Mom Is Teaching

In case you missed it Tammy Takahashi on her Just Enough Blog got her 15 Minutes of Fame. Not that she isn’t already about to become (even more) famous with her book Deschooling Gently due to come out soon. But it was still cool to see a face I “knew” on the news. She looked fabulous and her kids are adorable! Check out the video and see for yourself.

homeschoolers, news, CNN

Nope, not touching it myself. I spent too much of this weekend arguing this case and I’m done. So I’m biting my tongue, hushing my mouth, sticking my fingers in my ears and singing “la la la la” until it’s over. Is homeschooling legal or illegal in California? Oh look, something shiny….

Instead I’m just going to link to a handful of posts on the legalities of homeschooling in California and leave it up to you to read them and make your own opinions. Just don’t tell me what opinions you’ve come up with, I’m still over there admiring shiny things. Of course if you’re tired of the topic too you could go hang out somewhere else. I’ve got a party going on at my personal blog you could come to. Or go read the book review I posted yesterday if you haven’t had a chance to yet. Or go answer my questions about making resin jewelry if you happen to be in the know. See, shiny happy things to enjoy.

• Doc gave her final word on the matter, and it wasn’t pretty. But then that’s what I love about Doc, she doesn’t sugar coat things. You should also read her other posts on the subject. Be sure to read the comments too for some lively discussion.
• Dana has a great post on personal responsibility and homeschooling. Don’t hide under an organization’s umbrella and wait for them to do everything for you.
• Tammy has an update to remind us that it’s still not illegal to homeschool in California. Could you imagine the state trying to round up every single homeschooler and shove them all into schools? That would certainly lead to a breakdown of the system on a grand scale.
• Ned Ryun has an interesting take on the ruling that you might enjoy reading. It shows where the LA Times had a slip of misinformation in their article that could be important to those just learning about the case.
• You can read a copy of the case yourself here. It’s heartbreaking, so much abuse on so many levels. This, folks, was not homeschooling.

O, that’s enough for me right now. I’m turning off the computer and going to enjoy the warm weather we’re having. And shiny things, I’m always being distracted by shiny things.

homeschooling, California, law

CBNews has an exclusive interview with Melissa Busekros. The German teen talks about being removed from her family and her faith that God will work everything out for them.

Melissa Busekros, Germany, homeschooling

Dana at Principled Discovery has an update on Melissa Busekros. She has turned 16 and has left her foster home to return home. The Youth Welfare Office no longer has authority over her. There is an article about the news here, but it is in German. If you’re not fluent in German, like I am not, you can get a fairly good translation using BabelFish. Just enter in the url of the page and choose to translate from German to English. There is also an article about the situation that you can read here.

You can send birthday wishes for her to falumafischer@aol.com

homeschool, Germany, Melissa Busekros, homeschooling

I have been hoping to find more information on Melissa Busekros, the 15 year old girl in Germany removed from her home for homeschooling. So far the latest I have heard was about the ‘Youth worker’ lies about homeschool student. The social worker was claiming that Melissa was happy in foster care and did not want to return home, despite Melissa’s repeatedly begging to go home. There is some updated news here

However, there is another family in Germany now facing a similar fate. Court Takes Custody of 5 Homeschoolers.

A court in eastern Germany has taken custody of five children away from their homeschooling parents, but has not yet removed the children from the home. The parents, Bert and Kathrin Brause of Zittau, lost custody of their children, Rosine, Jotham, Kurt-Simon, Lovis and Ernst, to the local youth welfare office.

It certainly makes you feel lucky to be living in a place where homeschooling is legal, doesn’t it?

homeschool, homeschooling, Germany, Melissa Busekros, homeschool laws

I’m a bit shocked by the way some homeschoolers have picked apart the decision by John Edwards and his wife to homeschool their children. The fact is that they plan to hire tutors to help, something that some homeschooling parents find not just shocking but an insult to “true” homeschooling.

My first response is shock. Mrs. Edwards has cancer. The homeschooling will not only keep the family together during the long campaign trail it will also allow more freedom for their two children to spend time with their mother during this difficult period. If they have the resources to hire tutors to help then more power to them.

