Posted on 08/29/2002 5:05:21 PM PDT by Carry_Okie
We know better now.
Public school education.
.. speaking of prayers, a friend told me there is an Amber alert here in Texas. I'm waiting for the news to come on... I haven't found anything in searching the internet yet.. apparently it is a 4th grader who didn't make it home from school..
All of your child are belong to us.
Or Quandora?
Thank you for your letter. It all comes down to a judgment call and it looks like we disagree.CODelaine Eastin's memo was written after the California Department of Education staff memo dated August 27 from one of her minions, which many of us rightly regarded this as an indication of things to come. There is no way such a memo would have been released without Ms. Eastin's say so. Your letter effectively said, 'Sit tight, it's no indication of a change.' It was to that letter that my comment was directed because it missed the political import for the legal.
I have been a FReeper for about three years. We didn't get Clinton impeached by working in channels and had we waited for the courts without public protest, Al Gore would be President today. I belong to the Lynn Nofzinger school of politics: 'Never let them know you are satisfied; the left never does.'
Accordingly, my intent is to make our constituency look as large as possible; if nothing else to preclude those who are considering home-education as an option from fearing to seek the advantages for lack of numbers and clout as well as to maintain the appearance of a nascent groundswell. It is therefore my intent to make the staffers of the various education committees in Sacramento wish they had never heard of Delaine Eastin, who is the real cause of their impending deluge, and I fully intend to make them acutely aware of that.
You assert that, "They simply don't have time to get a bill passed that would eliminate home schooling and yet not affect every other private school in the state." Correct; but what makes you think that they don't seek such an end? It is the intent of the Federal Department of Education and the purpose for offering vouchers as bait. The NEA wailings about vouchers are crocodile tears.
I personally know a number of Assembly staffers as a consequence of my primary focus issue: transforming environmental regulation to free markets using an architecture perfectly adaptable to privatizing education. You are right, Assembly staff don't want the harassment now. You are also right that the quiet approach with the threat of numbers is better under normal circumstances, especially when all you are dealing with is the personal leanings of the individual.
That set of boundary conditions just evaporated.
Home education is feared by the unions no matter what we do from now on. Home education deserves the visibility it's getting academically, but that visibility is also a result of its legislative and political successes. The battle has hardly started because, up until recently, we were under the radar. That is no longer the case. If the CTA and the NEA come after us, it won't matter what kind of relationships home education lobbyists have with Legislative staff. We don't have the money to buy continued access. Our only long term option is to grow fast enough to overcome that resistance or we will get the bill we fear no matter how nice we are.
If, however, we respond predictably by inundating the staff, they have only Ms. Eastin to blame. We are better off making absolutely certain that they CAN'T add such an amendment rather than trusting their good graces in the future. We are better off making certain that they fear the very idea of broaching such a bill than we are fearing that the staff might seek retribution later. Until the entire composition of the Legislative branch in Sacramento changes drastically, we should expect to get such a bill eventually if we don't.
Mobilizing forces gives them the energy to help them grow, creates networks, builds lists of contacts, and enlists continuing financial support. It also arouses the interest of political candidates. I am enclosing a set of speeches I sent to one of Bill Simon's chief political strategists: (names withheld C_O). One of them highlights home education as an R&D capability for those public school districts willing to restructure. Please consider the possibilities.
Thank you for your time and your thoughtful response,
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