Why I Stand For Homeschooling

Terri Willingham http://www.nhen.org/issues/default.asp?id=502 says in her post "I have no fear of the government -- I AM the government, and so is everyone else, if only everyone would remember that and act accordingly". Apparently she hasn't has much experience with the government. I do fear the government and with good reason. My life was going great. My kids attended a decent public school, they had wonderful teachers. Then some snobby parent who had friends on the school board decided that just dressing her kids in preppy clothes wasn't good enough, she had to be able to force her families preferred style of dress on her children's classmates and thus Mandatory School Uniforms with NO opt-out in the Jackson County Public Schools were born. The School Board didn't even bother to research the issue until after the fact when they were involved in a law suit with parents who opposed the uniforms. So forgive me if I don't have much faith in a government that will take away my parental right to dress my children as I see fit on a whim. Not to mention the inherent unfairness of telling me what color clothing I have to spend my money on in order for my kids to attend a public school my tax money goes to support. So when the government tries to co-opt homeschooling, my response is No way, I'll fight tooth and nail.

I sympathize with public school parents who are unhappy with their schools and can't afford a private school and aren't ready or able to homeschool. But I don't want my homeschooling freedoms curtailed by charter/virtual schools. It needs to be clearly understood that charter/virtual schools are PUBLIC SCHOOLS, their students are public school students and the government is still in charge of the students education. They are not homeschoolers even if they are located at home. The rules and regulations that apply to charter/virtual schools should not apply to true homeschoolers. What is homeschooling?

My definition of homeschooling. Homeschooling - parental control of the education of their children. The parents choose the method to use in teaching their children, pick out the curriculum, and judge the child's progress in learning the material without government help or interference.

So I will sign the We Stand For Homeschooling Resolution. If you want to sign click on the link http://westandforhomeschooling.org/res/index.php

Inheritance Series

I have enjoyed the first two books Eragon and Eldest in the series immensely and can't wait for the next book in the series to come out.

The author Christopher Paolini's pretty impressive himself http://www.alagaesia.com/christopherpaolini.htm
He started writing Eragon after graduating from high school at 15, and was a New York Times bestselling author by age 19. This is one homeschooler that should be an inspiration to us all.

Home School Laws

There are several homeschool laws that MS Home~Schoolers should be concerned about. Check out http://nataliesnexus.blogspot.com/

Ramblings, Rants and Remedies for a New Perspective on the SB 2514

Mississippi Bills (SB 2514 and HB 310)
SB 2514: "The State Board of Education may establish student testing proficiency standards for promotion to grade levels for students in home instruction programs which are equivalent to requirements applicable to public school students."History: Introduced by Sen. Sampson Jackson and sent to Senate Education Committee on 1/12/06Status: In committee

HB 310: Seeks "To clarify that any child who attains the age of 17 during the school year shall be required to attend school for the remainder of the school term, and to delete the provision allowing a parent or guardian to disenroll a child from kindergarten;" Note: Currently, compulsory attendance begins at six years old.History: Introduced by Rep. Cecil Brown, Chair of the House Education Committee, on 1/06/06 and referred to House Education CommitteeStatus: In committee

Apparently the ID V Evolution debate is still ongoing in the Meridian Star
http://www.meridianstar.com/opinions/letters_to_editor/

Alawine: Scrutinizing intelligent design
By BO ALAWINE

OCEAN SPRINGS - A recent columnist, contributing his thoughts on the debate concerning intelligent design vs. evolution, stated, “I still can't bring myself to believe that an amoeba suddenly grew legs and decided to walk on land.”Apparently, many supporters of I.D. do not understand the basic tenets of evolution through natural selection. Organisms do not “decide” to grow limbs, nor does the development of complex biological structures take place in such a generally short time. Also, his assertion that “the notion that natural selection could produce new organs or wings or tails is simply unsupported by any observable evidence that would withstand the scientific method” would harvest quite a few objections from those who work in the life sciences. I myself would be interested in knowing how well I.D. stands up to the scientific method. But I digress.

