Why the NEA Can Kiss My Grits - My Home Schooled, Home Made Grits that Is
"The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.
When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress.
Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians.
Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.
The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)"
Hmmmm... really?
Well, let's examine this "stand":
"The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience."
Why not? As "mom" I made some pretty important decisions before my child was ever of compulsory attendance age. I chose to have him. I chose whether to breast feed or bottle feed. I chose whether or not to immunize him. I chose whether or not to circumcise him. I chose what he should listen to, see, and experience. I chose his car seat, crib, high chair and toys. I chose what books to read to him. I chose what to feed him. I chose his bed time. I chose his soap, his shampoo, his lotion. I chose where he lives and ironically, I chose what school district he lives in. All of these choices were made with great consideration and a great amount of research. So what makes the NEA believe that they have the ability to make better "choices" than I?
Incidentally, let's look at the term "comprehensive education experience". My son learns Language Arts, Science, Math, Social Studies, Physical Education, Health, Handwriting, Safety and any number of other "subjects". However, as part of his "comprehensive education experience" he is not exposed to fighting, violence, fear of school shootings, angry teachers, overcrowded classrooms, swearing and acceptance of mediocrity. I will gladly forego the NEA's idea of a "comprehensive education experience".
"When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress."
I have no problem making sure that my son's education meets all state curricular requirements, as long as those requirements do not go against my sincerely held religious beliefs. You see, my son learns more in home school than he ever learned in Public School. At home, I know quickly whether or not he has grasped a concept and can choose to spend more times on concepts that are more difficult, without sending him to a resource room to make him feel like he is less intelligent than his peers. As for taking and passing assessments to ensure adequate academic progress? Well, you see, the reason that I chose to home school is because he was not making adequate academic progress in Public School. He was not passing his assessments, yet no one seemed to care. Public Schools have become so caught up in making sure that kids pass the standardized tests that they've forgotten to teach the material. When I talk to teachers in the Public Education system - their biggest frustration is that they have to cram so much into a school year in order to get the kids ready for the tests that they don't have time to teach at a pace at which the kids can learn. At home - I have the luxury of spending as much time as we need on any areas of concern. Every waking moment is an education moment, every day is a school day, and every week is a school week. Learning is the objective - not passing a test.
Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians.
If a friend comes to me and asks for my help in teaching their child, I will gladly help - no matter where that child attends "school". I truly believe that no child should be left behind and I will do everything in my power to make sure that no child goes unhelped if I can help them. When my son attended Public School, it was apparent that his teachers did not see me as unfit to teach my son judging by the amount of "homework" that he brought home! If I can get through to a child where someone else can't - Hallelujah - that child has LEARNED! As for expenses, do we need to discuss how the school district pays the salaries of the teachers? Taxes! Whether my child is educated in the Public School System or at home, I am paying for all expenses! "Funding" is not money that the government just happens to have lying around - taxes have provided that money, taxes that I have paid.
Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
Judging by the state of our Public School Systems and the fact that we have yet to reach 100% "highly qualified" teachers as defined by NCLB (No Child Left Behind), I would encourage the NEA to clean up their own yard before complaining about mine. As a mother, I can promise you that I will not allow my child to receive a sub-par education. I will make sure that I know the information that I am teaching him or that I find someone who is capable of teaching it better than I can. I do not believe that my curriculum should need to be approved by the state department of education, obviously when my son was enrolled in Public School that was not working for him... we tried your way, now we'll try mine.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.
I might agree to this if I wasn't still paying school taxes out of my paycheck each month. However, last time I checked, "opting out" of paying local school taxes was not an option. My son is a member of the community, a good athlete and an exemplary home-schooled child. Why shouldn't he be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities and sports?
The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting.
Grade placement through a test? OK. Credits earned toward graduation? No way. Because the NEA felt that it was necessary to write their "stand" on home education and it is so completely biased, I don't feel that the Public School System would give my son a fair amount of credit towards graduation. I can promise you that at the end of a school year, my son has spent more time learning than any public school student. I can promise you that he has had more one on one attention than any public school student. When I talk to public school teachers, I realize that my son is half a year ahead of kids in his grade in public school. If we were to choose to re-enroll him in public school at some point in the future and he were to have the ability to "test up" into a higher grade, I would hope that he would be able to do so rather than sit bored in a classroom so that he could earn enough "credits".
