Free Republic

Europe Cracks Down on Home School Parents MUNICH, Germany - Increasing custody cases in Europe are proof that officials there have declared war against home schooling and parental rights, according to some residents.In Sweden, police burst onto a plane and took 7-year-old Dominic Johansson from his parents as they were about to leave the country.Months earlier, they told school officials they were going to home school Dominic, prompting officials to open an investigation. In a similar case in Germany, the government abducted 7-year-old Dan Schulz while the family was sleeping. He can be heard on tape screaming that he...

President Obama’s highly controversial Safe Schools Czar, Kevin Jennings, is concerned about the heterosexual indoctrination of children in our public schools. In his bizarre view: “we all know what’s promoted in our schools: Heterosexuality is promoted in our schools. Every time kids read Romeo and Juliet or they’re encouraged to go to the prom or whatever it is, kids are aggressively recruited to be heterosexual in this country. And you know what, it doesn’t work. The reality is that if schools could affect your sexual orientation there would have been no gay people in the first place. But they’re still...

A longtime champion of homeschooling rights around the globe, Home School Legal Defense Association Senior Counsel and Director of State and International Relations Christopher J. Klicka was called home by his Lord on October 12, 2009, at age 48, following a 15-year battle with multiple sclerosis. An attorney, spokesman, lobbyist, and homeschooling husband and father, Chris is survived by his wife, Tracy, their seven children (ages 11–21), and his parents, Ardath and George Klicka. “Chris was both a people person and a goal person. He cared deeply about people, but was also driven to always do more!” says HSLDA President...

INDIANAPOLIS -- The mother of a 7-year-old boy with autism and a severe peanut allergy has filed a lawsuit claiming a teacher tossed her son a peanut-filled Mr. Goodbar candy bar in hopes of sickening him and keeping him from going on a zoo field trip. The boy didn't eat the candy bar, but Anita Young said her son suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his teacher, and filed a lawsuit in Marion County against her son's Indianapolis school. Young also wants criminal charges filed against teacher Trinda Barocas.

Oct 7, 2009 — Saturn has a newly-discovered ring to add to its decor – the largest of all. It’s so big, it makes Saturn look like a speck in the middle of it. The ring, located at the orbit of the small outer moon Phoebe, is inclined 27 degrees and revolves backwards around Saturn. This was announced today by...

Nature has recently published an interesting paper which places severe limits on Darwinian evolution...

How were your first few weeks of school? Did everything go as planned? Did you have to tweak your schedule? Are you in a routine now? Our first couple of weeks were rather unusual. You see, it was the first time we were schooling with a young toddler and dealing with middle school. And somehow, all my plans that looked so good on paper didn’t quite make it when they were translated to real life. My toddler wanted to join us at the “big” table. But her idea of school was pulling the books off the table as quickly as...

Storming the Beaches of Norman Norman, Oklahoma, that is. Okay, so there aren’t any real beaches in Norman, Oklahoma. But when Steve Meyer and I went there recently, the Darwinists who have installed themselves as absolute dictators at the University of Oklahoma (OU) made our arrival feel like D-Day. On September 28, Steve gave a talk on his best-selling book Signature in the Cell at the Oklahoma Memorial Union on the OU campus. The following evening, September 29, Steve and I answered questions after a showing of the new film Darwin’s Dilemma at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History,...

The church is not the only place our children should be taught biblical truth. Parents can do many practical things to combat the evolutionary indoctrination their children face...

The official government data about literacy in America are dreadful: 32 million adults can't read printed material more challenging than a children's picture book; another 18 million are walking around with high school diplomas, but can't read above the sixth-grade level and have considerable difficulty making simple two-step calculations. Together, these groups comprise about 25 percent of the adult population. America has so many illiterates and near illiterates, and their number grows by more than 2 million every year, because 3 in 10 students never finish high school and 1 in 4 graduates come away with the equivalent of an...

