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Newscomm for December 03, 2004
In This Edition:
Akron's Beacon Journal Goes for the Homeschooling Jugular
Write to The Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal Cartoon
Newspaper Logic: An Exhilarating Supply of Material
Good news is no news on home schooling
Time for Bedlam
Choose a Homeschooling-Friendly Pediatrician
Homeschoolers' Free Media Launched
Journal of College Admission, Fall 2004, Special Homeschool Edition
Homeschooling in Houston
Oregon Fishing Trip Catches Homeschooled Students in an NCLB Net
Are there any tax breaks for home schooling?
Pennsylvania Politics and Charter Schools
Scots Must Seek Permission
Final Words
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Akron's Beacon Journal Goes for the Homeschooling Jugular
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It has NOT been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, not here or anywhere else in homeschooling land. Ohio has been in the hot spot for media attention and confusion. During the week of November 14 through 20, Ohio's Akron Beacon Journal published a lengthy report on homeschooling, the culmination of some eighteen months of work by two of the paper's staff writers, Doug Oplinger and Dennis Willard.
By word count and visual impact, this is the biggest media report on homeschooling ever written. Ohio readers report that the first installment covered 3/4 of the front page of that Sunday's paper. The subsequent days were equally visually impressive, and included many photos. Each day included several side bars and side stories. It is so huge that The ABJ's editors estimated that it would take six to seven hours to dig through the entire series.
AND it is probably the most unfair homeschooling reportage I've ever slogged through.
I found the series out of balance, maddeningly skewed. Some issues were blown far out of proportion and laid out for shock value and emotional impact. Others were underplayed or ignored completely.
Oplinger and Willard wrote not one single word about the pushout problem. Pushing kids out of public school and into homeschooling hurts public schools and it hurts homeschooling. It endangers children. It polarizes education communities. It is illegal. It is common. It is an outrage practiced covertly in public schools throughout the country. It will remain a dirty little secret until a fair-minded investigative journalist can convince a paper that the schools and teachers really do push kids out of their programs. The problem is real.
For this lengthy series, each day had its own theme. It would take many pages to analyze this series, but let me give you the highlights of the lowlights.
Day One laid out national data alongside some of the facts and figures specific to Ohio. Those articles reminded me of the homeschooling piece Time magazine did a few years ago. I concluded that the cranky tone was Time Magazine's style. Once again, I found an odd, somewhat combative tone permeating all of the pieces. After every positive, a slightly stronger negative was sure to follow, always guiding the reader to doubt the truth of the previous statement.
Day Two addressed academics, and Oplinger and Willard worked especially hard to discredit the research that suggests that homeschoolers excel academically. The reporters show no interest in any other standards of success. Academic measurement is all they are interested in.
Day Three focused on the tired old socialization "problem." The reporters fussed and fumed about the weakness of current research, even though common sense tells most people that socialization has been a non-issue for some years, research or no research. Homeschoolers are at least as well socialized as their peers in public and private school. Until there is evidence to the contrary, give it up. Beating that carcass destroys credibility fast.
Day Four was spent rehashing the horror stories that link child abuse and/or murder to homeschooling. Many of these same stories that I've covered in the past year and a half, so if you follow this column, you can skip reading day four.
With obvious bias, Oplinger and Willard wanted to create a strong impression of a link between abuse and homeschooling, even if that link were a slim thread. Therefore, they did not question any of their conclusions nor cast any doubt on the validity of the writing from which they drew their data. For example, if a child abuse news story included the term "homeschooling," rightly or wrongly, it was included in their work as a homeschooling problem and that was the limit of their inquiry.
They give no thought to the questions that must in fairness first be addressed. Questions like - who used the term homeschooling to describe the situation - a reporter, a social worker, a teacher, an officer, the child, the perpetrator? Was it an accurate use of the term or not? Was the child in fact truant? Was the child actually enrolled in a small private or parochial school? Was the child pushed out of public school with no educational alternative? Did the abusers lie to cover their rears?
