Articles

Articles

The following is a collection of articles submitted by our members that might be of interest to you. They are sorted in the order we receive them with the most recent at the top. Wherever possible, I have provided a link to access them directly.

If you have encountered an article that you think would be of interest to our members, please contact me with a link to that article if possible, or with it attached to your e-mail, or mail it to me as a word document on a floppy disk. I just don't have time to retype articles, myself. I reserve the right not to put up an article that I think is not closely enough related to homeschooling or to our lives to belong here, or that might be offensive to members. However, please bear in mind that my hope in posting the articles is to inform and to stimulate us to think, so don't be surprised if you encounter ideas or sources with which you don't agree!

DISCLAIMER: These articles represent the opinions of the authors only, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Meramec Valley Homeschoolers Association or any of its members.

Most Recent Postings:

Active MO Legal Case -- Camdenton R-III School District v. Mr. and Mrs. F
   From HSLDA Website
    4/29/03
   by HSLDA Staff
   submitted by Wendy P.

EXCERPT: "Nature of Case: After years of fruitless attempts to get the school district to assist their special needs son, Mr. and Mrs. F withdrew him to begin homeschooling. Now the school district has initiated a due process hearing to force him to be evaluated for special needs by the public school, even though the parents want nothing more from the public school.

In a telephone conference on February 24, HSLDA argued that the case should be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction, but the hearing officer ruled that the case should go forward...."

From the Court Reporter Magazine article about this case, Scott A.Woodruff, HSLDA Attorney for our District, comments:

"This threat to liberty should not be underestimated. If Goldman prevails, tens of thousands of homeschooling children across America could be forced to submit to similar evaluation. HSLDA is confident, however, that Goldman is wrong. We ask for help from the Judge of all men as we work to protect the constitutional rights of this homeschooling family and all others who could be affected."

HSLDA Cases & Contacts in Missouri
   From HSLDA Website
    2003 and before
   by HSLDA Staff
   submitted by Wendy P.

TOPICS:

"HSLDA Prevents Social Worker from Traumatizing Missouri Family"
"Missouri's Interpretation of "School Term" Gives More Freedom"
"Missouri: HSLDA Defends Family from False Allegations"
"Missouri: HSLDA Defends Family's Privacy"
"Response to Home School Article in the St. Joseph News-Press"

Three Types of Homeschoolers
   From Identity Directed Homeschooling
  Division of Elijah Company
    2003
   by Chris Davis
   submitted by Sarah S.

EXCERPT: "The option to homeschool came to our attention as an alternative to the private school our church was attempting to form. As we looked into creating the church school, all the parents in the church decided instead to homeschool their children. The year was 1982.

During those early years of homeschooling, we dealt with several issues which are not as important today as they were then. We had to contend with relatives who questioned our sanity and with government officials who questioned our right to remove our children from the public school. But the most often asked question was, "What about socialization?" [See article "Why Parents Homeschool"]

Like most "movements" homeschooling has moved through several phases. As our friend, Rob Shearer has said, "The first homeschoolers were the Pioneers. Then came the Settlers. Now we are seeing lots of Refugees."

LINK to a number of helpful articles
published by Homeschooling Today Magazine
   From Homeschooling Today Magazine

   submitted by Wendy P.

TOPICS: General HS Issues, Art, History, Math, Memorizing, Preschool, Writing

More Dads Help With Homeschooling
   From CNN.com/Education
    January 22, 2003
   by Associated Press
   submitted by Diana H.

EXCERPTS: "Erika Karres, an education professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said she has seen an evolution in fathers' roles since homeschooling first caught on in the 1960s and 1970s.

'The role of dads then was nonexistent, except maybe nodding their heads and saying, 'OK, if that's what you want to do, wife,"' Karres said. "I welcome this as a great, positive change in the homeschooling movement."

'There used to be no men at these conferences," [Susan Wise] Bauer said. "At the latest one I was at it was almost 50/50."'

