Musings of A Homeschool Mom

Great article on Homeschooling, Homeschooling not easy, but rewards are many at The Hickory Record.

Natalie Criss wrote a parody of I Will Survive and posted it on her blog Ramblings, Rants, and Remedies. Now it's showing up at Graceful Girlhood (who even submitted it to the CoH ) with no credit being given to Natalie. Properly crediting something is very important and it's one of the things TEACHERS (be they homeschool teachers, public school or private school teachers) should strive to teach their students. Assuming that she just didn't know who to give credit to I left a comment telling her who wrote the parody, did she give Natalie credit. Nope!!!!, she just deleted my comment. What is it with these so called Christian homeschoolers using others work and refusing to give proper credit? Deborah Markus, from Secular Homeschooling Magazine had the same problem with The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List .

At least the writer of Graceful Girlhood had the decency to take the post down since she refused to give Natalie credit for the song.

To learn how to properly share someone else's terrific post read If you want to share give the author credit.

There’s More to School Than Textbooks! ~Carnival of Homeschooling

There’s More to School Than Textbooks! and you can read all about it at this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling

The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #7

The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #7 is up at Homeschooled Twins.

Don't be shy, contribute your own post for issue #8. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the carnival of cool homeschoolers using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Carnival of Homeschooling

This weeks Carnival of Homeschooling is up.

Natalie Proclaims I Will Survive

Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: I Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling)

The Not Back to School, Carnival of Homeschool

Grab a cup of coffee and some pie and head over to The Homeschool Cafe, where you can Celebrate Not Back to School with Natalie's CoH.

The High Cost of Testing

The principal of Rocky River Middle School in Ohio is sorry.
His school made AYP, earned an “excellent” rating from the state, and passed the 2008 Ohio Achievement. But principal David Root gave Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett a remarkable two-page, single-spaced apology, addressed to students, staff and citizens of Rocky River, detailing the cost of those accomplishments.

Uncertified guidance counselor hired by public school

A teacher at Long Beach Middle School is suing the school district, the school board and the superintendent because she said they hired an uncertified guidance counselor when there were more qualified, certified applicants.

Nicole Wilson's attorney filed suit this week in Chancery Court and is asking for the district to cancel the contract of the person hired and for the board to hire one of the certified applicants.

The Overachieving Homeschooler's Quiz

The Overachieving Homeschooler's Quiz
By Deborah Markus, from Secular Homeschooling, Issue #3, Summer 2008

Hey, reader! Yeah, you! Are you one of those overachiever homeschooling types that make the rest of us look bad? Take this simple quiz to find out!

Crichton's characterization of homeschoolers disappointing

I really used to enjoy reading Michael Crichton's books, but the way he portrays homeschoolers in NEXT is outrageous.

page 262 "It's David," the principal said. She was a woman of forty. "The child you are homeschooling. Your son Jamie brought him to school for the day. "yes, to see how he did..." "And I am afraid he did not do well. On the playground he bit another child. "Oh dear." "He very nearly drew blood." "That's terrible." "We see this in home-schooled children, Mrs. Kendall. They severely lack socialization skills and inner controls. There is no substitute for daily school environment with peers."

By the way, David the child in question is a transgenic chimp who is being passed off as a human child with Gandler-Kreukheim syndrome (which is a totally made up syndrome to explain David's appearance).

Social Workers Charged in Death of 14 Year Old Girl

Four social workers were among nine people charged Thursday in the death of a disabled 14-year-old girl who authorities say wasted away from neglect before dying at 42 pounds

The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers #6 is Up

Carnival Of Homeschooling - The Boy Scout Edition

Consent Of The Governed: Carnival Of Homeschooling - The Boy Scout Edition

Homeschooling is not odd, it's about opportunity

Kelly Flynn is wrong on home-schooling issue; It's not odd, it's about opportunity, says Flint Journal guest writer Ed Tate
Click here to read his column.

