Filed on June 26, 2006 at 6:04 am under by dcobranchi
I can’t access the editorial, but the title is eminently mockable:
Schools, not prisons
Related Tags: homeschooling, home education
Filed on at 5:47 am under by dcobranchi
I guarantee that this writer learned everything she knows in the g-schools. The last ‘graf is a beaut:
Charters are not answer to district’s poor performance
We did not have any problems with the public education system until we moved to Delaware.
After three months of dealing with the Christina School District, my husband and I have decided the best alternative to the idiosyncrasies that happen in the district is to place our two children in private school.
From not allowing our children to go to the nearest school, to half-day kindergarten (which was a joke), to shipping them off to Wilmington for middle school, it is obvious why the district is having problems.
It would be ridiculous to waste valuable lessons and resources, not to mention many years of hard work developing public schools, because the school board and new administration cannot let go of their salaries to fix budget issues.
Instead of laying off teachers and reducing school-provided student services, the district should reduce the salaries of top officials, cut academic roles that do not have direct student contact, and spending that does not effect students.
The public education system is maintained for the students and the betterment of society.
We are not here to provide jobs for the administration, but to provide the free and appropriate public education that is guaranteed to all children by federal law.
Sunnye Garza, Newark
Pitiful.
Filed on June 25, 2006 at 9:29 pm under by dcobranchi
This one is really good:
HOME-SCHOOLING Home-schoolers often top peers:
I am writing in response to the letter criticizing home-schooling. As someone who has taught in our state’s junior college system for 14 years, I would like to challenge the author’s assumptions.
As a teacher of history and geography, I am continually dismayed at students’ lack of basic knowledge in these areas. I can only assume most of our public schools have let these students down.
I have also taught many students who were home-schooled before coming to college. Without fail, I am amazed at these students’ excellent grasp of knowledge in these subject areas.
The letter writer said “to assume these (home-schooled) students are receiving the same quality of education is laughable.” I agree. In most cases, the home-schoolers far exceed their peers.
Contrary to other assumptions, the home-schooled students are well-liked by their peers, are usually involved in campus activities and are the ones who can actually think for themselves.
I know there are many fine teachers in the public school system. I have taught many fine students who have graduated from public schools. But if I were to have children myself, I would definitely choose home-schooling for them.
Leigh Ann Courington
Jasper
Related Tags: homeschooling, home education
Filed on at 8:04 am under by dcobranchi
I’m still on moderated status on the Yahoo group (CRESTNC in case anyone is interested). Moderated in this case means messages permanently disappear into the aether. AFAIK, it’s all because of some things I wrote about over-compliance. On the off chance that someone who can still post at CRESTNC will see this (and maybe pass along a link), I’m going to put down my thoughts on why the recommendations to over-comply are bad– bad politically and bad morally.
A bit of the backstory:
NC has only fair homeschooling laws. Shocked, right? Yeah, I’ve seen y’all claim that they’re some of the best in the country. ‘Tain’t true. I’ve been writing about home education for 4 years and have read the laws for most of the states (and summaries of all of them.) We have mandatory annual testing. We have to maintain attendance and vaccination records. And DNPE can demand to see them whenever it wants. We are far from free.
I moved down here from Delaware a year ago. I helped write the current home education law there. Do you know what DE home educators have to do? In September they tell the state that they’re going to homeschool (by filling out a single piece of paper). And then in July they tell the state (via another piece of paper) that they did. No attendance. No testing. No vaccinations. And Delaware isn’t even the most free state in the area. New Jersey wins that coveted title. NJ homeschoolers have zero requirements. They don’t even have to tell the state that they’re homeschooling. Ahhh– sweet freedom.
I can hear the complaints already (as I’ve heard them many times from NC home educators)– We HAVE to have all these regulations to keep them on the straight and narrow. Bull! Regulations only affect the law-abiding. Anyone who is going to use homeschooling as a dodge for some nefarious purpose isn’t going to give a crap about DNPE’s requests.
So, we’re not particularly free. And yet some of you (including the leader of CRESTNC) want to over-comply. Why?