Missouri Family Allowed to Continue Homeschooling
   From HSLDA News
    February 24, 2003
   by unidentified author
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "In a case that has wound its way through Missouri juvenile court to the Missouri Supreme Court and back, Home School Legal Defense Association has defended the right of the Bryan family to homeschool their special needs son (names changed).

In December 1999, St. Louis County Protective Services brought a petition alleging educational neglect of eight-year-old Joshua Bryan. Although HSLDA fought the court's attempt to assume jurisdiction over Joshua, the Missouri courts determined that because the family had failed to document 1000 hours of instruction for 1998-99, he was a "neglected" child.

For the 2001-02 school year, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan were forced to enroll Joshua in a special public school for special education students. Unhappy with his lack of progress, they decided to homeschool him again...."

[This is a very interesting case, and it is one reason why your webmistress believes families home educating special needs children are well served by membership in HSLDA.]

DC Schools Tries Again With Government Preschool
   From HSLDA News
    January 23, 2003
   by unidentified author
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "On January 7 2003, Councilmember Kevin Chavous filed a new bill, Bill 15-40, which would allow 3-year-olds (and even some 2-year-olds) to attend public school in the District of Columbia. His new bill, which replaces his previous bill on the same topic, Bill 14 261, does not require such children to attend school. It permits them to attend if their parents desire.

Historically, "voluntary" school programs tend to lay the foundation for subsequent compulsory programs. If Bill 15-40 passes, HSLDA will watch to see if there are any subsequent efforts to make its provisions mandatory....Offering such "education" to 2 and 3 year olds borders on the unconscionable...."

Homeschoolers and College: A Response
    From HSLDA News
    January 31, 2003
   by unidentified author
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "...HSLDA has worked both with the Department of Education and Congress to clarify that the admission of homeschool graduates does not in any way jeopardize the ability of colleges and universities to participate in federal financial aid programs. Any other interpretation is essentially nonsensical and betrays a simple prejudice against home education taken to an irrational extreme.

On the second issue, the admittance of homeschoolers, HSLDA does not contend that Congress or the Department of Education should mandate that a college or university must admit all homeschoolers. Whether a school chooses to admit any student, and under what conditions, is most appropriately a decision to be made by that school. Neither Congress nor the Department has proposed anything to the contrary."

Homeschooling: Growing Force in Higher Education
    From HSLDA News
    January 16, 2003
   by unidentified author
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "That demonstration of the home schoolers' clout has alarmed many higher education lobbyists. With Congress preparing to renew the Higher Education Act, college officials worry that lobbyists for home schoolers will persuade Republicans in Congress and the Bush administration to require colleges to admit students who may not be adequately prepared, exposing the institutions to lawsuits if they refuse to enroll them.

These officials point to a letter that the Home School Legal Defense Association, a national lobbying group, sent to financial aid administrators and admissions officers on the heels of the Education Department's notice. The letter stated that requiring home schooled students to take extra tests to qualify for admission is "considered discriminatory." The letter demanded that "all the barriers for home schoolers seeking admission and financial aid must immediately be disregarded and removed from the policy of your university."

Breakthrough for Homeschoolers Seeking College Admission and Financial Aid
    From HSLDA News
    January 2, 2003
   by unidentified author
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "This letter is an important clarification since it resolves the frequent problem associated with "underage" homeschool students denied admission to college. The letter makes it absolutely clear that students who graduate from their homeschool program before reaching the state's compulsory age can be admitted to a college without that college losing any of its federal financial aid."

Teacher Tax Deduction Not for Home Schoolers
    From HSLDA News
    February 5, 2003
   by unidentified author
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "Many Home School Legal Defense Association members have asked whether or not this deduction extends to home schoolers.

The short answer: No.

The long answer: While Section 406 of the new law would, in plain reading, apply to home schoolers, it is doubtful that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would recognize the deduction...."

Military Escalates Assault on Civilian Schools
    From American Friends Service Committee · National Youth & Militarism Program
    May / June, 2001
   by Rick Jahnkow
   submitted by Patti .