Dinosaurs are a popular topic of study, whether in the public imagination or in scientific research. The scientific community, however, has a dirty little secret regarding the manner in which that research is handled. If dinosaur DNA doesn't "look like chicken" (or a crocodile), it will most likely be discarded as "unreliable data" prior to publication--and thus be effectively censored from public access. Why? Because evolutionary scientists are committed to only publish dinosaur DNA data that match their naturalistic tale of origins. Despite the amazing discoveries of soft tissue from dinosaur bones,[1] dinosaur DNA research results (and other dinosaur "connective...

Sept 27, 2009 — What would Darwin do? Just in time for the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species, his magnum opus has been reprinted with an introduction not by a scientist or historian, but by a Christian evangelist. He and a Christian movie actor are trying to get their special edition to students at major universities. Talk about brashness. Darwin’s defenders are stepping on themselves to condemn this – well, blasphemy...

Primary schoolchildren filmed singing a song praising President Obama are at the centre of a storm of controversy in the U.S. after the video was posted on the internet. Right wing critics blasted the school for promoting politics in the classroom. The video shows more than a dozen children dancing and singing a song about the president, quoting from his speeches and campaign slogans. The chorus includes the chant ‘Mmm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama.’ One verse says: ‘He said that all must lend a hand. To make this country strong again.’ Another goes: ‘He said we must be clear...

Free Republic Homeschoolers’ Forum 2009-2010 A spot for homeschoolers on Free Republic to share information The Free Republic Homeschoolers’ Forum is an annual thread where homeschoolers share tips and talk about curriculum. Included on this year’s forum: GET STARTED HOMESCHOOLINGThis year, in response to requests from other parents, we have put together a guide for anyone interested in homeschooling. (See below.) HOMESCHOOL RESOURCES (in alphabetical order) Scroll down for the latest list of educational resources recommended by homeschoolers on Free Republic. Corrections and updates were made to the previous list. Links to any product or website no longer available were...

Dropouts Seek a Boost From Equivalency Exams Numbers Seeking a Degree Swell -- But Gains May Be Limited A growing number of Americans are taking high school equivalency tests in their hunt for any leg up in a bleak labor market. Adult-education centers across the country report backlogs and waiting lists for prep courses cramming dozens of topics and years of lessons into weeks or months. But the potential for a better job and pay that drives many to seek a General Educational Development diploma comes with a caveat: The certificate generally is of limited value unless students use it...

Judge Lucinda V. Sadler does not have the right to decide what is proper religious exposure for a child. To say, in a court ruling that the girl's "vigorous defense of her religious beliefs … suggests strongly that she has not had the opportunity to consider any other point of view," is overstepping the role of adjudication.

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, Broward County Public Schools students will have the opportunity to watch an online national address from President Obama on the importance of education. The Web address can be seen locally in Broward County at 12 noon on the White House Web site (www.whitehouse.gov/live), and broadcast live on BECON Channel 24. According to Superintendent James F. Notter, there have been several calls into the Superintendent’s Office suggesting and/or requesting that alternative space and activities be provided for those students wishing to “opt out” of this activity. “As one of the premier major school systems in America,...

"I am not permitting parents to opt out students from viewing the president's message..." Tempe Elementary School District No. 3 in Arizona, is not permitting parents to pull their children out of class during Obama's speech. "I have directed principals to have students and teachers view the president's message on Tuesday," - Superintendent of Schools Dr. Arthur Tate Jr.

In the midst of a rancorous health care debate and a sustained period of declining poll numbers, President Obama is seeking help from an unexpected constituency -- America's schoolchildren. And they better pay attention to his request: They may get graded on the assignment. The White House announced Wednesday that the president plans to tape a presidential address to public schoolchildren around the country to air at noon Tuesday. Along with advanced word of the speech, the U.S. Department of Education last week distributed a "menu of classroom activities" to teachers that aims to turn the speech into one of...

President Obama's plan to inspire the nation's schoolchildren with a video address next week erupted into controversy Wednesday, forcing the White House to pull out its eraser and rewrite a government recommendation that teachers nationwide assign students a paper on how to "help the president," the Washington Times reported. Presidential aides acknowledged the White House helped the U.S. Education Department craft the proposal, which immediately was met by fierce criticism from Republicans and conservative organizations who accused Obama of trying to politicize the education system. White House aides said the language was an honest misunderstanding in what was supposed to...

