Homeschool Blog Awards ~ The Winners

Best Adult Homeschool Blog
Get In, Hang On 52 votes (19%)

Best Group Blog

The Homeschool Classroom 33 votes (32%)

Best Teen Blog

Quilted Story, which has been renamed Just my cup of coffee 33 votes (56%)

Three years

January 6th will be the 3rd anniversary for the Carnival of Homeschooling, please consider submitting a post. The Cates will be hosting the CoH.

Carnival of Homeschooling #157

Drop by Practical Homeschooling to read the 157th Carnival of Homeschooling: A Carnival of Reflections.

Daily News puts homeschooling in the headline

Tragically another child died of abuse at the hands of his Mother. Unfortunately the Daily News used his death to vilify homeschooling. Should homeschooling be in the headline? Mother charged with beating obese son to death: I homeschooled to spare boy fat taunts. Would the headline have read Mother charged with beating obese son to death: I sent him to public school so he could get used to fat taunts if he had attended public school? I don't think so.

They make a big deal out of the fact she filled out the necessary paperwork to homeschool. They are less concerned with the fact that

Sekulski was in Manhattan Family Court yesterday, where a judge dismissed a 2005 warrant on a visitation case involving Jaquan. Details of the case were not available Monday.

So apparently the courts were involved with this family but failed to protect the child

"She said her son was too fat for school - she could do a better job with him at home. He didn't have anyone around to help him," a police source said. Neighbors said they never saw Jaquan.

No one around to help, what about the neighbors. She lived in an apartment surly they heard the beatings. And shouldn't the fact they never saw him have raised red flags. Seems there were plenty of people around to help, but no one did.

And of course there are the ignorant comments

cliffdonovan Dec 30, 2008 1:02:02 AM Report Offensive Post she probably home schooled him so she could get some monies coming in from somewhere for people who homeschool their children. like
funding or whatever. becasue your child isn't being taught at the public schools, they shouldn't get money for him, so where else does the money go? you can tell this nutjob never homeschooled her son a day in his life. she was too busy abusing him. and who for a minute thinks she filled out those papers by herself? there are organizations to help people fill them out.

Homeschoolers do not get money for homeschooling their children, and as far as I know there are no organizations to help you fill out the paperwork.

This boy did not die because he was homeschooled. He died because CPS dropped the ball, he died because the neighbors didn't get involved, shame on the Daily News for implying that homeschooling was to blame.

Homeschool Showcase (Formerly The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #14

Catch up on the latest homeschool post at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Homeschool Showcase (Formerly The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #14

CoH ~ Paris

Enjoy the City of Lights with the Carnival of Homeschooling.

Why do public school Mothers have to trash homeschooling in order to feel good about themselves?

Why do public school Mothers have to trash homeschooling in order to feel good about themselves? Kathleen Byrne Confessions of an autism mother: Why I’ll never homeschool.

I know. I know. Never say never. I feel so strongly about this topic that I honestly think that I’ll always hold our local school system responsible for the education of my children, including my daughter on the spectrum. Notice I didn’t write local “public” school system. I’m open to private, parochial, or some in-between “non-public” school, another category that we have here in New York.

So she is just against homeschooling although many of her reasons for not homeschooling would apply to private and parochial schools too. Apparently Ms. Byrne is one of those people that believe that only parents who are able to afford the tution at private or parochial schools should be allowed to choose an alternative to the public school system.

We Americans pay taxes, a lot of taxes, to provide every child an education. From a purely financial point of view, paying taxes for public education and then keeping your child home and bearing the financial burden of educating them simply doesn’t make sense. New York City Schools alone has a $21 billion dollar annual budget. Why write a school tuition check and then keep your child home?

This argument would apply to sending your child to private or parochial schools as well as homeschooling; so why she just applies it to homeschoolers is beyond me. The answer is simple I pay taxes for a lot of things I don't use, everyone does. Single people who don't have kids and older couples whose children are grown still pay taxes to support the school system. By paying these taxes I am insuring that all children have the opportunity to get an education. But I owe my children the best education I can provide for them. For my children it happened to be homeschooling

I’m as anxious as the next mother about dropping my children off at school and placing their education into the hands of others, some capable, some not so capable. It seems inevitable that our children will experience some bad teaching, just as they will have to cope with bad bosses, bad public servants and other incompetents in positions of power. Shielding them from bad authority figures will make the transition into adulthood harder than it has to be.

In the real world incompetent people get FIRED and you are free to seek employment elsewhere if you don't like your boss/job. Personally I would find my child being exposed to "bad teaching" (honestly I am not sure what Ms. Byrne means by that) for any length of time unacceptable.

Finally, I am dismayed that, when faced with fighting the system and making it better or fleeing the system to make the same mistakes on someone else’s children, homeschooling parents choose the latter. Schools are our children’s first civics lessons, citizens coming together and pooling resources for the common good. Homeschooled kids learn that it’s better to take care of your own than to fight for a common cause.

Well I am dismayed that any Mother would sacrifice her children to a cause. Schools (and I notice she didn't say public schools) should not be our children's first civic lesson. Their first civic lessons should be going with Mom or Dad to vote as toddlers as they mature there are many worthy community events they can take part in. Sadly I am left wondering why Ms. Byrne felt the need to trash homeschooling in order to justify her decision to send her child to public school. Maybe she really believes she is sacrificing her child to the common good of public education. In which case I feel sorry for both Mother and child.

Carnival of Homeschooling #155: Smoky Mountain Edition

We have enjoyed several mountain vacations, so I really enjoyed the theme of this weeks CoH, Carnival of Homeschooling #155: Smoky Mountain Edition.

Showcasing Homeschoolers

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Homeschool Showcase (Formerly Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #13

Anniversary Gifts Edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling

SuperAngel's parents are celebrating their 20th anniversary, which inspired this weeks CoH theme, find out what traditional & modern presents are associated with anniversaries 1 through 20. Does anyone know what presents are associated with your 22 anniversary which is the one my husband and I will be celebrating in June.

The Butterfly Award

Kris, At Home Science, bestowed this lovely award on me. Here are the rules

1. Link to the person who gave you the award.

2. Post the graphic.

3. Pass the award on up to ten other bloggers whose blogs you consider cool.

Here are my ten choices

1. Natalie, Rambling, Rants & Remedies
2. Ragamuffin Studies
3. Principled Discovery
4. Esme Emannuel
5. Just my cup of coffee
6. History is Elementary
7. Why Homeschool
8. MISSISSIPPI GARDEN
9. Made in Mississippi
10. Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi

Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards

So far Get In Hang On is in the lead for the adult blog, The Homeschool Classroom is ahead for group blog and Quilted Story, which has been renamed Just my cup of coffee is ahead for teen blog. There are 23 days left to vote, so be sure to stop by and vote for your favourite blog.

I want to thank everyone for making these awards so easy and enjoyable. No cheating, no controversy, nothing like those other awards. Thanks guys & gals keep up the good behavior.