Funding losses are not Ohio homeschooler’s fault…..

Drop by The Informed Parent and read Funding losses are not Ohio homeschooler’s fault…..

It was reported locally that the administrator’s comments followed a remark about the loss of funding to private schools and home educators. Perhaps the local public school administrator is confusing those enrolled in a public virtual school with home educators? He or she wouldn’t be the first. Except for tax dollars paid by the parents of home educated children, Ohio home educators do not bring money into a district, nor do they take money away from it. They simply happen to live in the district. However, public e-schoolers who live in the district and are enrolled in a statewide e-school that originates somewhere else in the state or country do require local funds to leave a district.

My response - THE HOMESCHOOL DEBATE and HOMESCHOOLERS, HELP ME

THE HOMESCHOOL DEBATE and HOMESCHOOLERS, HELP ME over at I'm Just Sayin'.

They would not have seen these things, if I home schooled them, because they would only be seeing people just like them. They would only be exposed to people with the same family life, the same values, the same religious beliefs.

Nothing of course is further from the truth. Homeschoolers are a diverse bunch. Family Life - There are single parents, homosexuals, and traditional families in the homeschooling community and believe me we do not all share the same values. Religious Beliefs -There are Pagans, Wiccans, Atheist, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and many, many others of different religious backgrounds who homeschool. By belonging to an Inclusive Homeschool Group we are able to interact with people from many different backgrounds and beliefs.

Since she asked nicely and she isn't attacking homeschoolers at all, I thought I would answer her questions.

1. What was your motivation for homeschooling? Was it based on religious reasons? Was is it based on curriculum - did you want more freedom in choosing what your children were being taught? Was it based on socializing - wanting to have more control in the people with whom your children came into contact with? Was it based on logistics - the nearest school being 20 miles away? What made you finally decide to go this route?

Mandatory Public School Uniforms with no opt out for parents that were opposed to them. I also realized I could give my children a far better education then my eldest son was getting from his 5th grade, second semester teacher who couldn't control her class, didn't know how to do Algebra and wanted to teach kindergarten but got stuck with a 5th grade class because there were no spots in kindergarten open. While the majority of my children's public school teachers were excellent or at least satisfactory, I didn't want to waste anymore of my children's time with unsatisfactory teachers.

2. Don't hate me for asking this. How to you handle socialization? What steps do you take to make sure your children are around other children and adults? Are you active in a home school group? Do you spend a lot of time at church activities? Maybe you utilize the local Y for activities and they meet friends there?

At various times we have done various things, Cub & Boy Scouts, Recreational Soccer, field trips with our homeschool group, and of course there is always the Internet and phone to help them keep in touch. Now that they are older both my boys work and often get together with their co-workers after work to socialize.

3. Do you use the public school system for any part of your child's routine? Some children here come to the school for band or chorus, or maybe for science class. Do you send your child to the public school to take advantage of any of their programs?

Not really, my youngest son does belong to a robotics team that is located at a public school but the school isn't even in the same county we live in much less the school district and the robotics team is open to all public school, private school and homeschooled students.

4. Do your children begin and end school at the same time each day? Do they have a strict schedule, at least as far as waking up and reporting to the school area of your home? If not, when/how will you transition your children into following a more rigid schedule - awaking at the same time each day so that they can follow a routine outside of the home like for college and work?

Well my eldest son does since he is in college now, but NO one of the things I LOVE about homeschooling is it's flexibility. They always knew that there were certain times that we had to be somewhere at a certain time, thus they didn't have any problems when they started working or college. I think that's one of the big myths that anti-homeschoolers use, that our kids will not be able to function in a work/ college environment and that's so not true.

I am skipping 5, so moving on to ...........

6. Do you have a sense of humor? It's probably a little late for me to ask that but...

Yes

7. Where do you find your curriculum? Do you shop for it and order it? Do you create your own?

I use the Internet to find and order curriculum. If I can't find something I think is challenging enough I create my own. I created my own American Literature program for my youngest son to use in 11th grade. My eldest son started college at 16 so we skipped American Literature.

