2005 September Archives
Friday, September 30th, 2005Friday, September 30, 2005
Next week: CNN is presenting Autism is a World
FYI:
CNN Presents Classroom: Autism is a World
Set your VCR to record the CNN Presents Classroom Edition: Autism is a World when it airs commercial-free on Monday, October 3, 2005 from 4:00– 5:00 a.m. ET on CNN.
Program OverviewFor years, Sue Rubin says she was “her own worst nightmare.” Sue has autism, and until age 13, she was unable to communicate or control her unusual behavior. Now 26, Sue has become a disabled-rights advocate and a college student with a top IQ. In the Academy Award-nominated documentary Autism is a World, filmmaker Gerry Wurzburg and CNN Presents take a rare look at autism through the words of a young woman who lives with it.Grade Levels: 9-12, college
Subject Areas: Health, Social Studies, Technology, Current Issues
Objectives: The CNN Presents Classroom Edition: Autism is a World and its corresponding discussion questions and activities challenge students to:
# Learn about the symptoms, characteristics and differentiated diagnoses associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD);
# Identify traits that are common to all autistic disorders;
# Examine different treatment approaches for ASD;
# Create an informational brochure about ASD for parents and local mental health providers.
|
======================================
Cool… Hoagies Free Curriculum linked at Johns Hopkins
Valerie NOTES that Johns Hopkins LINKED to the free quality curriculum offered to EVERYONE by Hoagies.
Valerie goes on to say:
The Hoagies site is a permanent web site (well, as permanent as any web site is), and the curriculum offered is not only free to anyone who wishes to use it, but it also includes links to the free online courses around which the curriculum is structured.Homeschoolers affected by the recent disasters along the Gulf Coast who have access to computers, perhaps at libraries, may find the guidance and materials of use until they are resettled. The Ambleside Online free curriculum is also available through the above link to the previous NewsComm report.
So, before you decide to pay for it, CHECK THEM OUT!
|
========================================
(HILL): Moral Compass Gone South
Susan and Kara blog about William Bennett’s (yes, the one and the same of K12 fame) now notorious comments.
“Apparently [Mr Bennett] has some issues besides the gambling one. The former head of the Department of Education apparently had an ‘output slip’ on his talk radio show. He said:
“But I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could — if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky”
|
========================================
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Labels - thoughts from one mom
THIS ARTICLE
is not so much about homeschooling, but it is one aspect that tends to lead parents to it
“I shouldn’t worry so much about these labels. Surely, they don’t affect how I feel about Jack.Diagnose him with Sassy Mouth Syndrome, whatever. No matter what the doctors come up with he’s still the same little boy who loves Thomas the Tank Engine, loves to torment his sister, but also stands up to people he thinks are hurting her (including the chiropractor, playground bullies and grandma!)”
|
=======================================
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Difficulties in the PS system/special needs children
Thought that those of you with kids that have special needs might relate to the difficulties this family is dealing with.
Of course, I’m not sure I agree with the aftermath (re: the bill they are introducing), as there are such diverse situations and one size does not fit all.
“He explained he had been grabbed, pulled to the ground and a teacher lay on top of him, took his hands and put them behind his head, making it difficult for him to breathe.
That led his grandmother, Gail Weyant of Roslindale, to be one of four families to testify for a bill in the state Legislature which would make the use of restrains illegal in schools and nursing homes.”
…
“The Boston Public Schools settled Weyant’s case out of court and promised to find a seat in a school outside Boston for Ryan after a couple of hearings. Seven years later, Ryan, 14, is still being home-schooled.
‘That experience did a job on him. It ruined his educational chances,’ Weyant said. ‘They were absolutely in the wrong then and if they are still doing it, they are in the wrong now.’
She warns parents that even if they win the case, it is very difficult to find special education placements in the state.”
|
=====================================
‘blogging baby’ asks- does hsing make a child more sensitive?
Back to the tired ‘ole socialization QUESTION HERE.
“In our case, it has simply provided more opportunities to have to discuss how other kids tease and play. What do you think? For our homeschooling parents, are your kids sensitive anyway? Does this lead to your decisions to homeschool? Do you think sensitive kids are bullied more often than other kids?”
|
=======================================
Friday, September 23, 2005
Natalie’s Find
Natalie features a new blog she found
“The H.R.3753/S.1691 blog is an online source of information for people working to kill the bills — again — and keep homeschooling from being further defined by federal legislation.”
Check it out.
|
==========================================
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Bush Proposes Vouchers for All Displaced Students
This doesn’t look like it will help many in reality and can cause a lot of damage by blurring the lines of public and private.
“Under President Bush’s plan to cover most of the cost of educating students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, parents could enroll their children in a private or religious school this year at federal expense, even if they had gone to public schools back home, administration officials said yesterday.”
|
==========================================
Weather Question - and a tidbit of info
What would the hurricane center do if it runs out of names?
“According to the National Hurricane Center, the historical averages for a hurricane season are 10 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. Those numbers have been met or exceeded this season, which doesn’t end until November 30.
The largest number of named storms ever recorded was 21, in 1933, a record that will be broken if just seven more storms develop in the next 12 weeks. And if that happens, the hurricane center will run out of names for the first time since it adopted the system of assigning names to storms in 1953.
The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z aren’t used, because few names begin with those letters; the 21st and last name on this year’s hurricane list is Wilma. After that, Greek letters will be used to designate storms, beginning with alpha.