Joy Behar's Snipey Homeschool Rant

Susan Hyde comes to homeschoolers defense.

Homeschooling Goes Mainstream

Read Judy Aron's Consent Of The Governed: Homeschooling Goes Mainstream

Are You Christian Enough to Homeschool?

Here at Considering Homeschooling we have always promoted homeschool evangelism to Christians... and Christians only.

I wonder who would be in charge of deciding IF you were Christian enough to homeschool. All parents have the right to pass on their beliefs to their children, not just Christian parents.

Charles Lowers then goes on to use the example of

a mother helps her young daughter play "Pin the Molotov on the Cop Car" at the Anarchist Book Fair, San Francisco, California, March 18, 2006.

as someone who shouldn't be allowed to homeschool. I wonder if he would have been as outraged if they had been throwing the molotov at an abortion clinic?

Bomb found in Texas abortion clinic parking lot

Christian Terrorists Leave IED Outside Abortion Clinic

Responsibility claimed for abortion clinic bomb -A shadowy group calling itself the Army of God has taken responsibility for the recent bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed one person.

Christian Terrorist Cells in the USA

Let's Say Thanks

If you would like to send a card to a service man or woman oversees visit this website to find out how.

Bending the Twigs: Are Homeschoolers Motivated by Racism/Ethnophobia?

Bending the Twigs: Are Homeschoolers Motivated by Racism/Ethnophobia?

The public school my children briefly attended was mainly white. My eldest son had one minority student in his class, my youngest son didn't have any minorities in his class . Racism played no part in our decision to homeschool, stupid school board polices including mandatory public school uniforms on the other hand played a major part in our decision. Maybe one day I'll read how some academic wrote a thesis on how "Stupid School Board Polices Drive Parents to Homeschool".

Carnival of Homeschooling

Check out this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling.

Public School Teacher Punches 8 Year Old Student

An elementary school teacher was arrested for punching an 8-year-old student in the face this month, Fort Lauderdale police said Tuesday.

HT: HERP&ES

The Politically Correct Police Steal Thanksgiving

Bending the Twigs: One More Reason to Homeschool: You Can Recreate the 1st Thanksgiving in Peace

Carnival of Homeschooling

The Common Room is hosting this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling. I tried to link to the post but I kept getting a google error message, so the link goes to the blog, instead of directly to the post. The CoH is the third post on the page and is well worth a visit. I also had trouble commenting, so just in case my comment was lost in the blog void.

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you very much for including my post.

Why I will not boycott ABC

According to AC Homeschoolers Call for ABC Boycott After Joy Behar Calls "A Lot" of Homeschoolers "Demented"

Homeschoolers across the United States are talking about another comment made by mainstream media that portrayed them in a bad light. This time the buzz is caused by a remark made by Joy Behar, a popular personality on ABC's The View, when on Thursday's show she remarked that "a lot" of homeschoolers are "demented". This has many homeschoolers on the defense and even going as far as to call for a boycott of ABC programming.

I will not be joining the boycott. While I did find Joy Behar's comment that "homeschoolers are demented" distasteful, I also noted that Elisabeth Hasselbeck defended homeschoolers. Something the outraged homeschoolers who plan to boycott ABC seemed to have overlooked.

There is also the matter of free speech. While I find it sad that Joy Behar believes a lot" of homeschoolers are "demented", she is entitled to her opinion and entitled to express it. And while Ms. Behar's comment may have hurt homeschoolers feelings, it didn't do any real harm to homeschoolers. Let's save our outrage and boycotts for things that really matter.

This was a great response by one homeschool Mom to Joy Behar's comment Joy Behar, I Have a Question For You: When Will the Left Finally Get it On Home Education?

Schools to act as weight police

Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, said he wants confidential weight and measurement determinations, with parents notified if students are overweight or underweight. Parents with children in those categories could be visited by child welfare officials if they don’t act on the findings, he said. Seriously?

Continue reading

While obesity is a concern in the United States, the government has no business policing anyones weight.

But Oklahoma lawmakers aren't the only ones wanting to control peoples weight. Around the first of 2008 Mississippi lawmakers came up with this ridiculous proposal.

Nutrition experts are burning up calories in expressing their outrage over proposed legislation in Mississippi that would prohibit restaurants from serving obese customers.

They say the proposed bill, still in committee, is "ridiculous," "insane" and a wrong-headed approach to solving the national obesity epidemic.

State Rep. John Read, a Republican who is one of the bill's three authors, says he wasn't trying to offend anybody and never even expected the plan to become law.

How Homeschooling Is Done

A positive report on homeschooling.

"As far as a stigma against homeschooling, that really today is not an issue. Usually, people are really positive," Carol Klopfenstein, who has homeschooled four kids since 1986, says

A rational post about the fate of homeschooling under an Obama administration

Rational Jenn: Obama And HSLDA

What's Cooking?

Stop by Tami's Thoughts and Views for this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling.

Korean Americans are going against the grain by choosing to educate their children at home.

Korean Americans are going against the grain by choosing to educate their children at home.

Toast Floats: 10 Ways to Piss Off Homeschool Parents

Toast Floats: 10 Ways to Piss Off Homeschool Parents

Fruitcake anyone?

From henceforth I will simply refer to him (Obama) as the Usurper, until such time as he produces a valid birth certificate.

Since President Elect Obama has already produced a valid birth certificate the continued railing of the fruitcakes claiming that he isn't a citizen is ludicrous.

But this post highlights what a fruitcake this guy really is What Obama Can Do to Win Me Over , in short he advocates legalizing drugs and arming all citizens. Drugs and guns what a destructive mix this fruitcake wants, and he thinks Obama would be bad for the country. I am just thankful Mr. Fruitcake isn't in charge.

Homeschool Blog Awards

There are 48 days left to vote in Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards, so do vote for your favourite blog before it's to late. The poll is in the sidebar at the top of this page.

Who Decides What America Reads?...

Who Decides What America Reads?...Thankfully not Carmen Rockett. Mrs. Rockett is upset that libraries are not packed full of books supporting Creationism and Christianity.

Carmen Rockett states

77 percent of Americans consider themselves Christians. That means that 77 percent of the taxpayers in this country hold these Christian values. Library collections simply do not reflect the flavor of the American public, nor do they indicate that our tax dollars are being spent in a way with which we agree.

This simply isn't true. While I consider myself a Christian I believe in EVOLUTION and enjoy reading popular literature. I have no wish to read biographies of Christians like Fanny J. Crosby. The library is jammed packed with books I do want to read. Therefore my tax money is being spent in a way that I agree with. Carmen Rockett is foolish to assume that everyone who identifies themselves as Christian is only interested in the same literature she is.

Rockett goes on to ask "Should homeschooling parents today care?"

