Reason, and the Freedom, to Homeschool

This morning on TV, my husband, who was watching the news, learned about Sharon Angle.  I am not sure what particular flavor of news program he was watching, I assumed it was a major network though.  What he wanted me to know, was that she was a politician who used to home school her children before she got into politics.  In fact, she told the news reporter that fighting for the freedom to home school is what lead her into politics.

My hubby was struck with interest .  He was surprised to see the media, and her, a politician, talk about her experience in removing her kids from public school, as well as her being a home school mom for years.  I thought I should at least know a little bit about who this woman is.  So I looked around a bit to see who she was, on the internet.

Also today, I was talking with a friend who retold to me the story, of how her friend recently visited his child's second grade public school classroom and was appalled at the politics being taught to such young kids.  My understanding is that he, a pastor, had some words with the teacher about it all and that he is now planning to home school his own kids!  I am inspired to write about it because it amazes me that the topic of homeschooling... and the freedom to do just that. would come up twice in one morning, first on the news and then at a friends house.  

For many people, the idea and concept of homeschooling kinda "tweeks" the brain.  It's abnormal.  School and going to school seems to be the "normal" course of events.  In fact, the first question to a kid under the age of 16 is usually, "What school do you go to?" 

(EVERYONE "goes" to school.)

It seems that going to public school is expected, anticipated and for many folks, seemingly necessary... sometimes, even so that mom and dad can work.  Sometimes people choose to homeschool because of the kind of job or job schedule and location of the family or maybe they want a Christian education and there is a high cost for private school.  Another reason could be related to the special abilities or disabilities of a child, but for many, as in the case of this dad who discovered that the classroom was not what he thought it would be like at all, it is just good ol' common sense to Home School. 

With all of the great reports about homes schooling and it's success, it is no wonder so many people want to try it.  Often though, they are just homeschooling because it seems the thing to do.  Then they just want someone to come long and tell them how it works and what to do to make it work for them.  It is not that simple.  The first thing one needs in order to homeschool sucessfully is a conviction of heart.. the notion that an education at-home, outside of the public school arena, is for you. 

That is what happened to this man, and I can so-relate to that experience even though my personl experience, of discovering a "reason" to homeschool, took place over 20 years ago.   This takes us back to Sharon.... who was told by the school that her son failed kindergarten... and she put him into kindergarten a second time only to discover here he was not taking the self image well of being labeled a “flunker” or “too slow” by his classmates at the local public school.   Not only did Sharon start homeschooling, she started a homeschool group in Winnemuca, Nevada.

Today, Sharon Angle is the GOP Senate nominee for Nevada.  She told the news this morning that it was her experience with the laws of education and homeschooling, that prompted her into the political arena today.  In a National Review Article, she recalled what the judge had to say in a courtroom about  "home school":
 
‘I know it’s the law that you can homeschool in Nevada, but the law should be that you can’t, unless you live more than 50 miles away from the nearest school,"

So, consider this:  It was the law that one could home school, but Sharon and friends still found themselves in a courtroom, with a judge, who disagreed with the law.  They had to defend the freedom, the right, to homeschool.  his is certainly a reminder of the need to be vigilant and protective of the homeschool law we have today in Washington State.

I just want to remind us all that this judge's attitude about home school laws is still the mentality of some people.  They would like to change or nullify it if they could. Many people think you cannot teach your own children at home unless you are in some way shape or form "attached" to the local public school system, "accountable" to the school.  I just want to take the opportunity to note that Home School is separate and distinct from public school.  There is public school, private school, and home school.

Now, I do not endorse Sharon Angle in particular, in fact, I never even heard of her until today.  I sure am glad to know there are people, like Sharon Angle,  interested in politics, people who want to work in politics to preserve and protect our freedoms, and most of all, who understand the value and the many issues surrounding homeschool. 

Retiring? Who? Me?

I once met a man who introduced me to his wife, telling me she was "retired" after working twenty-odd years, "homeschooling."  HE said he had a lot of respect for all the work she did.  Wow.  great compliment.     She proceeded to tell me, she could not have done what she did without him encouraging and supporting her.  I never really thought of the end of homeschooling as retirement, but in a way, I guess it really is.  Time to get some new "tires" and hit the road on  another adventure!

This is exciting!  But it isn;t here quite yet.  we have a few more weeks to go... a graduation party to  plan, record keeping and testing to do.... but it is just around the corner.

Ahhhh, I can taste the freedom, even just knowing that the end of our textbook adventure is near.  This is "senior-itis"  I am sure.  Not the kind old folks get, but the kind teens do. 

Math is over in a few days..... (It's an on-line math program.) My ds still has two lessons in his Litterature book... several in Physics and History, and a national Fencing tournament in Reno to attend, but all in all, we should be done with the schoolbooks and call it a wrap by the middle of July. 

This will be good.  I shall be "retiring." 

I love it.

In my senioritis, I find myself testing the waters of independence... and often.... I find that I am even forgetting I am still a homeschooling mom.  This is because my dear son actually has his school pretty much under his control and is doing a great job of it too.   I have been jokingly saying to a few friends that I am retiring this year.  AMazing.  Didn;t even think of myself as a working mom, but truth is, homeschooling is a job, but more than a job, like the "U.S. NAvy" it's "An Adventure!"

How true that is!  Homeschooling is even like sailing a ship through uncharted seas!  ,  

It's a little hard to grasp mentally sometimes.as a long-time homeschool mom that I have one last child moving on into the world out there, and as he does, I will no longer be "homeschooling." I wonder, "Will I loose my sense of identity? 

