Filed on February 7, 2004 at 7:06 pm under by dcobranchi
Hershey Park is considering having a Homeschool Day sometime in 2004. They are requesting our input.
Filed on at 6:58 pm under by dcobranchi
The New York Times has a really interesting piece giving the backstory of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would bar gay marriages. Mike Farris plays a prominent role:
Most of the others considered [the FMA] far too permissive. “I don’t care if you call it civil unions,” Michael P. Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said last week. “I don’t care if you call it domestic partnership, I don’t care if you call it cantaloupe soup, if you are legally spouses at the end of the day, I am not willing to do that.”
Just as important, Mr. Farris said, the 81,500 home-schooling families who belong to his organization and who each pay at least $85 a year in dues were against it. In an informal poll, he said, 95 percent supported an amendment to block same-sex marriage; only 8 percent supported it if it allowed civil unions. “If we are telling people it’s a half-fix, we can’t get people to work hard enough to pass an amendment,” he said.
Political (semi)reality eventually set in, and Farris decided to back the FMA. Nothing earth-shattering except the reporter provides some insight into how these advocacy groups work:
[I]t promises to reopen the flow of financial contributions to their advocacy groups that had slowed to a trickle when Republicans took over Washington…[A]ttracting new supporters and raising money had grown much more difficult since their bête noire, Bill Clinton, left the White House, several Christian conservative activists involved in the Arlington meeting acknowledged.
But some in the movement believe opposition to gay marriage could make for even more effective direct mail — the financial lifeblood of most advocacy groups — than their other great cause, the fight against abortion. “Abortion has never been a strong direct-mailer,” said Richard A. Viguerie, founder of American Target Advertising and the dean of conservative direct mail. “But in my opinion and the opinion of my executives, this is a world-class wedge issue. Every instinct in my body tells me this is going to be a big mailer.”
Yep. It’s all about the money.
Filed on at 6:28 pm under by dcobranchi
I found the AMBER crawler at Gary Petersen’s blog.
Filed on at 10:04 am under by dcobranchi
ReformK12 has been added to the blogroll. Chett routinely has good stuff.
Remember, it’s all about the money. (Sorry- I couldn’t help myself).
Filed on at 9:42 am under by dcobranchi
A g-school teacher says that g-schools just do not work! Well, not exactly.
Just a handful of the 250 or so Rhode Island educators attending last night’s public hearing spoke in favor of a proposal to lengthen the school day to 7 hours and the teacher day to 7 1/2 hours by 2007…”We’re looking at a one-size-fits-all solution, and that does not work,” said Coventry teacher Kelly Procter.
Sure- one size fits all doesn’t work when it means teachers would have to work longer days. But, when home educators make the same point, the NEA is all in favor of one size fits all.
Remember, it’s all about the money.
Filed on at 9:24 am under by dcobranchi
A high-school senior blew off a completely meaningless (to him) test. For his act of rebellion, the local edu-crats kicked him out of the National Honor Society and suspended him. You see, the test was meaningless for the kids but funding was tied to the results.
While not all of the tests count for students, many have major consequences for schools and districts. Those that fail to show adequate progress can face such stiff penalties as staff changes and state takeover.
School leaders hope students will attempt their best on these tests, even if it doesn’t benefit them.
“Students need to recognize it isn’t always about yourself,” said Decapua. “Spend a period of time in service to your school.”
Remember, it’s all about the money.
Filed on at 9:01 am under by dcobranchi
Another good reason to homeschool. G-school parents are finding that off-season travel works for their families, too. Teachers and other edu-crats don’t like the trend, though.
A few families in Rye start summer vacations before school ends, and pupils miss final exams. “In the past, I’ve tried to make arrangements to give students the exam over the summer, but now we’re saying unless a child is ill, we’re not going to do it,” said Dr. Edwards, the middle school principal.
High student absenteeism can also translate into less state financing for some schools. At La Cañada High School in California, for example, parents are asked to pay the portion of state financing ($26.02 a child a day) lost when students are illegitimately absent. Joanne Davidson, assistant principal for attendance, said all have complied so far.
Remember, it’s all about the money.
Filed on February 6, 2004 at 5:56 pm under by dcobranchi
A TX columnist wonders why his local school g-school has indoor practice facilities for football when NFL teams practice outside. Good question.