When we give the state educrats more than is required, they come to expect it. Here’s what DNPE recommends we do vs. what the law requires.
While not mandated by law, home schools are ENCOURAGED to:
I. Offer instruction of at least similar quality, scope and duration as local conventional schools.
A. Five clock hours of instruction with the student each school day should consist of:
1. Formal academic instruction in the home;
2. Directed educational activities appropriate to the age of the student.
B. Conduct instruction each school year for 180 days.
C. Remember that minds are usually more receptive to formal academic instruction
in the morning hours after an adequate amount of sleep.
The only requirement in the law is that the “school” operate during at least nine calendar months.
II. Maintain a current daily log, journal or lesson plan book throughout the entire school year.
A. It should contain:
1. Time devoted to the formal study of each subject each day;
2. Page numbers, chapters or units of the textbooks (or very brief descriptions
of concepts) covered during various time periods each day.
B. It should be retained at your school until the student has enrolled in a conventional
school or has graduated.
Not covered in the law at all.
III. Be certain that nationally standardized testing:
A. Is ordered by each February 1. Click here for a list of testing companies;
B. Is administered each year during the same week of your choice between March 1 and April 15;
C. Is not administered or scored by relatives, guardians, or anyone living in the same
household as the student.
1. An educational institution/organization is preferred.
2. Machine-scoring is most ideal. (Always allow at least eight weeks to receive test results if the test is machine scored.)
D. Includes the subject areas of social studies and science, whenever applicable.
Yes, under the law we have to test annually, but nothing in the law says we can’t administer (or even score) it ourselves. Nor does the law state that we have to do it any particular time. All of that is an invention of the educrats at DNPE.
So what (or who) does it hurt if you comply with DNPE “recommendations”? It hurts our freedom. All of us. Especially those who would stick to the letter of the law and would work for a better (i.e., more free) homeschooling law. Every time you voluntarily send in a card telling the State that you were a good homeschooler who taught for 180 days of 5 hours each, you make it harder for us to get rid of the bad parts of the law that exist. Would you like to see an end to mandatory annual testing? But look at all the homeschoolers who voluntarily send in their wonderful test scores. See? We don’t need to get rid of the requirement. Instead, we should just tighten it up a bit to make it compulsory that ALL homeschoolers send in their scores. And then the volunteers in the DNPE office can see all our kids’ scores. [Aside to non-NC readers– Yes, home educators really do volunteer to work in the office that regulates us. Go figure.]
Every single time you over-comply it strengthens DNPE’s hand with the legislature.
When I was working with the Delaware statewide group (DHEA) we actively discouraged anyone from doing anything that wasn’t required by law. Test if you want to but don’t provide it to the State. Homeschool year round? Great. Only tell the State about 180 days. [BTW– 180 days was the requirement until we worked for a better home education law and got rid of it along with mandatory subjects]. Don’t tell the State about anything you do that is not required information. Why? Because we didn’t want the educrats thinking they could expect us to roll over if they tried to tighten the screws. If 90% of homeschoolers were telling them that they homeschooled for 240 days, why not make that the legal standard? After all, it’s only a few malcontents who aren’t holding up their end.
Our support groups (NCHE, CRESTNC, etc.) ought to be discouraging people from over-complying. It’s just dumb politics, and it erodes our freedom. And freedom is what allows homeschooling to work.
UPDATE: Here.
Related Tags: homeschooling, home education
Filed on at 6:38 am under by dcobranchi
More snark in the Wilmington News Journal:
Send alien Superman back to the planet he came from
I see the Hollywood lefties are expecting us to shell out our hard-earned cash to go to a movie honoring an illegal immigrant. Instead of being lauded, this Superman should be arrested and deported to wherever he came from immediately.
Not only is he scoffing at our laws, he is doing work that Spiderman, Batman or some other red-blooded American superhero could be doing.
Richard Simpson, New Castle
Filed on at 12:37 am under by dcobranchi
Diane Thomlinson found another fine example to include in the WWHS files:
A South Robeson High School teacher has been charged with three counts of prescription drug fraud and one count of trafficking opium in Cumberland County.
