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News & Commentary April 21, 2004
In this Issue:
Kids In the News
Drivers Education In Iowa
Watchdogging the State - Oregon Style
South Carolina - Arguing for Interscholastic Access Texas - Zoning for Homeschooling?
Virginia - Governor's Amendment Stings
Homeschooling Around the Nation
Confusion, Charters, and California Officials Follow Up - Sectarian Animosity
Homeschooling In Japan
Opening Education to Competition
Library Books or Curriculum?
Child Abuse and Criminals Who Lie
Savviest Reporter of the Week Award
Worst Headline of the Week Award
Final Words
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Kids In the News
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Ann: Congratulations to these hard-working young folks.
headline: Home Schooled Students Heading to Mock Trial Nationals
KSL News, Salt Lake City, Utah, By Shelley Osterloh, April 12
http://tv.ksl.com
"A group of teenagers will represent Utah students at a National competition in three weeks. It turns out, Utah's best students in Mock Trials are home-schooled....[and] belong to a home school Co-op in the Murray Holiday area. With a dozen other families, they share curriculum and teaching. Last week the teens in the group competed in the state's high school Mock Trial Competition and defeated last year's state champs, West High."
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headline: The Von Trapps: Singing, Storytelling Are Their Favorite Things
The Monroe Times, Wisconsin, By Ellen Williams-Masso, April 14
http://www.themonroetimes.com
"Sofia, 15, Melanie, 13, Amanda, 12, and Justin von Trapp, 9, sing classical and folk music. The grandchildren of Werner von Trapp, renamed 'Kurt' in the musical, have always loved singing. 'They have sung since they were really little,' their mother Annie explained. 'They loved Barney and would always sing those songs.' The children are homeschooled in rural Montana..."
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headline: Rimini Boy Wins Stamp Contest
Independent Record, Helena, Montana, By Carolynn Bright, April 19
http://www.helenair.com
"Eight-year-old Ryan Eakin likes birds and he likes to draw. So, it was a natural progression for the homeschooled Rimini resident to put pencil to paper recently, exploring his favorite subject matter while competing against other budding artists in the Montana Junior Duck Stamp contest...awarded him the first place prize in the kindergarten through third grade category."
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headline: Next Up for Envirothon Winners: State Finals
The Courier-Tribune, West Virginia, By Kathi Keys, April 20
http://www.courier-tribune.com
ASHEBORO - "Five local homeschoolers are headed to the state Envirothon competition as the top regional team. The homeschool team, Kids Immersed Drastically in Science (KIDS), placed first in the middle school regional competition and will take part in the N.C. State Envirothon Friday and Saturday at Cedarock Park in Alamance County. The Envirothon program is a competitive event in which middle and high school students participate in a natural resources knowledge and ecology field day against other teams."
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Drivers Education In Iowa
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headline: Seymour From the Senate
Ida County Courier, Iowa, by Senator Jim Seymour james.seymour@legis.state.ia.us, April 08
http://www.zwire.com
"Iowa parents who home-school their children would be allowed to teach their teens how to drive under a bill approved this week by the Iowa Senate. Currently, Iowa teenagers are required to take a driver education course though the school district or a private driver education school that is contracted through the district."
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Watchdogging the State - Oregon Style
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Ann: Two Oregon homeschooling organizations, Oregon Home Education Network and Oregon Christian Education Association Network, work together to protect existing homeschooling freedoms and to advocate for full freedom. Both organizations recently informed homeschoolers of increased state and local government interest in homeschooling.
headline: Multnomah ESD Lures Home Educators
By Dick Karman, April 11
http://www.OCEANetwork.org
"Recently public Education Service Districts have been trying to enroll private home school students in public school activities and services so that they can receive more tax dollars...sending surveys to home school families 'to determine your interests, concerns and ideas about home schooling and home school services.' Well informed parents would be advised to return the survey with the clear message that private home educating families wish to be left alone!" Additional articles on Government Funded Homeschooling can be found at http://www.oceanetwork.org
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headline: State Superintendent Has Plans for Home Educators
Rodger Williams, OCEANetwork Legislative Coordinator, April 18
http://www.OCEANetwork.org
In a notice to home educators, Williams quotes a section from the Oregon State Board of Education Minutes, March 18, 2004, entitled: "The following are the Legislative Concepts that are being drafted...."This concept [returning to pre-1999 law] would require annual registration again, having the homeschooler register with their local ESD their intent to homeschool." The minutes also disclose the state's desire to oversee private school students.