What more can be said

What did I get myself into? Will my kids ever get it? Is this the right curriculum? I can’t do this! Should I really be homeschooling? Are we going to make it through today, let alone a school year?

President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009

... American junior tennis has had a major change in the last five years. Aspiring pros now commonly abandon regular school for home or online educational programs. Although alternative schooling is not new to junior athletics, tennis is perhaps the only sport whose full participation requires it because of year-round competition and travel. Smith persuaded Mkrtchian and three others to join a special U.S.T.A. training program. “It’s got to be a six-hour day,” Smith said. “It’s normal for foreigners.” Marcos Giron, then 15, was convinced after hearing about Roger Federer’s ambitious junior tournament schedule. But Giron was considering the option...

“Homeschooling is the sleeping giant of the American education system,” is the opening line of a recent article by Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews. He’s right. He’s also right when he says, “All surveys of home-schooled students so far indicate they have higher achievement rates on average than regular students,” and when he dismisses the claim that homeschoolers might not be properly socialized by saying, “Homeschoolers go outside often and get just as big a dose of pain and joy and ignorance and wisdom as regular school kids.” Where Mathews goes wrong is his support for a recommendation by...

When Sarah Palin was on the road in 2008 campaigning with John McCain, she was mocked for it. At the Huffington Post, [h/t Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey] always a reliable resource of liberal ignorance, hate, and intolerance, Dan Brown wrote: She homeschools! A clutch of creationistand homeschooling blogs have joyfully lit up with the idea that Sarah Palin has enrolled her children in the Interior Distance Education of Alaska, a program “created by homeschoolers for homeschoolers.” Actual schools—serving about 98% of America’s students—need clear-eyed presidential attention. I don't care if some members of Palin's family were teachers or if she...

Each year, the homeschool movement graduates at least 100,000 students. Due to the fact that both the United States government and homeschool advocates agree that homeschooling has been growing at around 7% per annum for the past decade, it is not surprising that homeschooling is gaining increased attention. Consequently, many people have been asking questions about homeschooling, usually with a focus on either the academic or social abilities of homeschool graduates....Drawing from 15 independent testing services, the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics included 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states who took three well-known tests—California Achievement Test,...

Culture Challenge of the Week: Immoral Sex Indoctrination Much of what is being taught to our young girls and boys in sex-education classes is too graphic and vulgar to be quoted in the newspaper. For that, you can blame Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). The content of sex-education programs is dominated by these groups, which instruct our children on how to perform sexual acts, including homosexuality and sadomasochism. Their materials promote a radical political agenda, are highly pornographic, encourage our children to be sexually active and are largely...

Florida is changing its policy on youths who opt for a GED to finish high school in less than four years. Until now, those looking for a shortcut could earn the same diploma as others. But Education Commissioner Eric Smith says that's not fair... So Smith has notified school districts that all who take the General Educational Development test must now receive a high school equivalency diploma, just like dropouts who later go through the GED process.

COVINGTON, Ky. -- Nicole Howell said she was fired from her dream job as an English teacher at Dayton High School after rumors circulated about an alleged improper relationship."Every time I think it's going to end because someone's going to step up and see I didn't do anything wrong, they continue it," said the 26-year-old Howell.Howell said she told the principal about the rumors after she heard them."I told him then and there, I've never had sex with this student," Howell said. "I have never seen him. I have never even seen him off campus."The 16-year-old football player did not...

School districts, state agency blamed in molestation case Indiana child welfare officials and school districts in two states had a responsibility to protect children in Lee N. Tibbetts’ classroom, but a series of miscommunications and missteps among those agencies failed to catch a pattern of problematic behavior over three years. That breakdown allowed Tibbetts to remain in the classroom despite multiple accusations, including one that eventually led to the math teacher being arrested on charges alleging he molested a student while teaching for Indianapolis Public Schools. A review by The Indianapolis Star and The Cincinnati Enquirer shows that red flags...

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. -- Channel 11 has learned the state is investigating a West Mifflin day care from which four 2-year-olds wandered away Tuesday. The toddlers walked out of the Walnut Grove Christian School and down an access road. They ended up 200 yards away in the middle of busy West Mifflin Street. When E. Dorcett stepped out of a nearby gospel radio station for a break, he noticed four toddlers, one girl and three boys, in the road. He then watched as two truckers ran to save the kids. "The Rent-A-Center guy -- he was running up and he...

