The Seperation of Home and State

The number of home schooled children in the United States is growing each year. "In 2003, the number of home schooled students was 1.1 million, an increase from 850,000 in 1999." U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). The reasons for the substantial increase are commonly shared among homeschooling parents. We feel the safety of our children has been compromised with the drugs, and negative peer pressure that they are exposed to. Through my own personal experience, I have added to the list of reasons. I have learned that public schooling has waged a war against the families in America, trying to break down the integrity of the family, and their beliefs while dumbing down our children.

It never occurred to me that public schools would try to turn my children against me, or try to break down the foundation of my family, but after a few months of my children attending public school, I received a call from a social worker at the school. She said my son had a bruise on his arm. I was asked a series of questions, including, obviously, where the bruise came from. After my children arrived home that day, I took a look at the bruise that had caused such a stir and was taken aback by the size of it. The bruise was no bigger than the tip of a pencil eraser. When asked how he had gotten the bruise, my son told the social worker and the principal that he could not remember where he had gotten it from. They spent over an hour in that office questioning my five year-old son until he finally told them I, his mother, did it. He could not tell them how, no matter how many times they asked, so they called my daughter into the room. She had no idea how he had gotten the bruise, but the officials spent another hour in the room questioning her. They kept asking her if I did it, and if I spanked her, and her brother. They asked how she felt about any punishment she received, and if she thought I was mean. They kept repeating the same questions, slightly changing the way they asked them, as if to trick her. After my children informed me of all that had happened, I went to the school and told them how ridiculous and invasive I found their tactics. I was assured it was just for the safety of their students that they conducted this type of investigation.

After a second investigation a few months later, I started debating whether I should take my children out of the public school system. I could not figure out what had suddenly put me on their radar, but for a third time, two social workers were summoned out to the school to further investigate my disciplinary practices. Even the social workers seemed confused by why they were called. I was notified a final time by a social worker of yet another investigation being conducted. That was the last straw. After talking to my husband and other family members, I decided to pull my children out of public school. Three days into the first week of homeschooling, a police officer visited my home. He was looking for my children to make sure they were all right; someone from the school had called. I was in utter shock. I was completely unprepared for this assault on my character, and motherhood. I did not deserve this, nor was I willing to take it any longer.

After hours of researching on our part, my sister, and I found that this particular type of harassment was not unusual, or isolated. A Michigan family removed their children from public schooling due to the school's practices and poor attempt at education. This family was harassed a short time later by the authorities claiming they needed to approve the family's chosen curriculum. In the same article it states, "A similar incident occurred in Allegan County last September when a police officer arrived at a home schooling family's residence, demanding to see the curriculum." (Michigan Education Report 2002-03). There are disturbing stories like this littering the Internet.

As a parent, we have rights. The right to home school our children is obviously one of them, but what about teaching our children our family values and principles? Every parent has certain beliefs they wish to instill in their children. Whether it is the belief in God, creation, and morality, or something else; it is the parent's right, and not that of the school's to teach. Public schools took God out of school, fine, with that went creation, again that is fine. What is not acceptable, is replacing creation with yet another belief, i.e. evolution. Does it seem odd, that the 15% of Americans who do not believe in any religion get to decide what is taught in our public schools, while the 80% who do believe in God have to just live with it? (Wikipedia 2001).

Another example of this "public teaching" is homosexuality. In Nashville, Tenn., a children's book by the name of "King and King" caused quite a stir. In this story, two princes fall in love with each other and go on to get married and live happily ever after. This book is being checked out in the school library by six year-olds who are unaware of the message being taught. ["I was flabbergasted," her father, Michael Hartsell, told the Associated Press. "My child is not old enough to understand something like that, especially when it is not in our beliefs."] Michael Foust (2005). In the Montgomery County, Md., public school they are teaching that homosexuality is akin to left-handed tendencies. Michael Foust (2005). Recently, my brother, who is 13 years old and in junior high school, was given a similar analogy. The day after Martin Luther King Day, his school likened African Americans to homosexuals. He was asked if it was proper for African Americans to have rights while homosexuals were denied rights due to their sexual orientation. The school system is teaching acceptance and tolerance of homosexuality without the knowledge or consent of the children's parents.

