Oh the Stupidity

Several Presidents have given speeches to school children. This was in the Soundoffs for September 7th, 2009 Sun Herald

Remember Ike?

When I was a teenager, I was with a group when President Eisenhower spoke to us. I do not remember a word, but I do remember the President spoke to me. 

So why all the controversy over President Obama addressing today's students?

Spunky brings up the fact that the Democrats called for special hearings when President George H.W. Bush addressed school children but doesn't mention that there were no outraged parents screaming that their kids were being brainwashed. So again WHY all the outraged parents claiming that the President wants to brainwash their children?

President Obama is not the first President to address school children in fact "President Reagan delivered a back-to-school speech to students in 1988. The first President Bush did one in 1991", and hopefully he will not be the last. His message that education is important is one our school children need to hear.

The Right of course without bothering to read the Federal Statue for themselves are clamoring that President Obama and the DOE broke the law by creating LESSON PLANS. Never mind that the DOE has created LESSON PLANS for numerous other things without The RIGHT being outraged.

What is the purpose of the DOE
Sec. 3402. Congressional declaration of purpose

-STATUTE-


The Congress declares that the establishment of a Department of Education is in the public interest, will promote the general welfare of the United States, will help ensure that education issues receive proper treatment at the Federal level, and will enable the Federal Government to coordinate its education activities more effectively. Therefore, the purposes of this chapter are -


(1) to strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual;

(2) to supplement and complement the efforts of States, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States, the private sector, public and private educational institutions, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education;

(3) to encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in Federal education programs;

(4) to promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information;

(5) to improve the coordination of Federal education programs;

(6) to improve the management and efficiency of Federal education activities, especially with respect to the process, procedures, and administrative structures for the dispersal of Federal funds, as well as the reduction of unnecessary and duplicative burdens and constraints, including unnecessary paperwork, on the recipients of Federal funds; and

(7) to increase the accountability of Federal education programs to the President, the Congress, and the public.

Certainly sounds as if creating Lesson Plans falls within the DOE's stated purpose. Two websites you may want to check out if you are homeschoolers.
Links to NASA Education
Free Federal (Teaching) Resources for Educational Excellence
 
The Statue they use to support their argument is Sec. 3403. Relationship with States and it merely states that the FEDERAL Government (DOE) can not force the states to USE their LESSON PLANS or a specific CURRICULUM. They didn't, thus no laws were broken.
 
I am very trouble about the disrespect many in our nation are showing Our President. Refusing to address him correctly, insisting on using his middle name, or even worse using racial slurs when referring to President Obama is uncalled for. Even if you do not agree with his politics he is your President, the majority of your fellow Americans voted for him and he was duly elected. Those of you who claim to be Christians should spend less time making false accusations against President Obama and his supporters and more time praying for him and his Presidency.

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The HomeSpun Life: Homeschool Carnival: Virtual Blog Conference

Football player wrests gun from girl on bus

And they wonder why people homeschool. Luckily thanks to quick action by another student (the football player) no one was injured.

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Enjoy this weeks CoH.

The Carnival of Homeschooling Has Style

Check out the We've Got Style CoH.

Home Spun Juggling: Carnival of Homeschooling: The Juggling Workshop

Home Spun Juggling: Carnival of Homeschooling: The Juggling Workshop

LOLCATS

The Carnival of Homeschooling is being hosted at HomeschoolBuzz go by and check out the LOLCATS Edition.

*Graphic Courtesy of Zoolatry

Game Day

Visit About Homeschooling for this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling.

Another messy divorce case

This is so NOT a homeschooling issue.

Loving Summer

The Loving Summer edition of The Carnival of Homeschooling is up.

As Time Goes By ~ CoH

Check out the Carnival of Homeschooling hosted at Homeschool CPA

Homeschoolings advantages far outweigh any preconceived shortcomings

My response to Homeschooling is a bad idea by Sylvia Biu. It's really annoying when these ignorant self opinionated people make all these idiotic statements about a subject they obviously know nothing about.

Biu says

There are notable drawbacks to homeschooling children.

Actually I am not aware of any drawbacks to homeschooling. I found homeschooling to be a very positive experience for both my children and myself. And don't you just love people like Sylvia who state their opinions as FACT.

First, unless a parent is himself a previous honor student or a genius who mastered more than just the three R’s, a child may not receive quality home education.

Well I did graduate with honors, but the majority of public school teachers were just average students who didn't graduate with honors and very few public school teachers are geniuses. Are we suppose to believe their students aren't receiving a quality education due to this? If not why would it be a drawback for homeschoolers?

Now, it (homeschooling) is mostly frowned upon for all but severely disabled children or those otherwise unable to attend school for whatever reason.

Really?????? Exactly who is frowning upon homeschooling? Don't you just love it when homeschool critics like Sylvia Biu start making stuff up.

1.1 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2003 - July 2004, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCES study - From 1999 to 2003, the number of homeschooled students in the United States increased, as did the homeschooling rate. The increase in the homeschooling rate (from 1.7 percent to 2.2 percent) represents about 0.5 percent of the 2002–03 school-age population and a 29 percent relative increase over the 4-year period.

All the current data indicates that homeschooling is on the rise.