Ann: Oregon seems intent on recapturing as much power over homeschoolers as possible.
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South Carolina - Arguing for Interscholastic Access
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headline: Give Home-schoolers a Team Tryout
The State, Columbia, South Carolina
By guest columnist Hal Stevenson, April 15
http://www.thestate.com
"I am positive that we can reach agreement on ground rules for participation. In fact, many other states have already opened up the opportunity for home-schoolers to compete and have experienced mutually beneficial results."
Ann: A well-spoken parent makes a case for his son's right to participate in South Carolina's public school programs. However, Stevenson's closing zinger unnerves me. He says, "After all, all schooling is home-schooling … some families just choose to use public or private assistance." Do we really want legislators to equate "all schooling" with "homeschooling?" I don't think so.
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Texas - Zoning for Homeschooling?
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headline: City Delays Vote on Home-based Businesses
Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
By Mike Lee mikelee@star-telegram.com, April 14
http://www.dfw.com
"Faced with continuing opposition from home-schoolers, music teachers and child-care providers, the City Council delayed a decision Tuesday on a new set of regulations for home-based businesses....The committee worked out a compromise with business owners earlier this month, only to be overwhelmed by responses from a different group -- including home-schooling parents..."
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Virginia - Governor's Amendment Stings
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headline: Warner Signs 13 Bills by Local Delegate
Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia
By Bob Gibson, April 16
http://www.dailyprogress.com
"Warneräs amendment would permit a parent lacking a college degree to home school without using an approved curriculum if the parent has a high school diploma and can achieve an acceptable score on a standardized test such as the SAT I, the delegate said."
Ann: In other words, back to square one. Will the Legislature kill this bill?
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Homeschooling Around the Nation
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Ann: It is always fun to see what homeschoolers are up to in different locales. Here's what caught my eye this week.
headline: Home-school Group Expanding to Offer New Options
Bowling Green Daily News, Kentucky
By Courtney Craig, ccraig@bgdailynews.com, April 10
http://www.bgdailynews.com
"Barren River Home School Association...has a monthly enrichment program, which provides home-schooled students with fun educational experiences, BRHSA President Debbie Fox said. The association - which is now looking to expand the program to be a co-op to meet weekly beginning in the fall - needs more parents, students and teachers to round out the program."
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headline: Students Buy, Sell at Marketplace Day
The NW Indiana Times, By Azure Collier, April 12
http://www.thetimesonline.com
"The shooter, made out of white PVC pipes and decorated with stripes, is designed to spit out mini-marshmallows. It's one of dozens of homemade items sold at Wednesday's marketplace run by home schooled students of the Christian Learning Center and Network....Groups of students formed their own companies and learned about topics like mass production, supply and demand, marketing and advertising, banking and personal finance."
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headline: Schooling in Sports
The Daily Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, By Ryan Haggerty, April 12
http://www.dailynorthwestern.com
"The gym at Evanston's Chandler-Newberger Center, 1028 Central St., is a lively place every Friday afternoon, filled with screaming, sweaty children and ricocheting dodgeballs. The program, which began in the late 1990s, allows five- to 12-year-old homeschooled students to enroll in 10-week physical education classes."
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headline: Parents Find Flexibility, Authority in Home Schools
Bradenton Herald, Manatee, Florida
By Sylvia Lim slim@bradentonherald.com, April 12
http://www.bradenton.com
"Debbie Witte starts her weekdays by taking a calming walk. She has no morning crisis because she home schools her children....[Bill Babiuch] said home schooling his two children offered a flexible curriculum and fit in well with the family's lifestyle....Other parents opted to educate their children at home just so they could spend more time with them."
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headline: Mom With 14 Kids, One on the Way, Honored
Fredericksburg.com, Little Rock, Arkansas, By Caryn Rousseau (AP), April 13
http://fredericksburg.com
"With her 14 children in tow and pregnant with her 15th, Michelle Duggar waddled into Arkansas' Capitol on Wednesday to accept the state's Young Mother award. 'We're going from diapers right up to driver's ed,' she said with a smile. Duggar, 37, who home schools her children and is helping to build a new home from the ground up, started having her babies when she was 21, four years after she married former state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar."
