2005 October Archive
Sunday, October 30th, 2005Saturday, October 29, 2005
Progressives Home School Too!
A new article by National Independent Home-Education Network
Progressives Home School Too!So too, do independents, atheists, Rationalist Christians (not conservatives), agnostics, pagans, democrats, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Republicans, wiccans, pagans, libertarians, African Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, the list can go on and on. Home-Schooling is no longer the Provence of the lunatic fringe extreme conservative ‘Christian’ camp.
This article is to dispel some sadly worn out myths about the ‘Home Schooling Community’, some of which spread because of the ‘community’s’ seemingly odd choice, and some of which used by the media to cause a sensation.
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(HILL): Where’s The College Beef For HR 3753/S 1691?
Another great post from Homeschooling Illinois
“Or What was the Purpose of Clarification Again?
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’.
Along with a real stink pot piece of legislation from Section 10:
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.”
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Monday, October 24, 2005
“It’s not about HSLDA”
Valerie Moon, the site owner of The Military Homeschooler
Answers comments posted by Mr. Scott Somerville at the HR 3753/ S 1691-Homeschool NonDiscrimination Act 2005 blog.
* Mr. Somerville: While HSLDA has worked and worked at this task, HSLDA’s critics have suggested that homeschoolers should simply accept “Tier II” status or, if they really want to join the military, should go off and get 15 college credits so they can be accepted as Tier I.
HSLDA’s critics?
This isn’t about HSLDA, nor about criticising that organization. The criticism is leveled at what the organization is trying to do. Those are two separate things.
Since I’m the one who made the statement on the HSWatch list that the 15 hours of college credit would be a satisfactory workaround, I’ll take this as me being the critic of HSLDA. And that ain’t it. Neither do I counsel ‘accepting’ Tier II status.
My point is: I want the kids who join to be the best they can be.
Get it? I want what is best for the kids, and what is best for the military services, and for the people who will be depending on these recruits to be able to do what needs to be done.
These kids may be going off to face imminent danger, and I want them to have the best training they can possibly receive. I don’t want them distracted by their background any more than is humanly possible during their training.
Now, by either attending a year of high school, or by acquiring the college credit hours (which some homeschooled kids do before they finish their homeschooling) the kids are better prepared. I want them to succeed on their own merits.
By accepting a Tier I status for a background whose preparation isn’t optimal for military success, some of these kids are being sold a bill of goods, the results of which could follow them for the rest of their lives. An other-than-honorable discharge is permanent, it can dog someone’s heels, consciously or subconsciously, and it is something about which a person will be reminded at each and every patriotic ceremony from now on. Upon seeing an American flag at Independence Day celebrations, I don’t want adults-who-were-homeschooled to think, “I couldn’t cut the military.”
full text can be found Here
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Saturday, October 22, 2005
A thought-provoking article on links between HSLDA and military recruitment
From ‘The H.R.3753/S.1691‘ blog, an entry from Friday, October 21:
HR 3753/ S 1691-Homeschool NonDiscrimination Act 2005
www.goarmy.com/hslda/
by Mary McCarthy
On September 13, 2005 Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) introduced the Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 (HoNDA) in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. (1)
H.R. 3753 and S. 1619 are almost identical to the previously introduced Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2003. Identical except for the addition of Section 10, “Recruitment and enlistment of home schooled students in the Armed Forces”. (2).
Knowing that the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is lobbying for passage of these proposals, it first appeared that they were simply trying to write themselves into law as the designated accountability organization for students wanting to prove their homeschool status for purposes of enlistment. HSLDA as a quasi-government accountability entity is troubling enough but could there be another reason?