Filed on at 6:27 am under by dcobranchi
This one is kinda strange. A vegan UT couple lost custody of their two-year-old because a doctor thought he was malnourished. Well, six months later, the family was reunited after “the couple agreed to provide the child with vitamin supplements and have his health monitored by a physician.” The strange part:
Carol Sisco, of the Utah Department of Human Services, said …“Our concern was not that they were vegetarians or on a vegan diet, but that he get vitamin supplements which will allow him to get a complete protein.”
Vitamins don’t contain protein. Something’s missing here.
Filed on at 6:11 am under by dcobranchi
…that leaving the g-schools in order to homeschool is not “dropping out?”
“Not so much out here, at this point,” said Hetherington, who estimates that two or three of his eight dropouts gave home schooling as a reason to leave school. But at the same time, Hetherington said the Logan-Rogersville school district gained about the same number from kids who were home schooled during early years – one up until their freshman year – then enrolled in the public school system. “It makes it about even,” he said.
Raetz said in the fall of 2002, Seymour High School actually had a reverse trend, with more kids coming back to school after being home schooled, than dropping out for that reason. She added that the parents of these kids “had done a wonderful job” home schooling their children.
These Arkansas edu-crats need a reminder. Letter to the Editor, anyone?
Filed on February 5, 2004 at 9:27 pm under by dcobranchi
There is absolutely nothing to add to this:
Two South Florida boys are charged with the sexual battery of a 10-year-old girl at an elementary school, local sheriff’s officials said.
Filed on at 11:18 am under by dcobranchi
Let’s run a caption contest for this one, which I found on CNN.
Read more »
Filed on at 5:24 am under by dcobranchi
The January/February issue is up. For those with broadband, here’s the PDF version.
Filed on at 5:08 am under by dcobranchi
A homeschooling mom won’t take no for an answer. She wants her son to be able to play baseball for the local g-school. That’s agin the rules in NC.
None of those issues, however, prevent the school board from allowing home-schooled students to play — or, at the very least, discussing its policy, Evans said.
“We are going to ask them to add this as a discussion item on their agenda,” Evans said. “I think this is their responsibility to grapple with.”
They did. You lost. Enough already.
*Growing up, I learned that “basta” was Italian for “enough already.” I have no idea if it’s really Italian or just a part of the dialect where my family came from (Piacenza in the Emilia-Romagna region.) It’s pronouced like “pasta.”
Filed on at 4:45 am under by dcobranchi
Maybe Coke really is life.
The Philly schools voted to ban soda vending machines (except in the teachers’ lounge). This futile gesture is blogworthy for two reasons:
1) The school board apparently argued over the students’ “right to decide what they should drink.”
Well, since they can still bring sodas from home, I doubt the ACLU will be getting involved.
2) I counted at least 5 bad puns in the article.
There may have been more. The reporter didn’t give a “Nina” hint.
Filed on at 4:30 am under by dcobranchi
And, poor English, to boot. The editors at the local paper seem to have forgotten (if they ever truly knew) that the voters are in charge.
Only about 15 percent of the eligible Democrats bothered to vote yesterday. In so doing, may have deprived Sen. Joseph Lieberman of a victory and driven him out of the nomination race.
The N-J goes on to point out that Lieberman had lots of endorsements and campainged heavily here. How could the voters have been so stupid? Don’t they know that they have to do what the editors, muckety-mucks, and self-anointed grand-poobahs say?
Here’s an idea. Maybe Delaware voters are just a bit smarter than the power-brokers give them credit for. Perhaps they realized that Lieberman (despite the H&OES endorsement) wasn’t going anywhere and went with the (supposedly) electable Kerry. Yeah, Delaware voters denied him a victory. Just like the other eight states that have chosen delegates did.
Filed on February 4, 2004 at 8:57 pm under by dcobranchi
More ZT craziness- this time about cussing.
A second-grader was suspended for a day for telling a classmate he would go to hell for saying, “I swear to God.”
Filed on at 8:44 pm under by dcobranchi
An online CNN poll on the legalization of gay marriage currently has it 53% opposed. I’m really surprised it’s that close. Of course, it’s not scientific but interesting, nonetheless.
Filed on at 7:49 am under by dcobranchi
You gotta love this lede:
Middle class parents who move homes to get their children into better state schools are the “real moral hypocrites” of the education system, according to the headmaster who is writing Tony Blair’s biography.