Oplinger and Willard revere regulation as a cure-all. Do they not recognize that regulation would burden those who are nonabusive, yet have no impact on criminals? The logic is quite simple, really. Some criminals rob banks. Should we register all bank users to prevent bank robbery? It makes no sense. It would burden bank users, be costly to the bank, and criminals would still rob banks.
Day Five, the story of missing children, doesn't even fit with the rest of the series. By their own analysis, the Beacon Journal reporters found only 18 remotely recent cases where homeschooling played a role. While there are probably missing children out there who are homeschooled, it seems silly to me to look at regulating homeschooling as a way of stopping parents from hiding their children. If the abducting parent is headed to jail if caught, what would motivate them to comply with regulations? Universal response systems such as the Amber Alert seem far more effective in stopping this type of crime.
Day Six was devoted primarily to the growth and political power of the Home School Legal Defense Association empire. Oplinger and Willard put their investigative talents to use in this section. Readers of these selections will better understand the HSLDA behind the homeschooling front.
Day Seven touches briefly on the problems of cyber-schools in Ohio. While cyber-schools that promote themselves as homeschooling have been a huge problem in Ohio, that issue was minimized. Instead, homeschoolers who want clarity and who do not want to participate in such programs are dismissed, are looked down on as purists. Purists as opposed to what, education as blended pap?
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headline: A Recap of 'Homeschooling: Whose Business is It?
Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio, staff report, November 30
http://www.ohio.com
"The home-school population is estimated at 1.1 million, according to a study released recently by the U.S. Department of Education. The number may be growing 10 times as fast as the general school-age population."
Ann: The Beacon Journal staff do their own day by day recap. I think mine is closer to the bone.
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Write to The Akron Beacon Journal
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A note from the publishers: Any semblance of accuracy in this series has already been cast aside in a headlong rush to create fervor, reaction, response-at-any-cost. We caution our readers against breathing credibility into this tabloid piece by responding to the Akron Beacon Journal.
headline: Home-schooling series elicits intense response
Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio, By Dennis J. Willard and Doug Oplinger, November 30
http://www.ohio.com
"Home schoolers from as far away as Italy expressed passion for their practice after the Akron Beacon Journal published its seven-day series exploring the rapidly growing movement."
"Nearly 800 comments collected at newspaper."
Ann: It should be noted that the majority of those comments, 500 or so were at the Beacon Journal's discussion boards and as such were discussions among far fewer than 500 people, with new threads started by fewer than 35 people. By Internet standards, 500 comments in two weeks is not much of a response.
http://forums.prospero.com
ABJ staff apparently googled to see where the series was showing up around the Internet, then listed some of those blogs and discussions.
http://www.ohio.com
At this writing, you can still read the series online and you can comment at homeschool@thebeaconjournal.com or comment online through the Forums page of www.Ohio.com. To leave voice comments about the series, call 330-996-3027 or 330-996-3036.
Ohio Home Education Network also suggests the following: If you do decide to respond to the Akron Beacon Journal series, you can email Editor Debra Adams Simmons at dasimmons@thebeaconjournal.com or Public Editor Mike Needs at mneeds@thebeaconjournal.com If [Ohioans] want to write to your legislators you can locate their contact info at the Ohio General Assembly page at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/
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Akron Beacon Journal Cartoon
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headline: Media Driven Homeschooling
Akron Beacon Journal, By Chip Bok, November 18
http://hogan.ohio.com
Ann: What might happen when your decision to homeschool is influenced by the media, instead of holding true to what is best for your family and your children.
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Newspaper Logic: An Exhilarating Supply of Material
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headline: Response to the Akron Beacon Journal Attack on Homeschooling
by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn, (c) 2004. All rights reserved.
http://www.christianlogic.com
"This attack on homeschoolers has provided us with an exhilarating supply of material to teach logic. It made our day. Oplinger and Willard may have mentioned our book to hint that homeschoolers don't use logic. But as we read their articles, we found that these reporters demonstrated a remarkable ignorance of logic. They should have read our book. It might have saved them the time it took to write those articles. But we're happy for the opportunity to teach some logic."
