Late Start to OSSO Season Causes Problems Finding Leagues to Play

As a homeschooler I rely heavily on the recreational leagues for my son to have a chance to play sports. This makes OSSO's treatment of the U16 team especially frustrating and irritating for me.

First off I do want to say that I think Sean has a terrific coach and assistant coach. This post should no way reflect unfavorably on them; as they have no control over the decisions the OSSO Board makes.

The U16 team still doesn't have uniforms, although the other OSSO divisions got theirs over two weeks ago.

The U16 team has yet to play a game and still doesn't have a schedule even though the other divisions have been playing for weeks. Part of the problem is Brian Parton's refusal to start when the other leagues we normally play in the fall do. East Central and George County will be ending their fall season November 4th. We on the other hand are just starting ours.

Honestly I don't see how we are going to get the 8 games in the fall & 8 games in the spring we are suppose to get and that the other divisions will get. I am going to take a wait and see attitude, but it looks like once again Brian Parton and the OSSO Board could care less about providing the U16 with a quality experience although they were happy enough to take our money. The Vice President is doing her best to schedule games for the U14 & U16 teams, but with OSSO starting after the other leagues that normally play in the fall she is going to have a needlessly tough job. The whole problem of not having anyone to play could have been avoided by OSSO starting at the same time as East Central & George County as we have done in the past.

School Districts Trying to Lure Homeschoolers With Virtual Schools

The Madison Metropolitan School District is developing a virtual campus and curriculum. The idea has been in the works for several years, but the district hopes to make it widely available for the 2006-2007 school year. The district is trying to bring back state aid for the more than 400 students currently home-schooled in the district.

While I think virtual schools should be an option, it needs to made clear that IF you choose to enroll your child in a PUBLIC virtual school, you are NO LONGER homeschooling. You will lose much of the freedom you enjoy as a homeschooler and your child will be subject to the same requirements as public school students including NCLB.

Sensationalism & Dr. Phil

The Homeschool Scuttle had an interesting post on the Dr. Phil show " The Great School Debate". It's too bad he choose to portray homeschoolers in an unflattering light.

Presenting, "Radical Unschoolers," as the norm of homeschooling to the mainstream world, implies that all homeschoolers are radical, controversial, Unschoolers. Unschooling is by far the least understood and radical concept of homeschooling, and the easiest target for critics to judge and condemn. To use this family as representative of the homeschool population is sensationalism at best, and deceitfully manipulative, at worst. The film portrays the Unschoolers as spending all of their days basically playing and hanging out. To seasoned homeschoolers, that may not seem a bad thing, and, to some, would even seem a good thing. But, to every mainstream American, who does not understand homeschoolers and homeschooling, let alone Unschooling, the film and the footage shown of the family serves to reinforce every negative stereotype mainstream America has about homeschooling.

I would have certainly thought that the unschooling approach should have been balanced with other homeschooling approaches. There are many ways to homeschool and unschooling is just one of them.

An angry schoolteacher states that she never wants to see her country led and governed by homeschoolers and unschoolers, and that they could never be future decision makers for her and her country.

I certainly hope she wasn't a history teacher. These presidents were homeschooled:
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, James Madison, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Abraham Lincoln, Theordore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, & Franklin Delano Roosevelt. So unless she lives in a country other then America it has already been led and governed by homeschoolers.

their first request was that I not bring anyone, "Under the age of eighteen."

My seventeen year old is in his second year of college, but he would not have been welcomed at Dr. Phil's show??? (Of course having a formerly homeschooled 17 year old college student there might have shown how successful homeschooling is).

My close, homeschooling friend, my family, and I arrived on the big day, dressed as the Dr. Phil show had instructed us to dress: "Professional; Preferably in dark colors. Nothing white or beige, and no prints." We were to be, "Camera Ready."

A careful review of my closet reveals that I would not have been able to comply with their request. It's not that I don't have any professional attire it's the dark colors. My closet is filled with jewel tones and prints.

a huge group of what appeared to be high school students began arriving in ever-increasingly large lots.

Wait a minute I thought they didn't want anyone under 18???? Was this an attempt to make it look like parents favoured homeschooling while their children hated it? After all how is the TV audience going to know where these teens came from. One would have thought public school students would have been in school.

It's a shame that Dr. Phil choose sensationalism over educating his audience about homeschooling.

This N' That

At the New York Times read Artifacts Unearthed in Syria Hint at Ancient Burial Rituals of Elite then use the handy lesson plans.

Visit About Homeschooling , Beverly is hosting the 43rd COH, not only can you read some interesting post, you can find out more about Benjamin Franklin.

Why Homeschool: Carnival of Kid Comedy, week 29

If you need a laugh drop by Why Homeschool: Carnival of Kid Comedy, week 29, where you will find something to tickle your funny bone.

Arkansas Blog

The Arkansas Virtual School -- a byproduct of a little scam cooked up by Bill "Slots" Bennett to funnel public tax dollars to home schoolers and organizations that sell services to the home schoolers -- has claimed another famous victory in test scores. Home schooling works fine. That doesn't mean the state should pay public school dollars to support home schoolers.

Once and for all these aren't homeschoolers, they are public school at home students. And this is why it is so important to make the distinction. And yes, I am sure some homeschoolers did re-enter the public school system after they were lured with the spiel that they could keep their children in the home and use tax money to school them.

21 Years Ago

Wiseman was first a public defender in Newport and St. Johnsbury before she joined the Twelve Tribes. The video, called "The Children of the Island Pond Raid: An Emerging Culture," uncovers what she called the illegal, unconstitutional actions in the raid, and the anti-cult scheming behind it.
Mike LeClair, a retired state police captain, was just a trooper during the raid."A kid said "Good morning sir,'" LeClair recalled on the video. There were no signs of abuse, just happy, healthy, respectful kids, according to LeClair and others involved.
Headlines said it all. "Judge Mahady: State Didn't Have Single Piece Of Evidence" cried The Caledonian-Record.

Could this happen today? I certainly hope not, but forewarned is forearmed.

Follow Up

This is a follow up to my post The Slippery Slope of Censoring Books. The relationship section at Waldenbooks is back.

"We went through the process and returned the section once we found that we were within our legal rights to have it, well within the local ordinances," Roman said. "We think it's our customer's right to choose what to read and what to buy. But we wanted to balance that with local laws and be sensitive to the local community."

It's a pity Waldenbooks had to go through the hassle, because one customer wanted to decide what was fit for everyone to read.