting book.
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Technorati tags: parenting, children, education
Good news: 2nd District Court of Appeal will reconsider ruling
Late breaking news: California court agrees to rehear homeschooling case:
"LOS ANGELES—A California appeals court is reconsidering its ruling requiring parents who home school their children to hold teaching credentials.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed Tuesday to schedule another hearing in the case of a Southern California couple it ordered to send their children to a conventional school. The children were educated at home by their mother, who is not a credentialed teacher.
The Feb. 28 ruling stemmed from a child abuse case. A court-appointed lawyer for two of the children wanted the youngsters to attend a public or private school where they could be monitored for signs of mistreatment.
Home schooling advocates feared the court's published opinion would force thousands of families to abandon the practice.
The court says it plans to solicit more briefs on whether non-credentialed parents have a constitutional right to teach their children at home and to rehear the case in June."
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
"LOS ANGELES—A California appeals court is reconsidering its ruling requiring parents who home school their children to hold teaching credentials.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed Tuesday to schedule another hearing in the case of a Southern California couple it ordered to send their children to a conventional school. The children were educated at home by their mother, who is not a credentialed teacher.
The Feb. 28 ruling stemmed from a child abuse case. A court-appointed lawyer for two of the children wanted the youngsters to attend a public or private school where they could be monitored for signs of mistreatment.
Home schooling advocates feared the court's published opinion would force thousands of families to abandon the practice.
The court says it plans to solicit more briefs on whether non-credentialed parents have a constitutional right to teach their children at home and to rehear the case in June."
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Reminder - Good News Thursday is tomorrow
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - the "S" edition
Shannon is hosting this week Carnival of Homeschooling at her blog PHAT Mommy.
Shannon has created the "S" edition of the carnival. She addresses the dreaded word, Socialization, but she also writes about Sovereignty, Sunday (Easter Sunday) and Styles of Homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Shannon has created the "S" edition of the carnival. She addresses the dreaded word, Socialization, but she also writes about Sovereignty, Sunday (Easter Sunday) and Styles of Homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Using the Iditarod as an instructional tool
Years ago my father used to race sled dogs. One of the family stories is about me at two being taken for a ride by the dogs. My father had tied them up and gone in to the A-frame for something. By the time he came out the dogs had gotten lose and were running full tilt down the trail, with me sitting in the sled.
My mother noticed this article: How schools use the Iditarod as an instructional tool.
This is one of the things homeschoolers do so well. We have a different mind set. We are often looking for learning experiences every where, not just in the classroom.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
My mother noticed this article: How schools use the Iditarod as an instructional tool.
This is one of the things homeschoolers do so well. We have a different mind set. We are often looking for learning experiences every where, not just in the classroom.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Socialization - the public school version
The New York Times has a painfully sad article: A Boy the Bullies Love to Beat Up, Repeatedly:
"A car the color of a school bus pulls up with a boy who tells his brother beside him that he’s going to beat up Billy Wolfe. While one records the assault with a cellphone camera, the other walks up to the oblivious Billy and punches him hard enough to leave a fist-size welt on his forehead.
The video shows Billy staggering, then dropping his book bag to fight back, lanky arms flailing. But the screams of his sister stop things cold.
The aggressor heads to school, to show friends the video of his Billy moment, while Billy heads home, again. It’s not yet 8 in the morning."
My biggest problem with this is that the bullying has gone on for years.
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education, bully
"A car the color of a school bus pulls up with a boy who tells his brother beside him that he’s going to beat up Billy Wolfe. While one records the assault with a cellphone camera, the other walks up to the oblivious Billy and punches him hard enough to leave a fist-size welt on his forehead.
The video shows Billy staggering, then dropping his book bag to fight back, lanky arms flailing. But the screams of his sister stop things cold.
The aggressor heads to school, to show friends the video of his Billy moment, while Billy heads home, again. It’s not yet 8 in the morning."
My biggest problem with this is that the bullying has gone on for years.
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education, bully
Monday, March 24, 2008
This is cool - taking homeschooling on the road, for a year
The Taylors will be homeschooling on the road for a year. This article reports:
"Dan and Jennifer Taylor are a lot like most parents: They want their children to be educated and understand the world around them. Unlike a lot of other parents, however, the Taylors have decided that the best way to get that education is to go to the horse’s mouth–wherever in the US that mouth might be.