EXCERPT: "Though the language of this amendment [No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Sec. 8521] is not very detailed, it is clearly intended to deny federal funds to any high school that refuses to give student lists and/or campus access to the military."

[So, if we ever have registration of homeschoolers on a state level, or God forbid, a national level, we can expect to see recruiters at the door. Will we be required to let them in?]

Homeschooling and its Foes
    From The Washington Times
    June 23, 2002
   House Editorial
   submitted by ?

EXCERPT: "Today, home schooling has expanded its roots and emerged from a scorned underground culture into a blossoming alternative to traditional methods of education. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that between 1.6 and 2 million students are now home-schooled, and predicts that that number will increase by 15-20 percent a year. Currently, homeschools, along with charter, magnet and specialty schools, are just another manifestation of school choice.
However, despite improvements in society's perception, official recognition of home-schooled students' rights remains minimal....The government has no business putting roadblocks in the way of responsible parents who understandably want their children to be able to opt out of the government schools."

[read some amazing examples of those obstacles in this article]

Illinois Homeschoolers Facing Harassment
    From HSLDA Website
    November 12, 2002
   By David Goodman
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "A regional superintendent of schools, who covers the three county area of Bureau, Stark, and Henry counties, has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging the rights of homeschool families under his jurisdiction. It is reported that over 22 families have been contacted by the regional superintendent who has demanded that they attend a 'pre-trial hearing' or he will file a truancy petition....One of the truant officers has been delivering to local homeschool families notices of their required attendance at these 'pre-trial hearings.' He even told one homeschool family that he 'could take the children away if he wanted to.' The superintendent and district attorney argue that the burden is on the families to prove that they are innocent."

[And, you thought you were having a bad day!]

No Child Unrecruited
    From Mother Jones Magazine
    November/December, 2002
   By David Goodman
   submitted by Patti

EXCERPT: "Sharon Shea-Keneally, principal of Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vermont, was shocked when she received a letter in May from military recruiters demanding a list of all her students, including names, addresses, and phone numbers....There, buried deep within the law's 670 pages, is a provision requiring public secondary schools to provide military recruiters not only with access to facilities, but also with contact information for every student -- or face a cutoff of all federal aid....Recruiters are up-front about their plans to use school lists to aggressively pursue students through mailings, phone calls, and personal visits -- even if parents object. 'The only thing that will get us to stop contacting the family is if they call their congressman,' says Major Johannes Paraan, head U.S. Army recruiter for Vermont and northeastern New York. 'Or maybe if the kid died, we'll take them off our list.' "

[Are Homeschoolers next?]

The Case for all-day Kindergarten is too strong to ignore?
    From American Federation of Teachers Advertisement
   In The American Prospect Magazine
    December 30, 2002
   By Sandra Feldman, President of AFT (AFL-CIO)
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "To inner-city elementary school teachers, it's as plain as the nose on your face: high-quality, all-day kindergarten gives at-risk children a better chance to succeed in school. That's because poor kids often enter school without knowing their numbers or letters -- or even how to hold a crayon. And even with half-day kindergarten, many still are not ready for the challenges of first grade....Despite all the evidence, too few communities offer all-day kindergarten. It's time to put into practice for our children what years of research have taught us."

[This link is to a page with a large picture of this ad, so it may be a s-l-o-w download, sorry!]

[How soon will it be before this is made mandatory, not voluntary, for all public school children?]

Home School Heartbeat: How to Use the Internet Effectively
    From "www.cabinet.com" via the HSLDA News
    December 3, 2002
   By Mike Smith, HSLDA President
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "Who could have imagined just a few short years ago how powerful and pervasive the Internet would become? Join us this week on Home School Heartbeat as Mike Smith talks about how the Internet has affected homeschooling and how parents can use the Internet to enhance the education of their children."

[This program can also be heard at the above website.]