So many families choose to homeschool in such vastly different ways. Some may spend six hours a day at the kitchen table working in books and practicing writing on a portable chalkboard. The next family may let their children go and do as they please trusting that education will come from life. And yet neither is a more “true” homeschooler than the other. Some families do it all themselves, some join coops, some send their children to local community colleges, some take a class or two at the public school system, and some do hire tutors to come to their home and help in areas that the parents may not feel able to teach. The freedom that comes from homeschooling also means that each family has the freedom to choose the method that works for them.

homeschool, homschooling, tutor, cancer, John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards

Houston school district to consider asking for end to TAKS test

One thing that some homeschooling parents dislike is the “teaching to test” method that is often used in public schools. I have heard parents and teachers alike complain that students are not being taught but are being grilled to pass a test. Who cares if they forget everything the next day or is they really understand what they are being taught, as long as the numbers look good on the test.

With Houstin looking to replace the TAKS this could be a huge step forward. Other schools could follow in their footsteps, this could become a trend. Dare I say it, children could actually be judged on what they know rather than what they can mimic back in test format.

Texas is one of the lenient states in homeschooling laws, so it is possible that some of that has been influenceing others. In Texas There are no requirements for attenddence, testing, notice, qualifications, and only the basic subjects are required to be taught.

homeschool, public school, TAKS, Houston, Texas, testing, test

I read a great article yesterday called Why I Refuse to Send My Kids to School: Five Perfectly Sane Reasons and it got me thinking about all of the reasons why parents are choosing to homeschool their children. There are as many reasons as there are parents, some that you will agree with and some that you won’t. I’m sure that among your own reasons there are some that others will agree with and some that they will disagree with. Despite all of that there is one thign that we all can agree on, that all parents have the right to choose to homeschool their children. Just as any other parental right there are some that we all may agree with and some that we may not, and some that we are passionately opposed to. But having the freedom to choose is what keeps us all connected. And yes, there will be some parents who take it too far, who choose to homeschool as a way to abuse their children. But these parents are the exception, not the norm; besides we have all heard of the dangerous teachers out there in the world (just ask Teacher Smackdown) but we would never judge all teachers as abusers.

So, in the spirit of sharing and support here are my top 5 reasons why I choose to homeschool. You may not agree with them, you may not even like them, but together we can keep homeschooling an available option for all parents. If you are interested in sharing your own reasons I encourage you to write a post about it yourself. Christine over at Welcome to my brain is calling for bloggers to share their reasons in her post Why Homeschool? Check it out and see what other homeschooling bloggers have to say.

1. I want my sons to get a hands on learning experience. I don’t want them to sit around all day reading about the world around them, i want them out in it. Every day. Getting dirty, finding bugs, exploring rocks, feeling the wind on their skin. I feel that we learn better by doing, so i want them to have every opportunity to do, feel, hold, and absorb the world around them. To me, keeping them locked up all day behind a desk is like keeping them in a bubble.

2. I want them to be able to learn on their own timetable. I don’t want my sons to feel held back or pushed beyond their means. If they are grasping a subject quickly then I want them to be able to move on and not be stuck reviewing it until they become bored because the rest of the class, or the school’s schedule. And the same applies the other way. If they are having trouble getting something I want the freedom to be able to go as slow as they need without feeling pressure to keep up with everyone else.

3. The S word. that’s right, socialization. Now, unless there have been some major advances in how the school system works I’m going to assume things work pretty much the same way as they did when I was in school. Go to class with the same group of childre who are the same age as you and from the same background, spend all day behind a desk unable to communicate with the other children, getting a few moments here and there to work together. To me that’s not socialization, at least not the kind I want my sons to have. Instead they are free to communicate with whom they want, people of all ages and backgrounds, all day long. To steal a quote a great article I read How to Answer the Socialization Question Once and for All

“Oh, I think the word you are looking for is socializing. Socialization is actually defined as the process by which the norms and standards of our society are passed from one generation to the next. I’ve never really thought that a complete strangers six-year old child would be a good source of information on the correct standards of behavior in our family and in society as a whole. As for socializing, I remember from my school days that it was something you weren’t supposed to be doing during class!”

4. I’ll admit it, they are my kids and I don’t want to send them off. OK, feel free to let loose the “cut the apron strongs” comments now. Done yet? Good, then back to what I was saying. I’m not saying I want to keep them by me every minute of every day for the rest of the lives. I’m sure that some day they’ll be going on sleepovers, out on dates, and hopefully moving out into the big world. But for now they are my responsibility. They are my children and it is my job to raise them, to teach them, to help them build a secure foundation that will allow them to walk confidently on their own when they are ready. And i just do not feel that sending them out to the world at such a young age is going to do that.