Setting aside the debate of whether I.D. is a scientific theory on par with the theory of evolution through natural selection, several issues should concern the open-minded individual following this controversy.

First, many proponents insist on “teaching the controversy” - i.e., present both sides of this issue and allow students to decide for themselves that which is true. As a man of both science and, I hope, of common sense as well as being a parent, this approach alarms me greatly.Would these I.D. advocates be as willing to have other controversial subjects (such as abstinence vs. safe sex) be presented so young minds could decide for themselves? Methinks not. The responsibility of science educators is to mold young minds with the latest accepted, peer-reviewed scientific knowledge, not to confuse them with sociopolitical controversies.

Secondly, the whole concept of I.D. seems to smell just slightly of intellectual dishonesty. Intelligent design rests on the foundation that an Intelligent Designer exists or existed. If an Intelligent Designer exists/existed, He/She/It must have designed or created all that is. This sounds remarkably like creationism, something the courts of this nation have prohibited being taught in our public schools. Proponents of I.D. would gain more respect for their position if they admitted I.D. is repackaged creationism rather than to push I.D. as if it were something new and not tied to one particular religion.This “repackaging” causes one to speculate as to the true motives of I.D. proponents, but that's not a subject I'm prepared to discuss in this forum at this time.

Lastly, I would like to point out certain practical considerations have yet to be addressed by those pushing to introduce I.D. into the classroom. I.D. requires the presence of an Intelligent Designer, a Creator. If all the facts are to be presented to students, who is to be the Intelligent Designer? What is to be His/Her/Its purpose for designing all life? What predictions can we make as to the future actions of an Intelligent Designer?There are numerous religions in this word, all which have their own cosmogony: Judeo-Christian, Islamic, aboriginal, pagan, etc. (My personal favorite is Flying Spaghetti Monsterism.) Other religions, such as Hinduism, view time as cyclical. Also to be included would be theories in which aliens introduced life to this planet (I.D. = E.T.?).From a truly objective I.D. viewpoint, all of these scenarios must be presented as each is just as valid as the other. Are proponents of I.D. willing to travel that road? Again, methinks not.

I suspect proponents of I.D. are interested in only the Designer of one particular religion.The concept of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) is the starting point for both the theories of evolution/natural selection and intelligent design. While my personal beliefs allow me to accept evolution through natural selection as perhaps the vehicle by which a Creator brought life as it is to be, I refuse to be dogmatic about it. The search for truth begins with the simple statement: “I do not know.”Science tells us how. Religion tells us why. The two are complementary. To attempt to supplant one with the other benefits no one.As Albert Einstein said, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.

Bo Alawine, a Meridian native and 1983 graduate of Clarkdale Attendance Center who currently lives in Ocean Springs, is a computer programmer/systems engineer for a defense contractor.

Religion is NOT Science

I have never understood why some religious fanatics insist on teaching Creationism, Intelligent Design or whatever "pretty name" they come up with in their efforts to bully their way into science classrooms. I wonder how they would react IF scientist demanded the right to teach Evolution in Sunday School Classrooms?

Religion is based on faith.

Science on the other hand is based on facts. First a scientist comes up with a hypothesis (an idea to explain a natural occurrence - in the case of evolution how life on Earth came into being). Then he comes up with ways to PROVE his hypothesis. If the data supports his hypothesis it becomes a Theory or Law.

But for some reason some people have trouble accepting this Scientific Truth.

The Short Proof of Evolution by Ian Johnston

http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/essays/courtenay1.htm

"Curiously enough, there is one major scientific truth which vast numbers of people refuse to accept (by some news accounts a majority of people in North America)--the fact of evolution. Yet it is as plain as plain can be that the scientific truth of evolution is so overwhelmingly established, that it is virtually impossible to refute within the bounds of reason. No major scientific truth, in fact, is easier to present, explain, and defend"

I suppose some of it is the general populations ignorance of what the definition of a scientific theory is. I had one woman tell me Evolution was nothing more the some devil worshippers crackpot idea about how the world began. Her statement is full of holes. Darwin wasn't a devil worshipper http://www.aboutdarwin.com/ he was a scientist. And the definition of a scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory".

