Posted on 04/25/2020 7:53:23 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Harvard stirred controversy earlier this month when they announced a June invitation-only summit to discuss increased regulations and a presumptive ban on homeschooling. The event, dubbed, "Homeschooling Summit: Problems, Politics, and Prospects for Reform," is set to feature a who's-who of academics, lawyers, and activists who have been outspoken in their belief that parents should not legally be allowed to educate their children at home.
Harvard Law School is officially hosting an event against homeschooling in June.
"The focus will be on problems of educational deprivation and child maltreatment that too often occur under the guise of homeschooling." pic.twitter.com/JF0kgEEIYp— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) April 9, 2020
One featured speaker of the anti-homeschooling summit, Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, penned a lengthy article in the Arizona Law Review last year that concluded that homeschooling in the United States should be banned. Bartholet noted most specifically that children taught by their parents might not be exposed to the same social views as children in public schools. She contends that for this reason, homeschooled children are prevented from being "active, productive participants in the larger society."
Many homeschool because they want to isolate their children from ideas and values central to our democracy, determined to keep their children from exposure to views that might enable autonomous choice about their future lives. Many promote racial segregation and female subservience. Many question science. Abusive parents can keep their children at home free from the risk that teachers will report them to child protection services.
Noting the lack of homeschool supporters slated to speak at the three day event in Cambridge, many called on Harvard and the event planners to extend invitations to some advocates for family choice in education. A suggestion to invite the Home Schooling Legal Defense Association, which has worked tirelessly for decades to defend the rights of homeschoolers, was flatly denied.
Founder of the HSLDA and homeschooling father of ten Michael Farris penned an Op-Ed for Townhall dismantling Bartholet's attack on home educators.
Since Bartholet loves anecdotal evidence, let me answer her charges with my own anecdotes. But let me first explain why my stories are appropriate. Harvard’s article derides an organization I founded: the Home School Legal Defense Association. Through her smears of the movement, she implies that HSLDA is associated with her imagined ills. So, let’s see.
As to her claim of female subservience, three of the four Supreme Court law clerks I personally taught are women. A conservative Christian college producing so many talented women lawyers is not what she has apparently imagined.
And I am the proud grandfather of an African American newborn baby. My daughter-in-law is Nigerian, and my grandson is a dual citizen.
Bartholet conjures up an imaginary profile of conservative Christian homeschoolers—yet, the life of HSLDA’s founder demonstrates how little she knows about a movement she seeks to denounce.
When the pandemic is behind us, I would be happy to come to Cambridge and take Professor Bartholet to dinner. She might be surprised if she actually took the time to finally meet one of the people she misunderstands so much.
Amid outcry from homeschooling advocates and allies, Harvard announced on Friday that they would be hosting a virtual discussion that would effectively counter the suggestions being put forward by the original summit.
Harvard's Kennedy School is officially hosting an event to counter the Law School's conference attacking homeschooling.
Title: "The Disinformation Campaign Against Homeschooling"
I'm speaking at the event May 1st.— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) April 24, 2020
Titled, "The Disinormation Campaign Against Homeschooling," the May 1 event will precede the summit hosted by Harvard Law and being presented by the Kennedy School of Government. The event is also organized by the student-run group, Ideological Diversity.
“Speakers will discuss the dishonest attacks on homeschooling that have been pervasive in the media and academia and also address the failures of public education,” the event website states. The discussion will take please via virtual call host Zoom and is open to all, no RSVP required.
Speakers include the Director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation Corey DeAngelis, author of ‘Unschooled,’ Kerry McDonald, education scholar Peter Gray, homeschooling advocate Patrick Ferenga, and documentary filmmaker Cevin Soling.
Big ED is terrified people will abandon the indoctrination centers and learn to think for themselves.
Parents who send their kids to public schools should be scared shitless at the way Harvard is responding to the thought of OUR KIDS not being under the control of THEIR TEACHERS.
...but no, I get it, public schools are ‘free’.
William J Buckley, Jr. had Harvard’s number decades ago.
In other words Harvard is testimony to the power of private and individualized initiatives and solutions in the face of the failure of overweening government bureaucracy.
In years gone by Harvard would have acknowledged and celebrated that, but then they became a branded consultancy like McKinsey to the US government.
Harvard people really are clever animals. I think they realize they will become a big political target, as they are poster child for several of the worst trends in American society, from massive student debt, to elitist skimming and corruption, to leftist-globalist indoctrination and control of institutions.