Ann: Very logical and a refreshing read.
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Good news is no news on home schooling
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headline: Good news is no news on home schooling
The Education Gadfly, A Weekly Bulletin from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, By Justin Torres, November 18
http://www.edexcellence.net
"This tedious series goes on... With nary a shred of proof, the Beacon-Journal suggests that the ranks of home schoolers are rife with child abusers, white supremacists, and other maladjusted folks; that home schooling often amounts to nothing more than tagging along while Mom shops for groceries; and, in a particularly obnoxious twist (because the Beacon-Journal's own trumped-up data show the exact opposite), that home-schooled children are at greater-than-average risk to their physical safety."
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Time for Bedlam
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headline: Okay Kids, Time for Bedlam
a PDF book on the lighter side of homeschooling by Debbie Harbeson of Indiana
http://bedlam.ihen.org/
From the Press Release: "My name is Debbie Harbeson and I am writing to you because I have written a short humor book about our family's early homeschooling experiences and want to share it freely with other homeschoolers and anyone else interested. I have it available in a pdf file from the website listed below. Totally free. This book was originally a project for my family, but I have since decided it would be fun to share with anyone interested. I consider it my contribution to the homeschooling cause. :)"
Ann: Totally free? Wow. Thanks Debbie. I got a good giggle from the parts I've read.
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Choose a Homeschooling-Friendly Pediatrician
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headline: Making the grade
Home-school movement puts onus on pediatricians to ensure immunizations are current, developmental issues are addressed
American Academy of Pediatrics News, Vol. 25 No. 4 Deborah Johnson, p. 178, October 2004
http://aapnews.aappublications.org
Ann: Homeschooling "puts onus on pediatricians" to watch their homeschooled patients more closely than others? Since when are pediatricians expected to do so much more than practice medicine? This writer casts a shadow of doubt on homeschooling and manipulates examples to make her points. The article even suggests that homeschooling families have special needs that a pediatrician should care for. Get a load of the article's suggested "Tips" -
"Tips on caring for homeschool families (for pediatricians, from the AAP article)
* Talk to parents about their goals for home schooling. Look for ways to help support those goals.
* Be familiar with home-schooling networks in the community. These networks may provide academic, social and athletic opportunities.
* Encourage use of a standardized curriculum and suggest parents find ways to document their child's progress.
* Discuss importance of physical activity with parents. Many make arrangements for their children through community sports teams or YMCA programs.
* Make sure immunizations are current. Some people home school to avoid having kids immunized. Discuss benefits and risks with these parents.
* Offer vision screenings.
* Bring up reproductive health issues at appropriate age. If this is an area of discomfort, direct family to written materials."
Ann: Tips for caring for homeschoolers? Do pediatricians also have suggested tips for caring for public school families? Private school families? What about charter-schoolers? Isn't this just a little too ridiculous? Can't pediatricians simply practice medicine? Forewarned is forearmed, so here is my list of tips for selecting a homeschooling-friendly pediatrician.
Ann's tips for choosing a homeschooling-friendly pediatrician
* If possible, find a pediatrician whose children are homeschooled or was himself homeschooled.
* Talk to other homeschoolers for recommendations. Your local support network is a terrific resource for finding medical professionals.
* When moving to a new town or changing pediatricians, select a doctor before illness strikes.
* Ask your previous doctor to refer you to a colleague when you move to a new city.
* Before you see a new pediatrician, do your own research on health and development issues that are of particular concern in your family.
* Make a list of questions to ask a prospective pediatrician based on your research. Look for a pediatrician with a compatible philosophy.
* Ask for an informational interview with a potential pediatrician. Take your list of questions with you and take notes. A tape recorder might be helpful in reviewing the discussion later with your spouse. Be friendly and professional in your manner.
* Make sure your pediatrician knows that you do your own research and that you consider yourself to be a team player.
* Include questions that probe the pediatrician's attitude toward homeschooling and homeschooling families in general, including your family's homeschooling approach.
* Offer to load him/her up with homeschooling book lists, websites, and links to research.
