Utterly Meaningless » Blog Archive » OH! MY! GOD!
  • OH! MY! GOD!

    Filed at 9:21 pm under by dcobranchi

    Fucking NCHE is proposing that we cooperate with DNPE’s extra-legal “requests” for meetings (including, presumably, at the local police station).

    Hal, your org just plain sucks.

    9 Responses to “OH! MY! GOD!”


    Comment by
    Stargirl
    November 29th, 2006
    at 7:27 am

    What are they *thinking*? See your curriculum? Mine isn’t something you can *see*, it’s something we *do*, it’s a philosophy, a library card, a field trip budget, a group of like-minded friends, a monthly roller-skating day, a daily family dinner.

    See the kids? Along with their test scores? Nothing to fear? What if they didn’t like my kids? What if they start asking them things? What if my kids confirmed a stereotype or two, instead of busting them? Why on earth would anyone take that risk? How could they not label homeschoolers, in their minds, as “good homeschoolers” and “bad homeschoolers”? Because that’s what this exercise is *for*, right? To separate good from bad? And do ya think perceived social class might influence that label? And what kind of new regulations might come from that process?

    DPNE is asking for the opportunity to make snap judgements about homeschoolers – and NCHE is suggesting you’all participate?

    Glad I don’t live there. I’ll take my “high regulation” state over yours any day.


    Comment by
    Nance Confer
    November 29th, 2006
    at 8:16 am

    The FNCHE? It sounds like that fits!

    Nance


    Comment by
    Bonnie
    November 29th, 2006
    at 1:29 pm

    This is just the most disappointing thing to me. I was sincerely hoping that what we had seen the last couple of months with NCHE FINALLY standing up to DNPE was the beginning of a turn-around for NCHE. I can’t think of a more wimpy stance for a fellow like Ernie to take. Especially since he was there in the early days.

    It sounds like to me that it is high time for some folks involved in NCHE to make a decision. I have heard from some of them who say they are indeed ready for the turn-around. When the pres. of the organization puts out this kind of statement then I would wonder what keeps folks who don’t agree hanging around and giving their money to this idiocy.

    Talk about flip-flop. First they are saying don’t go to the meetings. Now they are saying go. Is Ernie acting on his own here? Isn’t there some sort of majority ruling that would have to be made for NCHE to make this kind of announcement? NCHE has been putting out on all the loops the opinion of it is better not to attend the meetings. What the heck is going on with those people?


    Comment by
    Daryl Cobranchi
    November 29th, 2006
    at 1:34 pm

    I posted this on HSWatch this a.m. in response to a question about NCHE’s position:

    I’m seriously considering trying to start a new statewide group whose mission it would be to advocate to maintain and eventually to increase homeschooling freedoms and to push back whenever DNPE goes beyond their legal mandates. I can guarantee that I would not counsel complying with these meetings.

    If I do it, it would definitely be completely neutral on religion (NCHE is a Christian group). IMO, if a statewide group is purporting to represent all homeschoolers in the state it should be scrupulously secular.


    Comment by
    Bonnie
    November 29th, 2006
    at 2:51 pm

    I was just reading that video transcript again and I have to say not one word of it makes any sense. How does knowing the history of the homeschool law have any bearing on this situation at all??? OK…we have this homeschool law and it took lots of hard work to get it. So NOW let’s totally ignore what the law says and bow to the state??? How does what Ernie Hodges is saying here have anything to do with what DNPE is doing??? He’s saying we fought for a good law years ago. He cites a family who was tried for truancy. How does caving into the state NOW relate to this in any way??? It seems to me that if homeschoolers really do feel that the battle for a homeschool law was worth fighting many years ago then there would be even MORE reason to stand up to unlawful requests NOW.

    Where is the logic in all this??? Like I don’t already know the answer. Ummmm…nowhere!!!

    I know…this is the same old, same old. Me sounding like a broken record. But I don’t think I will ever NOT get riled over this!


    Comment by
    Valerie
    November 30th, 2006
    at 11:09 am

    Daryl, if you start a new org., be sure to use etheral-sounding choral music as a background to your pronouncements.


    Comment by
    Toni
    November 30th, 2006
    at 11:20 am

    I would recommend not only reading the transcript but *watching and listening to the video*, which to me is blatant propaganda, complete with soothing muzak in the background…. pass the barf bag please.

    But, no, really- something is terribly amiss when NCHE changes its tune so drastically in 2 months. Here are NCHE statements dating from September and October:

    –in a “Brief” from September “(snip) … and NCHE does not recommend volunteering information beyond that required by law. Only the following records are required by N.C. statute: 1) Attendance and 2) immunization, and 3) standardized tests …”
    –and from October: “DNPE Accelerates Review Meeting Schedule – NCHE Recommends Not Participating”…

    Now, we are told, among other soothing ‘reassurances’ that: “…if you’re doing a good job teaching your children at home, as I know you are, you have nothing to fear from these inspections. Nothing. Nothing at all.”

    In other words, sure, take your curriculum along and make sure to take your kids, too ?!? Hm… .


    Comment by
    Toni
    November 30th, 2006
    at 11:35 am

    One more bit of perspective… I neglected to point out that for years and years NCHE has encouraged its members to participate in DNPE’s **Voluntary** Mail-in Program, so much so that many families assume it is actually required of them.

    Perhaps the actual flip-flop, then- the turn-around- was in the alerts of September and October, in which NCHE for once encouraged its members NOT to volunteer information beyond that required by law. Now, we can all rest assured that *things are back to normal*, we homeschoolers are once again encouraged to send in extra-legal information to “protect our homeschool freedoms” from some unknown threat. Nothing to fear, nothing to fear…


    Comment by
    sam
    November 30th, 2006
    at 12:43 pm

    I’m not in your state, so I can read about your issues with some small amount of chagrin at the whole thing as opposed to the fear that might grip me were it a problem I shared with you. I have to interject that any time someone uses the “if you aren’t doing anything wrong then you have nothing to fear” certainly gives me reason to fear. If I had nothing to fear, then you wouldn’t have to use that phrase. Kind of makes me glad I moved from Charlotte before the oldest was born, though homeschool laws were the least of my concern those many years ago.