Frankly this isn't a homeschooling issue. Carmen Rockett apparently likes to make assumptions Mrs. Rockett assumes that all Christians share her taste in literature and that all homeschoolers are Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. Homeschoolers are a diverse group with many different beliefs represented within the homeschooling community.

Libraries have limited resources not only to buy books but to shelve them. Therefore it is their duty to buy the books that the largest majority of patrons wish to read. Very few people would wish to read the books Mrs. Rockett wants to force on libraries. Thankfully she isn't in charge of deciding what I get to read.

Here are some tips for using your local library.

• As Mrs. Rockett points out you can ask your librarian to order a particular book.
• If a book you wish to read isn't available at your local library ask if they can do an Interlibary Loan.

At least Mrs. Rockett isn't advocating censoring the books that I wish to read, but by pushing them off the selves in favor of the books she prefers she would be narrowing my choices and the choices of many other taxpaying Americans.

Homeschooled twins: Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers # 12

To find out what all the Cool Homeschoolers have been up to check out; Homeschooled twins: Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers # 12

The biggest threat to our homeschooling freedoms

This man and others like him.

First we were treated to Why Vote Early?

I didn't even realize you could vote early, but apparently in many states you can.

I guess Mr. Fundy Christian has never heard of absentee ballots. My eldest had to vote early as he was off at college in another state on election day.

Then the gem Preparing for Post-Election Violence . This was the most racist and insulting tripe imaginable, we have been electing a President every four years without violence (even after the 2000 Chad fiasco) but Mr. Fundy Christian assumes that since an African-American is a candidate if he loses there will be violence.

This election year is somewhat different than previous ones. We're looking at large segments of the population who haven't traditionally been politically active, and we're looking at a specifically charged environment. I think possibly now more than ever, we are at risk of post-election riots.

Next up We Get What We Deserve

An ungodly nation elects an ungodly leader.

This is where Mr. Fundy Christian's agenda starts to show. He isn't truly happy with a Republic in which people are free to chose what religion to follow, nope he wants a theocracy where his beliefs would be imposed on others by their 'godly leader'.

Day One - Behind Enemy Lines , honestly Obama hasn't even taken office yet and Mr. Christian Fundy is already spewing nonsense.

We are travelers in an unholy land now. In this America, it's just a medical procedure to rid yourself of unwanted children. In this America, children you do decide to let live will be the property of the state via national service. The tenets of most major religions will become "hate speech" and illegal in the eyes of the law. We will be systematically disarmed, disallowed, regulated, and controlled. Our children, now the property of the state, will be forced into belief systems only sanctioned by the state.

Apparently Mr. Fundy Christian couldn't handle logical debate so he posted The Idiots Cometh

I'm turning on comment moderation for awhile. Some nimwit Obama supporter has linked to one of my many diatribes and the idiots are descending en masse. They don't have an argument. They don't have a viable discussion point. They just like to attack. So I'll stop them at the gate.

And perhaps the most idiotic of all his post Thinking With Emotion .

Ruled by emotion, they decided to "make history" as opposed to voting for a candidate who shared their principles. Many believed they were "setting things right" by electing a black man. They don't seem to understand that history is not made, it simply happens. Those who set out to make history invariably end up doing something bad and ... well ... making history.

Obama wasn't elected because he is bi-racial. Obama wasn't elected because his Father was from Kenya. Obama was elected because after visiting the candidates websites, listening to the debates and reading the campaign literature Americans decided that Obama was the best person to fill the post of President. Yes, a few people may have voted for him because he was African-American but then again a few probably didn't vote for him for the same reason.

Election Results ~ Joy and Jubilation

I had really hoped that after the election we would all put aside our differences and work together, no matter who was elected. Alas that is not to be.

HT: O'Donnell Web with the post Batshait crazy homeschooler reactions to the election

First we have Consent Of The Governed: Amerika Goes Socialist. In all honesty our form of government worked the way it was designed to. We the people went to the polls and elected the person we wished to be President. The greatest number of us choose Obama, it's time to move on, pull together and support our President Elect. Statements like this are uncalled for.

By the way: Barack Obama is not my president as long as he does not produce a birth certificate proving he was born here, and if he doesn't produce all of the other documents such as baptismal certificate, school records, selective service registration etc. etc. that he has withheld from the American people.

President Elect Obama has a valid Hawaiian Birth Certificate

State officials say there's no doubt Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said Friday she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.

As for the rest one does not need a baptismal certificate to be President of the United States, his school records are none of our business but if you feel compelled to know more about his school records click here. And President Elect Obama did indeed register for the selective service.

After contacting the Selective Service System for an answer several times since late June, Pajamas Media obtained official confirmation from the Selective Service System via email that Barack Obama did indeed register for the Selective Service as required by law, and is eligible to run for the presidency.

Mr. Owens,

Barack Hussein Obama registered at a post office in Hawaii. The effective registration date was September 4, 1980.

His registration number is 61-1125539-1.

Daniel Amon
Public Affairs Specialist

By the way did anyone demand to see McCain's birth certificate, baptismal certificate, school records, selective service registration etc. ? No, I didn't think so.

Next we have Election Results: Sadness and Apprehension, whose sadness and apprehension could be elevated by visiting Obama's website and reading what his actual plans are instead of buying McCain's television ad's as gospel.

He’s going to socialize health care. He’ll shift the cost of health care from the individual to the government. Yes, less personal responsibility! Your choices for health care and insurance will be diminished as the government slowly centralizes the industry in the name of “making things better for everyone.”

• According to the Obama website ~ Health care.
  Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s plan strengthens employer–based coverage, makes insurance companies accountable and ensures patient choice of doctor and care without government interference. Under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year. If you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options.

He’s going to raise taxes on everyone from Joe the Plumber to the wealthier segment of the population, including the many small businesses that create jobs and drive the economy. I vehemently disagree with Obama’s words: “When you spread the wealth around it’s good for everyone.” No, scratch that. I DO agree with that statement, but I DON’T think it’s the government’s job to spread the wealth. It’s the citizens’ prerogative. There is nothing in the Constitution stating the government has the right to steal my assets and give them to someone else. If the wealthier are taxed more, they invest less, they donate less, they hire less workers and they feed the economy less by spending less money. And businesses who are taxed more may be driven out of business or out of the country.

• According to the Obama website ~ Taxes
  Barack Obama’s tax plan delivers broad-based tax relief to middle class families and cuts taxes for small businesses and companies that create jobs in America, while restoring fairness to our tax code and returning to fiscal responsibility. Click here to see the impact of his tax plan. Middle Class America will actually get to keep more of their paychecks. In my book that is a good thing.

He’s going to give the government more power over education by throwing more money at the problem. And we all know how effective that is. While it’s unclear how Obama will move on education (he supports “experimenting” with vouchers to see if the system could work), it’s clear that the NEA is a huge Obama supporter. This certainly does not bode well for those of us wanting more privatization of schooling. And as far as I can tell, he does not support homeschooling at all.