Homeschooled Grad elected to New Hampshire House
    From "www.cabinet.com" via the HSLDA News
    December 3, 2002
   By Maurice Goulet, GOP Chairman
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "But the 18-year-old, newly elected state representative from Milford and Amherst he believes his equally conservative values, and his strong work ethic, will help to see him through....Born and raised in Milford, James was home-schooled during his high school years and is a paralegal student at New Hampshire Community Technical College in Nashua."

Concerns about Homeland Security Legislation
    From the HSLDA News
    December 3, 2002
   By HSLDA Staff
   submitted by Wendy P.

EXCERPT: "Most of the bill addresses issues that, while interesting, are beyond the scope of HSLDA's mission. Nevertheless, there are a couple of issues which might impact personal privacy which are of concern to HSLDA. For example, Sec 304 of the bill would appear to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to mandate that all United States citizens be vaccinated for smallpox."

Oppose the United Nations Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
    From the HSLDA Court Reporter
    December 13, 1999
   By J. Michael Smith, HSLDA President
   submitted by Wendy P.

EXCERPT: "The U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is an international treaty drafted by the U.N. and signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. If two-thirds of the U.S. Senate, present during the time of the vote, ratifies this treaty, it becomes the “Supreme law of the land” according to Article 6, Section 10 of our Constitution. The United States would be required to implement the dangerous provisions listed below.

Read related RECENT HSLDA ALERT (7/17/02) on this subject.

A Cure for the Homeschool Blues

    From the HSLDA Court Reporter
    March/April, 2002
   By J. Michael Smith, HSLDA President
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "Some of our middle-aged members out there may remember a song that declares, "There ain't no cure for summertime blues." From our experience, it is not unusual for parents, especially moms, to experience "homeschool blues" this time of year. The good news is there is a cure!"

Dobson Discusses "Pulling Kids from Public School"

    From the HSLDA News
    Monday, July 10, 2002
   By Michael Farris, Tom Washburne & others
   submitted by Wendy

EXCERPT: "Dr. James Dobson spent his July 8 and 9, 2002, daily radio broadcasts discussing the topic 'Pulling Kids From Public School.' The programs were a more detailed follow up to his comments on March 28th when he recommended that parents remove their children from public schools in California.

During the final minutes of Tuesday's program, Dr. Dobson pleaded with listeners to give him feedback on this topic."

To read the full Christianity Today story visit:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/126/22.0.html

To listen to "Pulling Kids From Public School - Parts 1 & 2" online, visit oneplace.com at:

http://www.oneplace.com/Ministries/Focus_on_the_Family/Archives.asp

Dr. James Dobson, President
Focus on the Family
PO Box 35500
Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3550
800-232-6459 (voice comments)
http://www.family.org/welcome/aboutfof/A0000079.html
mail@fotf.org

Research: video games decrease brain activity

    From the Mainichi Daily News, Japan
    Monday, July 8, 2002.
   By Mainichi Shimbun
   submitted by Barry

EXCERPT: "Prolonged time playing video games could cause people to lose concentration, get angry easily and have trouble associating with others, a Japanese professor's research has suggested.

In a survey conducted by Akio Mori, a professor in Nihon University's College of Humanities and Sciences, it was found that the longer people spent playing video games, the less activity they showed in the prefrontal region of their brains, which governs emotion and creativity."

Educrats declare war on remaining parental rights
    From Educational Freedom.com
    Spring, 2002 (?)
   By Vin Suprynowicz
   submitted by Patti R.

EXCERPT: "I've researched more than a dozen such cases in recent months, and experts tell me it's the tip of the iceberg. Florida child care workers will now take perfectly healthy children out of loving homes because they believe they're obliged to do so if a younger infant dies of crib death. In the case of Alexandera Dykes of Colorado Springs, daughter of Travis ("Ted") and Anita Doolin of Las Vegas, the children were taken away on a charge of "dirty home" after she filed third-degree sexual assault charges against a male case worker who slid his hands up under her sweater and tried to pull her into the bedroom in front of her young children.

The presumption in America today -- first for the poor but increasingly for all of us -- is that our children belong to the state. The state allows those children to remain "out on loan" to their natural birth parents only so long as you meet all the government's requirements: Every vaccination recommended by the major pharmaceutical firms, no matter how dangerous or statistically useless.