5. I love the freedom that comes with homeschooling. There is no set schedule that we have to stick with. Maybe we want to sleep in until 10 AM, maybe we want to head to the hiking trail in the middle of a Wednesday and watch birds, or maybe we want to take off for a week in the spring to go pick up trash off a beach down in Texas. We have the freedom to make our own schedule, to live our own lives, and to create the kind of environment that benefits our children specifically. And we love it.

So there you are, my top 5 reasons why I choose homeschooling. There are many other reasons, things that ebb and flow depending on the day and how our moods are. But these are the top reasons that I hold. And they are good enough for us.

homeschool, homeschooling, reasons to homeschool

A bill in the State Legislature this week could allow homeschooled students to participate in public-school, extracurricular activities. Read more>>>

I just got an email about this step forward from homeschoolers in Alabama and I am pleased. Of course it is still in the works right now, but if it is aproved this could be a huge advancement for homeschoolers in Alabama. I know right now there is some opposition going on. Worries over cost, over elegebility, over liability. And some anti-homeschool people are arguing that if they want to play school sports they should just go to school like everyone else. But despite the naysayers this bill, called the Tim Tebow Bill, is gaining ground. There is a great site rallying support for this bill to be passed at http://www.timtebowbill.com/

In the US several states already have similar laws enacted to allow homeschoolers the chance to participate in sports and extracurricular activities. According to the HSLDA “Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont and Washington, and Wyoming. In both Arizona and Oregon, the law only requires school districts to allow access to “interscholastic” activities. ” (Found here).

I hope that this is the beginning of a trend, that more states will realize what they have to gain by allowing homeschoolers to join in sports and other activities. And I hope it reaches my state in time for my sons to join, because if I have to tell them they can’t play baseball or football there’s likely to be problems.

Alabama, Tim Tebow, Time Tebow Bill, homeschool, homeschoolers, sports, public school, extracurricular activities, State Legislature, Alabama State Legislature

I apologize for not reporting this sooner, somehow it slipped through my radar.

The Oklahoma House voted along partisan lines Monday to expand a popular state-financed college scholarship program to home-schooled children.

The measure by Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, would make home schoolers eligible for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, which grants scholarships to students from families earning less than $50,000 per year who take a rigorous college curriculum, maintain a 2.5 grade point average and stay out of trouble. Read more…

Personally I think this is wonderful! This gives a big boost to many homeschooled children who want to go to college but may be having financial hardships. By focusing some of the money towards them we can get more in college and showing their stuff. I hope that this leads to breaking some of the stereotypes that homeschooled children can not make it in college.

homeschool, scholarships, Oklahoma, college

I wanted to tip my hat towards Janine Cate over at Why Homeschool. She has a great post on a frightening issue happening in New Jersey. Apparently one judge has some “issues” with homeschooling and is using his position . See Homeschoolers in the news.

homeschool, New Jersey, law

Many homeschoolers have been following the story of Melissa Busekros, the German girl who was removed from her family for homeschooling. For those unfamilar here is a short recap. Melissa Busekros is a young girl in Germany who was homeschooled. In her 7th year of school she failed two classes and was going to have to repeat the entire year. Rather than see her repeat classes that she had passed her parents began tutoring her at home. Home schooling has been illegal in Germany for many years, Adolf Hitler created the bans on home education in order to force every child into the public school system, which at that time was nothing more than giant brainwashing camps for the Nazi cause. Though Hitler is gone those laws remain in effect. Melissa was forcably removed from her home and placed in a psychiatric institute for having “school phobia” and her parents here stripped of their rights.

Now there has been another developement. The WorldNetDaily is reporting that officials are demanding that the Busekros family surrender custody of their other children as well, children who were in the public school system. Many groups such as the HSLDA are working here in America to help the Busekros family.

Personally I think it is horrible, to have your daughter ripped from you for something as simple as homeschooling. And on top of that to be threatened that your other children will be removed too. I can not believe that these archane laws are still being upheld in Germany today. Thankfully here in the US we know our contitutional rights as parents will be held and homeschooling will remain free and active. Or will it?

Melissa Busekros, Germany, homeschooling, laws, news