Click here to see to see President Elect Obama's education policy. Nothing in it leads me to believe he doesn't support homeschooling. I blogged more about it here.

I was very impressed with Senator McCain's concession speech, I saw the man I admired and that seemed so sadly missing from the campaign. All Americans should take his words to heart.

I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Aesop's Fables ~ Carnival of Homeschooling

Links to lesson plans for Aesop's Fables can be found in this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling along with some wonderful homeschooling post.

Alasandra's Place: McCain supporter is a real witch

See how one McCain supporter used children on Halloween at my post Alasandra's Place: McCain supporter is a real witch

Alasandra's Place: Oh Please

Alasandra's Place: Oh Please: "Contrary to Janna O'Donnell's post Obama and the Danger to our Freedoms, Christians can still 'speak about your beliefs to other believers and share those beliefs in discussion (public or private)' , what they can't do is force their beliefs on other people, harass people who belief differently then they do and spew hatred. You wouldn't think that would be a problem for them."

Don't forget to vote

You can vote for your favourite adult, group and teen homeschool blog in the side bar. There are 58 days left for you to vote in Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards. So far 170 people have voted. Little Blue School is in the lead for Adult Homeschool Blog, The Homeschool Classroom is in the lead for Group Homeschool Blog and Quilted Story is in the lead for Teen Homeschool Blog.

And while you are voting don't forget to vote for President November 4, 2009.

Why Obama will not curtail homeschooling

Little Blue School: Question and Answer Time: What is a School of Education?: "Unless you are trying to educate them to be teachers, and unless you expect to be able to give them certificates that will qualify them to teach in schools, you shouldn't worry. If you are running a 'school of education,' that is a place where education classes are taught and teachers are trained, you will have to be accredited, or else you will not be able to graduate certified teachers. If you are teaching children to read and write, do math, remember the Pharaohs in order, and stuff like that, then this doesn't apply to you. :)"

Why I am not impressed with Chuck Baldwin

Dana over at Principled Discovery explains why she isn't impressed with Chuck Baldwin in her post Why I am not impressed with Chuck Baldwin. She shares many of the concerns I do about Baldwin but articulated it so much better then I would have been able too.

This Carnival of Homeschooling is a real treat

Why Homeschool: Carnival of Homeschooling: 148 - The Halloween Edition

Richard Guenther speaks out against HSLDA

HSLDA destroys homeschool leader and homeschool movement in Germany, Mike Farris leads charge according to Richard Guenther.

Obama Supports Homeschooling

I usually do my political blogging at Alasandra's Place, but since the question involves homeschooling I am going to blog about it here. Sprittbee claims that Obama Opposes Homeschool and Parental Rights, as a homeschooler obviously this claim would concern me, but is it true?

Homeschoolers for Obama doesn't seem to think so.

When asked this was Obama's response
Q. Do you support home schooling?
A. Barack Obama respects the decisions reached by some parents to home school their children, provided those parents are conforming to the laws and regulations set forward by their states governing home-based instruction.
(HT: HERP&ES)

Nothing on the Obama website leads me to believe that he is opposed to homeschoooling and other then his plans for universal pre-school there isn't anything in his education plans that I object to, he seems to have some good ideas for improving public schools, and making a college education affordable for everyone.

• Support College Credit Initiatives: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will create a national "Make College A Reality" initiative that has a bold goal to increase students taking AP or college-level classes nationwide 50 percent by 2016, and will build on Obama's bipartisan proposal in the U.S. Senate to provide grants for students seeking college level credit at community colleges if their school does not provide those resources.
• Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.
• Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama and Biden will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.

His policies are aimed at Strengthening Families and Communities. Some highlights

• Provide Universal Health Care and Lower Health Costs: Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to signing universal health legislation by the end of their first term in office that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care coverage. Their plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures by providing affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage for every American; modernizing the U.S. health care system to contain spiraling health care costs and improve the quality of patient care; and promoting prevention and strengthening public health to prevent disease and protect against natural and man-made disasters.
  For more information on Barack Obama and Joe Biden's health care plan, please visit the Health Care Policy page
• Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: The current mortgage interest deduction excludes nearly two-thirds of Americans who do not itemize their taxes. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will ensure that anyone with a mortgage, not just the well-off, can take advantage of this tax incentive for homeownership by creating a universal mortgage credit. This 10 percent credit will benefit an additional 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year. Non-itemizers will be eligible for this refundable credit, which will provide the average recipient with approximately $500 per year in tax savings.
• Strengthen Fatherhood and Families: Barack Obama has re-introduced the Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act to remove some of the government penalties on married families, crack down on men avoiding child support payments, ensure that support payments go to families instead of state bureaucracies, fund support services for fathers and their families, and support domestic violence prevention efforts. As president, Obama will sign this bill into law and continue to implement innovative measures to strengthen families.

Overall I believe Obama is the best choice for President. But I encourage everyone to decide for themselves. Visit the candidates websites (McCain website), review the debates. Listen carefully to what each candidate has to say. I also implore you not to believe everything you read online. Many falsehoods are being spread.

Contrary to what many fundamentalist bloggers claim Obama has a valid Hawaiian birth certificate.

FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.

Funnily enough the same people who want to make an issue of Obama's birth place are mum on the fact that McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. But guess what they are both U.S. citizens so it doesn't matter.

Why I won't vote for McCain

• Health Care - The value of the employer provided insurance will now show up as additional income for the employees.
• Doesn't have any concrete plans to make college affordable for everyone.
• McCain & Palin's record on animal welfare issues.
• The fact that Palin thinks it's not terrorism to blow up abortion clinics.

Alasandra's Place: Does Palin think it's OK to terrorize women?

Alasandra's Place: Does Palin think it's OK to terrorize women?

The Thinking Mother: Thoughts on the Two Homeschooling Topic PostSecrets

The Thinking Mother: Thoughts on the Two Homeschooling Topic PostSecrets

Who let the dogs out?

Melissa's Idea Garden is hosting this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling and she is using a very cute dog theme.

Alasandra's Place: My head hurts from all the stupidity

Alasandra's Place: My head hurts from all the stupidity

I am appalled at the smear tactics that Fundamentalist Christians are stooping to and their ridiculous claims of proof he (Obama) wasn't born in Hawaii (which by the way is part of the United States).Snopes.Com plainly shows why we shouldn't believe the nonsense about his birth certificate. Not to mention that if there was any validity to the nonsense HRC would have used it to insure that she was the Democratic nominee.

Homeschool Blog Awards ~ Vote For Your Favourite Group Blog

Voting will end December 31st and I will announce the winner around the 1st of January. We have five group blogs to choose from. The poll can be found in the sidebar at the top. I will get the adult blogs up asap. Thanks for understanding that I can't do it all at one time.

Group Blogs

• Cocking a Snook!
• Growing in Grace
• Radical Unschoolers' Network
• Life Without School
• The Homeschool Classroom
  

Homeschool Blog Awards ~ Cast Your Vote For Your Favourite Teen Blog

Voting will end December 31st and I will announce the winner around the 1st of January. We have three teen blogs to choose from. The poll can be found in the sidebar at the top.