Last December the Taylors made a $135,000 investment in the children’s education. They bought a Class A motorhome and started planning a year-long educational odyssey for 8-year old Mason and 6-year old Griffin. A few days ago, the day after one of Memphis, Tennessee’s rare snowfalls, off they went."
The Taylors will be recording their experience at their web site Driven to Educate.
I am tempted to join them. If I could just find a job that would let me work on the road.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
"Dan and Jennifer Taylor are a lot like most parents: They want their children to be educated and understand the world around them. Unlike a lot of other parents, however, the Taylors have decided that the best way to get that education is to go to the horse’s mouth–wherever in the US that mouth might be.
Last December the Taylors made a $135,000 investment in the children’s education. They bought a Class A motorhome and started planning a year-long educational odyssey for 8-year old Mason and 6-year old Griffin. A few days ago, the day after one of Memphis, Tennessee’s rare snowfalls, off they went."
The Taylors will be recording their experience at their web site Driven to Educate.
I am tempted to join them. If I could just find a job that would let me work on the road.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
While you wait for the Carnival of Homeschooling
You might like to check out a new carnival on homeschooling. The second Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers is up at Homeschooled twins.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Friday, March 21, 2008
Is less more?
Life has been extra hectic recently. I haven't been keeping up with HomeschoolBuzz.
Luckily my mother has. She pointed out the summary of a Wall Street Journal article about the Smartest Kids in the World. The article about Finnish students reports:
"High-school students here rarely get more than a half-hour of homework a night. They have no school uniforms, no honor societies, no valedictorians, no tardy bells and no classes for the gifted. There is little standardized testing, few parents agonize over college and kids don't start school until age 7.
Yet by one international measure, Finnish teenagers are among the smartest in the world. They earned some of the top scores by 15-year-old students who were tested in 57 countries. American teens finished among the world's C students even as U.S. educators piled on more homework, standards and rules. Finnish youth, like their U.S. counterparts, also waste hours online. They dye their hair, love sarcasm and listen to rap and heavy metal. But by ninth grade they're way ahead in math, science and reading -- on track to keeping Finns among the world's most productive workers."
One of the problems with public schools is the teachers are given too many goals. It is hard to be good at a task if you are given too many responsibilities. Teachers in America today are told to teach academics, provide lunch, help children support the environment, teach them to tolerant, and so on. Academics suffer when it becomes one of a dozen goals.
This WSJ article hints that another problem with public schools in the United States is we are asking, or allowing, our students to be involved in too many activities. By keeping the children focused on academics, the Finnish students are able to master hard topics.
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, education
Luckily my mother has. She pointed out the summary of a Wall Street Journal article about the Smartest Kids in the World. The article about Finnish students reports:
"High-school students here rarely get more than a half-hour of homework a night. They have no school uniforms, no honor societies, no valedictorians, no tardy bells and no classes for the gifted. There is little standardized testing, few parents agonize over college and kids don't start school until age 7.
Yet by one international measure, Finnish teenagers are among the smartest in the world. They earned some of the top scores by 15-year-old students who were tested in 57 countries. American teens finished among the world's C students even as U.S. educators piled on more homework, standards and rules. Finnish youth, like their U.S. counterparts, also waste hours online. They dye their hair, love sarcasm and listen to rap and heavy metal. But by ninth grade they're way ahead in math, science and reading -- on track to keeping Finns among the world's most productive workers."
One of the problems with public schools is the teachers are given too many goals. It is hard to be good at a task if you are given too many responsibilities. Teachers in America today are told to teach academics, provide lunch, help children support the environment, teach them to tolerant, and so on. Academics suffer when it becomes one of a dozen goals.
This WSJ article hints that another problem with public schools in the United States is we are asking, or allowing, our students to be involved in too many activities. By keeping the children focused on academics, the Finnish students are able to master hard topics.
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, education
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
You have about 68 hours to send in an entry for the next Carnival of Homeschooling, which will be hosted by PHAT Mommy.
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Keeping two sets of books
In finance keeping two sets of books can land you in jail. In education it appears to be the norm.
Most states, if not all, have two sets of numbers for drop outs. There is the number they tell the federal government. This tends to look good. And there is the real number.
The New York Times reports:
"When it comes to high school graduation rates, Mississippi keeps two sets of books.
One team of statisticians working at the state education headquarters here recently calculated the official graduation rate at a respectable 87 percent, which Mississippi reported to Washington. But in another office piled with computer printouts, a second team of number crunchers came up with a different rate: a more sobering 63 percent."