8. Do you have any worries at all about teaching your teenagers the higher level math and sciences? I, for one, could not teach chemistry to my children but I could probably teach them calculus. Is this a concern for you?

No, if there is a subject I can't handle like higher Math, Dad teaches it. We kinda divided the subjects between us. Other families use co-ops and tutors.

9. What bothers you the most about the reputation homeschoolers have? What things do you hate to hear people say about you for your choice? I really hope you don't say that it's my previous post.

Your previous post was OK, I felt you were very respectful of a parents right to make the best educational choice for their child. Some of these past post here and on my main blog will shed light on the things homeschool critics say that really irritate me.

10. Be honest, do you, at least in your mind sometimes, judge those of us who choose public school? Do you ever think we are making a bad choice for our children? Are you vocal about that disapproval?

I think each individual child's educational needs are different. Homeschooling happened to work for both my children. I know some homeschool families that have one or more children in public school while they homeschool the others.

11. Is "home school" one word or two?

Beats me. I think it's a personal preference.

Wouldn’t this be a better world if you and people like you could stop being so bigoted and open your hearts to those that are different than you

This Pagan seems to be on the right track
"Wouldn’t this be a better world if you and people like you could stop being so bigoted and open your hearts to those that are different than you. I am a pagan I don’t believe in heaven or hell, god or the devil."

Honestly why do Christians have to try to ram their beliefs down others throats?

Linda P. Harvey in Heresy in the Hood II: Witchcraft among Children and Teens in America is back to Bashing Harry Potter and other popular, books, movies and TV Shows.

Ironically, God is in charge even if the fictional Harry Potter or his friend Hermoine cast "spells." Yet Potter fans will never hear about God’s real, omnipotent power by reading the Christ–less Rowling books or seeing the Potter movies. One of the biggest and most artificial aspects of these stories is this pretense. In this sense, they truly are fantasies.

I wonder if she has even bothered to read the Potter books, especially the last one.

Is Harry Potter Real Literature?
and other related post at Alasandra & The Cats.

Great column about homeschooling in California

Why Homeschool: Great column about homeschooling in California

Public School Administrator request newspapers do an exposé on home schooling

In defense of home schooling
By RORY RYAN
Publisher and Editor

A request was made by a local public school administrator at a recent board of education meeting that the newspaper "do" an exposé on home schooling.

Such a request, and one made in a public forum by a school board president, at the very least implies some knowledge of something amiss.

If this administrator is aware of anything which ought to be "exposed," maybe he should simply contact the proper authorities. If he suspects cases of abuse, there's Children Services, the police, the Highland County Sheriff's Office, the Juvenile Court judge, all of whom would, no doubt, respond to the legitimate complaints of a school administrator.

Why challenge the newspaper? We are not the home school police. Frankly, we have enough to do to keep up with those public bodies that spend more and more of taxpayers' money each year. But I digress.

Read the rest here.

CA & Homeschooling

(Greenhut, Steven) columns argued that parents had much to fear from the ruling, which could give local school districts the rationale to declare homeschooled kids truants. The case needs to be overturned, but two significant things happened in the ensuing weeks.

First, although the California Teachers Association celebrated the ruling, prominent Republican and Democratic politicians rebuked it. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed to push for a legislative fix, but he seems unclear on what course his administration is going to take. More important, the superintendent of public instruction, Jack O'Connell, declared that homeschooling is legal and that his department would respect the choices made by homeschooling parents.

Second, in the wake of such political and public outrage, the court of appeal vacated the ruling and said it would rehear the case. It will take months to get a new ruling, but homeschool families are safe for now, and it's likely that any new ruling will be tailored in a narrower manner. Homeschoolers still have reason for worry, though, so it's worth looking closely at how such a basic freedom could come under a sustained government assault.

Read the rest here.