Anyway to make a long blog short the judge ruled against teaching ID in the science classroom. You will find a very well written article on his decision here http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4516

One can only wish the so called Christian School Board members hadn't felt it necessary to resort to lying and intolerance to push their religious agenda. And maybe we should all stop and think, if religion is going to be taught in public schools, whose religion are we going to teach? And maybe it's time the religious fanatics understand that science is not religion, and religion is not science. They are two different things. Religious beliefs have no place in science textbooks. But hey if we are going to teach religious beliefs as science, teachers get out your pirate suites and get ready to teach the Theory of the Flying Spaghetti Monster http://www.venganza.org/

For those of you teaching the Theory of Evolution this site looks promising http://evolution.berkeley.edu/

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like.......................................

Christmas

The tree is up (kinda, I put it up myself so I expect it to fall over any time now), it's decorated mostly (there are still some ornaments in the box to put on it, if anyone feels like it), and the presents are wrapped (yeah). So Saint Nick can come anytime he feels like it.

Oh wait, we have to have Sean's birthday first. My baby will be 15, December 19th............

Anyway Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to Everyone ~ The Alawine's

Renaissance Fair

December 6th, we went to the Renaissance Fair in Hammond, LA., with Gwyn & Mikaela. The picture is of Gwyn playing a musical instrument from that time period.
http://la-renfest.com/education/school.asp

If you haven't been, I encourage you to go, especially if you are studying Medieval England.

After the festival we stopped for a late lunch in Slidell and discovered a wonderful Lebanese Restaurant called Zaynati's.

One Homeschool Association to Rule Them All....................................

Ok, maybe it's not that bad. But the military has decided that they need to define homeschooling in order to meet their needs.

http://www.cobranchi.com/archives/005869.html

http://hr3753.blogspot.com/

http://www.odonnellweb.com/mtarchives/001923.php

http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/newscomm/?p=189

http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/

Apparently there was a goverment funded study http://www.cna.org/documents/D0009351.A2.pdf (don't you just love the things they spend taxpayer money on??). Anyway the study found that most home schooled males choose to go to college rather then enlist in the military unlike their public school counter parts. Personally I want my kids (both boys) to go to college so to me that is a Good thing. They also found that the home school population in the military did not represent the home school population over all. Most of those classified as "homeschooled" had dependents (in other words they were married{and/or} had kids). What they were mainly concerned about was that those enlisted classified as Home schooled did not complete their enlistment period and did not re-enlist as often as their public school counter parts.

I am concerned about this bill for several reasons.

• 1. Could all homeschoolers be forced to join HSLDA (or another National Home School Organization) in order to "prove" they were homeschoolers and provide a central data base for the military.
• 2. Would we have to "teach" courses that the military deemed necessary for them to meet their goals.
• 3. Would we have to allow the military to come into our homes in order to recruit our children.

There seems to be a lot of "unknowns" here. The biggest how does the military intend to define homeschooled.

I intend to work to defeat this bill.

If you agree please contact your U. S. Representatives NOW and let them know you oppose section 522 of H.R. 1815, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2006. Otherwise Section 522 will slip through hidden in this huge bill when Congress approves the Defense Authorization for fiscal year 2006.
Here are links to contact information for both the House and SenateArmed Forces committees.

Senate: http://armed-services.senate.gov/members.htm

House: http://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.html

Here is a link to sign a petition http://www.petitiononline.com/hr1815/petition.html

I just signed and there were 700 signatures.

The Mud Shack

Tuesday, November 15th the Gulf Coast Peak Group enjoyed a field trip to The Mud Shack, 10008 Government Street in Ocean Springs (in case you want more info their # is 228-872-6113). We had toddlers to 16 year olds and a good time seemed to be had by all, even the Mom's got in on the act of decorating their own Christmas ornament. And I do believe a new tradition has been born in the Alawine family. I had such a good time I want to do it again next year, and maybe get hubby in on the act.