The article places much of the blame on NCLB: "As a result, researchers say, federal figures obscure a dropout epidemic so severe that only about 70 percent of the one million American students who start ninth grade each year graduate four years later."
Each state can define their dropout rate. For example:
"New Mexico defined its rate as the percentage of enrolled 12th graders who received a diploma. That method grossly undercounts dropouts by ignoring all students who leave before the 12th grade."
My guess is the homeschooling dropout rate is close to zero, not the national public school average of around 30%.
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Most states, if not all, have two sets of numbers for drop outs. There is the number they tell the federal government. This tends to look good. And there is the real number.
The New York Times reports:
"When it comes to high school graduation rates, Mississippi keeps two sets of books.
One team of statisticians working at the state education headquarters here recently calculated the official graduation rate at a respectable 87 percent, which Mississippi reported to Washington. But in another office piled with computer printouts, a second team of number crunchers came up with a different rate: a more sobering 63 percent."
The article places much of the blame on NCLB: "As a result, researchers say, federal figures obscure a dropout epidemic so severe that only about 70 percent of the one million American students who start ninth grade each year graduate four years later."
Each state can define their dropout rate. For example:
"New Mexico defined its rate as the percentage of enrolled 12th graders who received a diploma. That method grossly undercounts dropouts by ignoring all students who leave before the 12th grade."
My guess is the homeschooling dropout rate is close to zero, not the national public school average of around 30%.
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Gregory Millman
I enjoyed Gregory Millman's column at WashingtonPost.com. He explains some of the reasons why homeschooling is so powerful. I enjoyed one of his closing paragraphs:
"Conventional schools are like the nation's Rust Belt companies, designed in the 19th century but struggling to meet the standards of international competition today. School boards and administrators should be concentrating on ways to make schools more like home-schooling -- not on ways to force home-schooled children to go back to schools. People who are free to think for themselves usually get together and find solutions that are better than what bureaucrats can devise."
One of the things Janine and I are trying to do is to teach our daughters to think for themselves. Gregory is right. Most homeschoolers are doing a great job, partly because they are not bound by a bureaucracy. They can do want works and what is best for their children.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
"Conventional schools are like the nation's Rust Belt companies, designed in the 19th century but struggling to meet the standards of international competition today. School boards and administrators should be concentrating on ways to make schools more like home-schooling -- not on ways to force home-schooled children to go back to schools. People who are free to think for themselves usually get together and find solutions that are better than what bureaucrats can devise."
One of the things Janine and I are trying to do is to teach our daughters to think for themselves. Gregory is right. Most homeschoolers are doing a great job, partly because they are not bound by a bureaucracy. They can do want works and what is best for their children.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The library becoming a liability, not an asset to communities
As I've mentioned before, we've found the need to limit our library visits. It is getting harder and harder to find good books and materials at our local library. If the ALA has it way, our libraries will come havens for pedophiles and other miscreants.
Librarian fired after reporting porn incident
This wasn't just somebody looking at "girly magazines." He was viewing and distributing child pornography. Biesterfeld's supervision order her NOT to call the police but to only give the man a warning.
A year later when the supervisor became aware that Biesterfeld had been the one to reported the incident to the police, Biesterfeld was fired. There has been a minor uproar in the local community and Biesterfeld has filed a law suit. I hope the Biesterfeld gets her job back and the supervisor gets fired.
Incidents like this one are another reason why my family limits the time we spend at the library.
Hat Tip: The Full-Quiver Homeschool House
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Technorati tags: libraries, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Librarian fired after reporting porn incident
Brenda Biesterfeld has become the talk of Lindsay. People are saying she deserves a pat on the back, maybe an award, for telling police that a man was viewing child pornography in the city's library.
Which is why residents were shocked last week when she got a pink slip from her job as a Tulare County librarian.
This wasn't just somebody looking at "girly magazines." He was viewing and distributing child pornography. Biesterfeld's supervision order her NOT to call the police but to only give the man a warning.
Biesterfeld said she did as she was told. But after going home and talking to her family and Richey, she decided to report the matter to police.
When she did, Lindsay police asked Biesterfeld to contact them the next time Chrisler came to the library. He did so on March 4.
"They caught him red-handed [viewing pornography]," Biesterfeld said.
Public computers at Tulare County libraries have software to filter out adult or pornographic Web sites. But Lindsay Police Capt. Rich Wilkinson said Chrisler brought up images attached to an e-mail, bypassing the filters.
