Posted on 06/18/2005 8:15:49 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Before the parade passes her by, Tiffany Hasley will stand up for her right to perform with the Beatrice High School marching band. She'll be on the corner of 13th and Court streets in Beatrice at 8:30 a.m. this morning, all lined up for today's Homestead Days Parade.
Clarinet in hand, standing tall in her stiff new band shoes, she plans to leave quietly when school officials tell her she cannot march. Because the home-schooled eighth-grader does not want to make a scene, just a point. That is: Home-school students should be allowed to participate in any public school activity, as long as they pay taxes and live within the school district.
"I'm not in tears," she said. "But I'm kind of mad. My band teacher says I'm a good student. And I am first-chair clarinet."
Beatrice High School officials told Tiffany last month that she would not be able to participate in band next year as a ninth-grader. The school bars home-school students from being in activities regulated by the Nebraska School Activities Association.
Tiffany's parents, Ron and Vicki Hasley, plan to fight the school's decision, maybe even in court. But, at least for this summer, they figured she could still play with the band.
That's not the case, they learned Wednesday when band director Bruce Greenwell told Tiffany just before practice that Superintendent Dale Kruse decided she should sit out Saturday's parade. On Friday, the Hasleys received a formal letter from Kruse stating the same.
"They say she isn't registered, but no one has to be registered until school starts this fall," said Ron Hasley. "Really, quote me that policy. Show me that statute."
Both Kruse and BHS activities director Randy Coleman were unavailable for comment Friday.
But Roger Harris, attorney for the Beatrice school board, said the decision is consistent with school policy. No one can play in the band unless they are registered, full-time students at the school, he said.
"Even though marching in the parade is an informal thing, it's not open to just anyone," Harris said.
"Say a student from Wymore wanted to march. Would anyone care? Probably not. But the perception is, ‘This is the Beatrice High School band,' and we have to protect that."
Whether homeschool students can be in marching band is at the discretion of each school, said Jim Tenopir, director of the NSAA.
Band members can practice or perform at non-NSAA events such as parades or high school football games. But for competitive activities, the NSAA only allows students from accredited schools to compete against other students.
NSAA eligibility rules ensure that high school students keep up their grades and attend school regularly, or they cannot compete, Tenopir said.
Enforcing the very specific and rigid rules among homeschoolers would be impossible, he said.
"You are probably not going to hear a parent say, ‘I caught my kid smoking so please don't let him play football,'" Tenopir said.
But some state senators would like to change both school policies and NSAA rules to include homeschool students.
Legislative bills addressing that issue have been introduced for the past few years, most recently by Sens. Phil Erdman and Mike Foley. But none of the bills have made it out of committee.
Ron Hasley said he's "a constitution kind of guy," who will pursue the issue, not only for his daughter but for other homeschool students.
"I pay taxes," he said. "I'm asking for a service, and I'm not getting it. I hope what happens here sets precedence for the state."
Frankly, I can't sympathize with someone who's opted out of a system but wants to "shop" its perks like a cafeteria. Otherwise, I'm quite supportive of homeschooling.
I do. If they attend the school and remain eligible for extracurricular activities, they can march in the band. As the article points out, letting this girl participate effectively exempts her from maintaining the academic and behavioral standards that enrolled students have to maintain. Sorry.
If homeschooling parents want their kids to participate in marching band, they have every right to form their own.
It doesn't matter. Vouchers, declining income bases, kids shifting from home school to public school and then back home throughout the day. It's the kind of educational chaos that breaks the machinery of public education. And it will do it in the exact communities that can least afford it. Wealthy suburbs will pay through the nose to create first rate schools. The rich will spend tens of thousands a year in tuition for boarding and day schools. The middle and lower middle class communities will watch their schools go into the death spiral.
"It never ceases to amaze me how home-schooling parents consistently demand that they should get MY money back in THEIR pocket"
I would never consider a refund, too many strings would be attached to it.
I agree. While I'm sympathetic in principle to the Libertarian idea of privatizing public education, the result at present would be disastrous. And public schools, if they're well-run, hold together a community.
You say, "I've sent three children through Lincoln Public Schools. One marched in the East High band for four years. I found the education they received to be uniformaly high quality, and I'm tired of knee-jerk attacks on the public school system. Some public schools suck, some don't. Some homeschooled kids get a decent education, some don't."
Well said. Why be so bitter about not being allowed to take part in a school system that they consider to be "not good enough."
I can't seem to explain to this to you. I'll try one more time. When they made the decision to pull her from public schools, that included the band, the gym, the soccer team, all of it. If they don't want her in public schools, fine. Just don't come crying to me when the poor kid is denied BY THE PARENTS the opportunity to enjoy being a kid. In or out, no halfway measures.
I don't know if they hold together a community, but they boost property values. Once a school system begins to fail, property values drop and the soci-economic make-up of the community shifts downward. With the downward shift comes the typical pathologies and with those pathologies comes more degradation of the educational system, which, of course, is followed by even lower property values, more pathologies and more degradation. In short, educational death spiral.
p.s.
at some point during the downward spiral, someone is going to bonk you on your head for your wallet.
The same shafting that I'm getting. What really hacks me off is when somebody pulls their kids out of the public school system, and then demands refunds, vouchers, etc. They don't seem to understand that part of the money that they are demanding be returned to them isn't theirs. It's mine. It is amazing how quickly conservatives become socialists where their children are concerned.
"i found the education they received to be uniformaly high quality, and I'm tired of knee-jerk attacks on the public school system. Some public schools suck, some don't. Some homeschooled kids get a decent education, some don't."
Of course you are basing your conclusions on isolated cases of success or failure.
The results of standardized test scores averaged over the entire nation flies in the face of your comments. On average home schooled childeren out perform their public schooled counter parts.
You just hit on something that many people don't seem to realize. If you take my money, and spend it on some aspect of your life, I get a say in that aspect of your life. Want my money for your children's education? I get some control over that education. Want my money to rebuild your house after a disaster? I get some control over how that house is built. If people don't like my ideas, or my decisions, they shouldn't take my money.
Please post cite. Not that this is unsurprising; clealry, parents who are willing to go to some lengths to provide their kids with an alternative education are likely going to have kids that outperform the rest. It's not really a fair comparison unless you match the two groups demographically.
And the public school tests are dumbed down considerably.
HOMESCHOOLERS AREN'T TAKING YOUR MONEY.
What some people on this thread tend to forget is that many of us here are teachers, have parents who are teachers or children who are teachers or even children who attend public schools. I'm tired of the mantra that "all public schools are inadequate" and that home-schooled children are better educated and, of course, entitled to attend the "inadequate" public schools when it suits their own purposes.
What control do you have over the "education" kids get at the public school? LOL!
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