The Washington Times reported in 2005 “HSLDA has been at the forefront of the battle to gain access for home-schoolers to the military, and HSLDA senior counsel Chris Klicka has been negotiating with the military for six years.” (3)
In 1998, the Department of Defense began a study that included homeschool students to assess their fitness for enlistment. (4)
The results were published in 2004 and concluded homeschool recruits have attrition rates significantly higher than public high school graduates. (5)
The study ended in 2004 and homeschoolers reverted to a lesser status for enlistment. In January of 2005, following meetings between Chris Klicka and the Department of Defense, homeschoolers were again “afforded priority enlistment with no practical limit”. (6)
In June 2005, however, Army Secretary Francis Harvey, interviewed by USA Today indicated, “Home-schooled students are a growing pool of potential recruits.” (7)
An October 2005 release of a master plan for increasing Army recruitment includes targeting “those of high school age who are being homeschooled – a potential market the Army has largely ignored.” (8)
So why efforts to attract homeschooled students to the military when its been proven they are separated from the military at higher numbers than publicly educated students?
In his President’s Report for 2003, Michael Farris, an ordained Baptist pastor (9), announced, “we were invited by the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to send our students for officer training. Placing our graduates on the path to leadership in the U.S. military is another way PHC can influence the nation.” (10)
On December 18, 2003 PHC announced that students were eligible to enroll in the US Army’s ROTC program. (11)
Why does HSLDA/PHC continue to champion HoNDA legislation and military involvement for students? They must know from the last introduction in 2003 that most homeschoolers are overwhelmingly against HoNDA and the federalization of homeschooling? And why have they added Section 10?
The Larger Picture
A Department of Defense investigation in 2004 determined that Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, the Pentagon’s senior military intelligence official, violated at least three internal regulations while speaking at 23 religious-oriented events beginning in January 2002 while in uniform. Speaking before crowds ranging from small groups to over 1000, General Boykin’s remarks included a depiction of the war on terrorism as a battle against Satan; he stated “President Bush had been placed in his post by God;” and he said that “the U. S. military is recruiting a spiritual army (emphasis added) that will draw strength from a greater power to defeat its enemy.” (12)
In September of 2004, General Boykin appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes in an attempt to repair his reputation, damaged by the disclosure of his speaking engagements. Interviewed by correspondent David Martin, Boykin defended his comments before a congregation in Dayton, Florida that, “my God was bigger than his [Allah].” According to the article, he further explained that “American’s real enemy was not Osama bin Laden, but ‘a guy called Satan.’” In a reference to captured Islamic militant Osman Atto, Boykin said, “I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol,” which refers to Atto’s “worship of corruption, of of power, of money.” Martin noted, the “Secretary of the Army is expected to issue Boykin something called a ‘letter of concern,’ which amounts to a mild slap on the wrist.” (13)
Prior to his speaking tour, Major General William G. Boykin had organized an event for Southern Baptist Pastors at Fort Bragg NC on April 22nd and 23rd, 2003. The event was promoted as part of the FAITH evangelism program of the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Resources. (14)
According to promotional materials mailed to pastors, “we must find a group of men who are warriors of FAITH, pastors who have the guts to lead this nation to Christ and revival!” The “Super FAITH Force Multiplier” materials also promised unprecedented access to the military base, including heavily secured areas, a Special Forces demonstration with live ammunition, and a visit to the “Shoot House” to learn how Special Forces attack the enemy inside buildings. After complaints from Americans United for Separation of Church and State regarding the appearance of the U. S. Military advancing a specific faith and religious mission, the event was scaled back. (15)
General Boykin was the keynote speaker at Patrick Henry College’s Council for Statesmanship Banquet on March 29, 2004. (16)
Back to HoNDA
So is that the reason HSLDA is promoting the military recruitment and enlistment? “so these home schoolers can impact the military for Christ”? (17)
If the homeschool recruits are at risk of not completing their enlistment, if they are not as qualified, yet are being targeted, what other conclusion is left? And – perhaps most importantly – with their increasingly close relationship with the Pentagon, will the membership information your family has entrusted to HSLDA be kept confidential?
HSLDA does seem to be recruiting for the Army – http://www.goarmy.com/hslda/
(see LINK for complete footnotes and a list of further reading )
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Friday, October 21, 2005
Is HSLDA Romancing the military?