After The Mud Shack some of us went to Al Fresco for dinner. It's nice to know that some of my favorite restaurants are still around. I read in the paper Mary Mahoney's had reopened. Bo and I spent a very enjoyable anniversary there one year so I was pleased to know it survived Hurricane Katrina. The kids and I keep driving by Sicily's on LeMoyne to see if they have reopened. Looks like it will be awhile before we can visit our favorite pizza hangout.

We picked up our ornaments November 29th. I was very pleased with how they turned out. You will find a photo of Jonathan's Christmas Tree above.

The Peter Anderson Festival was Wonderful.

First we had a lovely breakfast at Bayview Gourmet, then Jonathan and I went to the festival.

There was lots of stuff to see. Some of my favorites were windchimes made out of agates. http://crystalrivergems.com/products/minerals/agate/windchimes/

I also like the art work of Frankie Buckley. I found her paintings "Five on the Prowl" and "Get Off my Tail" to be whimsical and cute. http://frankiebuckleystudio.com/

My friend Cissy's "Eye Candy" was fabulous, I would have been happy to wear any of the jewelry she had for sell.

There were several pieces of pottery that caught my eye, and what sounded like a South American Rainforst was coming from one booth. Wooden animals that made music when you stroked their back with a stick.

http://www.shakerman.com/frogs%20and%20crickets.htm

I found some turquoise earrings to match a necklace I have had for ages at one booth. I also discovered a new rock Larimar http://www.larimarmuseum.com/ too bad my rock hound Sean wasn't with me. And there were some lovely hand carved wooden bowls. The weather was lovely, sunny and warm. I can't wait to go back next year.

Peak Halloween Party

I have really enjoyed being a member of Peak, and the Halloween Party Monday, October 31st, allowed me to meet some of the people I have been e-mailing face to face. I had a great time, hopefully my guest did too. I hope we will be able to do a field trip or get together again soon.

Peter Anderson Festival

I am planning to go to the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs Saturday, after Sean's soccer game, time and weather permitting. I am just so thankful they are having it this year. Since there is a lack of motel rooms local people are putting artist up in their homes.

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/local/13006547.htm

A fellow homeschooler just told me about this wonderful resource for homeschool Mom's, and I thought I would share it with you. An e-magazine for homeschooling Mom's it covers everything from menu planning to homeschooling http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/

Ireland

by Frank Delaney

I enjoyed his tale immensely. First we have the family the story is about John & Alison O'Mara and their son (or is he?) Ronan, and Alison's sister Kate who lives with them. The family has 2 secrets and as this is Ireland everyone except Ronan seems to know them.

On Halloween (ironical post date huh?) the storyteller comes. Nine year old Ronan and his father, John, are thrilled at his arrival. He tells his stories until Alison throws him out. Ronan spends the rest of the book (a good 10 years) looking for the storyteller. He usually just misses the storyteller, but we get to enjoy a good Irish yarn from each of his near misses. In the end the storyteller sends for Ronan as promised and Ronan learns the second of his family's secrets.

If you enjoy historical fiction and are interested in Ireland do give it a try. It's a lovely book.

http://www.frankdelaney.com/

Should You Continue Homeschooling

Once Your Child Reaches High School?

According to Dr. Phil "NO".

Based on my own experience, I would say YES. Having successfully taught one son high school subjects and having him enrolled at the local Community College, I would have to say homeschooling benefited him tremendously. He was able to complete High School at his own pace, and start college at 16. Why should he be stuck in a public school where he would be bored silly, as they insist on sticking you in grades based on your age not your ability?

My other son who is still at home being homeschooled, enjoys the one on one attention, and has no desire to attend public school. He also enjoys an active social life with other homeschoolers as well as the public school students on his soccer team.