I choose to home school my son because quite honestly, the Public School System has proven time and again to me that they are not capable of doing so. They have no right now to think that they are going to arbitrarily manage my right to educate my son at home and decide whether or not I am capable of teaching him. Let's get the roles straight here... I'm THE mom and they are some teachers. I gave birth to this child and will be in his life until the day that I die. They may have him in their class for 8 months, in their school system for 12 years... who has the more vested interest in making sure that he's well-educated?
Published by Momma T
I am a Christian, a wife, a mom, a homeschooler and a full time recruiter. I am a lover of animals and people and passionate about life. View profile
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29 Comments
Post a CommentMomma T - You may be amarried, housewife, female Christian but you are a rather scary home-schooler. Your grammar is terrible. You're raising another generation of American school children who cannot follow simple rules of grammar, Is your son meeting the minimum standards?
I know a minister's kids who were home-schooled. The oldest daughter was offered scholarships to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Instead she chose to go to a Christian school to get her Mrs. degree.
All I can say is Amen! Good parents will always care more about their children than the NEA ever will. While they harp about bad homeschools, they ignore bad public schools. Would they ever say that a child should be removed from a public school that was failing? No, only parents are subject to such scrutiny in their upside-down worldview.
As an educator, I agree with you on many points. I would like to point out to you that not all of those who home school are equal, just as not all public school teachers are equal. I went into education from industry, for me, teachers are the whiniest group of people that I have ever experienced. When you think about it, the majority of educators have never been in the real world - they graduated high school, then college and then back to elementary or high school. I am a believer in the process of public education when executed properly, which is surprising when I have been told by an administrator that I had not grown in my position enough for tenure, he did not know what classes I taught and refered to a CD drive as "one of those pop-out things" I believe that NCLB is a crock, and to many administrators need to be tested by the public rather than standardized tests. I have seen way to many inadequate administrators and too often the "popular" teachers are dismissed because if
As the leader of a homeschool social group for the last couple of years, it has been interesting to notice that some of the LEAST educated of the parents are among the BEST of the homeschoolers. You don't have to know everything to be a teacher. You don't have to be educated to teach your kids how to learn. Teaching academics ad nauseum does not a good citizen make.
Great thoughts for those considering homeschooling. I enjoyed your article.
Cindy Vee - Thank you for you comment. I agree that Homeschooling is not for everyone, just as I believe that Public School or Private School is not for everyone. My argument has never been that everyone should homeschool - simply that it is a completely valid option and that it should be respected. I do believe that there are still good teachers out there who care and give their students 100%, unfortunately, I think that they are few and far between.
I guess I'll be the lone dissenting opinion. I have no doubt that home schooling can be wonderful for some children and their parents. And in a perfect world, all parents would be able to provide all children with all the education and training they need. Our country, however, has a long tradition of educating ALL children, not just those who were blessed with supportive, educated, intelligent parents who are financially able to stay home with them each day and teach them. While it's true that the public education system is not perfect, it offers numerous opportunities that so many children would not otherwise have.
I appreciated your article and am glad you have taken a stand to speak out for homeschooling! My daughter tried public school for preschool, kindergarten, and the first seven years of grade school. We finally took her out to homeschool because we no longer felt public schooling was the right choice for her and our family situation. Certified teachers? Well, I know for a fact that two public schools in our vicinity recently had to let two of their teachers go because of lewd behavior with students! One teacher was let go about two years ago for giving alcohol to a student. A child was caught for bringing a fake gun to school and threatening other kids. There are constant fights and bullying at the schools among students. I could go on and on. So, why does certification or public school make a better teacher or learning environment? That just shows it takes more than a just a certificate and a public school to provide a good education. The public schools are so intent on making
Well said. Home schooling is a huge commitment managed by many parents. I admire your patience and ability to see past all the red tape. Keep up the good work!