HILL blogs about it being A bit of a Surprise
Susan writes:
“I’m going to have to keep reading because it’s a puzzle putting these pieces together ofSection 10 of HSLDA’s proposed HR 3753/ S 1691 and HSLDA’s (or some? of HLSDA) involvement with the military. Irregardless, I have yet to see an answer as to why the HSLDA link is on a goarmy site.
And we will keep reading Susan.. in fact Publius has a new informitive post HERE by none other then Mary McCarthy.
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NHELD Bulletin #44 about HR 3753
Full Text POSTED HERE
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A pair of homeschoolers spread racist hate
This is just another egg in the face for homeschoolers.
“Lynx and Lamb have been nurtured on racist beliefs since birth by their mother April. ‘They need to have the background to understand why certain things are happening,’ said April, a stay-at-home mom who no longer lives with the twins’ father. ‘I’m going to give them, give them my opinion just like any, any parent would.’April home-schools the girls, teaching them her own unique perspective on everything from current to historical events. In addition, April’s father surrounds the family with symbols of his beliefs — specifically the Nazi swastika. It appears on his belt buckle, on the side of his pick-up truck and he’s even registered it as his cattle brand with the Bureau of Livestock Identification.
‘Because it’s provocative,’ explains April of the cattle brand, ‘to him he thinks it’s important as a symbol of freedom of speech that he can use it as his cattle brand.’”
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Monday, October 17, 2005
homeschoolers and the military
Been a little busy and THIS ONE is a few days behind. (From this past Wednesday)
Comment from Susan at HILL:
But here homeschoolers are noted (our little bitty homeschooling minority) in a military issue. Amazing that AP would be rubbing shoulders with HSLDA? Could it be?
Five ways to get recruits and somehow homeschoolers are one of them.
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More Scare Tactics from HSLDA?
but there’s no hidden-camera…Or maybe it’s a HSLDA Membership drive
“* An e-list friend wants to know what social worker shows up at 1am, ‘Imagine a knock at the door at 1 a.m.; you struggle out of bed to find a social worker and a police officer on your doorstep.’ Is this a normal way to do business — with no emergency involved — or is this hyperbole that brings up visions of living in a totalitarian society?”
For more HSLDA information, Please VISIT THIS LINK
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Thursday, October 13, 2005
Conversation on NC Homeschool Laws
..going on.
Most of the conversation is at Homeedmag’s HEOS blog.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2005
NC native falls through the cracks
Fantasia, an “American Idol” winner and NC native talks about growing up functionally illiterate.
“In the new book, the High Point, N.C., native candidly discusses her philandering father, depressed mother, teen pregnancy, drinking, religion, dropping out of ninth grade and other gritty truths. But no revelation has gotten as much attention as that of her functional illiteracy.”
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Alaska - reader opinion in Frontiersman
“Ms. Lowery is correct about one thing. Public education is not perfect. Neither are home-schooling parents. But while state testing of all students seems like a reasonable request to some, and those in favor of it possess the best of intentions, it is neither reasonable nor realistic. It is not right.”
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Wisconsin- $10,000 grant to study possiblity of online school
“The beauty of this charter school is it has nothing to do with this bricks-and-mortar school building,” Hannis said. “Students would be able to take individual classes online if they were in a hospital bed, incarcerated, or home-schooled, as examples.”
home-schooled? Say it with me again, public money = public school.
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homeschoolers, another potential market
Specific part of this article affecting homeschoolers:
“Put more effort into recruiting people who have begun their college careers but not yet earned a degree, on the assumption that some would be interested in taking a hiatus to try military service. Also, target those of high school age who are being home schooled  a potential market the Army has largely ignored.”
