I support home-schooling and indeed, a neighbor of mine home schools her children. I think it's great when it can be arranged. However, I must say that I see nothing wrong with periodic testing (similar to what children in school receive) to ensure that the children are actually being taught something.
The family in question here appears to be a decent family. But what if the situation was different. What if it was a unwed mother on welfare who purported to "teach her kids at home" but instead sat on her ass watching soap operas and game shows all day while she let her kids run wild? Would Freepers have a problem with that or would they say that the welfare mom has a right to not educate her kids, ensuring that they amount to nothing in society (like her).
I think as a society, we owe it to ensure that our children receive a good education and a fighting chance to lead a productive and worthwhile life. Most of the time, the family ensures that they do. But certainly there are unfit parents out there who do not attend to the educational needs of their children (not talking about the family mentioned here).
Is the annual testing of home-school children such a bad thing? I'm not convinced that it is. I think it's a good measuring stick with which to compare against children who attend public school. In fact, I would venture to say that the average home-schooled child would perform better on average than the public-schooled pupil.
That being the case, I am certainly against the gestapo tactics being used here by the DSS. The DSS witch who said "your children belong to us and we can do what we want with them" deserves a smack in the jaw.
No neglectful parent wants to have his/her pestiferous kids underfoot unless absolutely necessary. As soon as is possible, these types pack their kids off and away.
Nope...never seen that one....but heard that very argumant lots of times from social workers, state reps, and others. No there, there.
My guess is that the average welfare queen would not want the kids around to interrupt her TV viewing. The local subpar school makes a wonderful babysitter. Say these children were given this test and failed, what is the next step? If are taken out of the home and put into the local public school where they fail the same test what happens? Nothing happens and the tenured teachers continue to get their salaries.
But, when did it become our country's creed to always play to the lowest common denominator? Millions of students at public schools fall through the cracks. What have we done to stop that ?
Millions of children who attend public school were raised by day care workers... what have we done about that? We let it be the parent's choice.. we don't test infants to make sure they are being raised with love and understanding , a needed foundation for high IQ, not yet anyway.
And if a parent had tried to do so, with the police standing by, they would have been arrested and the kids taken. Which would have been the whole idea. I think the DDS witch's remark was a deliberate provokation
The power of the State is limited to punishing those who break a law. So the trick is to provoke or lead one into breaking a law, so that the State will then have power over you.
As far as taking the test: different homeschool families have different ways of educating kids. With my middle kid, who is in 3rd grade, my decision was to concentrate on her reading level in the first three grades. She's currently testing as reading at close to 8th grade level. She's behind in other areas, but in my opinion will quickly catch up now that she's able to read well.
I love ya, man, but you are way off on this.
The Republic was formed by folks who assumed that families could be entrusted with management with their own affairs, including education. Of course, today we are about a billion light years removed from such an idea.
However, some of us actually hold on to that ideal and are willing to pay the price.
Compulsory public education in this country was modeled off the "Prussian system."
Do a web search on John Taylor Gatto for details.
You mention that maybe welfare mothers would sit around watching TV while their kids run around uneducated. I venture to say that welfare mothers who want to watch TV like nothing better than to shunt their kids off to school so they can enjoy the TV without kids screaming. I have known many homeschooling families and it is very hard work. Much "easier" to have them gone all day.
Virtually all homeschooled children are much better educated than those at the gov't schools. The testing thing is intrusive and Nazi-like. Just let the kids pass a test at the end of high school for graduation, that's enough.
Yes, because the agenda of the State can be rolled into the testing.
That being the case, I am certainly against the gestapo tactics being used here by the DSS.
The Left pretends the controversy is a matter of testing v. no testing, with those favoring testing on the side of the angels. But of course that's not so. The issue is who -- parents or busybody social workers -- gets to pick which test and when.
That's important, because the _ultimate_ underlying issue is which government -- family or state -- has final authority over children.
Trying to split the difference on the issue is like saying: "The state may have its taxes as long as there are no audits." In the real world, of course, you don't get one without the other.