Teen Blogs-

• The Daily Planet
• Quilted Story
• Esme Emannuel

Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers # 11

Drop by Homeschooled twins to read the Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers # 11

Homeschool Blog Awards ~ Nominations Closed

Nominations for Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards are now closed. Since Mother Crone's Homeschool is now offline, I am going to drop it from the adult blogs. I am really disappointed that Angela choose to discontinue her blog as it was one of my favourites and I thought it contained a lot of wonderful material. I will start working on getting the polls up, I hope to be finished by November 1st.

Adult Blogs-
Mother Crone's Homeschool (offline) ~ removed from contest.
Ragamuffin Studies
Day by Day Discoveries
The New Unschooler
Bore Me to Tears
Get In, Hang On
Handmade Homeschool
Homeschooled Twins
Welcome to Barton Cottage
Our Busy Homeschool
Ramblings, Rants & Remedies
Survive the Experience
Little Blue School
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
At Home Science
Homeschooling Ideas
The Thinking Mother
Principled Discovery
Kim's Play Place
Home Spun Juggling
Hilltop Academy
Homeschool Buzz
Here in the Bonny Glen
Schooling from the heart
Renaissance Mama
As Cozy as Spring

Group Blogs-
Cocking a Snook!
Growing in Grace
Radical Unschoolers' Network
Life Without School
The Homeschool Classroom

Teen Blogs-
The Daily Planet
Quilted Story
Esme Emannuel

Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Neglectful Seattle parents were not homeschoolers

Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Neglectful Seattle parents were not homeschoolers

What's the Buzz?

Visit Homeschool Buzz's Carnival of Homeschooling to find out.

Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: MS homeschoolers and vaccination in the news

Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: MS homeschoolers and vaccination in the news

I got an award

Life on thePlanet thinks I am worthy of the Brillante Weblog Award 2008, muchas gracias. And my apologies for taking so long to post it.

Now to pass it on.

Ramblings, Rants & Remedies

HERP&ES

O'Donnell Web

Stop harassing homeschoolers about vaccinations

Chris Joyner claims homeschoolers are avoiding vaccinations. Read The Clarion Ledger's Some Miss. parents home-schooling kids to avoid vaccinations.

Some public health officials are concerned the growing popularity of home schooling has created gaps in the vaccination safety net, leading to outbreaks of rare childhood diseases

First off many homeschoolers do vaccinate their children to imply that all homeschoolers do not vaccinate their children is misleading and unfair. The reporter also ignores the fact that most parents make the decision to vaccinate before the child reaches school age (see vaccination schedule). The decision to homeschool may be driven by the parents desire not to expose their children to what they see as risky vaccines. But homeschooling isn't to blame for children being unvaccinated.

All states allow unvaccinated children to attend school with a medical doctor's excuse. Mississippi and West Virginia alone allow no exemptions beyond medical necessity, leaving parents with home-schooling as the only option if they do not want to have their children vaccinated.

So public school students with a medical doctor's excuse do not have to be vaccinated, but the reporter focus only on unvaccinated homeschoolers in his article. Also no mention is made of students enrolled in private schools, are they required to vaccinate or is it left up to the parents and the private school officials?

Like many states, Mississippi does not require parents to register their children if they intend to home school. Ann Zeise, an independent researcher who runs a home-schooling Web site, used Census data to project an estimate of the number of home-schoolers for each state. Her estimate for Mississippi is more than 14,000 students.

Shoddy reporting here MS law requires homeschoolers to register with the school attendance officer for their school district.

Caplan does little to calm the fears of parents who home school their children to prevent government-mandated vaccines. He said states should require home-schooled children to be vaccinated and make it tougher to get an exemption.

Really in light of this I think the decision to vaccinate should be left up to the parents.
After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.
Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court - Now What?

If the Federal Government can not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the vaccines are SAFE for all children then no one should be forced to have their children vaccinated.

Why I pull my hair out sometimes

Natalie explains in her post at Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Exclusively inclusive

Suspicious Behavior

Any student in the Hattiesburg Public School District soon will be able to be tested for alcohol or drugs based on suspicious behavior. That new policy was passed by the school board Tuesday night.

I wonder if they have taken into consideration the many things that can cause false positives and the possible law suites that will be brought as a result.

More than 250 over the counter or prescription drugs can cause you to test positive on a drug test.

• Pain relievers such as Advil, Nuprin, Motrin
• Menstrual cramp medications like Midol and Trendar
• Ibuprofen is known to cause positive samples for Marijuana
• Anti inflammatories such as Naproxyn
• Dristan Nasal Spray, Neosynephren, Vicks Nasal Spray, Sudafed
• Over the counter appetite suppressants which contain propanolamine
• Common nasal decongestants can cause a positive reading for Amphetamines
• Medications containing chloropromazine and fluspirilene may yield a positive when tested for amphetamines
• Vicks Formula 44M containing Dextromethorphan, and Primatene-M containing perylamine as well as the pain reliever Demerol, and prescription anti-depressant Elavil test positive for opiates up to three days
• Quinine water can also cause a positive reading for opiates.
• Poppy Seeds such as the ones on a bagel from your favorite deli, represent a potentially serious source of falsely positive results in testing opiate abuse.
• Nyquil Nighttime Cold Medicine will test positive for Methadone up to two days.
• Amoxicillin has caused positives for cocaine
• Diazepam tests positive for PCP
• A small fraction of the population excrete large amounts of endogenons lysozyme or malate dehydrogenase in their urine which can produce a positive drug test.
• Africans and certain Orientals might test positive for marijuana due to the pigment melanin in their skin which shows up in a dark person's urine sample.
• Second hand marijuana or cocaine that you might inhale may give your test a positive result for several days.

So glad that SPEAK became PEAK

Visit Natalie's Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Personally secular, socially inclusive to find out why.

Doubts about the quality and integrity of a homeschool education

I know many public school parents who have their child volunteer to work on a political campaign. I also know public school teachers who encourage the students under their supervision to work on a political campaign. Some public school teachers even go so far as to offer extra credit to students who do so.

So why isn’t that a problem for the NNN?
This development becomes a little bit disturbing, though, in light of this PACs suspect efforts to recruit home schooled children as free labor for the McCoy campaign. When young people get involved of their own volition, as a step in developing their own political consciousness, that's a definite benefit to our democracy. But, where this involvement might cross the line into their school curriculum - dictated by parents pursuing their own political purposes - one starts to get a sense of why so many have such serious doubts about the quality and integrity of home school education.

Homeschoolers certainly have the same rights as public school parents and teachers. For anyone to imply otherwise is absurd.

Read Principled Discovery's Doubts about the quality and integrity of a homeschool education to learn more.

Carnival of Homeschooling

Corn & Oil is hosting this weeks CoH.

