News-Record.com

This, of course, is a pefect example of the oppressive, overly regulated inclinations of the modern soclialist state.

Contrary to the Constitution, we now have a state "church:" the secular humanist establishment, dedicated to imposing its anti-Christian, atheistic dogmas on ALL children through its five-day "Sunday school" program: public schools.

It is becoming increasingly clear that neo-marxist humanists, once they gain power and control, seek to ruthlessly eliminate all opposing ideologies and social forces. The harsh Soviet style leftism has now morphed into the "soft" stealth socialism of 21st century America. Plan on a major escalation of this process if the leftist Dems get in the White House - and a major response by Christians in the future.

The powers-that-be in the educational politburo are NOT concerned about the well being and excelence of children's education. Statistic have always shown the superiority of home schooling overall over the public schools - as well as the absence of drug problems, racial strife, sexual proimiscuity, riots, massacres, low scores, ad nauseam. All these anti-home school rulings and bills (in CA and TN) are a thinly veiled attempt to placate the NEA lobbies and preserve the ability of humanists to indoctrinate the nation's children.

Home schooling is indeed a perfect right for Ameican citizens. Whatever happened to "pro choice?" But the state MUST control the content of educational materials if it is to inculcate its ideology of socialized everything, sexual perversion and promiscuity, atheism, radical environmentalism, and open borders.

The truly American educational approach is to have NO "system;" ONLY private schools or home schooling! The tendency for whoever controls and feeds the school system to impose thier worldview and ideologies is just too great and too INEVITABLE. And, of course, those who agree with the system's dogmas will support and excuse its MO.

Only private education would allow each tradition or belief system to teach freely in its own learning environment. If there are greater numbers of "neutral" schools they would simply compete for the student population, producing much higher qulaity, lower cost schools.

And if we elimate ALL school-related taxes (lower all taxes) parents would have the money to pay for education. This would require a gradual phase-out period, but it could be done. But it looks like we're stuck with the corrupt and failing NEA schools for a long time to come. God help our kids!

Even if you're an atheist and disagree with what many home schoolers teach, you must be concerned about a government that is intrusive and highly regulative of personal and social prerogatives (excluding abotion, which is a crime). The state's primary responsibilities are to wage war when necessary, conduct state relations with foreign powers, punish criminal activity on a national level and regulate interstate commerce and related concerns. Education should be a private concern, with no national or state government regulation (scrap the Department of Education).

I have long thought that home "schooling" is a precarious venture at best. I have known some parents who kept their kids out of public schools, who barely had the ability to read the material themselves, let alone master it and teach it effectively. Their efforts failed when their kids were unable to pass the testing at the end of the year. They ended up being sent into the school system after all - but they were more than a full year behind academically than all the other kids their age.

Of course, the main purpose for this push to allow any parent to school their kids at home is to ensure that religious indoctrination is carried out by parents in isolation from any possibly conflicting messages that might be received from public schools. This might be a highly desirable effect from the standpoint of church membership, but from the standpoint of the society that they would prefer not to participate in, the effects are generally negative.

Sure, some of the home-schooled kids get themselves into further indoctrinating "schools" like Bob Jones U or Liberty, but I expect you also get a large number who are socially maladjusted, barely literate, and unable to join a workforce that increasingly requires a very sophisticated education in order to keep up.

C'mon now Nikos, don't be shy. Tell us what you really think.

Home-schooled kids score higher on standardized tests nationwide than the national averages, according to most of the research I've seen. And they tend to come from lower income brackets, interestingly enough. They also are accepted into colleges and fare as well at roughly the same rates as their public- and private-schooled counterparts. So I'd say someone's stereotypes could use some adjusting.

As for "socially maladjusted," "barely literate," etc. ... The statistics say otherwise. But one question: How are our public schools doing on those counts? Right.