It is the second time Kristy Leah West, 36, of the 500 block of East 16th Street, Lumberton, has been charged with drug crimes this year.
Yes, that’s my hometown paper.
Filed on June 24, 2006 at 3:57 pm under by dcobranchi
over at The Lilting House.
Filed on at 2:56 pm under by dcobranchi
Blah, blah, blah blah, blah,
Students who have opted to homeschool or attend private schools have had a negative impact on the district’s finances.
Blah, blah, blah blah, blah.
Yeah, we’ve heard this one once or twice.
Filed on at 2:48 pm under by dcobranchi
I’ve deleted the Blogroll from the page because it just seems to make the whole page-load drag.
Filed on at 2:04 pm under by dcobranchi
So says this personality survey.
Filed on at 1:36 pm under by dcobranchi
I just don’t get blaming the victim.
Filed on at 1:30 pm under by dcobranchi
Google News appears to be dead. (500 error)
Filed on at 11:13 am under by dcobranchi
in Baghdad. Hopefully, the government won’t be trying to enforce any UN declarations.
Filed on at 8:32 am under by dcobranchi
This was waiting for me when I got home at 3 this a.m. The handwriting is a bit difficult to decipher, but I believe the first sentence reads “You and that young woman are will [sic] spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.” As I’m not having an affair with any woman, regardless of age, I was stumped as to what this was referring. Lydia pointed out that it has a local return address. Eureka! Must be the LttE. Mr. James Lancaster (a Warrior of Jesus Christ) went on for three Wite-out splattered pages. I’ll spare your eyes the rest, but suffice it to say that it didn’t get any better.
Cranks of the world, unite!
UPDATE: More stuff that was in the envelope. It’s mostly anti-Catholic rants. I guess he figured with a last name like Cobranchi, I must be a follower of the anti-Christ.
Here, here, here, here, and here.
UPDATE: The absolute best bit (all errors in the original):
Readers of this tract are invited to be converted to the true Christ of the Bible. Then unite with a Christ-centered, Bible-teaching missionary-minded Evangelical, evangelistic, separated, Fundamental, Protestant, New Testament Christian church in your community.
Lydia thought the sign out front of that church must be billboard-sized.
Filed on June 22, 2006 at 9:44 pm under by dcobranchi
Back Saturday.
Filed on at 4:43 am under by dcobranchi
Newspeak is alive and well in Fayetteville.
Rules are necessary to keep order
Myron Pitts’ June 8 column about Bobbie Spanbauer’s defiance of the graduation dress code was shallow — putting his approval on Spanbauer’s rebellion. Perhaps he felt sorry for her because her stand brought rejection and he was trying to make her feel better about herself.
Standing up for what you know is right is honorable, but insisting on having your selfish way is not.
Rules are necessary to keep order in our schools and society.
When Spanbauer goes to work, she will have to abide by the dress code for that job. An employer has the right to set the dress code.
Should Pitts show up at work in his underwear because he is free to do as he pleases, I doubt he would remain at work very long.
Sometime in life, we must have courage to do what is right, even though we stand alone. That is admirable!
I thank Principal Jackie Warner for her stand. Should students be allowed to dress as they please at graduation ceremony, it would be out of kilter. Uniformity brings order and beauty, making each student as special as the others.
Freedom does not give us the right to have our own way.
My advice to Spanbauer: Learn from this experience; choose a worthwhile cause and stand.
Betty Davis
Hope Mills
So far, the LttE are running about 10:1 against. Y’all know who the “1” is.
Filed on June 21, 2006 at 6:37 pm under by dcobranchi
Compare the government officials with whom you are arguing with Nazis and with Hitler. Yes, conservative home ed bloggers– these are your champions.
Since Adolf Hitler prohibited homeschooling in 1938, Germany is the worst place for homeschoolers in Europe. Many parents have already been fined, and even sent to jail. Last March a court in Hamburg sentenced a German father of six to a prison sentence of one week for homeschooling his children, while the children were forcibly sent to school by the police, who pick them up each morning. The father, a conservative Christian, had previously been sentenced to a fine of 1,500 euro, but this did not persuade him to stop homeschooling. The court did not imprison the mother, but said it would not hesitate to do so if the parents continue violating the law. The bill prohibiting homeschooling is one of the very few Nazi laws that are still on the books in Germany. Today other countries, such as Belgium, seem intent on copying Germany’s Nazi system, whilst invoking the UN Convention.