I answer myself, "No."  Homeschooling is not where I find my sense of self, value or worth. No,  I have learned, that like many other places and identities where we hang our hat, so to speak, such things which we might try to find our identity in, are fleeting and quite temporary.  As a Christian, and as you, dear reader,  may know, Christ is that immovable and true anchor worth clinging too in this life, not some identity we have found for ourselves to be comfortable in, like "being a homeschool mom."   Besides, as avid learners, explorers and educators.... homeschoolers never "really" retire.... they just pass on to higher learning levels.

"Making Healthy Food Choices" a Chicago School Lunch Program

Well, I am glad that homeschoolers can make their own daily lunch choices, but who really thinks very much about the beauty of selecting your own lunch items?  Not me.  Sometimes I might even think of it as a chore.  I do have a different view after reading a recent article from the Chicago Tribune about a Chicago school that does not allow students to bring their own lunch to school, eve, unless they have a medical excuse.  (Read all three Pages.) They have to eat what the school provides, and pay for it too, because kids are not allowed to bring a lunch... they have to be protected from "unhealthful" food choices.

Now, as a mom, I understand the concept. I have told my kids," Eat your veggies" and "No dessert while your dinner is still on your plate!"  This situation is more than protecting children, it is about business and control.  You can bet that businesses bank on partnering with school lunch programs and that schools get federal funding for each free or reduced priced lunch it serves.  If kids do not eat in the cafeteria and do bring lunches from home, business' suffer and lunch revenue at the school is loss.

The official word though, from Principal Cameron, is: "Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school." and "It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke."


Okay... got me there.  We might all be convinced now.  I mean, don't you know that it is healthier for kids to drink "milk" instead of a "Coke."

Some homeschooled kids should do a study on that.  It might not be so true if all our milk gets radiated from the recent nuclear disater in Japan.  But if you do think about it, you could almost justify it in some respect.  I mean you would alleviate those lunch trades, you kow, kids who trade sandwiches and are not getting the nutrition their parents sent th There would be not chocking hazards....like grapes or hot dogs or pretzels  and maybe less waste for the lunch staff in the kitchen, forseeable purchasing practices, fewer leftovers to deal with on those days when not enough students purchase lunch at school. 

 But, lets think again and think about the beauty of freedom to eat what you like and what you can afford.  How willing would you be to let someone dictate your choice of food and then force you to pay for it as well, whether you liked it or not?  How would you like to have your choices disrespected and be told you were incapable of making the politically correct food choice on your own.

Really.

It is shocking to think that most of the parents, teachers and school officials think nothing of it and are doing it.  Well, at least it is shocking to some people.  It is certainly shocking to the kids who often will throw away the food they are given and go hungry instead.

I say, Hooray for homeschool lunches!


Leave a comment... post your favorite homeschool lunch there!

                                                                                                             Lisa B.

Be Informed

Be informed about Parent Partnership Programs or PPP's,   Why?  Because some people think this is "homeschooling."   If that's you, hold on to your hat..... It's not.  Parent Partnerships are programs paid for by tax dollars, and clearly affiliated with the local public school;  homeschooling, is not.

Thanks to a lot of good publicity about homeschooling, what used to be considered extreme for a parent to do, has become quite vogue.  Unfortunately, many people, both those with school aged children and those who are not connected with the schools on a daily basis at all, hear about kids who "homeschool" and think it is done through the local school.  It's an easy misunderstanding to make, in some states, the only way a parent is able to teach their own children instead of sending them to regular public school classroom or a private school is through a program like the PPP.  But here in Washington state, we have what has become known as a Homeschool Law.

If you find yourself curious, ask questions in school and ask questions of people who run various homeschooiling support organizations, like the Washington Homeschool Organization or the Christian Homeschoolers of Washington.  These are people who  know what homeschool is and work voluntarily to keep the freedoms to homeschool here in our states.  Like a true learner, do not just settle for the first answer you hear, rather get the counsel of two or three people who know what they are talking about and evaluate what you hear and think about it for yourself.  If you decide a Parent Partnership Program is for you, then call it a parent partnership with the school and not homeschooling.  Please.  

And remembers, Parent Partnerships are a relatively new part of the public school system.  Many people, even those who currently run them and work for them, are not even sure what PPP's will look like years from now. These programs have already gone through many changes.  There are questions about funding, questions about what the actual the role of parent in relationship to state educators is.  One thing is certain,  and this is true whether your children are in public school or not, and that is ththat since the beginning of time, parents have been the primary educators of their children, and they do know best as to what is good for their own family and for their children.   This must always be the case no matter what kind of education you choose or value for your kids.  

One important thing for all taxpaying people to know is that Washington State law does not make any provision for the public funding of the private endeavor known as homeschooling.  Parents who "homeschool" do not receive funding from the state to do it, it is just like sending your kids to a private school.  Private schools get no state funding either.  Parent Partnerships in Washington public schools, do cost taxpayers money.... and make no mistake.... there is a lot of money being spent.

Parent Partnerships require buildings with furniture and electricity, janitors.  Teachers (and sometimes parent as classroom teachers)  must be hired too.  There must be funding available for textbook materials, computers, classes as well as books for the libraries these alternative schools now house. Make no mistake... you and I pay taxes that provide these programs. The PPP's are governed by the Washington Administrative Code and participants who register full time in these  public school programs are NOT homeschooling under the RCW.  (Although one can certainly be doing an ancillary (part time) class at the local public school and still be "homeschooling.")

As a taxpayer, as a teacher, as a  parent, as a student, be informed.