Posted on 09/04/2015 11:25:04 AM PDT by MichCapCon
The left-leaning nonprofit ProPublica recently ran an article on home schooling that opened by relating an anecdote from 2003. It tells of a 19-year-old man in New Jersey who weighed just 45 pounds and was found rummaging through a neighbor’s garbage. The explanation for how such a thing could happen is delivered by a state politician who says, “I was told it was because he was homeschooled.”
The story, co-published on the liberal Slate.com, then quotes Ellen Heinitz, who is the legislative director for a Democratic state representative from Detroit, about her experience with a national homeschooling lobbying group called the Home School Legal Defense Association. Heinitz works for Rep. Stephanie Chang, whose House Bill 4498 would mandate homeschool registration and increase other regulations.
“I’ve never seen a lobby more powerful and scary,” Heinitz was quoted as saying. “They make the anti-vaxxers seem rational.” This is a reference to people who believe vaccines are dangerous.
Karen Braun, a nationally known homeschool education activist from Michigan, said the story is part of a trend to get the public to view homeschooling with suspicion.
“She’s throwing out a caricature,” Braun said. “What she is really exposing is her own contempt for people who act outside of the state and for people who think they know what’s best for their children.”
Braun said some school districts are becoming more accepting of homeschooling. Some districts are partnering with homeschool families. The public school district gets money for the homeschool students who participate in certain elective classes. Lapeer Community Schools is one of the districts involved in the homeschooling partnership.
When asked to estimate how many children are being homeschooled in Michigan, Braun said:
“You can’t. And that’s a good thing. How many parents breast feed? Why would you care? Why is it an important thing? It’s free people acting on their best interests of their family. That’s the beauty of liberty. That’s the beauty of freedom.”
Cathy Keller, a homeschooling parent from Jackson, said the liberals in education and government want to control every aspect of citizens' lives. She said the homeschooling phenomena is growing as are the curriculum options.
“Basically, school is being redesigned by parents because of a failed model that has been hijacked and corrupted,” Keller said. “If they had a successful model, they would be attracting participants, but they won't tolerate our freedom of choice. So I could go on for days and days about why I homeschool and why I don’t want liberal minded bureaucrats deciding what they want for my children. The parents who abuse their children are the problem, not because they say they homeschool. … The majority of homeschooled kids are successful because someone is taking time to give them personal instruction. There are successes and failings in both the public schools and in home schools, but they don't control homeschools and there lies the rub.”
There are no official estimates of how many people homeschool in Michigan. Registration is not required for parents who homeschool, but there is provision for voluntary registration. The law does require parents whose child does not attend public or private school to provide an "organized educational program" in the subjects of reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar.
-—Basically take over the home school market and then work to get the curriculum into school districts-—
Great post...
Your last point is a fantasy...the NRA is far too powerful to allow God fearing, love america, accurate history curriculum to enter pass the school entrance...
[ It tells of a 19-year-old man in New Jersey who weighed just 45 pounds and was found rummaging through a neighbor’s garbage. The explanation for how such a thing could happen is delivered by a state politician who says, “I was told it was because he was homeschooled.” ]
Oh!!! Well tell me again how all the inner city Yutes are all Homeskrooled???? because they are not...
from everything I have seen these “home-school horror stories” are the very very rare exception of failure ibn homeschooling. Unlike the many many documented failures that affected many millions of children in the public skrool system.
[ “I’ve never seen a lobby more powerful and scary,” Heinitz was quoted as saying. “They make the anti-vaxxers seem rational.” This is a reference to people who believe vaccines are dangerous. ]
This is pure slander against those who have LEGITIMATE concerns about vaccines and their effects concerning what is put in the vaccines, when they are administrated and other concerns like vaccine mishandling prior to injections.
[ Ping Megan dear.
Is the Homeschooling Lobby bigger than the NRA?
I thought they had all the Lobby Dollars? ]
Lobby Dollars, it is all those “Hobby Lobby Dollars” because homeschooling parents buy a lot of arts and crafts supplies from hobby lobby dontcha know ;)
I’ve always thought that the local Christian churches should include subsidizing home schooling expenses of members’ children. Include it in the Missions program.