UPDATE: I realized that I was confused (and confusing) in my second sentence. What I meant was “these are the folks whose cause you are championing.”
Filed on at 11:50 am under by dcobranchi
My reputation as a crank continues to grow:
Some arbitrary rules can, and should, be broken
I am really astonished (and saddened) that no letters to the editor have backed the position of the young lady who refused to wear a dress at her high school graduation. Why should she have been required to wear an outfit that she doesn’t like and would not choose on her own? The public schools are not the military. Several letters have pointed out that “Rules are rules.†Yes, but sometimes arbitrary rules can, and should, be broken.
This young lady was not dressed inappropriately. She would not have detracted from the decorum of the occasion even a tiny bit. All she wanted to do was wear a pair of pants. Was that small difference really worthy of her being excluded from the graduation ceremony?
Paraphrasing Emerson: “Whoso would be a woman, must be a nonconformist.†I applaud her stand and wish her continued success in living her life as an individual.
Daryl Cobranchi
Fayetteville
UPDATE: My public school teacher neighbor just called to let me know she had seen the letter. She liked it. Hey, Mikey!
Filed on at 7:12 am under by dcobranchi
Hell’s Leading Daily has a column up (a new feature, perhaps?) just listing recent indiscretions by our friends, the g-school teachers.
Filed on at 6:52 am under by dcobranchi
Doc’s latest edition of the Country Fair is up (cool goat pics!) here.
And next weeks CoH will be hosted by Natalie. Submissions are due by Monday @ 6 p.m. EDT.
Filed on June 20, 2006 at 6:41 pm under by dcobranchi
Spunky is quoted in the WaPo blog.
Filed on at 5:19 pm under by dcobranchi
The CoH is up at homeschoolbuzz.
Filed on at 5:18 pm under by dcobranchi
Must be true because I don’t grok all of this post-modern, post-Kennedy philosophizing:
No single issue so poignantly depicts the hypocrisy, selfishness, and viciously punitive side of “liberalism” as the reaction of a “Liberal” to the proposition that a parent may determine the content and method of his child’s education. Because of that reactionary attitude we can postulate that homeschooling is an essentially postmodern phenomenon, expressing as it does a fundamental lack of faith in the institutions of society to effect positive change in its individual members.
That explains why so many “conservative Christians” I have known are quite horrified, even dumbstruck, at the notion of homeschooling. They still have faith that the institutions of society will improve the lot of humanity, even though they may want to reform them in the spirit of 1950s modernism.
Filed on at 5:09 pm under by dcobranchi
The snark almost rises to the level of brutality. CAUTION: “Saucy” language at the very end.
Filed on at 11:10 am under by dcobranchi
I was beginning to think that I was the only home education blogger who wasn’t rushing to condemn the Belgian officials and embrace the editor of Brussels Journal. Not anymore, thanks to Valerie Moon.
Local politics can be a minefield for those who aren’t well-versed in the players and their goals, and the local ‘playbook.’ Even people ‘in the know’ can find themselves blindsided by aspects of situations of which they were unaware, so how much more foolhardy is it for those who are ignorant of anything to do with the situation to venture opinions?
And this is where I see the English-speaking homeschool community’s position on the summoning of Mr. Belien to the police station. We are outsiders and we don’t know who, what, or why. If other Belgian homeschoolers who aren’t politically active are not in jeopardy, then this particular incident probably isn’t ’about’ homeschooling. There are probably other when and where aspects of which we are profoundly ignorant.
…Butt out
Given that most Americans couldn’t find Belgium on a map with both hands and a flashlight, and couldn’t even connect the words Flemish and Flanders, much less Flanders, and Wallonia (and what is the tapped-out industry in Wallonia, and the nationality of the guest-workers still living in Belgium; can you tell me as much as that* without doing a Google search?), we should probably keep our online mouths shut, while keeping our online eyes open.