Police later searched Chrisler's Lindsay home, where they reported finding more images of child pornography. They arrested him on suspicion of possessing child pornography and participating in the production or presentation of obscene matter in public places.
A year later when the supervisor became aware that Biesterfeld had been the one to reported the incident to the police, Biesterfeld was fired. There has been a minor uproar in the local community and Biesterfeld has filed a law suit. I hope the Biesterfeld gets her job back and the supervisor gets fired.
Incidents like this one are another reason why my family limits the time we spend at the library.
Hat Tip: The Full-Quiver Homeschool House
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Technorati tags: libraries, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Brian Ray and the National Home Education Research Institute
Homeschooling is being mentioned in the media more often recently partly because of the recent California court ruling.
Dr. Brian Ray is frequently contacted by the media about homeschooing issues. He works at the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI). He does research on homeschooling.
For example in 2003 he did a survey of 5,524 people who had been homeschooled seven or more years and were adults. He published the results of this survey in Home Educated and Now Adults. If you haven't read the book, check it out.
The NHERI has a number of other books and resources on homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Dr. Brian Ray is frequently contacted by the media about homeschooing issues. He works at the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI). He does research on homeschooling.
For example in 2003 he did a survey of 5,524 people who had been homeschooled seven or more years and were adults. He published the results of this survey in Home Educated and Now Adults. If you haven't read the book, check it out.
The NHERI has a number of other books and resources on homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Are you looking for ideas to increase your blog traffic?
Bringing more traffic to your blog - March 21, 2008 - 3rd Ed. has 65 posts on how to improve the traffic to your blog.
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Technorati tags: blog, traffic, blog traffic
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Technorati tags: blog, traffic, blog traffic
Another way you can support homeschooling in California
California State Assemblyman Joel Anderson has introduced Resolution 115 supporting homeschooling. Here is the current text of the bill:
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BILL NUMBER: ACR 115 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Anderson
MARCH 10, 2008
Relative to home schooling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 115, as introduced, Anderson. Home schooling.
This measure would acknowledge the long and rich history of private home schooling in California and call upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles in the case of In re Rachel L. that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Some 30 years of experience with the modern home schooling movement in California demonstrates that home-school graduates take up responsible positions as parents, as students in and graduates of colleges and universities, in the workplace, and as citizens in society at large; and
WHEREAS, Home schooling by California families with diverse backgrounds has historically given children a quality education through proven, independent approaches that nurture valuable family bonds and support successful pupil development; and
WHEREAS, Private home schooling has a long and rich history in the State of California, and is currently estimated as involving 200,000 pupils in the state and 2,000,000 pupils nationwide; and
WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to direct the education and upbringing of their children (Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) 406 U.S. 205, Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) 268 U.S. 510, and Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) 262 U.S. 390); and
WHEREAS, On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles issued an opinion in the case of In re Rachel L., 2008 Cal.App. Lexis 292 (Cal.App.2d Dist.
Feb. 28, 2008) holding that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal; and
WHEREAS, This misguided interpretation denies California parents their primary responsibility and right to determine the best place and manner of their own children's education; and
WHEREAS, The fair opportunity of California families to educate their children should not be undermined; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby calls upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the California Court of Appeal for the second Appellate District in the case of In re Rachel L., that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
----------------------
Many of the major California Homeschooling organizations support this resolution. The HomeSchool Association of California, the California Homeschool Network, and the Christian Home Educators Association of California all support it.
I encourage you to support it. If you live in California you can find your Assemblyman and State Senator by going here. If you live outside of California there is probably little benefit, but it may not hurt, to call a few assemblymen and state senators.
Please call them, fax them and/or send a letter asking them to support Assembly Concurrent Resolution 115 sponsored by Joel Anderson.
I like Debbie Schwarzer's summary (she also explains the difference between a resolution and a bill) of what to do:
"Calls are fine, but letters faxed to the office are even better, as they then retain tangible evidence of their constituents' positions. Emails are often ignored, so please call or fax if possible. It is best to give your name, the city and/or Assembly District you live in and the name of the resolution (ACR 115), to state that you educate your children at home (or support those who do) and wish the right of California families to continue to have that option with minimal government intervention, and to state your desire that Assemblymember ______ vote in favor of ACR 115 by Joel Anderson."