The bullying seemed inescapable. His family and friends say it followed Iain Steele from junior high to high school -- from hallways, where one tormentor shoved him into lockers, to cyberspace, where another posted a video on Facebook making fun of his taste for heavy metal music. "At one point, [a bully] had told [Iain] he wished he would kill himself," said Matt Sikora, Iain's close friend. Iain's parents know their son had other problems, but they believe the harassment contributed to a deepening depression that hospitalized the 15-year-old twice this year. On June 3, while his classmates were taking...

A slew of research shows that America is losing the conservative Christian youth in massive droves. These studies show a generation being increasingly won over to a socialistic/secular-humanistic worldview in spite of the American church increasing their apologetic courses, children's programs, youth rallies and books and sermon series on child training. What is happening? Could it be that we are doing something wrong? I would make the case that we are blatantly sinning in sending our kids to places that are, in fact, causing them to fall away. Let me lay out the case in three simple points. ( SNIP)...

The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial entitled "The ABC's of LGBT," has taken aim at the Alameda Unified School District for turning "what should be a basic Golden Rule lesson into a primer on sexual identity for kindergartners through fifth-graders." The Alameda Sun reports that "students from kindergarten through the fifth grade will learn about bullying that focuses on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in six 45-minute lessons over the course of their elementary school years." An opt-out provision is not even included. Such a provision would allow parents to pull their children out of classes they...

The soaring costs of a college degree are prompting colleges to consider a three-year degree program. Britain has long granted a degree for three years of college. I would like to suggest a one-year degree program. And I don’t mean an associate’s degree. Here are some hard facts most colleges will never tell you and most parents could not tolerate hearing. The general requirements of the first two years at most colleges are what high school should have been. That is what junior should have learned had he not been busy getting high, getting drunk, and being socially promoted. Better...

I don’t remember when I first become convinced that homeschooling was the only type of education I wanted for our children. I do know it was long before I ever became pregnant! Now that we’ve finished our fifth year of homeschooling and we’ve started taking “prepping” seriously, I’m more glad than ever that we chose this route for our family. Homeschooling provides a continuous flow of education in spite of changing circumstances. A dramatic decline in income might force a family to move to another neighborhood, city, or even to a different state. Other than losing some time in the...

Friends don't let friends send their children to public schools. So says Bruce Shortt, author of the compelling book "The Harsh Truth about Public Schools." Prominent Christian leaders are proclaiming that when it comes to education, the facts are in and public school is out, not only for the summer, but for the long term. The days of trying to reform government schools are over. (SNIP) Sadly, the outcry is far overdue as the spiritual carnage in the lives of public school children is strewn across America's landscape. Several studies show that up to 88 percent of these kids lose...

We used to think that Communism would arrive in this country on the bayonets of Soviet soldiers, if it came at all. We never realised that it would instead materialise amid our freedom and prosperity, step by tiny step, in the form of bureaucratic interference and political correctness. As one of the few British people who has actually lived in a Communist country (Moscow in the early Nineties, since you ask), I know better than most what such societies feel like, and how they work. And in the past two weeks I have seen several developments in Britain which seem...

The U.S. Department of Education has released its periodic review of schooling in America, and it offers a revealing look at the growth of homeschooling. The picture of contemporary homeschooling offers some real surprises and raises some new questions. "The Condition of Education 2009" is produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, and it contains a wealth of statistical data. Approximately 50 million children are enrolled in the public schools for grades K-12. In 2007 5.9 million children were enrolled in private schools and the percentage of those enrolled in "Conservative Christian schools" increased from 13 to 15 percent...

Education, by the state, is designed to create some knowledge in children. More than that, however, education is designed to create good citizens, wards of the state if you will. We teach conformity, how to line up and move from one place to the other at the ringing of a bell. Some issues are difficult and require a lot of ground work before the real discussion can begin. To me education is not one of those complicated issues. At least that is true if we look at education the same way as we look at parenting. What is parenting? Parenting...