I think the folk wisdom on this is “we don’t have a dog in that fight.â€
Filed on at 6:04 am under by dcobranchi
OK, the lede did its job and got my attention:
Memo to home-schooling advocates: YOU ARE DUMB.
It’s an anti-Patrick Henry (Dominionist Bible) College rant. My favorite bit:
“There are some creationists who are anti-intellectual in approach. I don’t believe you have to check your brain at the door to be a creationist.” – Jennifer Gruenke, biology teacher, PHU.
OK, everyone, in unison, the punchline. “…BUT IT HELPS!”
UPDATE: As Kay pointed out, the language is a bit “saucy.”
Filed on June 19, 2006 at 9:25 pm under by dcobranchi
for the libertarian coffee nerd (via Relaxed Homeschool)
Filed on at 8:54 pm under by dcobranchi
The new Miss NJ is a home ed grad. No nickel pic, though.
Filed on at 8:33 pm under by dcobranchi
Hed of the day:
Dohertys dominate Pohai Na Keiki Nalu
The Doherty boys are surfin’ HEKs.
Filed on at 7:44 pm under by dcobranchi
For the record, I like the Dixie Chicks (especially their latest single). And I believe that nationalism can indeed be a negative. And that all five of these reasons for alarm border on tinfoil hat country.
The UN and other like-minded individuals and institutions value 1) the “One World” idea, 2) the soon-to-be-established (2010) North American Union, 3) the fact that the borders between Mexico, the US, and Canada do not, in fact, exist, 4) the disarming of private citizens of the U.S., and more recently, 5) the desire to make homeschooling difficult or even illegal.
These issues are all related to each other and to the hostile attitude of the Dixie Chicks.
Filed on June 18, 2006 at 9:25 pm under by dcobranchi
A perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, looking out the window lying on the air conditioning vent
Filed on at 7:36 pm under by dcobranchi
I just found this blog that is dedicated exclusively to publicising the “cons” of homeschooling– kind of an anti-HE&OS. Well, they have to stretch pretty far to find any. Here’s the current lead “con.”
Bloody man found dead outside home
Pioneer Press, MN – 7 hours ago… The man was lying in front of his home, where he was apparently injured, Crum said. Officers found only 18-month-old twins in the home. …
Source: www.twincities.com
I really can’t tell if this is a serious attempt or merely a spam blog.
UPDATE: Never mind. It’s a spam blog.
Filed on at 5:30 pm under by dcobranchi
Google Earth has a nice new version out. Much improved is the scroll feature. I was able to find some neat geographic features that we learned about in our last camping trip— the Carolina Bays. The bays are a bit of a mystery, oval shaped depressions that cover anywhere from an acre or two to square miles. No one knows how they formed, but they’re found up and down the east coast. Evidently, the highest concentration is right around here.
If you’d like to see what Google Earth can do with these, enter 6975 Point East Dr. 28306 (yes, that’s our address). Raise the elevation to about 12 miles and scroll east until Hwy 53 is at the left edge of the screen. All of those oval shapes are Carolina Bays. There are literally hundreds of them in this one small section.
Ahh, what the heck.
Filed on at 5:03 pm under by dcobranchi
P.Z. Myers, writing about Ann Coulter’s book, in which she claims there is no evidence for evolution:
Now look: I’ve been telling you all about how you, with negligible effort, can find buckets of evidence for evolution. I haven’t actually recited any of that evidence yet, and that’s because I and many other biologists have been telling everyone about that evidence for years: there comes a point where you have to recognize that the other side has simply put their hands over their ears and are shouting “LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA” at the top of their lungs.
Yes, modern conservative “thought” has sunk to a level third-graders can easily identify with. Assuming, of course, that it’s ever been anything higher.
UPDATE: The Panda’s Thmub has more Coulter-bashing.