Not suggesting the superiority of one over the other here. Just tossing out the idea that maybe, just maybe, education isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition. Before CA cracks down on home-schoolers, perhaps it should take a look at its own precipitously declining public school performance (acc. to NAEP figures, as of 2007, 29% of CA 8th grade students scored "proficient" or above in math; only 23% did so in reading. Wonder how they'll fare in the increasingly competitive global environment?

"So I'd say someone's stereotypes could use some adjusting."

Hm. I thought I made it clear that I was speaking of personal observations. I hear a lot about these statistics that indicate that home schooled kids are superior to kids from public schools, but I've not actually seen them. If you could indicate where they come from, and how they are compiled, I'd be most interested to examine them.

From my personal experience as a parent of a public school student, I know that quality education is indeed available to all students, and that taking advantage of the opportunities found there, a kid can prepare for spectacular success in later life. I would suggest that the difference between the possibilities and the actual outcomes is a matter of choices made by the children and their parents, and not entirely a systemic failure by the schools.

But you haven't addressed the most serious issue that I brought up: that of religious indoctrination. James Dobson does not fight for anything just on the principle of "family values." He sees things in light of growing his political base for creating a Calvin-like theocracy. Do you see this as a desirable outcome as well?

"Sure, some of the home-schooled kids get themselves into further indoctrinating "schools" like Bob Jones U or Liberty, but I expect you also get a large number who are socially maladjusted, barely literate, and unable to join a workforce that increasingly requires a very sophisticated education in order to keep up."

O.K. Rebel, here goes: the above statement by Namtac is a bunch of ignorant, uninformed, prejudiced hooey!! I would think publicly voiced personal opinions deserve at least a modicum of pedestrian research. I'm not talking about footnotes and bibliography - just a mere molecule of objective stats. I'm dissapointed in you, Namtac.

My son (and daughter) was home schooled from day one, and is now in the attorney general's office of the state of Iowa. He got a FULL scholarship to his law school and graduated Cum Laude. His buddy, also home schooled, is about to graduate with his doctorate in bio-engineering from the University of Minnesota.

My daughter is a very fine homemaker and mother of two magnificent kids. And I could go on and on with my own anecdotal evidence. And be advised, a sizeable proportion of home schoolers today are not Christain or religious, just parents very concerned about the failing (and increasingly dangerous) state schools.

And N.C.'s Dept of Non-public Education worked very well for us. We tested our kids every year and abode by all the reqirements of the Dept. A minimal accountability we could live; but personally, I don't think the government should have any say in private home school education MOs. Once you let the gov. camels nose in the tent, we all know what always happens.

OF COURSE, there are failures and problem cases, What system doesn't have its inevitable percentage of downsiding. But, as Mr. Grimes so astutely pointed out, the public system has absolutely no room for criticism. NONE!! And it must be remembered, that home schooling is also very recent, as a major social trend, and there have been many kinks to work out. But even with a few flakes and failures, it's a darn sight better than the public schools. Doesn't anybody on this blog ever read the newspaper or see the evening news. Man!

And yes, Namtac, Christian home schoolers definitely do not want their children indoctrinated with the moral filth, spiritual ignorance, academic lassitude and PC nonsense pumped out of the government schools.

Home schooling is a legitimate, constitutional, and reasonable alternative to statist indoctrination. It's simply that the humanist establishment just can't abide any competition - especially from their theist opposition. And so, expecting a leftist victory in November, they are launching their anti-Christian missiles ahead of the curve to join the momentum - IMO.

If home schooled kids can't compete (which would come to the fore soon enough) they will certainly change and do whatever it takes to be effective; because they are, understandably, committed, passionate and astute people overall. No one would take on such a task if they weren't!

This is ALL ABOUT control, intimidation and humanist aggression, not quality of education; it's about clashing worldviews and moral systems.

There, Rebel. That's what I really think. What on earth do YOU think? Be nice, now. Ideas and cogent arguments, please.

"I hear a lot about these statistics that indicate that home schooled kids are superior to kids from public schools"................................. do you really expect nikos to compile at list of resources for you ? if you want to be informed do your own research.