F word causes pg pause

Visit Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Leap of f...aith to discover how Natalie did on a recent statewide radio interview in which she promoted PEAK and home education.

Public School Parents Complain About Hit List

Toriano Holloway, principal of the St. Martin 8th and 9th grades, announced over the intercom on Sept. 26 that he had a "hit list" of students he was targeting.

Edutards like this are the #1 reason I homeschool.

Enjoy the Simple Pleasure of reading the CoH

Simple Pleasures: Carnival of Homeschooling presents: The Simple Pleasures of Homeschooling

If you are cool check out

Homeschooled twins: Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers # 10

Natalie Criss on Homeschooling

Listen to Natalie's radio interview on Relatively Speaking here.

Homeschool Resources in Mississippi

Visit The Homeschool Cafe to read Homeschool Resources by Natalie

Homeschooling delivers

In the past decade or so, there has been more research into the reasons for and the result of home schooling. A study referenced by Woodruff compared public school students' scores using the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency with those of home-schooled students. The median score for home-school students in the eighth grade was about the same as the median score for 12th-graders in public schools. The study ended in 1999 and was conducted by Lawrence Rudner, whose children are not home-schooled.

An article in the Missourian bemoaning the fact that Home schooling operates on 'honor system'. Even after providing evidence that homeschoolers for the most part had higher scores on the IOWA test then their public school counterparts.

Relatives sometimes call local school districts with suspicions of poor home schooling.

"Sometimes we have grandparents that will call being very concerned, knowing that their grandchildren are not being educated even though they know the parents are saying that the child is home-schooled," Barnett said. In cases like these, the district directs the caller to the state hot line.

I would hazard a guess that in a majority of these cases the grandparents either do not like the parent doing the homeschooling or are prejudiced against homeschooling, and that the parents in fact are doing a wonderful job homeschooling their children.

Elect to Read a Banned Book

Classics like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "The Catcher in the Rye," and "To Kill a Mocking Bird," have been removed from some library shelves due to challenges made by patrons.

Since 1990, the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has recorded more than 7,800 book challenges. A challenge is a formal, written complaint requesting a book be removed from library shelves or school curriculum. About three out of four of all challenges are to material in schools or school libraries, and one in four are to material in public libraries.

It is thanks to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, and students that most challenges are unsuccessful and reading materials like "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," "Slaughterhouse Five," and the Harry Potter series remain available.

Challenges are not simply an expression of a point of view; on the contrary, they are an attempt to remove materials from public use, thereby restricting the access of others. Even if the motivation to ban or challenge a book is well intentioned, the outcome is detrimental. Censorship denies our freedom as individuals to choose and think for ourselves. For children, decisions about what books to read should be made by the people who know them best—their parents!

In support of the right to choose books freely for ourselves, please support Banned Books Week (September 27–October 4, 2008 ), an annual celebration of our right to access books without censorship. Banned Books Week commemorates the most basic freedom in a democratic society—the freedom to read freely—and encourages us not to take this freedom for granted. Banned Books Week reminds us that while not every book is intended for every reader, each of us has the right to decide for ourselves what to read, listen to or view.

America's public libraries are the cornerstones of our democracy. Libraries are for everyone, everywhere. Because libraries provide free access to a world of information, they bring opportunity to all people.
Support our libraries and help end the censorship of books.

Is the S word needed?

My Supernatural World: The S Word... ask if children really do need to socialize with other children.

Banned Book Week Starts Today

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin HenkesReasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language
4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman Reasons: Religious Viewpoint (I have read and enjoyed this book)
5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain Reasons: Racism (I have read and enjoyed this book)
6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language
7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou Reasons: Sexually Explicit (I have read this book)
9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Off the list this year, are two books by author Toni Morrison. "The Bluest Eye" and "Beloved," both challenged for sexual content and offensive language.

The most frequently challenged authors of 2007
1) Robert Cormier
2) Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
3) Mark Twain (favourite author)
4) Toni Morrison
5) Philip Pullman (enjoy this author)
6) Kevin Henkes
7) Lois Lowry
8) Chris Crutcher
9) Lauren Myracle
10) Joann Sfar

I challenge you to read one of the books on the list.

Book Review ~ Roanoke by Lee Miller

This was an interesting book Miller hypothesizes that Walsingham sabotaged the colonist in order to destroy Raleigh. He believes when the colonist realized that supplies would not be coming they moved inland to live with a friendly Indian tribe. Because the Indians were not immune to the diseases the colonist carried the tribe was decimated by small pox allowing their enemies (The Mandoag) to overcome them and carry the colonist along with their Indian allies off as slaves.

The CoH is Up

Check out this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling.

Tune in

Natalie Criss of Rambling, Rants & Remedies and The Homeschool Cafe will be on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Radio's Relatively Speaking Monday, Sept 29 at 9 am CST to discuss homeschooling.

What a load of BS

Experience over theory
I bounced around schools as a kid a lot. I came across students in public schools, private schools, and home schooling. Kids homeschooled their whole lives were far less extroverted. It is common for parents to think they foster social skills. However this can only be done by exposure to as wide a variety as possible of people, personalities, dispositions, attitudes, etc etc. Public schools are the best. Hands down. However, not all districts have quality public schools, which is one of our nation's biggest problems. Not all children will thrive under the same formula obviously, but public schools provide the easiest chance for a large exposure to different types of people. Even if homeschooled children socialize with other homeschooled children, that does not compare. The fact is, 99%+ of students are in public schools. Think about it; when you finally release your homeschooled child into the wild, their lack of exposure relative to the vast majority of their peers will make them stand out, feel isolated, turn to drugs, or otherwise develop psychological disorders.Private schools have the same effect. They are indeed social networks, but mostly isolated from the public background. There are psycho-social borders to be crossed when leaving a private school, and the transition is very stressful. There are no studies done for this, but from my experience, home-schooled and private-schooled children have a greater tendency to develop psychological disorders. What good is an education if you can't use it properly?
sonofwill September 17, 2008 4:09PM

Sonofwill must suffer from an inferiority complex from being bounced around public schools as a kid. I can see how his public school education taught him "tolerance" and "critical thinking skills" right off the bat.

Are Homeschooled Kids at a Disadvantage?

Go here to join in the debate

Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #9 Hosted by Homeschooled Twins

Be sure to read Homeschooled twins: Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #9

Certified Teachers and Sex Crimes

A Biloxi teacher who resigned under the shadow of a sex-crime investigation involving a 15-year-old student has been indicted on multiple counts.

A Harrison County grand jury has indicted Rebecca Dawn Bogard on charges of exploitation of a child, touching of a child for lustful purposes and statutory rape. She faces up to 65 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.

Public school failures prompt homeschooling

With people fleeing the public schools, the real issue for public schools is money to continue the status quo. When educators become more sensitive to what really works and do those things regardless of the fallout, there will be less need for home schooling.
David Clerebout
Livonia

Read the full editorial here.