The most hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic is 12, in 1969, according to the hurricane center, and the largest number of major hurricanes is eight, in 1950.”
|
===========================================
A letter to e-school parents by Mary
Dear Friends who are using publicly funded e-schools, by Mary Nix.. Link to full text
(in it’s entirety)
Dear Friends who are using publicly funded e-schools,This seems to be as good of time as any to mention that I am happy
that you have found an educational choice that works well for you.This isn’t the first time that I have heard of this scenario of e-
schoolers not being enrolled in time in their e-school and notifying
of their intent to homeschool for a short time to avoid truancy.Please inquire and demand that the public e-school system you are
enrolled in corrects the situation that forces you to USE
homeschooling in this manner. It is not fair to those who are truly
home educating, it is not fair to the schools who must do more
paperwork and most importantly, it is not fair to the children.Please know that each time e-schoolers use homeschooling in this
manner, unnecessary attention is brought to those who truly do want
to educate their children at home.Yes, each of you are at home and in a perfect world, we could all
call each other what we want, but this is not a perfect world. The
misuse of the word homeschooling to describe public schools is
causing more and more headaches for those who are excused from
compulsory attendance for the purpose of home education. E-schoolers
are not excused from compulsory attendance for the purpose of home
education. E-schoolers are permitted to utilize their public school
at home with the parents as a part of the team, but the team leader
is the teacher.In May of 04, in a Senate Education Finance Hearing, an Ohio Senator
BLAMED HOMESCHOOLING, for the loss of revenue that was being used for
the e-schools. This last year when HB 66 was going to cause some of
the e-school funding to be lost, I phoned legislators and I
was told that I was the first one to clarify that e-schools are not
homeschooling. They said many were calling and asking that their e-
school money for homeschooling not be cut off.It is vitally important that homeschoolers and e-schoolers both
understand how very different these two options are. This is not
exclusion, it is clarity that is necessary for each of us to
understand the rights and responsibilities that go along with the
educational choice we make.Mary Nix
|
=========================================
HEM News and Commentary - ten states out of fifty
Valerie Filed This as “Seeing a pattern in bureaucratic oversight of homeschooling?”
“It may be merely a ‘back to school’ focus, or it could show a desire for a return to ‘olden times’ when there was no relief from compulsory attendance at school, or a cash-flow problem for districts who either want or need more money in their system. Whatever the cause is, the number of articles about returning the oversight of all children’s educations to an entity other than their parents continues to grow.”
One example given:
“Wasilla, Alaska, 18 Sep 2005 ” Home-school testing sought (indirect link because the source page wants $5 for 1-day privileges)
On Sept. 7, the Mat-Su School Board voted 6-1 in support of the Alaska Association of School Board’s recommended core resolutions, one of which called for continued support for implementing state control over private home-school operations.”
|
=========================================
Monday, September 19, 2005
More About HoNDA at HEM..
..with a HA-NC mention HERE, and more links to other resources.
|
=========================================
Sunday, September 18, 2005
HoNDA SEC. 10.
The new version of HONDA and it’s got several new sections. HR3753 includes this proposal:
~SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN
~ THE ARMED FORCES.Valerie explains (also for past details SEE:
The number of homeschooled teens who actually enlisted in the
military services is very small compared to the overall numbers of
American ’students,’ homeschoolers, and military enlisted recruits.http://www.cna.org/documents/D0009351.A2.pdf
Final Analysis of Evaluation of Homeschool and ChalleNGe Program
RecruitsPDF p. 55:
=================================
Taking 5,000 as a median estimate, we know that between FY99 and
FY02 inclusive, no more than 3,850 homeschoolers enlisted across
the four Services combined (this assumes that all Navy homeschoolers
in FY99 were ‘true’ homeschoolers). During this period, there
were a total of roughly 730,000 enlistees, so homeschoolers made
up about .5 percent of all enlistees. This suggests that
homeschooled students enlisted at a rate of 0.1 percent, or 1.1 of
every 1,000 homeschooled students (or 2.2 of every 1,000 male
homeschooled students). This compares with an overall enlistment
rate of close to 3 to 5 percent of all high school seniors, or 6 to 10
percent of all male high school seniors. 32 Thus, homeschooled
students have a much lower propensity to enlist than do students who
graduate from public high schools or the ChalleNGe program.
=================================The idea of making a federal/DoD pigeonhole for homeschooled recruits
for such a small overall number is perhaps overkill since any person,
homeschooled or not, who has no institutional diploma can gain Tier I
status by acquiring 15 credit hours at the college level.Insitutional diplomas are a predictor of success in the military:
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/GED/gedusaf.html
======================================
Why is high school completion status such a powerful predictor of
attrition? Laurence (1984) observes that the social attributes and
experiences that enable a student to complete high school may be the
underlying trait associated with an individual’s probability of
fulfilling the first term of service.
======================================It is important to all American taxpayers that recruits fulfill their
first term of service because of the expense of recruits lost before
the completion of their initial terms of service.
======================================
These early departures constituted a serious problem for the
military. Most enlisted positions require occupational and technical
training, and the military services themselves shoulder the cost.
Attrition is costly to both the military and the taxpayer–estimated
at $18,400 per premature separation in 1987 dollars (Laurence 1987).
======================================Why is there a need to create a federal definition of homeschooling
for 0.5% of enlistees when there is already an adequate workaround?HSLDA apparently is working to take care of its members who feel
discriminated against because they might have to jump through a
military ‘hoop,’ just like they’d have to jump through a
college’s ‘hoop.’ What is this great need which requires fixing
through federal legislation?~ `(a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment- The Secretary concerned
~ shall prescribe a policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home-
~ schooled students.Why is this being inserted by a homeschooling advocacy group? All
anyone has to do is walk into a recruiting office to talk to a
recruiter.~ `(1) Identification of qualified graduates of home schooling for
~ purposes of recruitment and enlistment in the armed forces that is
~ in accordance with the requirements described in subsection (c).Taking the ASVAB already does this.
~ `(2) Provision for the treatment, within the Department of Defense
~ classification system of educational credentials for recruitment
~ purposes, of graduates of home schooling within the same tier
~ status as regular high school graduates, with no practical limit
~ with regard to enlistment.This is not in the best interest of the services since,
unfortunately, homeschooled recruits do not have the same retention
levels as do institutional high school graduates.PDF doc. page 49
=================================
Homeschooled recruits have uniformly higher attrition rates than
traditional graduates. This is true for 12-, 24-, and 36-month
attrition, and for 48-month attrition in the Army (the Army is the
only branch with enough observations to measure 48-month attrition).