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headline: Learning At Home
Minnesota Public Radio, by Stephanie Hemphill, April 15
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org
"In Minnesota, about 16,000 children get their education at home. That's almost eight times the number of 20 years ago. For some families, home-schooling seems like the best way to help their children learn and develop their full potential. For others, it's a way of instilling religious and ethical values....Lisa Messerer wants her kids to change the world. Her friend Trina LeGarde wants her kids to be saved. They both think home schooling is the best way to do it..."
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headline: This Mother's Day, Hug A Homeschooler
NBC4 TV, Minnesota, By Doug Frattallone, April 16
http://www.nbc4.tv
"Wendy Reasoner, 45, doesn't just wear her "mom" cap day in, day out. She's also teacher, principal, playground supervisor and cook. Reasoner is a homeschooler, a mom who devotes her entire day -- and life -- to her children....'It's definitely not easy, but we enjoy it,' Reasoner said. 'It's a big commitment.' Be it religious beliefs, lack of faith in public schools or socialization concerns, volumes have been written about why parents homeschool their children at the turn of the century. But did you ever wonder how they do it?"
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headline: Expo Addesses Homeschooling Issues
Jackson Sun, Tennessee, By Clifton Adcock, cadcock@jacksonsun.com, April 18
http://miva.jacksonsun.com
"[NHE Chairwoman Brenda Keeton] said, 'This is a homeschool expo hoping to combine any vendors or workshops to promote homeschooling....a parent is not limited to textbooks provided by a public school." Ann: Ah yes, The truly great advantages of homeschooling - escaping pre-packaged curriculum.
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Confusion, Charters, and California Officials
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headline: Home-schooling Works for Parents
The Salinas Californian, California, By Kelly Nix, April 10
http://www.californianonline.com
Ann: Initially, I think it is just the headline that is misleading, suggesting as it does a general report on homeschooling practices. In fact, Nix's report centers on schools and charters that provide public school services in the home. So I readjust my brain cells and read along from a public school point of view, when the confusion peaks.
First, I read a quote from the state's representative: "Whatever method parents choose to home-school their child, they shouldn't count on the state to monitor their attendance or progress. 'The California Department of Education does not regulate [sic] any shape or form private schools or home-schooling,' [Carolyn Livingston, the state Department of Education's administrator of elementary education] said. The department leaves the regulation of home-school students to the local school district or county office of education."
Then, scrolling down the page just a bit, a charter school principal contradicts the state - read it yourself: "The checks and balances don't stop at the local level. Once a year, state auditors review schools' 'work family files,' which contain students' academic and attendance records. The auditors make sure that parents have met the state's requirements, [Mary Kay Sgheiza, principal of Monterey County Home Charter School] said."
Ann: Are these quotes taken out of context? Possibly, but the article still leaves this reader hopelessly confused about the state's role in monitoring homeschooling. Public confusion about accountability does not bode well for homeschooling freedoms, so you'll forgive me if I shout - RUN, California homeschoolers, RUN! Free yourselves from this madness! Here's the exit - the double doorway to educational freedom and independent homeschooling!
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Follow Up - Sectarian Animosity
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headline: Home Schooling's Bad? Well, Public Schools Don't Seem Too Great
http://www.freelancestar.com
Ann: Last issue, I included Gina Martin's opinion piece in the Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Virginia, "Home schooling may 'teach' sectarian animosity," April 7. A number of well-spoken letters have been posted at the Free Lance-Star. On April 18, Chris O'Donnell of Spotsylvania writes a response that strikes to the heart of the matter. "The author seems to believe that cloistering children of the same age together in a government-controlled institution somehow leads to greater understanding, harmony, and peace in the world. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is that institutionalized system, which has dominated education since the beginning of the 20th century, that has produced the society we have today....Public school, because it lacks any real competition, is a big part of the problem; it is not the solution. Free and open education is the answer to ignorance and bigotry. Today, the only place to get that type of education is at home."