No excerpt allowed, story here .

Dangerous Turn Ahead: Traveling down the road to compromise by Henry Morris, Ph.D.* Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." This is the first and foremost apologetic. If a person stumbles on this one profound truth, a lifetime of doubt and confusion lies ahead for him, full of uncertainty about the ultimate purpose for being alive. But when a Christian attempts to alter this ultimate statement of reality to fit the compromising philosophies of men--even scientifically-trained professionals--then woe to him for his unbelief and, even graver still, for teaching others that unbelief. The following...

Homeschooling: great for self-aggrandizing, society-phobic mother…… but not quite so good for the kid. Here are my top ten reasons why homeschooling parents are doing the wrong thing: 10. “You were totally home schooled” is an insult college kids use when mocking the geeky kid in the dorm (whether or not the offender was home schooled or not). And… say what you will… but it doesn’t feel nice to be considered an outsider, a natural outcropping of being homeschooled. 9. Call me old-fashioned, but a students’ classroom shouldn’t also be where they eat Fruit Loops and meat loaf (not at...

I have written a great deal about the feminization of America's boys. While Feminists have become more masculine with every passing year, men and boys have become wimpy, feminized and afraid of their own shadows. About five years ago at a Boy Scout meeting for my son who had been recently promoted to Boy Scout from Weeblos, I looked around the room and shivered. I leaned over to my husband and whispered, "There's not a single male role model in this room." Shortly after that meeting, my son changed Boy Scout troops to another where men ran the troop -...

Almost one of every six foster children on mood-altering drugs in Florida is being medicated without the court order or parental consent required by law, according to a study released Thursday by the state Department of Children and Families. DCF Secretary George Sheldon acknowledged there was "no rational basis" for 433 foster children in Florida being given psychotropic drugs without the required documentation. He vowed that by next week, the agency would ensure that the children have parental consent to take the drugs or that their cases are scheduled to go before a judge. The study is more fallout from...

A Pittsburgh-area teenager has been suspended from middle school when a random search turned up an eyebrow shaver in her handbag. Officials at Linton Middle School in Penn Hills recommended at a Wednesday disciplinary hearing that 15-year-old be expelled for the rest of this year and 45 days next year. The teen said she doesn't consider the eyebrow trimmer a weapon. She fears expulsion will hurt her chances of becoming a nurse-anesthetist. She's a Girl Scout and a member of the school's basketball team, choir and leadership team. The school released a statement saying it has a standard disciplinary policy...

Creation Essay Contest offers $1,000 in cash Jesus Created Ministries (JCM) is sponsoring a Creation Essay Contest with $1,000 in cash prizes. The goal of the contest is to motivate students to examine the claims of and debate between creation and evolution - including the logical implications of each claim with respect to one’s view of origin, purpose, morality and destiny. JCM will be awarding cash prizes of $500, $300 and $200 for first, second and third place. The contest is open to all Oklahoma students ages 12-18 (as of June 15, 2009) whose parent/legal guardian has completed a JCM...

LAKE JACKSON — Inquisitiveness, liberty and freedom from government are key to the human condition, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul told members of the Brazosport area home-school graduates Saturday. Paul addressed 14 graduates of various home-school backgrounds in a standing-room-only First Baptist Church sanctuary in Lake Jackson. Students entered the sanctuary to “Pomp and Circumstance” and walked out to Casting Crown’s “Lifesong.” “It’s very important we encourage home-schooling and make sure it’s always legal, and our governments never decide they know best,” Paul said. “Too often, our government would like to be the parent. Home-schoolers know exactly who’s responsible for education,...

LAKE JACKSON — Inquisitiveness, liberty and freedom from government are key to the human condition, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul told members of the Brazosport area home-school graduates Saturday. Paul addressed 14 graduates of various home-school backgrounds in a standing-room-only First Baptist Church sanctuary in Lake Jackson. Students entered the sanctuary to “Pomp and Circumstance” and walked out to Casting Crown’s “Lifesong.” “It’s very important we encourage home-schooling and make sure it’s always legal, and our governments never decide they know best,” Paul said. “Too often, our government would like to be the parent. Home-schoolers know exactly who’s responsible for education,...