* If your pediatrician makes suggestions about homeschooling curriculum and documentation that feel meddlesome or inconsistent with your homeschooling philosophy, consider educating him/her in the fine art of homeschooling or consider changing pediatricians.
* You may prefer to seek a compatible wholistic health care provider.
Do you have a tip that helped you? Drop me a note.
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Homeschoolers' Free Media Launched
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headline: HomeSchoolers' Free Media
http://www.homeschoolersfreemedia.org
info@homeschoolersfreemedia.org
"Using Our 1st Amendment Rights ... While we still have them."
"Homeschoolers' Free Media is the result of lots of people from lots of places recognizing some needs within the liberal/progressive homeschooling community:
* A place for liberal/progressive homeschoolers to organize
* A voice for those same people
There has always been a lot of talk, but in the wake of the most recent election there was, and is, a shared desire to work for change. For far too long, there has been little vocal opposition to claims by more conservative groups that their agendas are the agendas of all homeschooling families. Additionally, we feel that this is not an issue wholly owned by the parents amongst us; Our growing organization utilizes the talents of people of all ages."
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headline: Homeschoolers' Free Media Premiere December 01
http://hsfm.qc1.net:8050/listen.pls
"Homeschoolers' Free Media goes over web radio waves beginning tonight! The broadcast will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m., Central Time. We are opening with 'The State of America,' featuring Zephyr Goza; Wylie Kuhn follows with 'Only In American Politics'; Caitlin Carroll chimes in with 'Green World'; and Hannah Carroll winds things up with 'Then and Now'."
Ann: Break a leg, HSFM!
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Journal of College Admission
Fall 2004, Special Homeschool Edition
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headline: Homeschoolers on to College: What Research Shows Us
Journal of College Admission, Fall 2004, Special Homeschool Edition
The National Association for College Admission Counseling, 1631 Prince Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314-2818.
http://www.nacac.com
"Homeschool students lack easy access to college guidance counseling, compared to their traditional school peers, and, to some extent, many of these students and their parents look at traditional education even that found on the college campuses of most of our membership with some skepticism. College admission officers often mirror this skepticism, even until recently, as the success of homeschoolers, upon their campus arrival, is proving that they are capable students."
Ann: This Edition is worth a look for parents and students contemplating college.
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Homeschooling in Houston
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headline: Homeschooling in Houston: Sharing the Experience
Houston Family, Texas, By Jacqueline Hensler
http://houston.parenthood.com
"'The truth is, it's a life choice,' explains Deb Evans, a Houston mother of two homeschooled daughters, ages 8 and 9. 'Homeschooling your child affects everything you do. No family would do it without being serious because it can be stressful and difficult at times.'
...'Over the last 10 years there has been a major increase in the amount of activities offered for homeschoolers in Houston. There are organized sports such as basketball and baseball, and choirs, band and even a homeschool honor society,' says Susan Frederick. 'For two years in a row, over 500 homeschoolers attended the Houston Rockets homeschool day. That would have been unheard of a few years ago.'"
Ann: Great quotes showing the real trends in homeschooling.
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Oregon Fishing Trip Catches Homeschooled Students in an NCLB Net
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Ann: Late last summer, I cited a story from Bend, Oregon, a Deschutes County publicly funded "Home Program...the ESD picks up the tab for the classes offered by community partners..."
My comment at the time: This program is part of a trend for governmental bodies such as the Education Service District to offer programs to homeschoolers. The ESD doesn't really "pick up the tab," of course - Oregon taxpayers do. Interestingly, the article poses this question: "Why don't more home schoolers register with the ESD?" One answer they didn't mention is that many homeschoolers want to take full charge of their children's educations. They actually want to avoid bureaucrat-supervised, taxpayer-funded programs.