This finding remains when we measure attrition based on recruits’
official education credential, as opposed to using recruits’ responses
to the Survey of Recruits’ Education and Background.
=================================~ `(3) Exemption of graduates of home schooling from any requirement
~ for a secondary school diploma or a General Education Development
~ (GED) certificate of high school equivalency as a precondition for
~ enlistment in the armed forces.This sets some homeschooled grads apart from other Americans who have
not attained an institutional diploma. Keep in mind that Tier II
does not equate to a ‘dropout.’ Dropouts are categorized as Tier III.
http://www.dod.mil/prhome/poprep2002/chapter2/c2_recruiting.htm
===============================================================
Educational Credentials. DoD implemented a three-tier classification
of education credentials in 1987. The three tiers are:Tier 1-Regular high school graduates, adult diploma holders, and non-
graduates with at least 15 hours of college credit.Tier 2-Alternative credential holders, including those with a General
Education Development (GED) certificate of high school equivalency.Tier 3-Those with no education credential.
===============================================================An what follows, here, is a template, at the federal level, of
what ‘proper’ homeschooled graduates will have attained:
—————————————-
========================================
—————————————-
~ `(c) Qualified Home-School Graduates- In identifying a graduate of
~ home schooling for purposes of subsection (b), the Secretary
~ concerned shall ensure that the graduate meets each of the
~ following requirements:
~
~ `(1) The graduate has taken the Armed Forces Qualification Test and
~ scored at the 50th percentile or above.
~
~ `(2) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with–
~
~ `(A) a signed home-school notice of intent form that conforms with
~ the State law of the State where the graduate resided when the
~ graduate was in home school; or
~
~ `(B) a home-school certificate or diploma from the parent or
~ guardian of the graduate or a national curriculum provider.
~
~ `(3) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a copy
~ of the graduate’s transcript for all secondary school grades
~ completed which–
~
~ `(A) includes the enrollment date, graduation date, and type of
~ curriculum; and
~
~ `(B) reflects successful completion of the last full academic year
~ of schooling from the home-school national curriculum provider,
~ parent, or guardian issuing the home-school certificate or diploma
~ or home-school notice of intent form.
~
~ `(4) The home-school curriculum used by the graduate involved
~ parental instruction and supervision and closely patterned the
~ normal credit hours per subject as used in a traditional secondary
~ school.
~
~ `(5) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a third-
~ party verification letter of the graduate’s home-school status by
~ the Home School Legal Defense Association or a State or county home-
~ school association or organization.’.
———————
It is strange that HSLDA pushed for the pilot program, and is now
trying to get our congressional representatives and senators to enact
legislation … despite the results of that same pilot program ….http://www.cna.org/documents/D0009351.A2.pdf PDF p. 52
=======================
Although there are good reasons to explore recruiting avenues beyond
traditional public high schools, given the attrition rates of
homeschoolers compared with other high school diploma graduates,
homeschooled recruits seem to be a less desirable recruiting market
than was originally thought.
=======================
“
|
=============================================
Homeschooling Illinois - Nip it in the bud!
Homeschooling Illinois - Legislation and Learning or (HILL)
announces HONDA’s Senate Version On Thomas Now “S1691 (the Senate version of HONDA) has made it to Thomas.
There are 2 co-sponsors (Inhofe of OK, and Sessions of AL) and it’s sitting in the Senate Finance (link to members) Committee.
Once again, the House Education Committee (link to members ), House Ways and Means with members link, and House Armed Services Committee (link to members) have it in the House.
This can be nipped in the bud by killing it in Committee (s) with many voices from homeschoolers.”
|
=========================================
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 (Introduced in Senate)
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 (HoNDA)
or the Senate Version S 1691
IS 109th CONGRESS1st Session
S . 1691
To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 13, 2005
Mr. CRAIG (for himself and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005′.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) The right of parents to direct the education of their children is an established principle and precedent under the United States Constitution.
(2) Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, in exercising their legislative, executive, and judicial functions, respectively, have repeatedly affirmed the rights of parents.
(3) Education by parents at home has proven to be an effective means for young people to achieve success on standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills.
(4) Young people who have been educated at home are proving themselves to be competent citizens in postsecondary education and the workplace.
(5) The rise of private home education has contributed positively to the education of young people in the United States.
(6) Several laws, written before and during the rise of private home education, are in need of clarification as to their treatment of students who are privately educated at home pursuant to State law.
(7) The United States Constitution does not allow Federal control of homeschooling.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that–
(1) private home education, pursuant to State law, is a positive contribution to the United States; and
(2) parents who choose this alternative education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the United States Constitution.
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS ON INSTITUTIONAL AND STUDENT ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.
(a) Clarification of Institutional Eligibility- Section 101(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)(1)) is amended by inserting `meeting the requirements of section 484(d)(3) or’ after `only persons’.
(b) Clarification of Student Eligibility- Section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended by striking the heading and inserting `Satisfaction of Secondary Education Standards’.
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ABSENCE OF CONSENT FOR INITIAL EVALUATION UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.
Section 614(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I)) is amended to read as follows:
`(I) FOR INITIAL EVALUATION- A local educational agency may pursue the initial evaluation of a child by utilizing the procedures described in section 615, except to the extent inconsistent with State law relating to parental consent for an initial evaluation under clause (i)(I), only if the child is enrolled in public school or is seeking to be enrolled in public school.’.
SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF THE COVERDELL EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT AS TO ITS APPLICABILITY FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.
(a) In General- Paragraph (4) of section 530(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
`(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR HOME SCHOOLS- For purposes of clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the terms `public, private, or religious school’ and `school’ shall include any home school which provides elementary or secondary education if such school is treated as a home school or private school under State law.’.
