Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2001 16:55:07 +0000 From: paul.clifton@att.net Subject: Re: [lpaz-Pima] Republic calls for homeschooling "oversight" To: lpaz-Pima@yahoogroups.com Reply-To: lpaz-Pima@yahoogroups.com
David Green wrote:
> Alan:
>
> In the paragraph above, you state:...'the Arizona
Republic in their normal > statist
> fashion today endorsed testing and other "oversight"
of homeschoolers by the > state.' What oversight, other than testing, did the
editorial quoted below > endorse?
>
> I find this editorial couched in reasonable and non-
inflammatory language. I > believe students in a competent home-schooling environment will significantly > out-perform public school students. Those that meet
the norms established for > public school students should be left in peace. Those
that do not meet these > norms evidently need more help than their parents are
giving them. So what is > wrong with "proof is in the pudding" annual testing?
>
> David
After lurking for some time, and this is my first posting (I like to learn a bit about the group before diving right in). There is no problem with the "proof is in pudding," as it was put so long as the parent voluntarily submits to testing. Suppose a homeschoolers association (that was private) was formed to guide homeschoolers to meet requirements expected of incoming students at universities, and many homeschoolers, wanting to ensure their children's entrance to a university or trade school, they could submt to testing by this association to send a signal that their child or children are qualified. That I have absolutely no problem with. However, when the state administers the testing, then it may subject homeschoolers to indoctrination that parents wouldn't otherwise subject their children, in the name of being "qualified." Taking the example from Stossel's last show, suppose you don't want to enforce the myths that public schools push on their students about recycling, Earth Day, etc, but to be qualified, you may ave to. Again, it is the government butting its head where it does not belong. Let universities, trade associations, and homeschoolers reach the optimal solution amongst themselves.
Btw, I was thrilled to find this list existed as moving to Tucson, I feared I may have been the only libertarian.
Best,
Paul Clifton >
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Alan Fanning
> To: lpaz-discuss@yahoogroups.com ; lpaz-Pima@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 11:47 PM
> Subject: [lpaz-Pima] Republic calls for homeschooling "oversight"
>
>
> Just in case you missed it, the Arizona Republic in their normal statist
> fashion today endorsed testing and other "oversight" of homeschoolers by the
> state. This seems to be a coordinated effort with some of the Demolicans in
> the legislature. I am composing my LTE and will post to the group. I
> suggest that others do the same.
>
> --Alan Fanning
>
> Alan:
>
> In the paragraph above, you state:...'the Arizona Republic in their normal
> statist
> fashion today endorsed testing and other "oversight" of homeschoolers by the
> state.' What oversight, other than testing, did the editorial quoted below
> endorse?
>
> I find this editorial couched in reasonable and non-inflammatory language. I > believe students in a competent home-schooling environment will significantly
> out-perform public school students. Those that meet the norms established for
> public school students should be left in pece. Those that do not meet these
> norms evidently need more help than their parents are giving them. So what is
> wrong with "proof is in the pudding" annual testing?
>
> David
>
> *********************************
> Home schooling needs oversight
> merely filing form doesn't ensure learning
>
> July 03, 2001 12:00:00
>
>
> Home schooling is a valuable educational alternative that has earned respect
> nationwide.
>
> But home schooling hasn't earned the right to be free from oversight.
>
> The state of Arizona requires children to be in school because it recognizes
> the importance of education for the future well-being of individual children
> as well as of the community. The state does not lose that interest in seeing
> that children are well educated simply because a parent decides to teach at
> home.
>
> Yet in this state, all a parent has to do is fill out a one-page form, get
> it notarized and he or she can pull a child out of school to be educated at
> home.
>
> Nobody asks how well the child is doing or what - if anything - the child is
> learning. That has to change.
>
> Critics of home schooling say some parents use home schooling as a cover for
> keeping older kids home to do chores and baby-sitting. Others may register
> the child for home schooling just to avoid a truancy citation, stemming from
> the child's continual absence from school.
>
> Unfortunately, no one can answer these charges with certainty because
> Arizona has not requiredtesting of home-schooled children since 1993.
>
> The testing requirement that was eliminated may have needed changing. At the
> time, it gave county school superintendents the option of taking away
> home-schooling rights if a child was not progressing academically. It also
> provided jail penalties for violations.
>
> A less punitive, more supportive approach would make the test an instrument
> against which parents can measure progress. An annual test for home-schooled
> children can and should be used - much as tests are used in public schools -
> to identify areas of a child's education that require more attention.
>
> Next legislative session, lawmakers should restore regular testing for
> home-schooled children with this goal in mind.
>
> No doubt, most parents chose to home-school their children for valid
> reasons. They may disagree with commonly used teaching methods. They may
> want to spare their child from the negative peer pressures. They may want to
> pass along their personal value systems as free as possible from the
> influence of the mass commercial culture.
>
> It's hard work, but these days, an array of curricula and specialized
> software - coupled with support groups - make it easier than ever for a
> parent to do an excellent job teaching at home.
>
> That makes home schooling one of many promising facets of education reform.
>
> But parents who take their children out of the classroom should not be
> allowed to opt out of accountability for their children's academic
> performance.
>
> Home schooling demands oversight.
>
>
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