Homeschoolers Not Laughing About Release of New TV Sitcom

CNSNEWS ^ | 04/30/03 | Robert B. Bluey

[bedolido]

(CNSNews.com) - Homeschoolers are panning a new sitcom called The O'Keefees that portrays children from a "not-so-normal family" who have difficulty absorbing the realities of life in public school.

The show will air sometime this summer on The WB, serving as a midseason replacement. But even before homeschoolers have had the chance to see it, they're already lashing out at its portrayal of the fictional family.

The Home School Legal Defense Association became involved in the issue last month. The group's president, J. Michael Smith, wrote to Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer to express his concerns on behalf of the 75,000 families the organization represents.

"We believe that the initial description of the sitcom is not an accurate portrayal of the homeschool movement at large," Smith wrote. "Homeschoolers are very concerned that the program not portray homeschooling in a negative light."

Smith, who wasn't available for comment, viewed a pilot of the sitcom Tuesday, which The WB released to the group. In his letter, Smith said he feared that the show would perpetuate certain myths about homeschooling.

According to The WB, the show is a semi-autobiographical comedy created by Executive Producer Mark O'Keefe. It stars actor Judge Reinhold as a father who, after prodding from his wife and kids, agrees to let two of his children attend public high school. A third child remains at home for schooling.

"This new half-hour family comedy series takes a humorous look at our so-called 'normal' society through the eyes of one not-so-normal family as they try to keep their own unique values alive in a world where conformity rules," according to The WB's description of the show.

Paul McGuire, a spokesman for The WB, said six episodes have already been filmed. The show was originally scheduled to air last summer, but it will instead be used sometime in the coming months.

McGuire said he personally responded to Smith with a phone call, but he hadn't spoken with him again as of Tuesday morning. The WB has received four additional letters expressing concern about the sitcom, McGuire said.

"The show rewards the values of this family," he said, "and I think people should take a look at it first before they judge it."

Even though The WB's description of the show called it a "semi-autobiographical comedy," McGuire said it was about a fictional family living in an imaginary world.

Those passionate about homeschooling have written more than 100 anonymous critiques of the concept behind the show on the website TV Tome, which hosts a message board and includes information about various sitcoms.

Homeschooling parent Isabel Lyman wrote in a February column for the libertarian Ludwig von Mises Institute that it was only a matter of time before Hollywood "discovered" homeschooling.

"It's infuriating, but not surprising, that homeschoolers, the largest group in the so-called school choice movement, still elicit scorn," Lyman wrote.

In his letter to Warner Bros., Smith challenged some of the myths he believes The O'Keefes will perpetuate. He said homeschoolers are normal American families, and students tend to score higher on tests and are better socialized than their public school counterparts.

As for Smith's offer to work with The WB on scripts for future episodes, McGuire said it was too soon to make any promises. The first six episodes are already taped, he said, and the show's future will depend on its ratings this summer.

[ladylib]

"I wonder where public school teachers lost their joy?"

There is no joy left in the public schools now because of "No Child Left Behind." And I don't think it can be blamed totally on Bush. Public schools have been effing up for years now. Today, there is accountability under No Child Left Behind and the public schools have to prove themselves to the federal government and to taxpayers (parents).

Private schools only have to please parents, which is the way it should be, since parents dole out their own money for tuition (as well as paying taxes for the public schools). Private school teachers probably exhibit joy because they don't have to bother with the same constraints government teachers have to today -- parents and administrators give them more leeway. Private school teachers and administrators know that their livelihood depends on parental approval and consider working with the children of those tuition-paying parents a privilege. This isn't to say that private school administators and teachers have to be willing to put up with a lot of nonsense from parents and students. Private school teachers and administrators and paying parents want the same things for the kids.

[Future Snake Eater]

Yawn....South Park already did this.

So did the Simpsons. Only it had Bart leaving public school to be homeschooled. He turned from a bumbling idiot into a well-read genius in a few weeks.

[nicmarlo]

ty, dansangel; I've certainly had my share of struggles, there must be an unknown as of yet reason.

They "act out" in school because they are bored. If the schools would only allow them to work up to their intelligence, the boredom would end and so would the so-called behavioral problems.

This is true; with all the money they get (over $3,000 per student per school year), one would think that would be more than enough to teach each child according to their level. That's even what they used to do in one-room school houses.

[JenB]

Actually.... it's not funny when you've lived through these attitudes. If I had to hear "But what about socialization" one more time as a kid I'd have flipped.

[HairOfTheDog]

But the more commonplace homeschooling becomes, the more it is going to, and should be included in humor...

I guess my point is, Perhaps there is a funny response to that that everyone will learn from. People ask these questions of ideas that are foreign to them. Homeschoolers have kept such a low profile no one even knows you exist unless they post on Free Republic. If homeschooling becomes part of the common culture knowledge bank through a sitcom that ends up being popular (it is directed by the director of Seinfeld after all) then homeschooling becomes normalized in the process.

[JenB]

But the low profile is part of our grand strategery!

[HairOfTheDog]

Only if the strategery is for folk to think you are the kinda weird people with the bomb shelter down the street!

[JenB]

Nah... we're going to take over the world. But keep it quiet, we are!

[HairOfTheDog]

So you think 2J will hit me for the thing about the mail?

[ladylib]

Let's see. A turban-wearing, phony male Muslim middle-school teacher in California who decides to set the American flag on fire in his classroom and tells the students to shut up about it; a female principal of a California public high school who wants to check out girls' underwear before the prom (no thongs please.) Demoted and now working as a gym teacher for God's sake; a junior high school principal in NYC who lunches late with her secretary, is pissy-eyed drunk, drives her Mercedes into a pole, and decides to drop her pants and urinate right in the middle of the street (arrested for drunk driving (among other things), students perform very poorly on their state tests, but she's making enough money to drive a Mercedes); Also the secretary is arrested for interfering with an arrest; gym teachers and coaches arrested for diddling around with kids, either in school or making dates on the computer (in any town and cities all across the country, just pick up your local newspaper), I could just go on...

[DED]

There's a book called "Emotional Intelligence" that might interest you. The book suggests that kids who are unable to relate to their peer groups tend to be less successful in life than those who can, and that IQ and grades are very poor predictors of future success.

The really tough trick, in my opinion, is to raise good Christian kids who can still relate.

[Old Professer]

Didn't we just have a thread on here several weeks ago where over half of the posters agreed that The Simpsons "Rewarded the value of the 'family'?"

[honeygrl]

" Private school teachers probably exhibit joy because they don't have to bother with the same constraints government teachers have to today "

I went to a private christian school for 2 years in high school.. I never felt any of that joy coming my way. My Spanish teacher once went over a friend's homework and took off 1 point for every "i" he didn't dot. Since he wrote in small cap letters (like a lot of males do) he failed the assignment over it. She also wouldn't accept any work turned in written in pencil. It had to be black ink or you got a zero.