After you do all this, please forward a link to this post to your neighbors and friends; ask them to also contact their state representatives requesting that they support this resolution.
Thank you.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
----------------------
BILL NUMBER: ACR 115 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Anderson
MARCH 10, 2008
Relative to home schooling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 115, as introduced, Anderson. Home schooling.
This measure would acknowledge the long and rich history of private home schooling in California and call upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles in the case of In re Rachel L. that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Some 30 years of experience with the modern home schooling movement in California demonstrates that home-school graduates take up responsible positions as parents, as students in and graduates of colleges and universities, in the workplace, and as citizens in society at large; and
WHEREAS, Home schooling by California families with diverse backgrounds has historically given children a quality education through proven, independent approaches that nurture valuable family bonds and support successful pupil development; and
WHEREAS, Private home schooling has a long and rich history in the State of California, and is currently estimated as involving 200,000 pupils in the state and 2,000,000 pupils nationwide; and
WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to direct the education and upbringing of their children (Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) 406 U.S. 205, Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) 268 U.S. 510, and Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) 262 U.S. 390); and
WHEREAS, On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles issued an opinion in the case of In re Rachel L., 2008 Cal.App. Lexis 292 (Cal.App.2d Dist.
Feb. 28, 2008) holding that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal; and
WHEREAS, This misguided interpretation denies California parents their primary responsibility and right to determine the best place and manner of their own children's education; and
WHEREAS, The fair opportunity of California families to educate their children should not be undermined; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby calls upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the California Court of Appeal for the second Appellate District in the case of In re Rachel L., that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
----------------------
Many of the major California Homeschooling organizations support this resolution. The HomeSchool Association of California, the California Homeschool Network, and the Christian Home Educators Association of California all support it.
I encourage you to support it. If you live in California you can find your Assemblyman and State Senator by going here. If you live outside of California there is probably little benefit, but it may not hurt, to call a few assemblymen and state senators.
Please call them, fax them and/or send a letter asking them to support Assembly Concurrent Resolution 115 sponsored by Joel Anderson.
I like Debbie Schwarzer's summary (she also explains the difference between a resolution and a bill) of what to do:
"Calls are fine, but letters faxed to the office are even better, as they then retain tangible evidence of their constituents' positions. Emails are often ignored, so please call or fax if possible. It is best to give your name, the city and/or Assembly District you live in and the name of the resolution (ACR 115), to state that you educate your children at home (or support those who do) and wish the right of California families to continue to have that option with minimal government intervention, and to state your desire that Assemblymember ______ vote in favor of ACR 115 by Joel Anderson."
After you do all this, please forward a link to this post to your neighbors and friends; ask them to also contact their state representatives requesting that they support this resolution.
Thank you.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Another homeschooling carnival!!!
There is yet another carnival about homeschooling!!
Shez of Homeschooled twins has organized the Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers.
If you'd like to participate in the next Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers you can use this form.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Shez of Homeschooled twins has organized the Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers.
If you'd like to participate in the next Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers you can use this form.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Good News Thursday: 20 March 08
Much of the news today is depressing. Newspaper headlines tell us about awful things happening in our neighborhood, at the national level, and around the world. Google News today reports that President Bush says we may be in Iraq for several more years and China has found contaminants in blood thinners shipped to the US. Some news is just weird: Warren Buffett to appear in 'All My Children.'
I am trying something different. I invite you to join with me in focusing on good news. This can be as local as your baby taking his first step or you saw the first flower of spring. It could as earth shattering as someone has solved world hunger or there is a break through in a Grand Unification Theory. It could be some new insight you had about a topic you are studying, or life.
If you would like to contribute, in the "Your name" field put the name of your blog, then in parenthesis include a short summary of the good news. For the "Your URL" field put the link to your post about the good news, use the perma link. Then mention Good News Thursday on your blog.
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Technorati tags: Good News
I am trying something different. I invite you to join with me in focusing on good news. This can be as local as your baby taking his first step or you saw the first flower of spring. It could as earth shattering as someone has solved world hunger or there is a break through in a Grand Unification Theory. It could be some new insight you had about a topic you are studying, or life.
If you would like to contribute, in the "Your name" field put the name of your blog, then in parenthesis include a short summary of the good news. For the "Your URL" field put the link to your post about the good news, use the perma link. Then mention Good News Thursday on your blog.