Carnival of Homeschooling Hosted by Nerd Family

Grab a cup of coffee and join me in reading the Carnival of Homeschooling hosted at Nerd Family.

CBS does a great story on homeschooling

Visit O'Donnell Web or HERP&ES to watch the clip.

Scholastic Blames Homeschoolers for Measles Outbreak

Illinois saw 32 cases of measles this summer – more than any year since 1994, and the most of any state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded most were unvaccinated – and specifically, unvaccinated kids who are homeschooled.

Here we go again, blaming homeschoolers for something that isn't necessarily their fault. Many homeschoolers do in fact vaccinate their kids. My kids have received all their vaccines although we didn't have to vaccinate as we homeschooled.

From the Chicgago Tribune.
In Illinois the number of (public) schoolchildren not getting shots for religious reasons is small but rising. During the 2007-08 academic year, almost 7,000 (public school) students got religious exemptions to avoid the measles shot, compared with about 3,000 in 1998-99. Those figures do not include home-schooled children, who sometimes go unvaccinated.

So they know 7,000 public school students didn't get vaccinated for "religious reasons" BUT Scholastic has an article entitled Homeschool Parents Spread Measles on their website. Why are homeschoolers being blamed instead of the 7,000 public school students who are unvaccinated due to religious reasons?

They also ignore the fact that most parents make the decision to vaccinate before the child reaches school age (see vaccination schedule). The decision to homeschool may be driven by the parents desire not to expose their children to what they see as risky vaccines. But homeschooling isn't to blame for children being unvaccinated.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's– The Hero Edition

Why Homeschool: Carnival of Homeschooling: 141 – The Hero Edition

Cute homeschooling comic

Click here.

Mississippi should make college cheaper to ease the squeeze on the middle class

I completely agree with this editorial Mississippi should make college cheaper to ease the squeeze on the middle class.

The hard working middle class deserve better then to see their children denied a college education or forced into debt in order to obtain one. Only in America are you 'punished' for sucess "the poorest citizens are eligible for grants and scholarships. The rich, of course, can afford to pay more".

Homeschool and Etc.: Stereotyped News Flash: Homeschooled Kids Not Socialised.

Homeschool and Etc.: Stereotyped News Flash: Homeschooled Kids Not Socialised.

Homeschoolers and SAT scores

Ray and Eagleson found that there was no stastically significant difference in SAT performance between homeschoolers in states with low, moderate, or high levels of regulation. In fact, in every case, states with the highest levels of regulation actually had the lowest test scores (though not enough to make it statistically significant). This was true for states that hadn’t changed their laws in ten years and also for states who had not changed their laws for five years. Ray and Eagleson provide statistically-literate readers with all of the charts and explanation needed to give them confidence that the data is legitimate.

Why Homeschool: The latest obnoxious fad

Drop by Why Homeschool and read The latest obnoxious fad

Post needed

The Cate's at Why Homeschool will be hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this week. To find out how to submit a post click here.

Another buffoon opposed to homeschooling

raiderbarry

FIRST! This is absolutely sickening. Homeschooling kids holds them back socially. Learning to socialize with your peers is just as important as your education. I bet these mothers will say that the kids get enough interaction with their peers at their church, but the church cannot teach you about interaction in the real world.

I guess somebody forgot to tell raiderbarry that not all homeschoolers go to church. I guess they also forgot to inform him/her that homeschoolers play on recreational sport leagues and are involved in their community.

Marc Cooper another public school apologist

Marc Cooper states

A Queens College study (I do wish he had provide more information on the study as a Google Search found nothing other then Mr. Cooper's letter) showed that home-school families spend about $2,500 a year for books, equipment, computers, and software. However, the home-school mother doesn't work. If she worked, she would earn an average of $38,000 a year plus benefits. Moreover, when home-school mothers have more than three children, they usually enroll their kids in public schools, probably because they lack classroom management training.

Wow, I wonder where the 'study' got it's information from. We have never spent $2,500 a year on homeschooling material. I am not counting the computers because we had them pre-homeschooling and we would have them even if we didn't homeschool.

Nice to know in Mr. Cooper's reality I would be making $38,000 a year plus benefits, if I hadn't chosen to stay home to homeschool my kids.

At last someone who doesn't believe the stereotype that 'homeschoolers' have numerous children. Although I do know homeschoolers who have successfully homeschooled large families. Mr Cooper goes on to say

The reality is that a certified teacher can handle 30 students in a classroom and bring most of them up to grade-level expectations. Home schooling may be a reasonable alternative to public schooling for some families, but Sowell is wrong -- there are no studies that show home schooling is better than public education and no evidence that ordinary parents are better educators than certified teachers. In fact, there is a mounting and convincing body of evidence that shows certified teachers produce higher achievement scores than uncertified teachers even when those uncertified teachers have college degrees.

Really, too bad he didn't mention where this evidence could be found other then in his fertile imagination. On the other hand this study shows the opposite.

Uncertified Teachers Performing Well, Study Finds -The authors of the Hoover study are Jonah E. Rockoff, Thomas Kane of Harvard's Graduate School of Education and Douglas Staiger, a professor of economics at Dartmouth.

Labour Day edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling

The Labour Day edition of the CoH is up.

Home-schooled kids outperform their peers

From the Buffalo News Staying home for school is a growing trend.

Since so many home-schooled students are high achievers, small colleges and large universities are courting them more vigorously every year.

At Columbia College, a small private school in Missouri, the admissions department has a counselor assigned directly to home-schooled students. “The home-school students we see coming here are certainly very elite students,” said Kathy Monnig, the Columbia counselor. “Probably the biggest difference we see in [them] is they are a lot more successful at the college level because they’re already used to working independently.”

Homeschooled twins: Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #8

Homeschooled twins: Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #8

From the Washington Times

HOME-SCHOOLING: Start school year with a wish list

Costco & Homeschoolers

Costco wants to know if parents should be certified to teach their children at home.

HT: HERP & ES

Home Schooling's Success Entices

HOME SCHOOLING Is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, it has a long history in the United States, from the aboriginal Americans to the first Europeans who settled in the New World. Notable Virginians such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Cyrus McCormick (inventor of the mechanical reaper), and George Wythe (justice of the Virginia High Court) were all instructed at home.

The practice was largely forgotten after the late-19th-century arrival of the European socialist Progressive movement. The Progressives established a tight grip on education, emphasizing the training of obedient, compliant citizens through state-funded schools. One of the measures designed to get students out of the home and into government schools was compulsory school attendance laws -- enacted in Virginia in 1908.

Attempt to increase funding targets homeschoolers

One reason for attempting to bring back children who are homeschooled has to do with to trying to increase funding for the district - a fact that Alexander acknowledged.

Why don't they target privately schooled children too?

Pasco County teacher Mike Maynard also stood at the podium and told parents their children would receive a better education in public schools - a statement that sent a rumble of angry laughter through the crowd.