Filed on at 12:18 pm under by dcobranchi
Shills for the NEA? Here’s their blurb leading into an article on Teach for America:
Just because these graduates have math and science, does not mean they can teach the kids… 19,000 kids without jobs is what they got!!! Next year, not one school district will be ask, how many stayed in teaching. They will be recruiting again and again and cost the schools system about 2.6 billion a year for teacher turnover and Teach for America in 17 years have cost many districts an arm and a leg!!
For the record, Teach for America recruits some of the best and brightest, as the graphic below will attest.
These hardly seem like the kinds of folks who couldn’t find jobs. It seems pretty strange that educationnews.org would diss young people who want to dedicate a year or two of their lives to helping kids in the nation’s worst schools.
Filed on at 10:03 am under by dcobranchi
Life in Nazi Germany Fayetteville:
Rules are part of civilization
As I say to some visitors at my house in a fake German accent, “Vee haff rulss und you vill obey zee rulss.†The rules are posted for darts and also for proper conduct at the bar. There is even a donation can for payment of penalties.
High school principal Jackie Warner appropriately attempts to confer to the children the fact that society has rules. Something parents do little of nowadays. If you disobey the rules, you will pay a penalty. The rules, you see, are part of our culture and our civilization. With the current push to get God out of government and accept perversion as a lifestyle, we are ignoring the rules and contributing to the degeneration of our society.
The Lord punished Sodom and Gomorrah for breaking his rules.
Frank Novotny
Fayetteville
Is there some connection between Nazism and Bible Belt fundamentalism?
Filed on at 2:34 am under by dcobranchi
I did a bit more digging. Here’s the photographer’s side of the story. The photographs have been removed, so there’s no way of knowing what drove the educrats crazy. OTOH, one has to wonder if she was fired for the pictures or because she’s lesbian.
Having watched educrats’ excesses for the past 4 years, I’m inclined to believe the teacher. I just kicked in $20 to her legal defense fund.
UPDATE: Has CNN been re-writing histoty? I swear that article has changed in several places since yesterday.
Filed on June 17, 2006 at 7:10 pm under by dcobranchi
I’m not sure these folks ought to be a cause célèbre. Here’s an updated version of Peter van Zuidam’s HSWatch post (Reprinted with permission. Typing/formatting errors are mine.):
A bit of a background about this case. I miss one IMO very important aspect in how Mrs. Dr. Colen and Dr. Beliën interpret the Flemish law concerning HE, and that is that an inspector is only supposed to reject a child’s homeschool situation if it would be clear to each reasonably thinking person that the home education provided cannot meet the minimum requirements set by the state. Those requirements are indeed derived from article 29 para 1 of the UN Child’s Rights Convention, but also from article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
So these parents forget to mention in their public defense one important aspect, that an inspector cannot reject HE, just because he’s in a bad mood about HE or about certain parents. Several HE-ers all over Europe would IMHO feel glad when they their supervision laws were checked and balanced this way ;-). This reasonability check gives parents the benefit of the reasonable doubt. In the spectrum of legislations about homeschooling, the Flemish decree is one of the most free. Parents have every right not to have their home education follow the national school curriculum, which is rather the norm in countries like Austria, France, Italy, the Czech republic, Hungary and Poland.
Another thing is that the mother in question, Dr. Alexandra Colen is a member of parliament for the party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest), the political heir of the party Vlaams Blok (Flemish Block), which was forbidden by Belgian courts in 2005 because of their consequent racism. As far as I know, Vlaams Belang is led by the people who formerly led Vlaams Blok. Vlaams Belang has a racist reputation in Belgium, I must say. And because of the animosity this party and all other Belgian political parties spread against each other, some Belgians now loath everything concerning home education in Belgium, just because it is done and publicly defended by broadly known Vlaams Belang members.
Apart from this aspect, these parents point out 2 flaws in this homeschool statute that, to be honest, didn’t cross my mind first. The legal form by which a Flemish inhabitant intends to homeschool each school year makes the parents promise to send their kids to a school straightaway and without having the legal option of fighting this gov’t decision if their home education has been found insufficient in two subsequent inspections.
One other flaw is that the inspector is not obliged to give specific reasons for his decision to reject a homeschool situation. He may just write down his negative conclusion, that’s all. Mrs. Colen reported one case on her website (in Dutch) where this behavior was complained about.
