Children raised in daycare are tested when they go to school. Many jobs in our society require testing. Drivers licenses require testing. Formal educations require testing. MOST universities require a certain score on a standardized entrance exam. In fact... I'd be interested to see a list of accredited universities that don't. Certainly not everyone is required to go to a university And I support you and your kids rights to do whatever you choose to earn a living.
I don't have a problem with people who homeschool at all. I do see a difference between homeschool and noschool. Often I think that many people such as the key figures in this article are from the noschool philosophy, which is why they aren't willing to devulge the information they are teaching their kids, nor allow their kids to be tested. But that's also just my opinion.
Testing is a necessary evil in today's modern age. I don't want a doctor who has never passed a test in his life working on me. I don't want to drive on roads with people who have never passed a test in thier life. I don't want a drug reasercher/developer developing drugs for me that has never passed a test in his life. I don't want a cpa doing my taxes who has never passed a test in his life. A society that allowed anyone to open any sort of business he chose to, without being tested for the proper skills would be a dangerous place. Insurance would be out of sight, and the courts would be full of people suing others because of bad business practices...... oh yeah.. that's what we have now:) But it would be about a gazillion times worse. :)
I agree with most of what you say,however I need to make a point here, unschooling is not the same as not having education instruction. I am not sure if you would be interested in a thread on unschooling, or not.
I will raise my children to follow the laws , but that doesn't mean if we disagree with the law we can't try and fight it. Of course murder , theft,and rape are completly out of the question. Driving regulations are necesary for the saftey of everyone , including my family. SO we don't mess around with just any law.
For me this is about the civil rights of everyone. This article yells out zero tolerance for parents ,to me. If we know the children are getting educational instrucion and they are healthy , what are we arguing about? What is the beef with the DDS? It is just that they won't take the standardized test? That is it? Then this is about who has the power and right over the children. The DDS need to prove they have the power to keep alive.
Therefore ,this isn't about educational instruction ,or school ,or standardized testing. My point is that we don't test the IQ of kids who go through day care and compare them to kids raised at home. We don't test the IQ of people who want to be parents and compare them to people who have been parents, or people who want to get married to those who have been married. Not yet anyway.
Where do we draw the line on allowing the State to test, and judge our IQ levels? If I say I am responsible for my son and his education , isn't it up to me to teach him what he needs to know and test him as I see fit? When he is old enough he can figure it out for himself. Isn't that our business?
Those tests are not designed with homeschoolers in mind, they are designed to see if the kids in public school are getting any info, and if the taxpayers are getting their money's worth.
In this case the standardized test is used a weapon to force the compliance of children to learn what the state deems worthy, thereby wasting the time of the homeschool students who may wish to study something else.
It is about educational freedom.
It is about educational choice.
If the system and it's testing methods were so great, why would parents be avoiding it by the droves? If it were effective why are there people who can not function in this society? I dare say those kids getting pregnant, living on welfare, doing drugs and commiting crimes are not in large numbers homeschooled kids. I beleive those kids have gotten their "education" everywhere else but.
BTW, I do have dreams that one day my sons will follow in their relative's footsteps and attend Cornell, Princeton, or University of Sothern California.