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Homeschooling In Japan
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headline: Home Study Gives 'Freedom'
The Washington Times, DC, By Takehiko Kambayashi NARASHINO, Japan
http://washingtontimes.com
"Most Japanese parents take it for granted that their children will attend school, but Yoshiko Kubo and her two daughters decided to have the 'freedom not to go to school' … an idea Mrs. Kubo picked up in the United States.... Mrs. Kubo, who has home-schooled her children for 10 years, says home-based education has enriched their life....Home school is endorsed by a small but growing number of parents, educators, politicians and business leaders, said Kozo Hino, deputy director of the Homeschool Support Association of Japan."
Ann: Homeschoolers in Japan face many challenges, such as dealing with authorities who believe that not sending a child to school is thought to be abusive, in and of itself.
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Opening Education to Competition
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headline: Competitive Education Solutions
The Washington Dispatch, Commentary by Hans Zeiger http://www.washingtondispatch.com, April 19
http://www.washingtondispatch.com
"I spent most of my K-12 education at my local government indoctrination center.... Essentially, there are two alternatives. First, there is the traditional private school. Second, there is the home school.... For too long, educrats and experts have divorced the realm of education from the realm of free market economics. Basic economics tells us that competition, not regulation and standards, makes for a better market."
Ann: A student at Hillsdale College, most of Zeiger's description of educational alternatives rings true.
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Library Books or Curriculum?
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headline: School Book Choice Raises Questions
KWWL, Marion, Iowa, April 08
http://www.kwwl.com
"Last year, more than a hundred religious books were taken out of a Marion Home School library. ...[According to] Nick Hobbs ...Superintendent of Marion Independent Schools, 'They're not curriculum, they're resource reference materials accessed by parents.' And that's why after a year of being without the books, they are back on the shelves."
Ann: If I understand correctly, homeschoolers in Iowa are generally under the supervision of the local district.
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Child Abuse and Criminals Who Lie
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headline: 'I Can't Imagine Something Like That Happening To A Child'
KOMO 4 NEWS, Seattle, Washington, By Leslie Knopp, April 12
http://www.komotv.com
"[B]oth parents, George and Lynn Taylor, are in the Skagit County jail held on $250,000 bail each. They are charged with criminal mistreatment, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and rape of a child. They said they home-schooled the girl, so there were no teachers or other adults who might have noticed a problem."
Ann: "They said they homeschooled." I say, SO WHAT? Criminals will SAY anything to save their sorry backsides. The question is - why would we choose to believe words coming from the mouths of people who would commit such crimes? Are we THAT gullible?
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Savviest Reporter of the Week Award
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headline: Homeschool Convention in Duluth Attracts Cook County Parents, Students
Cook County News-Herald, Grand Marais, Minnesota, By Joan Farnam, April 15
http://www.grandmarais-mn.com
"'It's the biggest homeschool conference in the Midwest,' said Sherry Watson who, with her husband, Steve, has homeschooled both her children.... 'We give resources to the kids and let them be inspired by what they're interested in,' she said.
Ann: Even though reporting on a homeschooling convention isn't the most exciting assignment, reporter Joan Farnam gave good coverage. She shows that she gets what homeschooling is about when she includes the W. B. Yeats quote: 'Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire."
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Worst Headline of the Week Award
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headline: Class Helping Home-schoolers Get PE Credit
The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, By Christi C. Babbitt, April 13
http://www.harktheherald.com
"'OK, start your engines!" shouted Brigham Young University sophomore Courtney Dawson. "Vroom, vroom!" a group of young children gleefully responded as they ran around her with arms outstretched, pretending to be a mini squadron of airplanes....BYU began offering its Home-school PE program in mid-February, inviting local home-schoolers to attend sessions taught by BYU students enrolled in a methods of physical education course."
Ann: The "homeschoolers" are little children pretending to be airplanes who have no use for "PE credit." The BYU students leading the activities are the ones who will get credit for completing a college level PE methods course.
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Final Words
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E-mail addresses of reporters or their editors are now included with their stories when available. Please send feedback to reporters who make you think, who tell a great story, or who have wrong information. A pat on the back or a respectful correction is usually appreciated. As always, keep me in mind as you find and make the news. Thanks to all who contributed to this and past issues.
Ann Lahrson Fisher
News and Commentary Email
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