In a day where parental controls are being advocated from controlling what our children view on television, computers, video games, and who they may or may not talk to on cell phones, I find it very interesting that public schools are taking the liberty to teach our children something that the parent may or may not consent to. I also find it disturbing that if a child is caught praying in school, or reading a bible, they are immediately reprimanded for infringing upon other student's rights, but those that are against homosexuality are labeled narrow minded and called bigots when they do not blindly follow the "Pied Piper," where ever he is leading them.

Public schools have also taken it upon themselves to dumb our children down."American public school children have been deliberately "dumbed down" and indoctrinated-rather than educated-to accept the global plantation and the dissolution of American sovereignty and liberty." Author Unknown, (2002). The school system has altered the way teachers teach in recent years. No longer is reading and writing taught phonetically, nor is math taught with the dot to number curriculum. Our text books are getting easier and easier, classes are getting duller and less stimulating and our children are learning not to learn. It is disgraceful when our children, at the age of nine are testing at the same high-levels as other countries, while at 17 years of age they are testing lower than most countries T. Bethell (2005). Our children are being dumbed down by our school systems and the longer they remain in the system; the more of an effect the dumbing down will have on them. When I was in high school I skipped 48 times in one quarter and still maintained a B average. That should not be possible, but because so little is being taught in school, a child can miss over a month and still get passable, if not, above average grades. I do not need this same school system to tell me when, or what to teach my children.

Since I have taken my children out of the public school system they, like countless other home schooled children, have become comfortable in their surroundings, and their ability to analyze, reason and think. When I pulled my children out of the public school it was close to the end of the school year. My son, who was in kindergarten still could not read or write; not even his name. We had to hold him back a year to get him caught up on many things he was deficient in, and I am happy to say, he is reading and writing at the same pace as his sister. There are many articles and surveys available that reflect these same issues as well as results within the homeschooling world. Home schooled children far exceed publicly schooled children, not only in knowledge, but also in behavior skills, inner strength and their solid belief system. Oftentimes children fall into peer pressure because they are not strong enough to stand against it. Homeschooling my children gives them the opportunity to avoid peer pressure. This gives their mind and body time to develop, while giving me the time to sculpt the foolishness of youth into the wisdom of responsible teenagers.

I do believe if public schools were to offer our children an education, such as they should (math, science, history, english) then we would have no need for home schools. Public schools, however; have taken it upon themselves to teach our children immorality and unbelief, while failing to teach them the fundamentals; in addition, they are trying to break down the foundation of the family. We as parents and home schoolers have accepted the challenge to protect our children, our beliefs and our families, while stimulating our children's minds. We are fighting back by taking our children out of the school system, out of the demoralization and dumbing down of the youth of America and taking back our rights to be parents, leaders and roll models to our young and impressionable children. In affect, we are separating our homes from state or government rule. So, I will build the patience,find the time, and the way to school my children at home because the public schools are not doing justice to these impressionable and thirsty minds, not by my standards, and I would hope not by the standards of any parent who is concerned with their child's education.References

Author Unknown, (September 23, 2002), Public school kids deliberately 'dumbed down' to

be automatons in global collective, American Free Press, http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/OtherPDFs/RFP_interview_p1.pdf

Author Unknown, (2001), Religion in the United States,

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States

Bethell, T., (2005), The quality of public education has declined, Education Ed., Mary E.

Williams, San Diego: Green Haven Press, Found in Axia Library, Thompson Gale Power Search, Document number: EJ3010129242

Foust, M., (June 7, 2005), Are public schools the next battleground over

homosexuality, Baptist Press, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20922

Michigan Education Report (September 8, 2002) Home schoolers face investigation, harassment

from government officials, Michigan Education Report, http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.asp?ID=4611

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). The condition

of education 2005 (NCES 2005-094), http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=91