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 444 OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT AS TO PUBLICLY HELD RECORDS OF STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.
Section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; also referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) is amended–
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by adding at the end the following:
`(C) For students in non-public education (including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with State law), directory information may not be released without the written consent of the parents of such student.’;
(2) in subsection (a)(6), by striking `, but does not include a person who has not been in attendance at such agency or institution.’ and inserting `, including any non-public school student (including any student educated at home or in a private school as provided under State law). This paragraph shall not be construed as requiring an educational agency or institution to maintain education records or personally identifiable information for any non-public school student.’; and
(3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting the following:
`(F) organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if–
`(i) such studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by persons other than representatives of such organizations and such information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it is conducted; and
`(ii) for students in non-public education, education records or personally identifiable information may not be released without the written consent of the parents of such student.’.
SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW FOR THE ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
Section 419F(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d-36(a)) is amended by inserting `(or a home school, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law)’ after `public or private secondary school’.
SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT AS APPLIED TO STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.
Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: `The Secretary shall extend the hours and periods of permissible employment applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are privately educated at a home school (whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State law) beyond such hours and periods applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are educated in traditional public schools.’.
SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary concerned shall prescribe a policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home schooled students in the Armed Force or Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of such Secretary.
(2) UNIFORMITY ACROSS THE ARMED FORCES- The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the policies prescribed under paragraph (1) apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly across the Armed Forces.
(b) Elements- The policy under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) An identification of a graduate of home schooling for purposes of recruitment and enlistment in the Armed Forces that is in accordance with the requirements described in subsection (c).
(2) Provision for the treatment of graduates of home schooling with Tier I status with no practical limit with regard to enlistment.
(3) An exemption of graduates of home schooling from the requirement for a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (GED) as a precondition for enlistment in the Armed Forces.
(c) Home School Graduates- In identifying a graduate of home schooling for purposes of subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall ensure that the graduate meets each of the following requirements:
(1) The home school graduate has taken the Armed Forces Qualification Test and scored 50 or above.
(2) The home school graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with–
(A) a signed home school notice of intent form that conforms with the State law of the State where the graduate resided when the graduate was in home school; or
(B) a home school certificate or diploma from–
(i) the parent or guardian of the graduate; or
(ii) a national curriculum provider.
(3) The home school graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a copy of the graduate’s transcript for all secondary school grades completed. The transcript shall–
(A) include the enrollment date, graduation date, and type of curriculum; and
(B) reflect successful completion of the last full academic year of schooling from the home school national curriculum provider, parent, or guardian issuing the home school certificate or diploma or home school notice of intent form.
(4) The home school curriculum used by the home school graduate involved parental instruction and supervision and closely patterned the normal credit hours per subject as used in a traditional secondary school.
(5) The home school graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a third party verification letter of the graduate’s home school status by the Home School Legal Defense Association or a State or county home school association or organization.
(d) Secretary Concerned Defined- In this section, the term `Secretary concerned’ has the meaning given such term in section 101(a)(9) of title 10, United States Code.
|
=========================================
Friday, September 16, 2005
Oregon -cracking down on the public money
And once again, THESE “alternative” programs are paid with public money, which makes them (drum roll please) public programs.
Oregon education officials are cracking down on the public money that school districts receive to pay for home-schooled students who attend “alternative” programs.
The stepped-up oversight comes after authorities with the state Department of Education found “questionable legality, and in some cases, outright illegality” among existing programs, said Gene Evans, a spokesman for the agency.
Problems were centered around districts asking to be reimbursed for students who were not formally enrolled in the school district, or living within district boundaries, Evans said, and oversight of such programs from the state had been admittedly spotty.
As a result, the education department has asked the Secretary of State’s office to audit all alternative education programs to make sure that there are no outstanding examples of misuse of public monies, Evans said.
(more at link above)
|
==========================================
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c109query.html
and using Bill Number “HR 3753″ :
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)
HR 3753 IH
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3753
To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 13, 2005
Mrs. MUSGRAVE (for herself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CHOCOLA, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. FLAKE, Ms. FOXX, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. GOODE, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. HAYES, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. HYDE, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. OTTER, Mr. PAUL, Mr. PENCE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. RENZI, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. TERRY, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. WAMP, and Mr. WOLF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005′.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) The right of parents to direct the education of their children is an established principle and precedent under the United States Constitution.
(2) Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, in exercising their legislative, executive, and judicial functions, respectively, have repeatedly affirmed the rights of parents.
(3) Education by parents at home has proven to be an effective means for young people to achieve success on standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills.
(4) Young people who have been educated at home are proving themselves to be competent citizens in postsecondary education and the workplace.
(5) The rise of private home education has contributed positively to the education of young people in the United States.
(6) Several laws, written before and during the rise of private home education, are in need of clarification as to their treatment of students who are privately educated at home pursuant to State law.
(7) The United States Constitution does not allow Federal control of homeschooling.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that–
(1) private home education, pursuant to State law, is a positive contribution to the United States; and
(2) parents who choose this alternative education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the United States Constitution.
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS ON INSTITUTIONAL AND STUDENT ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.
(a) Clarification of Institutional Eligibility- Section 101(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)(1)) is amended by inserting `meeting the requirements of section 484(d)(3) or’ after `only persons’.
(b) Clarification of Student Eligibility- Section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended by striking the heading and inserting `Satisfaction of Secondary Education Standards’.
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ABSENCE OF CONSENT FOR INITIAL EVALUATION UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.
Section 614(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I)) is amended to read as follows:
`(I) FOR INITIAL EVALUATION- A local educational agency may pursue the initial evaluation of a child by utilizing the procedures described in section 615, except to the extent inconsistent with State law relating to parental consent for an initial evaluation under clause (i)(I), only if the child is enrolled in public school or is seeking to be enrolled in public school.’.
SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF THE COVERDELL EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT AS TO ITS APPLICABILITY FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.
(a) In General- Paragraph (4) of section 530(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
`(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR HOME SCHOOLS- For purposes of clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the terms `public, private, or religious school’ and `school’ shall include any home school which provides elementary or secondary education if such school is treated as a home school or private school under State law.’.
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 444 OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT AS TO PUBLICLY HELD RECORDS OF STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.
Section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; also referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) is amended–
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by adding at the end the following:
`(C) For students in non-public education (including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with State law), directory information may not be released without the written consent of the parents of such student.’;
(2) in subsection (a)(6), by striking `, but does not include a person who has not been in attendance at such agency or institution.’ and inserting `, including any non-public school student (including any student educated at home or in a private school as provided under State law). This paragraph shall not be construed as requiring an educational agency or institution to maintain education records or personally identifiable information for any non-public school student.’; and
(3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting the following:
`(F) organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if–
`(i) such studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by persons other than representatives of such organizations and such information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it is conducted; and
`(ii) for students in non-public education, education records or personally identifiable information may not be released without the written consent of the parents of such student.’.
SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW FOR THE ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
Section 419F(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d-36(a)) is amended by inserting `(or a home school, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law)’ after `public or private secondary school’.
SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT AS APPLIED TO STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.
Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: `The Secretary shall extend the hours and periods of permissible employment applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are privately educated at a home school (whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State law) beyond such hours and periods applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are educated in traditional public schools.’.
SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME -SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Home -Schooled Students- Chapter 31 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 503 the following new section:
`Sec. 503a. Recruitment and enlistment of home -schooled students
`(a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment- The Secretary concerned shall prescribe a policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home -schooled students. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the polices prescribed under this section apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly across the armed forces
`(b) Elements- The policy prescribed by the Secretary concerned under subsection (a) shall include the following:
`(1) Identification of qualified graduates of home schooling for purposes of recruitment and enlistment in the armed forces that is in accordance with the requirements described in subsection (c).
`(2) Provision for the treatment, within the Department of Defense classification system of educational credentials for recruitment purposes, of graduates of home schooling within the same tier status as regular high school graduates, with no practical limit with regard to enlistment.
`(3) Exemption of graduates of home schooling from any requirement for a secondary school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate of high school equivalency as a precondition for enlistment in the armed forces.
`(c) Qualified Home -School Graduates- In identifying a graduate of home schooling for purposes of subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall ensure that the graduate meets each of the following requirements:
`(1) The graduate has taken the Armed Forces Qualification Test and scored at the 50th percentile or above.
`(2) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with–
`(A) a signed home -school notice of intent form that conforms with the State law of the State where the graduate resided when the graduate was in home school; or
`(B) a home -school certificate or diploma from the parent or guardian of the graduate or a national curriculum provider.
`(3) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a copy of the graduate’s transcript for all secondary school grades completed which–
`(A) includes the enrollment date, graduation date, and type of curriculum; and
`(B) reflects successful completion of the last full academic year of schooling from the home -school national curriculum provider, parent, or guardian issuing the home -school certificate or diploma or home -school notice of intent form.
`(4) The home -school curriculum used by the graduate involved parental instruction and supervision and closely patterned the normal credit hours per subject as used in a traditional secondary school.
`(5) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a third-party verification letter of the graduate’s home -school status by the Home School Legal Defense Association or a State or county home -school association or organization.’.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 503 the following new item:
`503a. Recruitment and enlistment of home -schooled students.’.
|
=========================================
Update on the 11 children in the Ohio home with homemade cages
From the notorious Akron Beacon
None was enrolled in a traditional public school this year. The eight school-age children were enrolled in an online charter school. At one time, at least three of the children were home-schooled.Scott Somerville, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association in Virginia, said he talked with Michael Gravelle before the story broke in the media, and he believes this is a family trying to help special children.
When a social worker visited the house last week, there was no resistance to an inspection, said Somerville, whose organization represents home-schooling families on legal matters.
“They had nothing to hide,” Somerville said. “He told me why they adopted these children and told me the problems they were trying to solve.
“I think he is a hero.”
No charges have been filed.
Full story at link above but registration is required
|
============================================
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Heads Up- Homeschool Bills Introduced
A couple of legislative bills were introduced yesterday, which homeschoolers should keep a close eye on….
The tip off (someone passed along to us) was a blurb released today by HSLDA. A resurrection of HONDA.
So, I took a look at yesterdays (09/13/05) activity (109th Congress).
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html
Direct link (as of today anyway)
There was
(number 35)
H.R.3753
To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
Sponsor: Rep Musgrave, Marilyn N. [CO-4] (introduced 9/13/2005) Cosponsors (53)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce; House Ways and Means; House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 9/13/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
…
The text of H.R.3753 has not yet been received from GPO
Bills are generally sent to the Library of Congress from the Government Printing Office a day or two after they are introduced on the floor of the House or Senate. Delays can occur when there are a large number of bills to prepare or when a very large bill has to be printed.
and
(Number 56.)
S.1691
A bill to amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
Sponsor: Sen Craig, Larry E. [ID] (introduced 9/13/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: Senate Finance
Latest Major Action: 9/13/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
…
And as of today,
The text of S.1691 has not yet been received from GPO
Bills are generally sent to the Library of Congress from the Government Printing Office a day or two after they are introduced on the floor of the House or Senate. Delays can occur when there are a large number of bills to prepare or when a very large bill has to be printed.
|
==========================================
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Oh great, another story to hang some blame on homeschooling
I saw this story shortly after it broke. Sadly, just as we dreaded, THIS family, in all outward appearances of the word, were “homeschoolers”. Please refer to THIS great response by VALERIE at HEM’s News and Commentary
Children May Have Been Living In Cages For 3 Years
Kids Ages 1 To 14 Kept In Ohio Garage, Sheriff SaysCLARKSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Eleven children were removed from a Huron County, Ohio, home after several of them were found living in cages — and may have been living that way for three years, according to a search warrant issued after a social worker visited the home Friday.
