for all the trees. After reading many of the posts, comments and news articles on the recent California Court ruling regarding homeschooling, I am deeply saddened. In my opinion it is very dangerous to our liberty when a branch of the government makes a ruling effecting fundamental rights, which applies to all, without compelling evidence that it is in people's best interest.
The point is not whether you personally believe it is best for children to be homeschooled or enrolled in private or public school. The point is that what is in the best interest of each individual child should be the deciding factor. The question then becomes who gets to decide? In democratic societies the long standing assumption is that it is the right of the parent to decide. As with any right, that right can be lost if an individual so abuses his rights, that the state after due process must take away that particular individual's right. (i.e., you have a right to freedom unless you are convicted of a crime by a court of law and sent to prison) There are currently laws which can be enforced against public school teachers and parents or homeschool parents for failing to provide a proper education and to prevent child abuse. Are those laws always properly and justly enforced? No.
The problem with the current ruling is that it takes away the fundamental right of a parent to choose what is best for his or her child if that parent lives in California. Broad generalizations about homeschoolers or public schoolers and their parents are unhelpful and truly do rob our children of any real solutions.
For example, my mother is a retired public school teacher. I was a public school teacher. I served on the local elementary school board. Our family donated the land for the first district school site and my father in law served on the high school board. My children and my husband are members of the Creek Indian nation. I am a Republican who sometimes votes Democrat. My husband is a Democrat who sometimes votes Republican. I am Irish and my best friend is Hispanic. My children have attended public school. We loved their teachers. My children are now homeschooled. It is working for us. Sometimes we hang out with homeschoolers. Sometimes we hang out with public schoolers. We are protestant Christians. I am not homosexual but I have homosexual friends from law school. We are not African American but we have an African American babysitter. I know homeschoolers who are judgmental and hold views that are personally offensive to me. I know public schoolers who are judgmental and hold views that are personally offensive to me. We pray for people whether they are Christian or not. We honor another's right to choose their path, whether we agree with it or not, because we are American.
I do not know any homeschool parents who know everything there is to know about every subject they teach. I do know homeschool parents who teach their children how to find out what they need to know and to be lifelong learners. I know homeschool parents who are lazy and frankly, dumb. I know public school teachers who are lazy and frankly, dumb. I do not know any public school teachers who know everything about the subject they teach. I do know public school teachers who teach their children how to find out what they need to know and to be lifelong learners. I know from being in the public schools, parents who viciously abuse or neglect their children. I know public school parents who love support and nurture their children. I know some children who thrive in school and others who shrivel up. I know homeschool families who are secular humanists. I know public school families who are Evangelical Christians. I know public school children who have terrible social skills. I know homeschool children who have terrible social skills. I know adults with terrible social skills. According to many foreigners many Americans have terrible social skills.
Just from what I know I could never take away the rights of the good parents and default to the state the care of our nation's children because of a few bad parents. It is wrong to outlaw homeschooling just as it would be wrong to close down our public schools. It is wrong for parents, teachers, liberals, and conservatives to choose to make blanket assumptions and sling petty insults instead of working to find multiple solutions. One size does not fit all. And, I am deeply supicious of the motives of those who think it does. It is especially wrong to allow three judges in an activist holding to make a blanket ruling that effects so many unjustly.
I am particularly tired of the little pop grammar and spelling tests both sides give each other to prove ridiculous superiority. Grammar and spelling exist to facilitate communication - not to break it down. Nero fiddled while Rome burned. It is rumored he didn't miss a single note.
Again, I urge you to sign the petition which requests that this ruling be depublished so that the Court's ruling only applies to the family that is actually on trial. Three judges behind closed doors are not the ones who should be deciding whether or not California's parents have the right to choose what is the best educational option for their children.
Now that I've probably made all sides angry at me, I figure I can go back to my normal blog content of living, loving, learning and creating and my normal life content of homeschooling my children and pitching in where I can in my community to make all our lives a little easier. Its not perfect but at least its a plan.
(Isn't it just bugging some of you that I left out the apostrophe in it's twice? All grammar errors in this piece are intentional to see if you are reading for comprehension.)
Stumble It!