No guns in the house; no strange faith-healing religious beliefs. And you'd better make sure your kid reports to the local government youth propaganda camp from the age of six ... or is it 5 now? ... so the local educrats get their subsidies based on a full complement of little butts to warm the seats ... or else.

Now comes Senate Bill 73, pre-filed Feb. 1 for this session of the Nevada Legislature in the name of Sen. Ray Rawson's entire Committee on Human Resources and Facilities, since no individual lawmaker has the courage to attach his or her name to such a monstrosity...."

Don't Link Home School With Abuse
    From the News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina
    Friday, May 31, 2002
   By Robert Ziegler and Jeff Townsend
   submitted by HSLDA

EXCERPT: "A recommendation by the state [North Carolina] Child Fatality Review Team that the "correlation of home schooling and protection issues for children" should be examined is a classic example of a state fiefdom attempting to convert an unspeakable tragedy into increased political clout and power...."

Robert Ziegler is with the Home School Legal Defense Association in Purcellville, Va. Jeff Townsend, of Bolivia, N.C., is president of North Carolinians for Home Education.

Students' Personal Data to Go to State
Friday, April 19, 2002
by Reginald Fields

EXCERPT: "The state wants to get to know its public school children in extraordinary detail, asking school districts under a little-known law to provide personal information on students such as their mother's maiden name for a new database. The Ohio Department of Education said the database will bring the state in line with federal guidelines requiring increased accountability from schools. But local school officials are worried that Ohio is infringing on student and family privacy and does not need such personal information to ensure classroom accountability.

The Statewide Student Identifier System is to set up an identification number for all 1.8 million students in public schools. Those in private schools would not be part of the system."

The Seduction of Homeschooling Families
Posted on February 14, 2002
by Chris Cardiff

EXCERPT: "Do the public school authorities feel threatened by homeschooling?
Judging by their efforts to lure homeschooling families into dependence
on local school districts, the answer is apparently yes."

Compulsory Preschool
HSLDA Editorial: Some DC Council Members Want Compulsory Preschool

EXCERPT: "Introduced last June by DC Council Member Kevin Chavous, Bill 14-261
requires all children who turn three before December 31 of an
academic school year, to enroll in a preschool program in public,
private or parochial school. HSLDA President Michael Smith talks
about why this is a bad idea."

Response to "No Child Left Behind" Act
Thursday, March 28, 2002
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

EXCERPT: "While the Bush administration wants to make sure no child
gets left behind, some state public educators say they may be forced to
fire thousands of teachers who would no longer qualify for their jobs
under new federal regulations, worsening a teacher shortage crisis."

First Wave of Homeschoolers Comes of Age
    Associated Press
    Friday, April 05, 2002
    by Robin Wallace

EXCERPT: "Playground bullies and prom-night jitters. Lunchroom hijinks and locker
room humiliations. The necessary stuff of cherished school memories, or traumas best left
behind in the hallways of high school? Or maybe something else entirely. Maybe they are completely irrelevant to a happy and fulfilling life. That's what Ben Kniaz, a 20-year-old American college student now studying
in Italy, would say. Kniaz missed out on all that because he was schooled
entirely at home and says he didn't miss a thing."

In a Class by Themselves
    Stanford Magazine
    Nov/Dec, 2000
    by Christine Foster
    submitted by vegsource.com

EXCERPT: "A wave of homeschoolers has reached the Farm--students with unconventional training and few formal credentials. What have they got that Stanford wants? And how do admission officers spot it?"

Children schooled at home have better social skills --
A study challenges orthodoxy
    National Post
    October 15, 2001
    by Julie Smyth

EXCERPT: "Children who are educated at home have better social skills and achieve higher grades on standardized tests than students in private or public schools, according to a new report.Contrary to the popular belief that children educated at home are disadvantaged because of a lack of peers, the study by the Fraser Institute shows they are happier, better adjusted and more sociable that those at institutional schools. "