…
Neighbors said the family stopped going to church and actually built a church at their home.
‘They worked all the time carrying rocks. It was non-stop, continuous,’ neighbor Ron Wilkerson said.
The kids had been homeschooled. Officials said they are from different counties in northern Ohio. The family received monthly checks for adopting the kids.”
|
==========================================
Monday, September 12, 2005
East Valley, AZ - Who’s watching public school kids?
Parents Christine and Kody Vaught pulled their child from Pickett Elementary School after they claim a teacher left their student under a custodian’s care for about two hours.
“He was home schooled up to this recent school year,” Christine explained. “So this was his first experience in public school and it turned out to be a nightmare.”The parents said they told their son’s teachers he was an excitable student as this was his first interaction in a classroom environment.
Kody and Christine are aware their child was getting in trouble during his first three days of class. However, they wondered why he attempted to bite one of his teachers.
“He had never done anything like that before,” Christine said.”
|
=========================================
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Homeschooling fact or fiction…
I hated not to include the entire ARTICLE but here is a nice selection from page 2 of,
“It’s time to bury for good the myths about home-schooling”
>snip<
Home-schoolers grow tired of explaining to well-meaning but misinformed relatives, neighbors and acquaintances that home-schoolers receive excellent socialization - but not exactly the same socialization that public school students do. Just as there’s more than one way to educate children, there is more than one way to socialize them.Home-schoolers join local children’s choirs, dance companies, bands, theater groups, 4-H clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other community offerings. They take classes at park and recreation centers and community colleges.
Because they’re not restricted from participating in outside activities during the regular school hours, many older children volunteer for various nonprofit organizations or businesses.
Children attending conventional schools are gone for six hours a day, but a great deal of that time is taken up with lunch, recesses, transitions, silent reading, grading each other’s papers, etc. Most home-schoolers find they can cover academics easily in the morning and be done by lunchtime.
What happens later depends on what works best for each family. Most kids spend time reading, playing and independently studying topics of interest to them. Other afternoons may be devoted to taking outside classes, group sports or other activities.
As for diversity, it must be pointed out that most children go to neighborhood schools where other students are demographically similar. My friend who has a daughter in public school laughingly agrees. She says the Eugene middle school her daughter attends is overwhelmingly made up of upper-class white students.
|
=======================================
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Former teacher draws about 150 to Blue Note.
John Gatto, business as usual.
“The Blue Note is an unconventional venue for a lecture on public education, but that might suit John Gatto’’s message.’School is a place where children learn to dislike, fear and compete with each other,’ Gatto told an audience of about 150 last night in the club on Ninth Street.
“American compulsory schooling equals the death of true education,” Gatto said. Sending kids to be ruled by strangers and bells? Teaching them “absolute nonsense”? Measuring them with pointless criteria such as grades and SAT scores?”
Read entire article HERE, including some of the kid’s responses.
|
=========================================
All For Fun
5 Year old takes THIRD PLACE in contest.
“Meredith, a home-schooled first-grader this fall, took third place in a nationwide writing contest sponsored by “Reading Rainbow,” a children’s program on PBS. She submitted a story about her grandfather and the relationship she had with him before he died last year.
“I wasn’t really guessing I would be in third place,” Meredith said.”“…Bomers said her daughter first got involved in writing when she began home-schooling Meredith’s older brother, Timothy.
Bomers said she planned to enter only Timothy in the contest.
“But when Meredith saw what we were doing with Timothy (for the contest), she wanted to do it too,” Bomers said. “So we thought we’d just let her do it for fun.”In addition to a first-place win for Meredith last year, WGVU awarded a second-place prize to Timothy.”
|
==========================================
Free Katrina Lessons for Children Available
Calvert is offering Free Katrina Lessons
“Children are seeing news coverage and hearing about the devastation, and often they fear the same thing could happen to them,” said Jean C. Halle, president of Calvert Education Services, the homeschooling division of Calvert School that prepared the lessons. “It is important to help children understand why this event is so unusual so they won’t be fearful when the next storm hits their neighborhood.”The lessons are available at no charge on the Calvert School Website at http://www.calvertschool.org/katrina
|
========================================
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Interactive Media
My kids learned by sitting down and doodling on a piece of paper and you can’t learning that comes naturally via, a child’s imagination.
However, I guess THIS interactive video that teaches how to print the alphabet using interactive media might be useful.
|
===========================================
CNN.com - Big Mother (or Father) is watching
If someone is missing, it might be a godsend. But I’m not so sure about THIS
“Here’s the story, Schmidt told them when he decided to begin tracking them about a year ago. 24/7, I can tell where your phone is, what speed it’s going…. So (even) days later, I can look and see that ‘Oh my gosh, you were going 80 miles an hour on the Interstate at 2 o’clock in the morning.
It might sound invasive, but Schmidt is convinced it’s keeping his kids safer — partly because they know they’re being watched.”
|
============================================
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
HEM’s September/October 2005 issue features
Looking for a little creativity? This ISSUE is awash with it!
“Suddenly I am very glad that she has the freedom to color her water any shade in the rainbow, without anyone to reprimand her if she doesn’t conform to someone else’s idea of reality,” says Ann Pedtke in “An Art Lesson at Artist Point.” And in “The Road To Enthusiasm,” S.A. Terhorst-Steel shares that “Success for our family is measured by the amount of confidence and support the children feel and share.” She also offers some excellent suggestions on how to “Beat Burnout, Follow Their Interests, Become a Master Investigator and more.
These two articles can be accessed in their entirety for free at: http://www.homeedmag.com/index225.html
In the same
ISSUE
“HEM urges individuals who want to donate books and school supplies to replace those lost by homeschooling families to send the materials to Project NOAH, 15807 Brickman Ct., Houston, Texas 77084, as soon as possible so that when families are ready to resume their children’s educations, the replacement items will be ready for shipment.