He argues that only those who pay for private school (in addition to paying taxes for the g-schools) have the “moral high ground.”
Filed on at 5:13 am under by dcobranchi
Chris O’Donnell found a particularly galling case of zero brains, er, tolerance. This one has all sorts of juicy tidbits: drug-sniffing dogs, an honor roll victim, and, at long last, an actual admission what the real reason for ZT is:
“Regardless of reason or innocence, these procedures for administering medication at school were established for a reason and must be followed,” the teacher stated. “Without such safeguards, teachers would be held responsible for identifying pills.
“I, for one, do not want to be held responsible for the high risks associated with bending this policy.”
Translation: “We don’t care if it’s unreasonable or you’re innocent as long as our own asses are covered.”
Read the whole thing, but not on a full stomach.
Filed on at 4:43 am under by dcobranchi
Potential bad news in SD.
Home-schooled students taking achievement tests would have to be monitored by school district officials under a bill considered Tuesday by the Senate Education Committee.
The committee set SB156 aside until Thursday after hearing from supporters and opponents. The measure would require superintendents or other school officials to monitor standardized tests given to students who are taught in alternative settings.
Dianna Miller, lobbyist for the state’s largest school districts, supported the bill. But she said visiting each site to monitor testing may burden school districts with a lot of home-schooled children.
Miller suggested that testing of those students be held at central locations.
Another state I wouldn’t live in. I hope SD homeschoolers are working to shoot this down.
Filed on at 4:34 am under by dcobranchi
Virginia has some onerous homeschooling laws. Currently, parents have to have a bachelor’s degree in order to homeschool. Yesterday, the House voted to lower that requirement to a high school diploma. An improvement, sure. But, what kind of diploma? Will a homeschool grad be able to homeschool her own children?
Filed on at 4:21 am under by dcobranchi
David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, in a New York Times Op/Ed writes:
Long-term simulations from the legislative agency I head, the General Accounting Office, paint a chilling picture. Even before the new drug benefit was enacted, these simulations showed that by 2040 current policy could require a 50 percent reduction in federal spending or a doubling of taxes to balance the budget.
Anyone here think that government spending is going to be cut 50 percent?
Filed on February 3, 2004 at 4:22 pm under by dcobranchi
I believe Daniel Pryzbyla is opposed to vouchers, but I’m not sure. Here are some of the terms he uses to describe voucher supporters and school reform(ers).
1) voucher carpetbaggers
2) the federal education law’s hideous accountability rules
3) feasting on the “monopoly” chant to describe public education
4) intentional mislead and marketplace diversionary tactic
5) To “destroy” or “greatly weaken” competitors is commonplace in the private marketplace, but how to impart these heinous concepts in the public domain is a bit trickier.
6) exploit tax dollars to pay privateers
7) conservative pro-voucher institutes, private marketplace chieftains and NCLB sanction tricksters
What do y’all think? This one is too idiotic to fisk.
UPDATE: It all makes sense now.
Daniel Pryzbyla is a retired Chicago and Milwaukee teacher who writes on education policy issues. Dan is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for the Study of Jobs & Education in Wisconsin and United States
That’s Dennis “Exemplary Milwaukee Public Schools” Redovich’s organization.
Filed on at 1:43 pm under by dcobranchi
That’s according to this Washington Post article about Senator Joe Lieberman’s campaign here.
“Of course you should go on, Joe,” Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a Lieberman supporter, told his colleague after New Hampshire. “What are the rest of us, chopped liver?”
In the deli platter of early primaries, Delaware is, in fact, chopped liver. Only 15 delegates are at stake. Of the states voting today, only North Dakota has fewer — 14. Yet Lieberman (who, in fact, loves chopped liver) returned Saturday night for another date with Delaware, if not destiny.
Now, I REALLY wish I could vote for the guy- if for no other reason than to stick it to the WaPo.
Filed on at 7:06 am under by dcobranchi
Here’s a terrific Letter to the Editor from a PA homeschooler.
I’d like to tell you about the homeschooling law.
In Pennsylvania we have a ton of stuff to do in order to be able to be homeschooled.
We have to do objectives that get turned in at the beginning of the year (that’s where we list every subject and what we will do).