Ann: Now, a mere three months later, the state budget is in a shortfall and bureaucrats are busy, dotting i's and crossing t's as they watchdog tax dollars and look for places to cut the fat, using the mandate of NCLB.
headline: Oregon urging new test for home-schooled
The Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon The Associated Press, November 30
http://159.54.226.83
BEND -- "An Oregon state plan to crack down on school districts that receive money for home schooling could require hundreds of students to take a standardized test. The Oregon Department of Education policy change will require home-schooled students to take the Oregon Statewide Assessment test if they receive tutoring or take special classes in reading and literature, math or science paid by public schools.... But the federal No Child Left Behind Act has put added pressure on the state to test all students who benefit from public-education funding, said Cliff Brush, an education specialist for the state."
Ann: For all you charterschool watchers, these Oregon programs are not technically charters, but they function like the charters that provide "services" to homeschoolers. They are similar to the alternative education programs in Washington state. The programs are generally sponsored by a local school district or a private school or group.
Oregon has a dual enrollment policy, which means that students attending these programs are legally homeschoolers while they take advantage of public school offerings and generate state tax dollars to be distributed to their program.
Originally, dual enrollment meant taking band or art or Spanish down at the local school, if the school was willing and had room. Small numbers, good pr for the school, and no big deal. Those days are over. Now it appears that there will be collateral consequences for non-program homeschoolers. Because of pressures created by the high profile of the programs, a homeschooler who takes an occasional class "in reading and literature, math or science paid by public schools" anywhere in the state will now be required to take the annual statewide assessment. No word yet on whether a student taking an art class or band would be tested.
This increase of oversight is one reason I support developing private opportunities for homeschoolers. I hope the families who are in these programs will give independent homeschooling a try and discover how joyful and rewarding it can be.
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Are there any tax breaks for home schooling?
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headline: Are there any tax breaks for home schooling?
Bankrate.com, Ask the tax adviser, By George Saenz
http://www.bankrate.com
"Would a home-based school run by a parent count? Also, could that parent then claim the above-the-line deduction for educator's expenses? Thanks."
Ann: The short answers from Saenz are no and no. For the long answers, visit the site.
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Pennsylvania Politics and Charter Schools
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headline: Santorum to Take Kids Out of Cyber - School
New York Times, New York, By The Associated Press, November 19
http://www.nytimes.com
"Pittsburgh -- Sen. Rick Santorum says he will pull his five school-age children out of an Internet-based school paid for by Pennsylvania taxpayers after coming under criticism because the family lives much of the time in Virginia. In a statement issued late Wednesday, Santorum said he and his wife would go back to home-schooling the youngsters, as they had done in the past.
A member of the Penn Hills school board, Erin Vecchio, said last week that the district has paid about $100,000 for the Santorums' children to attend the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School. Santorum owns a two-bedroom home in Penn Hills, a Pittsburgh suburb, and a far more expensive home in Leesburg, Va. Vecchio said Santorum has never lived in the school district, despiting (sic)owning the home there. Santorum said his family splits time between Pennsylvania and the Washington area, and but he has just been informed by the Penn Hills district that 'only children who live in a community on a full-time basis' are eligible to be educated in the cyber school."
Ann: Both Santorum and Vecchio got lots of press out of this brouhaha, which may have been the whole point. If Santorum wants to homeschool his kids, he should do so by the rules of his state. If he wants his children to attend a public charter school, Santorum should be subject to the same rules and regulations of everyone else. On the other hand, if Vecchio and the Penn Hills district want to create rules of attendance on a case by case basis, doesn't that seem like a load of trouble? Just what would be the motive for doing that?
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Scots Must Seek Permission
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headline: Home schooling hurdles remain
The Scotsman, United Kingdom, By Kevin Schofield, November 17
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com
"MINISTERS have warned local authorities not to ignore guidelines on home education amid claims that some councils are obstructing parents, attempts to remove their children from school, The Scotsman can reveal....The Scottish Executive initially issued the guidance in February following protests from parents that the law north of the Border made it too difficult for them to teach their children at home. Unlike in England and Wales, Scots parents must receive written permission from their local council if they want to withdraw their youngsters from the system."
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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. Please include a link if possible and a sentence or two of your own that summarizes the homeschooling aspect of the story. Thanks to all who contributed to this and past issues.
Ann Lahrson Fisher
News and Commentary Email
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