..Please visit
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/newscomm/ to find out how you can help. Check back regularly as more opportunities will be posted as they come in.
|
==========================================
HEM News and Commentary » displaced homeschoolers
Valerie touches on the legal status of displaced homeschoolers due to Katrina BLOG
“In general when a family moves from one state to another, they must change their homeschooling to reflect the conditions in their new state-of-residence. Just as one follows local civil law as one moves about the country (not knowing local law being said not to be an excuse for not complying), so one follows educational law. Military families juggle compliance with homeschooling laws each time they move. An analysis of this particular wrinkle of military homeschooling life is available at the CONUS Homeschooling
page of The Military Homeschooler website.
|
==========================================
NC homeschool article
In a local newspaper newsobserver
This quote reminds me, no matter how many times you try to explain homeschooling to some people, the apathy is apparent.
“Davis applauded the home-school community for providing more activities to students. But he said they and private school students are missing out on the interaction with children of different backgrounds and opinions that are so important to later life.’If you’re not at a public school, you don’t get a chance to be with students who are handicapped or who are more economically disadvantaged,’ Davis said. ‘That’s important as a way to understand the value of diversity.’”
|
=======================================
Mourning sickness New Orleans
Natalie BLOGS about her connections to New Orleans.
“New Orleans is more than just some enchanted city to me. I have personal history in New Orleans and Thibodaux, a small town southwest of NO. My family moved to Thibodaux in the middle (literally during Christmas break) of my tenth grade year right before (literally nine days) before my sixteenth birthday. Needless to say, I hated my parents for several months after uprooting me from the town I’d practically grown up in, the buzzing metropolis of Mendenhall, MS. Seemed like as good a time as any to rebel.”
|
=============================================
In the latest CNN.com’s Student News
Among others, the NEA has
filed suit to challenge Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” education law
“Bush faces growing revolt over education policy”
Education reform has been critical to Bush’s support among minorities in an education system where only two-thirds of teenagers graduate from high school, a proportion that slides to 50 percent for black Americans and Hispanics.
|
=============================================
Monday, September 05, 2005
Another thumbs-up homeschool study
Studies, studies and more studies.. Yes folks, kids that are homeschooled are progressing just fine. Really.
From blackenterprise.com
“Her three-year study of 1,000 families with children between the ages of four and 11 concluded that home-schooled children were “generally progressing more positively in development and academic terms than their school counterparts”.The study echoed earlier research in the United States, where researchers discovered that home-schooled children were “substantially above average” in maths and 73% were at least one year ahead of their schooled peers in reading.”
However I can’t argue with the quote on the 5th page
“Most important of all - YOU (Emphasis mine) are the world’s expert on your child”
|
==========================================
What is normal, anyway?
I have a slight problem with the following quote written in THIS ARTICLE.
Ronnie Armant, who took shelter at the coliseum with his 14 children, said he was eager to get his kids into school to give them a sense of normalcy.Armant, an audio engineer at a New Orleans recording studio, said he home-schooled his children because public education in New Orleans is poor. He has higher hopes for schools in Arizona, where his family will likely remain.
“The educational level and the structure and everything seems better (in Arizona),” Armant said.
|
=========================================
A catastrophic scenario come true
Passing this on from Lisa C..
THIS detailed scenario appeared in National Geographic October 2004 was all too close to reality.
When did this calamity happen? It hasn’t—yet. But the doomsday scenario is not far-fetched. The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City.
|
============================================
Seems like old times
While it seems most strive for the hustle and bustle, there are still a few folks that have an affinity for times gone by. Here’s one article that touches on that with a minor homeschool mention.
(snip)
But in fact, the way isn’t entirely clear for Prasse, 48, who two years ago bailed on the mainstream medical system and a busy practice on Route 3 in Orange County, Va., to become something both old-fashioned and profoundly contemporary: a country doctor.
With his black bag and his files in the Pontiac’s back seat, Prasse spends his days seeing patients in their living rooms, offices or, if they are sick enough, in the hospital.
(snip to)
Prasse, who was once a veterinarian in rural Kentucky, has a history of rejecting the conventional. He home-schools his children with his veterinarian wife at a horse farm they named Paradocs. His comical sensibility seems to help him as he feels his way into this unproven business venture, cracking jokes about his “children going hungry.”
(and)
“He says: ‘I don’t want you to ever go without food or medications or anything to pay my bills. You tell me what you can afford because I don’t want to deprive you of anything,‘ ‘‘ said Pivarnik, 67, whose husband is 69. “I would have followed him to the ends of the earth.”
|
===========================================
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Clearly, a Jerry Springer episode
This family projects the atypical ‘accepted’ example (of homeschoolers) on daytime tv.(and some of those court shows)
“District Judge Steve Verby signed an order of dismissal on Aug. 18.
Gantenbein, 37, said the case against her was abandoned because she passed a polygraph examination. Gantenbein has denied from the outset allegations that she sprayed the 2-month-old with the incapacitating mist.
(snip to)
What caused the dispute between the two families was not disclosed in court, although Lorlie Gantenbein said she had recently evicted members of Clayburn family for not paying rent. Jordanna Gantenbein had also dated an ex-boyfriend of one of the Clayburns, she said.
Lorlie Gantenbein added that the incident has damaged her reputation and her ability to get work in town, and forced her daughter into home school.”
|
==========================================
Hundreds Meet to Discuss Liberal Bias on Campus
Dr. Mike Adams Makes a House Call to North Carolina State
“This Tuesday, college professor and conservative columnist Dr. Mike Adams paid a visit to North Carolina State University and was greeted by a crowd of College Republicans that numbered in the hundreds. Locally famous for fighting liberal bias in the University of North Carolina system,
Dr. Adams has gained national recognition for his work with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), and the College Republicans. Today, Dr. Adams is most noted for fighting unconstitutional speech codes and intervening on behalf of conservative students across the country.”