How insulting and how untrue.

This doesn't sound like outreach to me

Michael W. Maynard insults homeschool parents who attend Hernando County School District's outreach meeting to homeschoolers.

Read a parents response here.

Get a clue Mr. Maynard you generally don't insult people you are attempting to reach out to if you want favorable results.

And then there was one .........

One more year of homeschooling left.

Youngest son is a senior in high school this year. He is taking American History at the Community College for dual credit. He seems to be enjoying it a great deal. At home we are studying Western Literature (The Norton Anthology), Geometry along with Mathematical Reasoning through Verbal Analysis and Gardener's Art through the Ages.

Eldest son is a senior in college, so both my boys will be graduating this coming May. One from homeschooling and one from college.

Why Homeschool: The Wall Street Journal reports preschool is not for everyone one

Why Homeschool: The Wall Street Journal reports preschool is not for everyone one

Carnival of Homeschooling

Renae's 139th Carnival of Homeschooling is not only full of terrific post but rich in information about the history of Women's Suffrage.

Homeschooling in the news

From the Houston Chronicle Leaving the learning at home - More blacks choosing to teach their own children A positive piece that dispels at least one stereotype. The comments so far, were pretty positive too.

I Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling) ~ The Video

Natalie Criss wrote I Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling) now the lyrics have been put to music in this great video. I first saw the video at Commotion from the Ocean of Life

6-Year-Old Stares Down Bottomless Abyss Of Formal (Public) Schooling

From the Onion, 6-Year-Old Stares Down Bottomless Abyss Of Formal Schooling.

Local first-grader Connor Bolduc, 6, experienced the first inkling of a coming lifetime of existential dread Monday upon recognizing his cruel destiny to participate in compulsory education for the better part of the next two decades, sources reported

Read the rest here.

The Cultural Threat

Read Consent Of The Governed's: Homeschoolers - The Cultural Threat:

"My question is - if homeschooling works well for your family, why should anyone really care about your choice? After all, I really don't care much that people put their kids in government school. That's their choice too."

Read why a college professor homeschools his kids

My Turning Point… posted by Homeschool_Dad

"90% of the time these thoughtful, self-motivated students who loved every minute of learning came from Homeschool families.”

Homeschool article full of errors

Tammy Carter asked: Why Parents Choose a Home School Education. She did OK on the advantages. But when she got to disadvantages her article was full of errors. The first and most outrageous one.

Providing a home school education is not simply a matter of parental choice. In most cases the state education board of the state in which the family resides will have to approve a decision to give a child a home school education. The person taking on the responsibility of homeschooling must be certified to be a home teacher, the curriculum must follow the state curriculum, and the text books and other educational materials to be used must be approved by the state. Although this might seen like undue interference in what is a matter of personal choice, the state has a responsibility to ensure that all children receive an adequate standard of education and checks will be made to ensure that any child being kept away from public school is being properly educated.

No state requires that the person taking on the responsibility of homeschooling be certified to be a home teacher. Each state has their own requirements. Visit State Homeschool Requirements A Breakdown of Each State's Regulations By Charlotte Gerber
Each state in the U.S. varies in their individual requirements for homeschooling. There are currently four separate categories of state homeschool requirements. They are:
1. States requiring no notice - do not require parents to initiate any contact.
2. States with low regulation - only require that parents notify the school district that they are homeschooling.
3. States with moderate regulation - require parents to provide the school district with notification of intent to homeschool, test scores and provide a professional evaluation of the student's progress.
4. States with high regulation - require all of the previously listed information and the states provide the parents with the required curriculum or the parents are required to provide a curriculum for approval. These states also require the parent to allow visits by state officials to check the student's progress.

Ms. Carter states, " the state has a responsibility to ensure that all children receive an adequate standard of education and checks will be made to ensure that any child being kept away from public school is being properly educated." It's too bad that 'they' don't ensure that the children enrolled in public schools are properly educated. The state has no right to interfere in a parents choice to homeschool their children in the absence of abuse or neglect.

A home school education might mean that a child is deprived of certain opportunities which would have been available within the public school system. There could be difficulties in providing facilities for athletic children to realize their potential. Musically talented children could be similarly disadvantaged. In some states there is provision for children receiving a home school education to take part in amenities such as being able to attend sports lessons and join after-school clubs. However, the level of assistance provided to homeschooling parents is not uniform and varies a lot from state to state.

Ms. Carter assumes that without the aid of the state parents can not provide athletic or other opportunities for their children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Homeschoolers often band together so their children can pursue their interest.

The final potential disadvantage to affect children receiving a home school education is that they will not develop the social skills which will be important as they grow up. Social interaction with their peers and with adults outside the family is essential if a child is going to grow up with a properly balance personality and a reasonable level of social skills. These developmental issues can be fairly easily overcome if the child lives in a state where homeschooling parents are given support and the child receiving a home school education is accepted into classes and extra-curricular activities.

Oh please,socialization is so not a problem. Perhaps Ms. Carter should do more research before writing articles.

If you want to share give the author credit

Some Christian homeschoolers have a problem linking to secular or inclusive homeschool sites. Apparently they are ashamed for their friends to know that they visit inclusive & secular homeschool sites. On the other hand when they see something they like they don't mind posting it on, on their site without giving proper credit to the author. Some of them even have the chutzpah to submit it to the Carnival of Homeschooling where it will attract attention. Apparently it never dawns on them that those pesky secular & inclusive homeschoolers will read the Carnival of Homeschooling and will notice when their friends work has been used without giving proper credit to the author. When we have the nerve to mention who wrote the parody, list or whatever our comments are deleted, how dare we point out they are using someone else's work without giving them credit. Christian Homeschoolers are by no means the only ones guilty of this a secular homeschooler pilfered the Bitter Homeschoolers Wish List giving Deborah Markus yet another reason to be bitter.

So here are some tips for sharing things on your blog:

If you see something you like link to it. Instead of posting the whole thing on your blog give a teaser. For example: I saw this great parody of I Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling) at Natalie Criss' blog Rambling Rants and Remedies ~

First I was afraid
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never teach
’Cause I’m not certified.

to read the rest click here.

Be sure to give the authors name and a link to their site. If you can't do that because you don't believe in linking to inclusive or secular sites then as much as you might like their post don't share it on your site. Even if you don't claim it as your own work, not giving credit just isn't right. If you don't know who wrote it do a Google search. A Google search on I Will Survive (the first year of homeshcooling) pulled up these results. Natalie's blog was the very first one, so it is easy enough to find out who wrote the parody.

If you do share something without crediting the author (presumably because you didn't know who the author was), when someone lets you know who the author is acknowledge it and apologize. We all make mistakes and I am sure the author will be understanding. Don't delete the comments and refuse to credit the author. It makes you look small and if you are a Christian blogger it makes you look hypocritical especially when your blog is loaded down with bible verses and how Christian you are.