My friend, Leonard Henderson, founder of The American Family Rights Association (AFRA) has a page about homeschooling on the site. It used to be called 'Why The Henderson Family Homeschools' but now the name is 'If you CARE, you Homeschool'.

His homeschooling philosophy is similar to mine so I love looking at the many links he's researched and offered on his homeschool page. Leonard is a great internet researcher extraordinaire!

Just now I opened one that will be printed out to give to the county and administrative law judge during my upcoming hearing on the legitimacy of private school homeschooling in California. The article is What's Behind Home Schooling.

Here's what I like about the article:

"At the heart of this fight over home schooling is a fundamental difference between parents and the public school establishment on the questions of parental rights and religious liberty."

That's probably the most important reason why I'm homeschooling. I also homeschool for the safety of my children, to give them individual attention, to keep them from the public school rigidity that characterizes system education, and to let them follow their own interests. Well, that's a start. There's other reasons but let's get back to the article.

"But the union officials and career bureaucrats who control the public education establishment seem to think that the state - not parents - is primarily responsible for the raising of children and for instilling in them the beliefs it deems most important. Parental involvement is too often viewed as "interfering" with the "professionals" who know best."

The special-ed school my daughter attended in first and second grades didn't win any brownie points from me for forbidding me to sit in on her classroom.

"The general view of progressivism, which peaked at the beginning of the 20th century, supported a vast expansion of state power and a complete devotion of the individual to the common enterprise of the state. Contrary to the thinking of America's founders, who had established clear lines between the public and private, and therefore strict limits on government, the progressives argued that government was, in principle, unlimited because it was based upon scientific expertise."

God help us.

"This argument of the progressives came from the German idealistic philosophy with which most progressive intellectuals had been educated. Karl Marx himself made a direct attack on home schooling, explaining that parental rights over the upbringing of children could not be allowed because parents exploit children. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx asks: 'Do you charge us with wanting to stop the exploitation of children by their parents? To this crime we plead guilty.' He mocked 'the bourgeois clap-trap about the family and education, about the hallowed co-relation of parent and child.'"

So public schooling is communist, aka. socialist. Not surprising.

"Fortunately, the Court in the Wisconsin v. Yoder case upheld the "traditional interest of parents with respect to the religious upbringing of their children" — Justice Douglas' dissent notwithstanding. But views like those of Douglas and Mrs. Clinton only show that the troubling tenets of progressivism continue to find adherents, something home schooling parents know well as they fight to fend off the public education establishment."

My main defense of private-school homeschooling will be based on Wisconsin v. Yoder. I'll be posting my statement and briefs to the web as they're written, and will let you know the outcome of the hearing.

  ¶ 11:37 AM  

  Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to, convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.
--Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787

  ¶ 10:33 AM  

  The HooK: COVER STORY- Home for the holidays: And every other day, too
...a very nice article about homeschooling...

  ¶ 9:49 AM  

  Government school brainwashing sinks in deep with some of these people asked if they would consider homeschooling.

The first man on the page states his children would be safer at home and puts a value on his Christianity, then comes out with the buzz words: "...sending them to public school helps prepare them for the real world...". Excuse me? The 'real world' where they are exposed to dangers and Christianity is disrespected? Is that what you should want for your kids?

The second man states that he's seen some "fairly maladjusted home-schooled children". I wonder if he's ever noticed the number of maladjusted public-schooled children? He says "They are very frequently clinging to their mother's apron later in their lives than they should be." Well, I'd rather have my teenage daughter spending time with me than with the dozens of drug-using promiscuous young teenagers running around this town lying to their parents about where they'll be spending the night, then going to the local party-house for all-nighters, alcohol included. If having my daughter cling to me and stay home keeps her out of that morass of misery, I'd say its a good thing.

  ¶ 9:16 AM  

  Aaron's Top 3 Career Choices as of today:

BMX Pro Riding
Video Game Designing
Designing Car Bodies

Tonight he made a great omelet for dinner. I think he'd make a good cook.

We had some fun homeschool lessons today. First we talked about math that could be applied to the subject of go-karts, and did some computations together. Then he wanted to play hangman so we did that instead of reading. It made me happy that he thought of doing this himself.

I told him next time to find some complex words in the newspaper to trick me with - that way I won't be guessing just words I think he already knows.

  ¶ 2:08 AM  

  Another protest for parents victimized by Child Protective Services will be held on Valentines Day 2004. This will be called the North and South State of Emergency March for Human Rights and will be held in both Los Angeles and Sacramento. For more information and to keep up with the issues, check the CAFRA website.

  ¶ 2:29 AM  

  One of my daughter's biggest complaints about homeschooling is that she can't participate in sports and dances at the local high school. But look what parents in Pennsylvania are doing: School board may look at home-schoolers ban ... now, this gives me ideas!

I really wasn't expecting my child to be welcome on their sports teams, but to have her banned from a school dance she was willing to pay five dollars for was upsetting. I know when I was in highschool any kids were allowed into the dance, no matter from what highschools.. so long as they were willing to pay for entry.
  ¶ 2:26 AM