[Sarah]

I've had it with these nut cases.
Do you know that society has an interest in everyone vacinating their children? Can you handle that?
Also education. Is that too oppressive? Just take the standardized tests and shut up!
But no, people want to thumb their noses at society, the society that provides safety and decent neighbors, and police and fire departments, and then all of FR has to mail endless petitions for someone to have the luxury of living in the US and flaunting the few obligations put on a parent, by the state, for his child.
(Home schooling, yes, answering to no one, no.)

[ElkGroveDan]

It takes a village, eh Sarah?

[Centurion2000]

Just take the standardized tests and shut up!

And they let you vote ....

It's not about the tests anymore .... it's about the freedom to live your life away from a government intervention. I'm sure those kids can ace the tests.

The Amish don't go to public school and take stupid government tests; why can Mass. just leave them alone ?

Come to think of it, if I were these people I'd get the hell out of dodge.

[servantoftheservant]

Society this, society that....you might be a...SOCIALIST!
Do you know that what makes America great and unique is the concept of INDIVIDUAL freedoms and rights?

[The Californian]

I've had it with these nut cases. Do you know that society has an interest in everyone vacinating their children? Can you handle that?

Actually, no. If you want to vaccinate your child, why should you care that my children are not? It should be a matter of irrelevance to you since your children "can't" get that disease. Does it matter if the vaccine makes my children deathly ill???? To the gov't, no, not until some "nut cases" took action. Does it matter if vaccines may cause autism??? No, there are not enough cases to bother about.

Also education. Is that too oppressive? Just take the standardized tests and shut up! But no, people want to thumb their noses at society, the society that provides safety and decent neighbors, and police and fire departments...

Just who decides what is on the "standardized" tests? The government who had such a great interest in your children (we won't even go there) or the parent who has a vested interest in the education of their child.

My kids were home-schooled, and voluntarily took all standardized tests - HOWEVER, I do NOT believe the government has a right to remove children from the custody of their parents over a test. Do you honestly think there are no "bad" public school teachers. There are, and we manage to cook along.

If you don't want to follow home-school threads, there is a solution. It is a little red X in the corner of your screen.

[Marie]

In this country all citizens are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Our government isn't supposed to assume you're guilty without evidence.

Let's say that the police come into your house and search for drugs. You haven't done anything to provoke the search, but they tell you that if you don't cooperate, they'll assume you're a drug dealer and throw you in jail. That's what they do with HS families. Take this test and prove you're innocent. Otherwise, you're guilty.

The other problem is how the test results are dealt with. Yes, they test in schools, but they are mostly used for statistical purposes. If 5% fail, it's an acceptable number. They don't remove these children from the school and put them in a "foster school". If you only have two children and one doesn't test well, they attack your PARENTING, your family, your home, you're very way of life.

[Marie]

In this country all citizens are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Our government isn't supposed to assume you're guilty without evidence.

Let's say that the police come into your house and search for drugs. You haven't done anything to provoke the search, but they tell you that if you don't cooperate, they'll assume you're a drug dealer and throw you in jail. That's what they do with HS families. Take this test and prove you're innocent. Otherwise, you're guilty.

The other problem is how the test results are dealt with. Yes, they test in schools, but they are mostly used for statistical purposes. If 5% fail, it's an acceptable number. They don't remove these children from the school and put them in a "foster school". If you only have two children and one doesn't test well, they attack your PARENTING, your family, your home, you're very way of life.

[Sloth]

The sort of opinion I'd expect from someone voluntarily living in France.

[Sloth]

The sort of opinion I'd expect from someone voluntarily living in France.

[HaveGunWillTravel]

If the kids do take the test, and do better than the average public school student, do the parents get to hit the school and social service officials for all their trouble? If the kids do better than the beauracrats' children, do the parents get to take custody of the beauracrats' kids? Can I take your kids if they won't take my test?

[BenR2]

Also education. Is that too oppressive? Just take the standardized tests and shut up!


//////
LOL. You would have just LOVED Mussolini.

[bjcintennessee]

Wow, it was it refreshing to find I am not totally alone in my views on this article. This was posted on another thread (not the one linked in post #3), but since I have not yet mastered doing links, I will simply say that I was being flamed as the only one who considered that state testing of homeschoolers was reasonable.

On that thread, I stated my admiration for homeschoolers for the immense sacrifices they have made (my sister homeschools, so I know that it requires a tremendous amount of effort).

Most current homeschoolers are very devoted to their commitments, and their children excell far beyond our contemptible public education.

But if this family is allowed to thumb their nose to state testing, then I see this as setting a precedent for all the lazy, low-life project mentality parents to "claim" that they are homeschooling their children. And they would no longer have to prove it. Then, as one of you stated, these children will grow up and be turned loose on society.

I just wish I knew how to do a link so that you guys could peruse the other thread and help me out. But alas, I've just now learned how to cut and paste, but the instructions I've been given on doing links still baffle me.)

[quietolong]

So Sarah Let me ask you a history question.

Who was the last man on the Moon ?
A. Alan Shepard
B. Eugene Cernan
C. Neil Armstrong
D. Harrison Schmitt

[coloradan]

About that government that "provides safety and decent neighbors, and police and fire departments... "

"We have the legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit," DSS trooper Susan Etscovitz told the Bryants Thursday morning. "They are minors and they do what we tell them to do."

Ah yes, the gentle yet tough love of a government bureacrat. The village has called, and they want their child.

[RobbyS]

The best solution is to have a third party come in and interview these kids for an hours. As a teacher with 40 years experience,I can say that this would tell if the kids can read, write , calculate and demonstrate some knowledge of the world outside. To hell with the tests. As for keeping up with their peers? What are they going to do if they aren't?Put them in a public school where --in some cases--more than half are lagging behind?

[freebilly]

But no, people want to thumb their noses at society, the society that provides safety and decent neighbors, and police and fire departments, and then all of FR has to mail endless petitions for someone to have the luxury of living in the US and flaunting the few obligations put on a parent, by the state, for his child.

You're actually a liberal democrat, dear. How have managed to be registered with freerepublic since 1997?

[The Iceman Cometh]

Just take the standardized tests and shut up!

Riiiiiiiigggggghhhhhhtttt.

Just fill out the forms, just comply to their wishes, just submit to their will, suuuuurrreeeeee. I guess that part in our founding documents about 'Liberty' is outdated.

The true issue here is that these standardized tests in no way benefit the children. These tests simply allow the redistribution of Federal funds and cover the burueacrats collective butts.

[ibheath]

So if the school demands that I teach my children the it is "normal" to have two mommies, and I refuse, then I am a nut case? I have been in public school, and there is no way my children will be place in a public school. I will homeschool my children, and the government can stay out of it. You will note in the article that they agree there is no abuse, just a desire by the DSS storm troopers to demonstrate that
"We have the legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit," DSS trooper Susan Etscovitz told the Bryants Thursday morning. "They are minors and they do what we tell them to do."
This is about personal freedom from interference by the "nanny state".

I believe people should be left alone unless there is imminent danger to others. Since the gov't has already stipulated that is not the case, then this is about CONTROL!!! I refuse to cede my parental authority to some liberal social workers with an agenda I find reprehensible.