Utterly Meaningless

Good Lord. She thinks Congress talking about homeschooling is a good thing. Somebody give me hope by naming just one thing that Congress has ever discussed without eventually regulating.

Hey Darby – how are the home ed laws up North?

She thinks that you can get homeschool friendly legislation – if you just try hard enough. Right! I lived that war.

…and she’s asking why Christian and secular homeschoolers or unschoolers and curricula users are at odds. Does she not understand the differing philosophies involved here?

As a Mormon, she’d be locked out of two of the largest homeschool groups in Jackson, MS (because although *she* thinks Mormons are Christians, *these* Christians don’t and will treat her accordingly–which they are free to do as a private blah blah blah).

I think she is out of touch. For a published homeschool author, I found many of her assertions outdated or just plain wrong. And that’s disturbing.

I’ve not known (nor would I condone) groups excluding one or another “flavor” of home educator based on the type of curriculum they choose (or don’t choose). The religous thing is a bit different, but I generally don’t like exclusives either. But I draw the line at homeschool vs. cyber-charter. Those beasts are too different to mix.

Yes, the ultimate motivation may be doing what they think best for their families. But what g-school parent at any B&M school wouldn’t argue the same? By defining g-schoolers-at-home to be HEKs, we would render meaningless the terms “homeschool” or “home educated.”

Published authors can make dumb mistakes, too.

Of course, but this was more than a mistake; it was gross negligence. She lumped all hsers (which included cyberschoolers) together and asked naively “why do we attack each other?”

Not before, during or after her initial post did she stop to ponder what fuels the in-fighting. Instead, she blindly called for this united front of shiny, happy homeschoolers. The inclusion of cyberschoolers just exacerbates the issue. Then her final comment made it worse. I guess I expected more from an author of a “how to homeschool” book.

If it made me angry enough to blog at 2 AM, then revisit today and leave a deposit, I suspect it might make you go blind (consider yourself warned…and remember she wrote a book for newbies, many whom consider her an expert).

It’s a problem that she’s an how to homeschool author, but how wide spread is her writing? I’m a little disturbed that she misrepersented the ALP programs here in Washington State. They do not have free reighn like she suggested.