We have to do an affidavit (that’s a promise that we won’t break the law).
We have to turn in our medical, dental and eye records. We have to record every book we read. That’s very hard for me to do because I really like reading.
We have to do a portfolio (that’s a sample of our work from every subject).
We also have to take a standardized test and get evaluated at the end of the year. Then we have to turn our work into the school district.
Other states don’t have these many requirements, and still they do an excellent job. It is a big strain on moms, harder on kids, and it costs a lot of money. It also takes a lot of time.
I’d like to see home-schoolers have more freedom by less requirements.
Do Pennsylvania lawmakers want to have well-educated kids who can someday run our state? Then I urge them to make the homeschooling requirements easier.
Audrey Botsford, age 10
Indiana
Unfortunately, Audrey, they don’t want “well-educated kids who can someday run” the state. You are obviously much too intelligent and free-thinking. If you gained power you might actually challenge the g-school’s monopoly.
Filed on at 6:59 am under by dcobranchi
A Milwaukee-area school board member sends her kid to a charter school in another district. Big Deal, huh? Well, apparently it is in Milwaukee. The union is “distressed” and their lap dogs, the PTA, even more so.
Days’ school choice sends a message that Racine Unified schools are “not good enough,” said Barb Larrabee, co-president of Park High School’s PTA.
Larrabee thinks that Racine Unified’s board members should be required to send their children to the district’s schools.
“I just think that any School Board member that’s on the board should believe in the school system and should have their children in the public schools,” Larrabee said.
This is a political problem. If the PTA/WEA are so upset, figure out a way to vote her out of office.
Filed on February 2, 2004 at 6:30 pm under by dcobranchi
USAToday has a really good Op/Ed on why randomly testing g-school students for drugs is a bad idea and a waste of money.
Now Bush wants to expand drug testing. In his recent State of the Union speech, Bush cited an 11% drop in drug use among high school students in the past two years, crediting student drug testing with a significant role in this decline. But the University of Michigan study, partially funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found no difference in rates of drug use between schools that have drug-testing programs and those that do not. In fact, its authors found that 95% of schools do not test students randomly for drugs, making it unlikely that drug testing played a substantial role in the decrease Bush cited.
I’m sure that study was “junk science.” Yeah- that’s the ticket.
Filed on at 6:19 pm under by dcobranchi
Darby has a good post on the problems of letting kids socialize each other. A must read.
Filed on at 1:35 pm under by dcobranchi
Phys. Rev. C will publish a paper that reports on the creation of two new elements, ununpentium and ununtrium (115 and 113).
Filed on at 12:25 pm under by dcobranchi
The Detroit News has a pretty positive article on homeschooling in MI. It touches all of the standard bases: religious education, stronger family ties, kids in lots of social activities. What struck me, though, was the sidebar- “Home school facts”
A United States Department of Education survey estimated 1.7 percent of the nation’s school-age children were home schooled in 1999. Today, that figure exceeds 3 percent.
The fact is that nobody knows how many homeschoolers there are out there. I seriously doubt we’re over three percent.
UPDATE: See?
Filed on at 12:18 pm under by dcobranchi
About the proposed NJ homeschooling law, NBC’s flagship station has this to say:
Parents Of Home Schooled Children On Defensive Following Proposed Bill
Hey, Tim- are y’all on the defensive?
Filed on at 12:15 pm under by dcobranchi
This one sounds a bit scary:
A 38-year old Galion woman was fined $500 for not making sure her 17-year-old daughter was getting her reading, writing and arithmetic lessons.
…The Harris case was filed April 3, 2003, when Harris didn’t follow through with home schooling her daughter after repeated warnings. The girl has reportedly begun home schooling now.
What exactly does this mean? Are unschoolers in OH in some danger of being hauled into court?
Filed on at 10:32 am under by dcobranchi
It’s an edu-blog stampede to the Donkey Party. This intrepid reporter has learned that Isabel Lyman, who has always been assumed to be a member of the VRWC, is, in her secret life, a raving Deaniac.
This photo, taken by the blogstress (and obtained by yours truly after some illegal activity), shows Dean flashing her a “high” sign. If you look carefully at the good doctor’s eyes, you can see him looking right at the camera. Word on the street has it that Ms. Lyman camped out for three days in order to get this front row view of “The Man.” What is the blog-world coming to?
