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".