Posted on 05/31/2004 5:54:39 AM PDT by LadyShallott
TRENTON, N.J. -- Public education bored Tim Haas, so he and his wife decided they were better suited to care for and educate their two sons than the state. But Haas and the thousands of other New Jersey families that homeschool now face what they say is an unnecessary and unfair intrusion by the same state regulators they tried to escape. A bill in the New Jersey Legislature would require home-schooled children to get state-mandated annual physical exams and take standardized tests required of public school children.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
comany = company
We as homeschool parents have freedom to choose how our children are best educated. For us, it is within the home environment where learning is a way of life with fantastic results, rather than a bothersome activity.
Do you want to know what is really extreme!? How about the socialistic, government mandated, state monopolized schools indoctrination centers that exist in every state. These "public schools" are a recent invention. Their inventors did not have the best interests of the children or their families in mind.
I'm working to change them - to end the government school monopoly. But I'm not going to sacrifice my kids or their minds to the cause.
When it's your child being shortchanged and spoon-fed PC crap, then it is an extreme case. We can't wait as long as it will take to change the public schools (if they can be changed). We will lose another generation of children if we wait. When enough people pull their kids out and prove that they can provide a better education (for less money!), then, maybe the schools will change. I won't hold my breath and my kids will have a huge jump on their public school "educated" peers.
Same here.
Would I be extreme if I couldn't afford to buy pre-processed, packaged food at the grocery store for my family, refused state welfare food, and grew my own instead?
Would I be extreme if I couldn't afford to buy clothes at the mall for my family, refused government welfare handouts (funded through the confiscation by force of other people's money) and instead my family sewed their own clothes?
If anyone doubts the reality of the indoctrination occurring inside the welfare schools they need only look at the evidence people like Sacajaweua provide.
My friends who homeschool would prefer private school, but find it unaffordable for multiple children. The one they prefer is the least expensive one around, but for two children it would run $800 a month. They have four school-aged children. That would be $1600 a month. That is like a mortgage payment and then some, in our relatively modest-priced locale.
So they homeschool sometimes, and alternate with private school when the kids reach high school age.
There is a visible difference in the attitudes of the private vs. public schooled kids. I drive by the public high school on my way to pick up my private-schooled youngster. The girls at the public school dress like women of the night and worse. Some of them walk with friends and some of them are carrying infants. The young men don't resemble young men (they are overweight and look as though they never lift a finger). Their faces don't look happy. I see this day after day. I get to the private school, and the young adults are happy, well-dressed in the sense of modesty and beauty, and look like their respective genders.
It's difficult to put into words, but when you see it day after day it becomes obvious which is the healthier environment.
Should we also have government-mandated medical exams to ensure every parent is feeding their children to government standards? Wardrobe inspections to make sure children are clothed to government standard?
Additionally, there are far more children in government schools who are not being educated who are being abuse by the other students, teachers, or staff. Remove the beam from your own eye then come talk to us about our mote.
Similar to that is corporations and individuals expatriating. Leaving the country and taking their money with them because they know they don't have enough time to change the plunderers' tax and government leviathan in their lifetime. Their exodus is causing a change similar to parents that home school cause change.
Honesty has always outlived the lies and establishment illusions. It always has and always will.
This is a serious question: Why the vehemence against an objective measure like a standardized test?
Here in Virginia, I can recall some homeschooling parents complaining that they COULDN'T give their kids the SOLs, so I am genuinely curious at the concern in this case.
As for me, my children are educated in both public schools and in a homeschool environment. I find most claims on this forum about what is taught and what behavior is accepted in public schools to contain a large element of hyperbole - I also find the claims of their children's brilliance from both homeschool and public school parents to be subject to exaggeration - these tests do provide a reality check of sorts.
That said, if I DID exclusively homeschool, I'd want to measure my kids progress against the greater population - for my kids sake, and my own curiosity and to correct shortcomings in my instruction.
Ditto!
Perhaps if this bill is going to go through, homeschoolers should insist that only the bill's limited provisions be enforced, for example, a school board would be limited to enforcing only those provisions actually in the bill (no room for interpretation by school officials), physical exam and testing -- no approval of curriculum by local board, no visits to home by board, no extra mandates of any kind. And perhaps homeschoolers should insist on some meaningful consequences for school officials who overstep their bounds -- a loss of state aid (NCLB mandates that states lose federal aid if they insist on using the same tests for homeschooled students as they do for public school students under NCLB), fines, threat of lawsuit, etc.
I believe Texas homeschoolers, if annoyed by local school boards, only have to send a letter saying that they are faithfully following the homeschool law (which is practically nonexistent). Included in the letter is a paragraph stating that if the board doesn't back off, they will bring a suit against them.
mrs tiggywinkle...
I have a great deal of respect for home schoolers and the courage it takes to remove your children from the caustic public school environment. I just have to ask you though, precisely what objection do we have to giving a standardized test and an annual physical examination to the children. Besides, of course, the obvious intrusion into your personal life. The reason I say 'WE' is because I consider myself to be on your side.
I would never want to tangle with a homeschool momma. Clip my tailfeathers she would...
So, a parent of a 1st grader should wait 10-15 years for the schools to change? The parent's responsibility is to this child and now, not somebody else's child 15 years from now.
A single, monopolistic school system is the extreme case.
We sent our sons already reading into the public schools. One was told to keep quiet about it, as it was bragging to say he could read. Another was told that stars got their light reflected from the moon.
The level of incompetence of the lower 50% of the teaching staff is amazing. My kids lucked out, in that there was a advanced program, so they didn't (usually) see the lower 50% from 3rd grade on. Still, they saw some rather dumb teachers.
Many homeschoolers, based on personal liberty, have their children tested and routinely score on the average of 30% higher than their government schooled peers. In completing the IOWA, my 14 year old daughter tested in the 35% higher than peer range.
www.hslda.org has testing stats and more information if you'd like to take a closer look.
Nope, this law clearly is using the small number who don't school to control all homeschoolers. The small number who don't school were never considered a problem before homeschooling became a challenge to the NEA monopoly here in NJ.
Annual physical examination? Why? Is there a fear that homeschoolers are somehow ill? Why should I want to have anything *forced* upon my family/child? Where is the liberty in that? There isn't.
BUMP.
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