Let me share a personal story with everyone here.
I have a sister who is bat crap insane (she is literally about one snake handling session short of joining up with the westboro crazies). Her children were home-schooled and don’t know jack crap because homeschooling was just an excuse to keep them in the crazy christian cowboy cult that she was a part of. Her family is one of the worst examples of homeschooling gone horribly horribly wrong.
Am I against homeschooling?
NO, I am very much pro-homeschooling.
Why, because I realize that people home-school for various reasons.
Some do it for all the wrong reasons, MANY do it to teach their children more than public schools ever could and also to foster a sens of learning that lasts a lifetime in their children.
Just like gun control, why should the BAD exceptions to the rule ruin it all for the multitude that are doing good by protecting their families?
People buy guns for different reasons, a MAJORITY of people buy guns for either PROTECTION or for hunting, however a small MINORITY buy guns for Mischief. Why should a small group of bad actors be used as an excuse to punish the vast MAJORITY of GOOD ACTORS???
Because these control freak liberals love to use ANY small minority of BAD ACTORS as an excuse to invite in government o ruin it all for the MAJORITY of people who are GOOD CITIZENS!
I just though of another thing that pissed me off about this libtard.
You know how most libs whine that illegals do the jobs that Americans won’t...
Well gee, maybe all these supposed dum dums from the homeschoolers would pick all the fruit, mow all the lawns, and blow all the leaves?????
So according to libs we NEED unskilled Americans to do all the mundane jobs..... right???? right???? So you would think they would embrace homeschooling if it created such ill educated people, right?
NOPE, even going by their flawed view of the world you can prove their mishandled ideology wrong.
My kid (31 now) was homeschooled and she’s more intelligent, better educated and more real world capable than any public school graduate from MI. She could run rings around this liberal putz Ellen Heinitz.
I can’t be polite anymore. I hate fascist bigots like this person, they are disgusting.
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The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.
Rational enough to have a family of two engineers and three hard sciences majors, with the girls going on to grad school in a STEM field.
I'm glad to know they're afraid of us.
We must be doing something right.
BS. Nineteen is past the age of compulsory attendance to begin with.
He was neglected, plain and simple and it wouldn't surprise me if drugs were involved.
When we lived in a welfare town in NYS, there was a little 5 year old girl of someone who was on public assistance and a public school family, who was doing the same thing. Rummaging through garbage, eating the bread crusts she found. The girl was also being molested by her mother's boyfriend.
Exactly.
Exactly only on the fear comparison.
I wonder what the percentage of those in jail were homeschoolers?
“I’ve never seen a lobby more powerful and scary,” Heinitz was quoted as saying. “They make the anti-vaxxers seem rational.” This is a reference to people who believe vaccines are dangerous. <<
I’m sure these people...who are her constituents...are REALLY satisfied with their representation.
DK
Democrats fear people who don’t need Democrats.
I stopped reading here. A man who weighs 45 pounds is either in a wheelchair, a bed or dead. He is certainly not able to stand, walk or rummage in garbage.
What utter BS.
I’ve wondered what that stat was . . . for sure it makes sense based on the demographics alone - and the (lack of) principle involved in being a Democrat.
LOL - I know the NRA is a powerful gun lobby. I had no clue that they were involved in education.
Just poking fun.
While you do have a point about the NEA, they are not more powerful than school boards. While it may not be possible to get every school board, there will be fly over country boards that will be easy to convert over. Get enough of these and then the budget point becomes, why are we spending so much on common core when there is “XYZ” available for less or free?
Budget battles and parents who elect board members tend to be very active and educated in fly over country and that represents anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the total school population. Over time this will crate even more push back against common core.
The explanation for how such a thing could happen is delivered by a state politician who says, “I was told it was because he was homeschooled.”
I was told? Is there a report somewhere? Is there actual evidence he was home schooled, our was he rather neglected by parents who were too lazy to even send him to public school?
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