I did a little research on what the experts had to say about homeschooling during the highschool years and this is what I found.

http://www.highschoolscience.com/conf/why_high.pdf

http://www.homeschool.com/articles/HighSchool/default.asp

And Zan Tyler's article refuting Dr. Phil's statement that high school kids should not be homeschooled.

http://www.lifeway.com

The Princes of Ireland

The Dublin Saga

by Edward Rutherfurd

Link to book review http://www.curledup.com/princesi.htm

I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading The Rebels of Ireland when it comes out Feb. 28th, 2006. Guess while I am waiting I'll read the books he has already written.

My only complaint was lack of character development. Of course since he covered such a large period of history he couldn't spend as much time on the characters as I would have liked. In fact if I had, had my way instead of the one large book he wrote, he would have written four or five large books and developed the characters more. They were all very interesting, and I do feel like I have learned a lot about that period of Irish History. Guess I'll just have to make up my own fascinating stories to answer all the questions I have about the characters.

Other books by Edward Rutherfurd

(as I read them)

Sarum The Novel Of England

So far I have just read the first chapter. And since I am eager to get back to the auroch hunt this is going to be really brief. The book takes place in an area near Salisbury Plain from the Ice Age to the Present Day. And in case you want to know what auroch's are http://www.geocities.com/magicgoatman/aurochs.html

Russka, The Novel of Russia

I just finished reading it, and it's a wonderful book. I feel like I understand the Russian people so much better now. The book begins in A.D. 180 and ends in 1990, so a lot of territory is covered.

London, The Novel

It starts in 54 BC and ends in 1997. The most astounding thing I have discovered so far was that the Catholic Church ran the brothels. I have only read up to 1376, but I am finding the book very enjoyable.

The Forest

This time Rutherfurd decided to do something different. Instead of starting in the past and working up to the future, the book begins in April 2000. Dottie, is doing a feature on "The Forest" and is looking for answers to the mystery of what really happened to King William Rufus, The Norman king. As I love a good mystery, I am anxious to jump into this one. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MEDwilliamII.htm

Fall

The weather has been really lovely out. We spent Saturday watching Sean's soccer game in Laurel. As Sean's team has improved, it was an enjoyable game to watch.

Today I planted some wishbone plants, in my flowerbed. So many flowers were destroyed by Katrina, it's nice to see something colorful blooming. Best of all they will reseed themselves, I do like plants that look after themselves. ;>)

I have seen hummingbirds at my hummingbird feeders and some mourning doves at the birdfeeder, so I am looking forward to spending some time outside.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/

Soccer Fall 2005

The U16 soccer season has finally gotten underway. Sean had his first game Saturday, October 1st at East Central. It was a good game even though we got slaughtered. Most of the kids had their uniforms, which are turquoise this year. It was just nice to get to do something normal for a change. I for one am looking forward to more soccer Saturdays.

Where Did September Go???

I was reading a blog by a fellow homeschooler http://nataliesnexus.blogspot.com/ and she had gotten her days confused, understandable in Katrina's aftermath, but after reading her blog I realized I had misplaced a WHOLE MONTH!

Where did September go..............................

There was the weeks without power when one day seemed to blend seamlessly into another. Instead of Monday, Tuesday, Wed etc. I had the day I went to a friends house to do laundry, the day I got my hair cut, the day the Public Library was open, etc.

Once power was restored it seems like I have been playing catch up. Catch up on the housework, catch up on homeschooling (while Sean did an excellent job keeping up with his school work, I didn't fair as well with keeping things printed out- I discovered you have to have electricity to run the scanner and printer LOL), catch up on emailing friends etc., I think I may have actually caught up today.

And now today I realized that tomorrow is October 1st. Where did September go????

Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109H2nd9s::

This bill seems to have generated a lot of controversy. HSLDA supports it and actually helped draft the bill. Many other homeschoolers oppose it. I urge you to read the bill for yourself, consider the consequences and make you own informed decision.

Article on HONDA
http://semissourian.com/story/1119149.html

Link to Home Education Magazine
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/groupnews/