They are going to have to try a lot harder to escape it though.
We home-schooled our now 36 year old daughter because we wanted her to get a good education, which she would not have gotten in public school.
She went to and graduated from a highly regarded private college with excellent grades - on scholarship. She has done well in her career endeavors and she is one of the least bigoted people I know. Which her mother and I take some credit for because we tried very hard to teach her to respect people until such time as they give you reason not to. At the same time she will not cut anybody slack simply because of their race.
Interesting anecdote from a couple of years ago. She told us about a running group she was in and about the various people she got to know in the group. Months later she sent us a picture of the whole group. It was about 15 or 20 people. There were two white faces in the group, one of which was her. She never saw a reason to mention the racial makeup of the group. Her mother and I were very pleased.
FTA: Titled, “The Disinormation Campaign Against Homeschooling,” the May 1 event....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oops! “Disinormation”?
Democrats, Socialists, Communists and rhino republicans don’t want you teaching your children outside the influence of the globalist NWO anti-Christ spirit deep state beast system.
This pandemic is providing a veritable smorgasbord of surveillance state options to be enacted across a now willing and compliant population as is already done in the evil CCP homeland they all find so praiseworthy,
“The last time I had to look at my taxes the biggest chunk went to a district that built a new school that has less than 70 kids in the high school. And of course the mandatory LGBTQ curriculum goes into effect in July.”
I don’t know too many people who have to pay tuition to send their kids to public schools - but I know a lot of people who pay property taxes...including those, like myself, who have never used public schools. So, no linkage between property taxes (or any other) and access to schools.
From example, my right to keep and bear arms doesn't rest on a study by John Lott (who, btw, does good work) showing how armed people are less likely to be victims etc. Indeed, the First Amendment isn't exactly working well as a mechanism for keeping the masses well-informed via the MSM.
Our right to be armed, our right to peaceably assemble, worship our Lord, say whatever we want (btw, yelling FIRE in a theater is a property rights issue), and educate our children as we see fit are God-given rights, regardless of whatever carnage may result from these. Ms. Bartholet's argument is utilitarian; if it turned out she was statistically correct (she's not, but work with me), then our rights could be overridden by a statistical study....and look at how accurate biostatisticians have been lately. Our rights aren't dependent on a T-Test.
I've seen lots of HSed kids and parents. All of the parents have their children's best interest at heart. Most are really sharp. Some aren't. Some do it because they don't like corporatist influence in public school -yep, socialist HSers! Many kids turn out to be really successful. Some still live at home. They ALL think for themselves, and THAT is why Harvard scheduled this anti-liberty conference.
The deliciously-just element to this saga, is the original HS conference was booked for March 2020 but got moved to June due to COVID19. In the meantime, most of America has been thrust into HSing...while many parents will likely be happy when Mary and Johnny go back to school, they are being aided by HSing parents, and some HSed kids. They will come away from this forced homeschooling with a better appreciation for what homeschooling families sacrifice, that they're not a bunch of freaks, and be less swayed by trolls like Harvard professors et al.
Yes...I forgot to mention in my other post, the HSed kids I know don’t give a rip about color or religion or even if a person is gay. Contrary to the rigid religionists stereotype (while God tends to play a big part in a homeschooled environment), they are some of the least exclusionary people you’ll find. Indeed, it is the liberal kids who tend to be exclusionary, i.e. They rant against Trump supporters and may intentionally seek out people of color. HSers just go with the flow - and I suspect in the long run they serve as unintentional evangelists for freedom and wind up overturning stereotypes.
” “I think it’s always dangerous to put powerful people in charge of the powerless, and to give the powerful ones total authority.”
And we somehow avoid this evil by putting a government agent, trained by a Harvard lesbian, total authority over our kiddos from 8-5 every day?
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The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.
Would it were so, in very many cases - but it isn’t exactly that way. The schools are doing “distance teaching,” and that keeps the parents out of curriculum decisions.I have a daughter whose father - estranged from my daughter - struggles under inappropriate pressures in the school her dad insists on her attendance at. It’d be better if she could just go straight to an established online school she knows and likes - but at least the distance learning situation is night-and-day different from in-person attendance at that school.
The whole situation brings up the question, “Exactly how do kids and their parents survive summers?"
Harvard thinks kids are chattel.
At a recent Republican meetup, one of our “leaders” —a schoolteacher— proposed a platform plank banning any & all support for school vouchers or homeschooling. She was all in for the union.
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