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Sunday, October 09, 2005
PA article -Refusing immunizations may leave kids doctorless
When Grater told her pediatrician that she did not want her two children to have immunizations anymore, she said she soon received a certified letter giving her notice to find a new doctor.After five or six calls, she found a pediatrician willing to see the children unimmunized. Both children are home-schooled, but their school district is aware of their unimmunized status, she said.
“Believe it or not, both have been healthier since I quit,” said Grater, the Pennsylvania representative of a national organization, Vaccination Liberation.
Asked whether she tells parents that vaccinations have no place, Grater said, “That’s a hard question. I don’t tell them not to do it. I tell them to educate themselves.”
But that’s where the problem often starts, said Janet Crino of Society Hill Pediatrics in Philadelphia.
“Sometimes people read something that’s an opinion, but not based on medical science,” she said. “Until you go to medical school, it’s hard to put it into perspective.”
(clears throat) Well now, I *did* immunize my kids, but I all I can do is shake my head at the audacity of officials. Parents can’t possibly research and understand information and make an informed decision? What was I thinking??
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Wednesday, October 05, 2005
VA article
Just quickly blogging This rebuttal
The recent debate about home schooling versus public is unfortunate [Home-school if you like--it's your loss, but public schools are great! Sept. 9].
As a parent who has used more than one form of education (public, private, and home schooling), I have to say there are good experiences and less favorable experiences that go with all of these choices.
….
Home-schooled children have high SAT scores and do well in college, so somewhere along the line they learned how to take notes. And they interact with people in society in real settings.Many home-schooled children run a small business and go to college early, so they must have learned “people skills,” right?
Teachers in the schools are expressing concern over the emphasis on testing versus teaching these days.
Some public school teachers doubt that children are retaining the information they need to know for SOLs and other tests. No one system is without its problems, no matter how good.
Bit more at link above
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Tuesday, October 04, 2005
The heart and soul of home-schoolers
Another nice post from Homeschooling Freedom - the HONDA Edition
“I just hung up from a very nice discussion with a woman in Senator Inhofe’s office. I explained to her that I was calling regarding yesterday’s comments from Mr. Somerville on my blog. I told her how I picked out Senator Inhofe for the calling campaign*. This person was very nice and interested in what I had to say. I read her the comments and she asked me who Mr. Somerville was. I explained who he was. She assured me that Senator Inhofe’s policy on calls was to log in the issue and tally the for and against calls.”
I am reminded of another article from October 2, 2000
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Monday, October 03, 2005
Buh Bye!
Daryl BLOGS
Bill Bennett of K12, Harrah’s, and (lately) Eugenics-’R’-Us (OK, that last one is an exaggeration) has resigned from K12 over the flap caused by his abortion comment last week.
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Curriculum empowers black parents (The Washington Times)
Just a little of the article
When Mrs. Penn-Nabrit and her husband, C. Madison Nabrit, chose a prestigious private preparatory school for their three elementary-aged sons, they were unprepared for what they perceived as racism underlying much of the school’s atmosphere. As graduates of excellent universities themselves, following a long familial history of academic and professional achievements, they were stunned by incidents in which faculty members believed the boys were lying, plagiarizing or belligerent. The boys also were sent to a psychologist for testing — often because the teacher could not believe their reports or work was their own.
The final straw was the summary expulsion of all three boys, on the pretext of late tuition payments. The incident allowed the Nabrits to realize they were as educated, or even more so, than any of the teachers involved and that they could do a better job in teaching their sons.
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Sunday, October 02, 2005
Call Senator Inhofe’s Office Monday.. YOU can DO IT
Why you ask?
First read the RESPONSE to conceirns to HR 3753/ S 1691-Homeschool NonDiscrimination Act 2005 posted at the HR 3753/ S 1691 blog.
Also check outHomeschooling Illinois - Legislation and Learning for the numbers..
Call Senator Inhofe’s Office Monday:
“Here are Inhofe’s phone numbers (from his website here. It’s probably best if you’re out-of-Oklahoma to call the D.C. office, but I left all the numbers here anyway.”