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Technorati tags: Good News
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Deborah Stevenson's analysis of the recent California ruling about homeschooling
I enjoyed Deborah Stevenson's thoughts about the recent California ruling about homeschooling. It is fairly long so I won't quote it all. I liked her conclusion:
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Does this case act as a precedent? Yes, but it is only a precedent for a trial court that may hear a similar case in the future. Even at that, the trial court could find one or more facts to be different in that future case such that it may decide that this Appeals Court case is not of any precedential value. Courts do that all the time. Or, the Appeals Court in another case may declare its decision in In Re: Rachel L. to be reversed at some point in the future. Courts do this less often, but they do it nonetheless.
Or, more importantly the public has other recourse with elected officials. The parents in California, or any state, at any time, regarding any Court decision, may ask the legislature to clarify the state law and to overturn any Court decision.
The point is, contrary to popular belief and fear mongering headlines, as you can see from a careful reading of the Appeals Court’s actual decision, the Court did not rule that “homeschooling in California is illegal”. It would appear that nothing really has changed as a result of this decision. The Appeals Court did not overturn California’s existing statutes. The Court upheld them. If parents comply with the statutes, they are just as free to homeschool as they were before this decision.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Does this case act as a precedent? Yes, but it is only a precedent for a trial court that may hear a similar case in the future. Even at that, the trial court could find one or more facts to be different in that future case such that it may decide that this Appeals Court case is not of any precedential value. Courts do that all the time. Or, the Appeals Court in another case may declare its decision in In Re: Rachel L. to be reversed at some point in the future. Courts do this less often, but they do it nonetheless.
Or, more importantly the public has other recourse with elected officials. The parents in California, or any state, at any time, regarding any Court decision, may ask the legislature to clarify the state law and to overturn any Court decision.
The point is, contrary to popular belief and fear mongering headlines, as you can see from a careful reading of the Appeals Court’s actual decision, the Court did not rule that “homeschooling in California is illegal”. It would appear that nothing really has changed as a result of this decision. The Appeals Court did not overturn California’s existing statutes. The Court upheld them. If parents comply with the statutes, they are just as free to homeschool as they were before this decision.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
I echo Debbie Schwarzer's call to write letters
My mother noticed that on the 14th of March Debbie Schwarzer wrote on the HomeSchool Association of California's web site to encourage homeschoolers to write their local paper. Here is part of her post:
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Both editorials praise homeschooling in many ways, yet unaccountably conclude that more regulation of homeschooling is needed. That is where we beg to differ. Homeschooling is working now and does not need to be fixed, overseen, or regulated.
All of the groups have talked, and we all agree that what we need now is really a big PR push. The public needs to hear from homeschoolers and friends of homeschoolers. They need to know we're not fringe nut cases, that we're responsible, that WE have the best interests of our kids firmly at heart, even if some families that make it to the papers (and that's why they're in the juvenile court system and we're not) might be different.
We encourage as many of you as can to write letters to the editor of your local papers (look at their websites for rules on submitting letters, which can often be sent over the internet at their website) telling them that no such additional regulation is warranted.
It is best to be short and sweet. Be passionate but respectful, and don't denigrate anyone. State, for instance, who you are (e.g., "Our family homeschools in Anytown, California" or "My daughter teaches her three children at home") and then begin your points.
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If you haven't written to your local paper, please do so. A large PR push can remind people that homeschoolers are doing just find and we don't need laws or oversite to fix something that isn't broken.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Both editorials praise homeschooling in many ways, yet unaccountably conclude that more regulation of homeschooling is needed. That is where we beg to differ. Homeschooling is working now and does not need to be fixed, overseen, or regulated.
All of the groups have talked, and we all agree that what we need now is really a big PR push. The public needs to hear from homeschoolers and friends of homeschoolers. They need to know we're not fringe nut cases, that we're responsible, that WE have the best interests of our kids firmly at heart, even if some families that make it to the papers (and that's why they're in the juvenile court system and we're not) might be different.
We encourage as many of you as can to write letters to the editor of your local papers (look at their websites for rules on submitting letters, which can often be sent over the internet at their website) telling them that no such additional regulation is warranted.
It is best to be short and sweet. Be passionate but respectful, and don't denigrate anyone. State, for instance, who you are (e.g., "Our family homeschools in Anytown, California" or "My daughter teaches her three children at home") and then begin your points.
-----------------------
If you haven't written to your local paper, please do so. A large PR push can remind people that homeschoolers are doing just find and we don't need laws or oversite to fix something that isn't broken.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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