"I have known some parents who kept their kids out of public schools, who barely had the ability to read the material themselves" and of course you would cite this as proof for your argument. i would ask have you ever know one home schooled child who did well ? guess what namtac i have known many many parents who sent their children to twelve years of public education and they could not read , write or do enough math to pass fifth grade (are you smarter than a fifth grader?). the system (public or home schooled) is just that a system - at the very least a home schooled child has the benefit of the home environment devoid of all the distractions of the public system. the bottom line is that the student is ultimately responsible for what they take away from either a public or home schooled system. they both work but at first glance it seem that at home the student has a better chance of learning and also the access to parental wisdom and guidance.
you are so focused on the reason for home schooling being that parents can shelter (brainwash) their children for religious reasons seems paranoid. parents (even you) want the best for their children and want those children to have some instilled family values - so where is that wrong ?

"do you really expect nikos to compile at list of resources for you ?"

Well, actually Sam Gaines, above, seemed to have ready access to "statistics." I figured he would be able to direct me to his sources of information. I might have a college education, but Google gives me all sorts of fits to the point where I'm afraid to try using it.

"And if we elimate ALL school-related taxes (lower all taxes) parents would have the money to pay for education."

What sort of a mansion are you living in, Nikos? I pay something like 600 per year in property taxes. How would that (getting rid of my property tax completely) give me money to send a kid to a private school? Or perhaps you think home schooling would be the idea route for me? That would require my wife to quit her job, something we haven't been able to afford in 30 years of marriage.

You want to keep your kids safe from massacres? How many massacres have there been in NC schools? And "racial strife"? That sounds like the complaint of an old-line segregationist to me.

"Plan on a major escalation of this process if the leftist Dems get in the White House - and a major response by Christians in the future."

What major response might that be, Nikos? Thinking of burning down some public schools? :)

You folks talk a lot about the difficulties in raising your kids as Christians while they get evil librul teaching in public schools. I really don't see your problem. We raised our kid as a Christian while sending him to public school. The school had him for 6 or 7 hours a day (including lunch and recess times) for something like half of the days of the year. We got to teach him our family values for more than any attempt the schools might have made. In the end, he turned out fine, with no injuries, no drug problems, and no STD's.

"OF COURSE, there are failures and problem cases, What system doesn't have its inevitable percentage of downsiding. But, as Mr. Grimes so astutely pointed out, the public system has absolutely no room for criticism. NONE!!"

Really? Have you been to a school board meeting to register a criticism? If so, were you really dismissed without being heard? Maybe the newspaper would be interested in writing a story about that.

Nikos, dude, you're going to give yourself a stroke.

Federal statistics:

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/profile.asp

Studies on home-schooled students:
http://www.nheri.org/content/view/199/
http://www.nheri.org/content/view/174/62/
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/
(A telling tidbit directly applicable to the California appeals court decision:)

"Parent Certification as a Teacher

To determine whether there is a difference in achievement for students in households where at least one parent holds a state issued teaching certificate, we analyzed the data for the 7,607 students with at least one parent that has a college degree. As shown in Table 3.11, the achievement levels across groups are remarkably similar. Controlling for grade and parent education level, there is no significant difference in the achievement levels of home school students whose parents are certified and those that are not (F for certification=2.9; df=1,7587; n.s.)."

As for Dobson and his ilk, so what? (For the record, I'm a conservative Christian who sees eye-to-eye with Dobson on some issues, but certainly not all.) Students in any educational environment will learn under someone's set of biases, and yet still will learn to think independently, too, to the extent they are able. We all have an agenda; the only issue is whether we're honest enough to admit it. There is no "neutral" in terms of beliefs and values.

For the record (since I'm getting tarred with the "you folks" brush), I have no problem whatsoever with a public school education. I have one. I think it's just fine for Christian parents to send their kids to public schools, or to homeschool them or send them to a Christian school, for that matter. I just prefer that decision be made by parents, not by a government bureaucracy.