Besides the issue of academics, there is another glaring downside for children: the socialization factor. Socialization per se is training of sorts. Children must learn to interact and get along with others beyond their immediate family members, preferably outside the home. In certain respects, homeschooling is tantamount to retarding a child by isolating him from the outside world. Social alienation may be as important a basis for opposing homeschooling as its other limits. Phobias and disorders in social settings are often salient results of homeschooling, and become most evident once a homeschooled person attempts to interact in the broader society.

OMG, another idiot that thinks homeschoolers sit home all day. News flash homeschoolers interact with the people in their community on a regular basis.

Home Schooling:From the Extreme to the Mainstream - by Patrick Basham, Cato Institute, Public Policy Sources. This paper has established that home schooling is a thriving educational movement both in Canada and the United States. It has also empirically demonstrated that the academic and socialization outcomes for the average home schooled child are superior to those experienced by the average public school student.

In addition, schools can be excellent monitors and whistleblowers for abused and neglected children. In most if not all schools in the United States, attendance records that are maintained draw attention to truants, children whose poor attendance can indicate their predicament. No such oversight occurs for homeschooled children in peril.

There are already laws that protect children from abuse and neglect. The same laws and agencies that protect preschoolers are also there for homeschooled children.

First and foremost, homeschooling and child abuse are separate issues. Attempts to link the two lack any basis in fact. While there may be homeschooling parents who abuse their children, children are not abused because they are homeschooled. There is no de facto connection between child abuse and homeschooling.

Any regulation specifically focusing on preventing child abuse among homeschoolers would ignore the fact that child abuse occurs in the general population, not just in the homeschooling population. Parents of school children and preschoolers are not singled out for special observation. Background checks, home visits, and other invasions of privacy have been suggested as forms of regulation. Singling out a subset of parents for special observation on the basis of suspicion of abuse would be discriminatory. Mere suspicion does not constitute justification for increasing regulation across the board.
From Homeschooling and Child Abuse: A Response to Recent Media Reports

Homeschooling's advantages far outweigh any preconceived shortcomings by Sylvia Biu and other homeschool critics.

My thanks to Consent Of The Governed for the links, more links and information can be found at her blog so be sure to read the post Homeschooling Statistical Studies.

Mississippi Gulf Coast:: Proposed highway route threatens homes

Mississippi Gulf Coast:: Proposed highway route threatens homes

Carnival of Homeschooling

#185

Why Homeschool: The Carnival of Homeschooling - the Founding Fathers edition

Why Homeschool is hosting this weeks CoH. Check out - the Founding Fathers edition

Not the worst reasons to homeschool

My response to Heather's post Worst reasons to homeschool.

I appreciate that she isn't trying to bash homeschooling but really why are we debating homeschooling? Do we debate public schooling? private schooling?

Heather does admit that there are good reasons to homeschool, she then goes on to state two reasons she considers the worst reasons to homeschool.

First teasing (aka bullying), according to Heather violence is the answer

When my own four-eyed and very sensitive second grade son came to me with playground woes, I told him the most politically incorrect thing you can tell a child. I said, "I can't make other kids respect you, and your teacher can't make other kids respect you; only you can." That's right, I said, "go for the nose!" Problem solved.

I can't believe a public school teacher is advocating violence, and I can't help wonder what school district she lives in because in my school district the "go for the nose"advice would get you expelled. The few parents I know who choose to homeschool because of bullying tried other options first. They talked with the teacher, the principal and the school board. When no help was forthcoming they removed the child from school for their physical safety. And if the teacher is "THE BULLY" (St. Lucie teacher has students vote on whether 5-year-old can stay in class) there is no way for the child to successfully deal with the bully.

I also think that one of the problems with the public schools is their refusal to take bullying seriously. All to often they excuse bullying as "just kids being kids" and the abuse is ignored by teachers as well as the victims fellow classmates. See 4 teens charged as adults in locker room sexual assault case. In the real world if someone is verbally threatening you or physically assaulting you, you can go to the police and get a restraining order to keep your attacker away from you. In school if you go to the teachers or principal you are labeled a tattletale, told to get over it and ignored until the situation gets so out of hand the police are involved.

The next reason she cites is religion. While I don't think religion should be ones main reason for homeschooling I do think wanting your children to learn your values is a valid reason for homeschooling. It's funny she cites religion as one of the worst reasons to homeschool when there are numerous religious private schools that no one finds fault with. Here on the coast where I live there are numerous Catholic Schools, and no one feels the need to question the parents right to send their children to these religious schools, so why should religion be consider one of the worst reasons to homeschool?

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Keep Highway 15 Out of Jackson County

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Keep Highway 15 Out of Jackson County

The Lazy Days of Summer

Carnival of Homeschooling

Carnival of Homeschooling

This week we have Summer Transition.

You can visit last weeks Summer Party here.

Public School Teacher Entices Girl to Send Sexy Photos

A former (public) school teacher is accused of enticing a 14-year-old girl to send him sexually explicit pictures of herself, police said.

Long Beach police arrested Joseph Eugene Council, 32, on multiple charges from a complaint of alleged misconduct in June with a girl who had been one of his students, said Assistant Police Chief Don Bass.

Council was the band and choir director at Pass Christian High and Pass Christian Middle schools.