Posted on 05/17/2006 12:23:05 PM PDT by Sopater
Homeschoolers believe that parents generally provide the best care for children, so when the Wyoming legislature started working on a "Quality Child Care Initiative" this year, homeschoolers got involved. The legislators made quite a few changes as they tried to find some compromise between people who put parents first and those who see the government as the answer to everything. The new law established a "Legislative Oversight Committee" to oversee progress. The Governor appointed a joint task force of the Department of Family Services and the Department of Workforce to make some initial assessments.
On Friday, April 28, the Legislative Oversight Committee held a meeting, and homeschoolers showed up to make sure Wyoming puts parents first. The Chairman, Representative Elaine Harvey (R-Lovell) gave each legislator time to present the concerns that where expressed by the House and Senate last session. Thanks to homeschoolers input during the session, the legislators wanted to address quite a few important issues. How much will this cost? How much the government should be involved in family life. How does the State decide who is "at risk," and what does the State do with such sensitive information?
The Legislature asked the Oversight Committee to look into a number of issues, including whether the whole program is even constitutional. Concerned citizens-including homeschoolers-stood up to express their opinions. Some of the most telling testimony objected to government involvement in the family and free enterprise and the negative effect of early institutionalization of children.
When one homeschool father called the whole Quality Child Care Initiative "socialism," Chairman Harvey objected. Senator Katherine Sessions (D-Cheyenne) chimed in. "This isn't socialism," she insisted. With socialism, she argued, you don't have a choice. She argued that the Quality Child Care Initiative is intended to give parents choices.
Task Force member Becky Vandeberghe responded promptly. "It may not be socialism yet, but it's moving in that direction."
Home School Legal Defense Association agrees with that assessment. If the government allowed you to choose whether or not to pay your taxes, government-funded child care might actually increase "choice." When the government takes your tax dollars to regulate and fund other people's child care, however, the power to choose goes down, not up.
The Task Force will hold hearings from now until late in the year. They are supposed to bring legislative proposals to the Legislative Oversight Committee by the first week in October, which will then try to finalize proposed legislation by November 15. We believe they need to hear from as many Wyoming citizens as possible. We will inform you where and when these hearings will take place. Please be ready to do what you can to speak up for family freedom!
Compromise? How do you compromise your core principles and remain conservative? To accept such a compromise is to lay down all we hold dear and to admit we were incorrect all this time...... This isn't compromise, it is surrender.
My liberal aunt is at least honest. She has no problem with the term socialism. Her ideas are ridiculous, but I respect her honesty. She makes me laugh because she is consumed with hatred for Wal-Mart and Michael Savage.
Yeah right -- how about just leaving us alone.
Homeschooling... Who in the HELL wants to be around their kids 24/7? I'm happy to send the little ankle-biters off to school.
Do some snooping around, and you'll probably find the NEA in this somewhere...they've been looking for a legal way to kill off homeschooling.
If you don't like being around them now, just wait till they grow up (if they every do).
I cannot believe that ther eare so many people out there fooled by the idiotic government knows best line. How can any thinking breathing human think that getting government invloved in anything increases your choices?!
The worst thing about home schooling is the lack of socialization. Sure, the kids win spelling bees, but they seem a bit strange and Kaczynski-like. Now, I will stand here in the open and take fire from the home schooling lobby.
What did kids do about socialization before there were public schools? Don't recall too many unibombers from those days. And aren't there any other kids on your block that your kid plays with?
You must be having an awfully boring day to place yourself in danger of fire and brimstone from us homeschoolers! Things should liven up for ya real soon... :o)
Was Kaczynski homeschooled? The Columbine boys were, as I recall, 100% public schooled. Come to think of it, every kid-killer that comes to mind was a product of public schools.
Bored? Got a flamethrower handy?
Homeschoolers would have known enough not to get caught :-D
Libs desperately want to eliminate homeschooling because it doesn't give in to the leftist agenda of public schools.
Ping! Thought you might be interested in this.
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