In other words, if you want to home-educate legally, you can state you have to promise not to use a part of your European human rights beforehand (namely the right to appeal against a government’s decision to restrict one of your human rights before a court, the European Convention for Human Rights guarantees that).
When this law was defined, the gov’t even willfully left out any path of appeal concerning the disapproval of a homeschool situation. And I have read a few Strasbourg rulings where the ECHR found a state guilty of breaking the European Convention, just because a citizen was not given a clear path of process to question a restriction of a human right.
The second flaw reminds me of the Olsson contra Sweden case, in which the Strasbourg court found a restriction of the family life (which forbidding to continue home education clearly is an example of) acceptable only if the necessity to do so is clearly specified. A mere statement like “we found this home education insufficient, period” like inspectors seem to use in Flanders won’t do in the Strasbourg ECHR court, if you ask me.
Moreover, the unavailability of a legal path to oppose an inspector’s disapproval in effect reduces the benefit of the doubt that the parent is supposed to have to a mere matter of theory. There’s no way to ask a judge if he would think that an inspector’s disapproval would be shared by ‘each reasonably thinking human being’. The only way to fight this indeed seems to act disobediently, to not submit a homeschool intent form, and ask a penal judge if the legislation concerned meets the criteria set out in the ECHR.
So, I wouldn’t be too surprised if these parents get away with their act of civil disobedience. The Flemish community gov’t might end up revising their HE statute because of this case.
But in general, few families get their homeschool disapproved in Flanders. In the year 2004-2005 1 out of 86 inspections of children of primary school age was found insufficient.
In the Netherlands the minister of education still wants to have homeschooling supervised. I still present the Flamish law as an example of a more flexible government inspection approach, one that takes the diverse character of home education among different families and leaves parents the benefit of the doubt. But I warn about these two flaws, though.
Peter van Zuidam,
Secretary,
Netherlands Homeschool Association
So, the parents are members of a political party that, if not banned outright, skirts the very edges. I think it might be best if the conservative/homeschool bloggers
(AND HSLDA)
just sit this one out.
Filed on at 4:53 pm under by dcobranchi
For Tim–
Jon Swift lives up to his name today. Pretty funny.
Filed on at 6:04 am under by dcobranchi
Check the subhead on this story about a teacher posting topless photos of herself.
Art teacher in hot water over topless photos
School where teacher worked was attended by Bush daughters
The school not only fired her, they want to ban her from teaching in the entire state of TX. It’s an interesting question– Does the availability of these photos diminish her effectiveness in the classroom? I can see how they might, but it’s not a given that they do.
And in case anyone’s interested, here’s her myspace profile (Don’t worry– it’s work safe.)
Filed on at 5:23 am under by dcobranchi
This one actually sounds like fun. Casting call is TODAY:
THE KIDS ARE IN CHARGE:
Family Vacation
OPEN CASTING CALL
FREE SUMMER VACATION!!
The Kids Are In Charge: Family Vacation is a fun new family vacation show for The Travel Channel where the kids take charge and the parents take the backseat.
Each episode of The Kids Are In Charge will follow the hilarious hi-jinks of one family who has turned over the planning and execution of their family vacation to the kids.
With the help of host Jonathan Torrens, the kids will be in charge of everything from the planning, to packing, to meals, to playtime. It’s definitely travel with a twist!
Seeking families with 3 or more children ages 7-16.
(at least one child must be 10 years of age or older)
Casting Calls:
Saturday, June 17th
Crowne Plaza Hotel Hartford-Cromwell
100 Berlin Rd.
Cromwell, CT 06416
(call to schedule an interview time)
Sunday, June 18th
Home Suites Inn-Waltham
455 Totten Pond Rd.
Waltham, MA 02451
(call to schedule an interview time)
For more information on Open Casting Calls and how to apply:
Email: CASTING@KIDSAREINCHARGE.COM
Call: 323.860.8075
www.kidsareincharge.com
(Casting families in the Los Angeles CA and surrounding areas, Chicago/Peoria, IL and surrounding areas, Denver CO and surrounding areas, Hartford CT/Boston MA and surrounding areas and NYC areas. All travel will be between June 12th and September 10th. Twelve trips will be rewarded all ranging from 4-5 days length.)