Read more »
Filed on at 8:38 am under by dcobranchi
It was all an accident:
Timberlake said he did not intend to expose Jackson’s breast.
“I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl,” Timberlake said in a statement. “It was not intentional and is regrettable.”
…MTV issued a contrite statement in which it also apologized, saying the incident was “unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance.”
Riiight! Do they takes us for a bunch of boobs? Oops, sorry, that was unintentional.
Filed on February 1, 2004 at 8:40 pm under by dcobranchi
A software geek named his newborn son after himself. Instead of using Jr., he named him version 2.0.
Filed on at 8:14 am under by dcobranchi
The News-Urinal is in the top ten for the search phrase “News-Urinal” on Google. Go, team!
Filed on at 7:43 am under by dcobranchi
The Press of Atlantic City re-hashes the proposed NJ homeschooling law. It’s a so-so article. They report that the chief sponsor of the bill may be backing down a bit. Good! OTOH, the quotes from several homeschooling parents struck me as a bit defensive. That may be the reporter’s fault.
Filed on at 7:20 am under by dcobranchi
The Wilmington News-Urinal (I’m still googlebombing them) reports on a small pilot program in Bear, DE. Each Saturday, 150 kids from some poorly-performing schools and their parents participate in a Family Enrichment Academy.
Each week focuses on mind, body, character or service. The first Saturday of the month, parents attend workshops where they learn such skills as how to help their children face peer pressure, how to help with homework and how to communicate with educators.
Meanwhile, children attend programs designed to spark a love of learning for learning’s sake. Demonstrations focus on fun themes such as electricity, dinosaurs, music or poetry.
The second week, families take field trips to bowl, ice skate or ride horses. Guest speakers attend the program the third week. Delaware State University President Allen Sessoms speaks this month, and Gov. Ruth Ann Minner is expected in April. On the final Saturday of each month, families participate together in a community service project.
The program is being run on a shoe-string budget- $45,000 for five months. As long as they keep statistics for comparisons, this one sounds pretty good.
Filed on at 7:07 am under by dcobranchi
I visit the AHSA website occasionally. It’s a good resource.
THE AMERICAN HOMESCHOOL ASSOCIATION
http://www.americanhomeschoolassociation.orgFor information contact: AHA@americanhomeschoolassociation.org
The American Homeschool Association (AHA), is a service organization created in 1995 to network homeschoolers on a national level and to provide news and information about homeschooling. Current AHA services include an online discussion list providing news, information, networking, and resources; a free email newsletter; and a web site providing categorized links to the most helpful and informative pages of homeschooling information on the Internet.
The American Homeschool Association web site <http://www.americanhomeschoolassociation.org> includes links to interviews with many homeschooling personalities, including Linda Dobson, David Albert, Mary Griffith, Cafi Cohen, Patrick Farenga, Marty Layne, Grace Llewellyn, and others. Also included is a several-year collection of columns from Home Education Magazine by Larry and Susan Kaseman, authors of “Taking Charge Through Homeschooling: Personal and Political Empowerment” (1990, Koshkonong Press), addressing issues such as Working for Homeschooling Freedoms, Curfews, “Homeschooling” Programs in the Public Schools, User Friendly Homeschooling Records, Tax Credits and Homeschooling, Homeschoolers’ Playing Public School Sports, the Question of Credentials, the School-to-Work program, Homeschooling Legislation, Doing the Minimum to Comply With Homeschooling Laws, and much more.
The AHA’s History of Homeschooling series provides wide-ranging perspective, by knowledgeable writers, on where we’ve been as a homeschooling movement and where we’re going in the future. A lengthy collection of helpful and informative articles, columns, essays, editorials, FAQs and other formats showcase the best writing on a wide variety of topics, from sources all across the Internet.
The American Homeschool Association’s resource pages direct homeschoolers to helpful books, magazines, newsletters, websites and more. Listings show how to contact other homeschoolers through support groups, organizations, or online networks. And finally, a unique page of favorite quotes and excerpts on homeschooling, children, learning, and families highlights the perspective of the American Homeschool Association.
If you’re searching for information about homeschooling – whether you’re a concerned parent, a media writer, an academic researcher, an education professional, or already a homeschooler – check out the excellent collection of information and resources offered at the American Homeschool Association web site.
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