(more at link above)
|
========================================
LETTER TO BUSINESS (San Francisco)
A response to the ARTICLE: “Putting the family to work Pleasant Hill cafe doubles as homeschool classroom”
“Kids learn hard work, responsibility in cafe
Editor — ‘Abusive’? ‘Child exploitation at its worst’? ‘Heartbreaking’?
One would think letter-writer Rob Schmidt (’Don’t call child labor homeschooling,” Aug. 28) was speaking of some horrifying child sweatshop in China rather than the Sweet Sisters Cafe in Pleasant Hill.Has he ever witnessed Debra Lyse Quenneville-Clairmont’s children at work in the cafe? Has he ever met or spoken with her before casting his vitriolic aspersions? Undoubtedly not, since that would require far too much time, effort, energy and forethought than merely spewing angrily.
Perhaps instead of teaching her large brood the importance of responsibility and hard work (including washing dishes) from an early age, Quenneville-Clairmont should do what most parents do today — stick a remote control in her children’s hands and give them plenty of videos and junk food to tide them over.
Rather than raising children who are spoiled, overindulged and, yes, overprotected, her children, unlike most I observe around me, will be raised to be productive and responsible and not feel entitled to the world handed to them on a silver platter.
I suggest that Schmidt refrain from speaking for ‘everyone who read the story,’ as he most certainly does not speak for me. I applaud Quenneville- Clairmont’s efforts and only wish there were more parents like her.”
|
======================================
Fellow Homeschool Alumni
Katharine Hepburn -Best Classic Actress of the 20th Century
Katharine Hepburn
BORN May 12, 1907
“You cannot change the music of your soul,” is a quote Katharine Hepburn once said and perhaps is the truest statement about the famous “true” redhead. Holding faithful to her own soul, she gained an early reputation in Hollywood as a woman who spoke her mind, often lashing out against those whom she disliked, and she never attempted to hide her sometimes caustic personality. Yet Hepburn became one of the most popular and exceptional actresses of the last two centuries.
It’s no surprise that Hepburn marched to her own beat; her parents were strong influences in her life.”
(snip)
“Hepburn was home schooled until she attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where she decided to pursue acting as career even though she graduated in 1928 with a degree in history and philosophy.”
(more at link above)
|
==========================================
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Magical Young Author
Author Christopher Paolini TOURS with second book “Eldest”.
“Clearly this wasn’t a typical author’s discussion, but then again, Paolini isn’t your typical author. Home schooled in Paradise Valley, Mont., Paolini began writing “Eragon” when he was 15. His parents’ publishing company put out the original copies, and Paolini began touring. Then the book was snatched up by Random House’s Alfred A. Knopf Books, became a smashing best-seller in August 2003 and was published in 38 countries.
Now “Eldest” has become the fastest-selling title in Knopf’s history, selling 425,000 copies in its first week, the greatest single-week sale for any Random House children’s book title. And an “Eragon” movie, produced by FOX 2000 and starring John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons and Robert Carlyle, is currently filming in Budapest and slated for a June 2006 release.”
|
=============================================
TX: Students Suspended for Hair Styles Pull Out of School
More zero tolerance HERE?
“Two boys who were placed on in-campus suspension for their long hair styles have been pulled out of school by their mother, who says their hair keeps with the family’s culture.Rodney, 14, and Skyler Burns, 12, who have American Indian ancestry, spent more than a week on suspension at Resaca Middle School because their hair length violated the school’s dress code.”>KGBT 4 - TV Harlingen, TX: Students Suspended for Hair Styles Pull Out of School: “Two boys who were placed on in-campus suspension for their long hair styles have been pulled out of school by their mother, who says their hair keeps with the family’s culture.
Rodney, 14, and Skyler Burns, 12, who have American Indian ancestry, spent more than a week on suspension at Resaca Middle School because their hair length violated the school’s dress code.”
|
==========================================
Thursday, September 01, 2005
PROJECT NOAH - collecting supplies for Katrina
Project Noah is an org. based out of TX. They help people in other states on a regular basis.
They are currently collecting supplies for Katrina. Project Noah is a Christian organzation but will help ALL homeschoolers in need.
Email PROJECT NOAH
website: http://www.projectnoah.org/
Shipments should go to:
PROJECT NOAH
15807 Brickman Ct.
Houston, TX 77084
fax number is 281-225-4562
“Project Noah is a homeschooling ministry that helps homeschooling
families in crisis. We only provide curriculum and school supplies to
the families that come to us with crisis needs - whether it is because
their home has burned, or been flooded, or the primary wage earner has
been without work for an extended period of time, or other similar
crisis, we try to help. We have been serving the homeschooling community
for almost 5 years now and will continue as long as there are families
in need.Project Noah wants to be able to have those things ready for them.
Books, calculators, rulers, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, teaching
tapes, textbooks - all the things that we use throughout the course of
our homeschooling year - these will be needed. Even lunchboxes, crayons,
markers, and on and on and on.”
|
=========================================
Hurricane Katrina Relief: Free Curriculum
Information forwarded from Homeedmag News and Commentary
Valerie writes:
In line with the collection of materials to assist homeschooling families whose lives have been disrupted, or destroyed, by Hurricane Katrina, is the need for all families to be able to continue their children’s educations. Of course, the form this takes depends on each family’s educational philosophy.
To help with the problem, for some families, of eventually returning to a semblance of normal in the midst of abnormal events, the Hoagies’ Gifted Education, and Homeschoolers of Maine websites are available for anyone to use concerning curriculum.
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page
“These curriculum materials will allow students to study standard curriculum topics including math, science, English, and history while they wait for their schools to reopen or until they relocate. While the decision whether or not to grant credit for independent work always rests with the receiving school, this online coursework permits students to immediately access the major content of standard high school courses, so that they will not be behind in their studies when they re-enter school.”