I might try it if we were a bit closer. (Tip credit: Karen)
Filed on June 16, 2006 at 8:33 pm under by dcobranchi
HSWatch has a post that sheds a lot of light onto the subject. As I expected, there appears to be more to the story than was first reported. I’ve asked for permission to re-post it here. Until then, here’s a direct link.
Filed on at 6:59 pm under by dcobranchi
This guy loves our pine trees.
Filed on at 4:37 pm under by dcobranchi
Silly quote of the day.
Louisiana state lawmakers are honoring black Americans involved in the home-schooling movement. The Louisiana State Legislature recently passed a resolution commending a group called National Black Home Educators (NBHE) for introducing the benefits of home schooling to black families in the state.
Filed on June 15, 2006 at 7:24 pm under by dcobranchi
but it’s ok for Congress to shred the Constitution. Go figure.
Filed on at 5:07 pm under by dcobranchi
First it was Nazis. Now, it’s the anti-Christ.
This Belgian blog seems to have taken the wacko ward by storm.
Filed on at 4:35 pm under by dcobranchi
Friends like this, we don’t need.
Self-education is the best means to preparing “old school” Christian leaders — the kind we’ve not seen since the 18th century… in the South! In other words, something more akin to the noble Robert E. Lee and the stalwart Stonewall Jackson. Not the drunk elitist, Ulysses Grant, or the vicious terrorist, William T. Sherman. Godly, responsible, courageous leaders that defend Christian individualism and a decentralized civilization. The last “true” defenders of the Constitution and Christian civilization were lost during the War of Northern Aggression and the subsequent neo-slavery of southern reconstruction. Abolishing slavery for a handful of transplanted Africans became a perpetual slavery for 300,000,000 Americans, and counting.
This is why we need Christian Reconstruction. It is a reversal of the despotic reconstruction of 1865-1877…
They quote Rushdoony at the top of the page. IOW, they’re Friends of Mike (Farris). And any Friend of Mike (Farris) is no friend of mine.
UPDATE: I found this a little bit further down the blog. Pretty funny.
Homeschooling has made great strides since R.J. Rushdoony spearheaded its growth into a movement in the 1970s. Now is certainly not the time to give up!
I’ve read a fair bit of homeschooling histories. This is the only time I’ve seen Rushdoony’s name mentioned as a pioneer.
UPDATE: It’s even worse than I realized. Chalcedon.edu is Rushdoony’s think tank.
UPDATE: And the circle is closed.
Dr. Gary North is the noted author of numerous works on economics and history (including Mises on Money and An Economic Commentary on the Bible) and is a co-founder of Christian Reconstruction. He continues to pour out a steady stream of writing and commentary and you can learn more about his work at www.garynorth.com and www.freebooks.com
Filed on at 4:14 pm under by dcobranchi
I think. (HT: Skip)
Filed on at 9:06 am under by dcobranchi
It appears that Gary North on LewRockwell.com sold out 100% to his masters. (via Kay Brooks’ HSWatch list-serv).
Filed on at 6:10 am under by dcobranchi
Not only is Farris’ propaganda taking root here in the US, now Belgian authorities will soon be gassing Jews because a new home education law mandates that parents attest that they are living up to their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I kid you not:
Once a government has gone this far they are without hope. They will be murdering Jews as a matter of national policy in my lifetime (I’m 45).
I’m far from a statist, but this is just ridiculous. Have all fundie/Right-wing homeschoolers lost all sense of proportion? Here’s the statement (in broken translated English) that home educators were supposed to sign:
The new bill refers to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and it obliges homeschooling parents to fill out a questionaire and sign an official “declaration of homeschooling†in which they agree to school their children “respecting the respect [sic] for the fundamental human rights and the cultural values of the child itself and of others.â€
That language is right out of the Convention. Big deal!
Folks, the black helicopters are not hovering over your houses. No one is being herded into freight cars. And Buchenwald is a museum.
Grow up!
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