Rhode Island Candidate for
Rhode Island Candidate for Governor speaks Yesterday, Isabel Lyman linked to a HSing Mom who is running for office as an Independent. I wandered over to the candidate’s web-site and came across this: “Learning is a constant endeavor. We are proposing lengthening school days, school years, and even total years of compulsory attendance. Yet, we are making these proposals at a time when, due to technology access, knowledge is doubling in less and less time. And, the costs to provide access to teachers is increasing, with proposals such as smaller class sizes.” Huh??? A homeschooler proposing increasing the years of compulsory attendance? Say it ain’t so!
I wrote the candidate asking for a clarification and she kindly responded this morning:
“We” is the State of Rhode Island and various school districts within the State of Rhode Island. Also, several Bills came up in the Rhode Island General Assembly. Therefore, these are the issues facing Rhode Islanders and not simply homeschoolers. I think that’s the best clarification: Compulsory attendance affects everyone. That message is ringing home “loud and clear” here. I’ve even had teachers write me and say, “You’ve got my vote; how can I volunteer?”[emphasis added]
I don’t stand on the issue of compulsory attendance laws. I stand on the issue of public education in all of its accessible forms: public, private, home, virtual…whatever. I believe that we should not institutionalize education simple because education has become an institution. It is the right of all citizens to be educated, and government serves the people best when it serves the people as they wish. My children have been in private, public and homeschool. I value having the appropriate type of school available to meet varying family educational circumstances. In other words, I value Freedom.
I feel (and I am not alone) that Rhode Island’s proposals are and have been counterproductive to efficient and effective dispensation of education. That seems to be the natural outcome of ‘one-track’ minds.
The educated mind is broader than any ‘one-track’ mind.
Thanks again for chatting on the issues,
Tonya Fuller-Balletta
Independent (as in Unaffiliated) Candidate for Governor
State of Rhode Island
http://www.Tonya2002.com
To tell you the truth, I’m still a bit confused but if the PS teachers are for it, I’m probably agin’ it.