Where we're headed?

[frodo82801]

With the new administration in the White House, what do you expect in regards to home schooling?

http://obamastatesofamerica.com/2008/08/18/obama-on-homeschooling/

[MidnightCry]

I expect him, or at least someone in his administration - including the Democrats in Congress - to target homeschooling very quickly. The question will be, how long can we delay the inevitable?

[NewWorldOrder]

I just don't know what to expect. We're in Texas, and homeschooling here is protected by our laws. I'm hoping that just by living in Texas, homeschoolers, will be protected, but we'll just have to wait and see.

So....:idunno

[Tall Timbers]

Homeschooling is dangerous to the powers behind the politicians because the home schooled youthful minds are not available to be brainwashed. My kids go to public school but I've also done a lot of teaching at home with them. They are prepared at home not to accept everything they're taught in school as truth. From my girl's reactions to the "health" class curriculum in jr high and high school, that is one place where the powers do significant brainwashing.

[lisaann]

I believe that the Lord has allowed all of us to homeschool our children to raise up a Godly generation to stand against the tide. Whatever happens in the future is His will but I pray :pray that He gives us a Supernatural protection so that we may continue doing this.

Here in MD we have pretty strong homeschool laws and some very Godly men that serve as lobbyists for us. I used to use an umbrella group that was run by one of them and he was very good at keeping us updated on the latest things in the legal realm. I thank God for the men and women who go to bat for us with the lawmakers. :nod

:hug Tall Timbers hang in there, you sound like a wonderful Daddy. :nod

[Reason&Hope]

One of the questions to ask is how much can the Federal government do on this issue when schooling is a state issue? We all know that different states have different rules and requirements for homeschooling.

Another thing is that these people usually engage in some sort of propaganda campaign before they take action. That would involve tv shows in which homeschoolers are murderers, etc. and special news reports by the Today Show, et al. on how weird we are.

[Ava]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. There are also liberal democrats who enjoy the freedom to homeschool their children, too. I think we should just stay as vigilant as we always have regarding this issue. :hat

[frodo82801]

How about this?

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/12/another_barack_in_the_wall.html


Usually, children's books do not scare me. But I just read a children's book entitled "Barack" by Jonah Winter, with illustrations by AG Ford, published on September 30, 2008 by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers. "Barack's" dust jacket states that it is for children ages 4-7. This book scared me very much.

I am scared because of what this book will do to my daughter and other children who read it. My little girl is six and a half years of age. I will not allow her to read this book or have it read to her without my being able to explain to her what was omitted from the book. I will be checking with her school teachers for the next five years or so to make sure that she is not exposed to this book without the material that was omitted. To do otherwise would allow my child to become a victim of political deception.

[frodo82801]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. There are also liberal democrats who enjoy the freedom to homeschool their children, too. I think we should just stay as vigilant as we always have regarding this issue. :hat

My wife frequents some home school boards. One of them that was primarily Christian has been overrun by secular home schoolers. They aren't in it to give their kids a Biblical world view. They just understand that the school system is broken and they want a good education for their kids. These are the parents who want to enroll their kids in Harvard at birth.

And they are rather hostile to the Christian home schoolers on the board.

A lot of them probably live in Marin County California.

[Cookies4me]

I posted this elsewhere on the homeschool forum but thought I would repost it here.

What Can We Expect under
an Obama Administration?

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends of Homeschooling:

Since the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president, HSLDA has received more than a few calls from both members and nonmembers. Some are quite concerned about the future of homeschooling under an Obama presidency.

First of all, let us always remember that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). He also instructs us to be wise, plan, and be prepared in everything we do.

Despite HSLDA’s efforts prior to the election to get an official statement from the Obama campaign regarding their position on homeschooling, we received no response.

So where does that leave us?

We do know that the Democratic Party has an official position of supporting public education. The National Education Association (NEA), which is the national teachers union, is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. We know that the NEA’s position is that every child should be either taught by a certified teacher or supervised by one. Additionally, their position is that the curriculum used by all homeschoolers should be approved by the state, and children should only be able to continue to be homeschooled based upon systematic evaluation by the state.

It is important to remember that under the United States Constitution, the federal government has no authority over private and home education. This is not to say that they will not attempt to exercise authority in these areas. And whenever private educators accept grants and benefits, there are conditions to receiving those benefits, including being subject to regulation.

Just because the federal government has no constitutional authority over home education, however, doesn’t mean that federal bureaucrats or legislators might not attempt to impose some form of regulation over private and home education. We saw this back in 1994, when the reauthorization of the Secondary and Elementary Act (H.R. 6) contained an amendment which would have conditioned funding to the states for public education to require that all teachers be certified in every subject area they teach. The homeschool community rose up; over a million phone calls were made to the U.S. Congress, and the amendment was defeated. During that process, Representative Dick Armey from Texas introduced an amendment which stated that the federal government and Congress have no authority over private and home education. This protective language was passed by the House of Representatives.

With your help and the help of homeschoolers all across America, we will vigorously resist any effort on the part of the federal government to regulate home education. Obviously, this will take resources—which come from our membership—and we would encourage our current members to continue standing with us, and encourage others to join us.

An immediate concern to watch is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although we do not know what Barack Obama’s specific position on the treaty is, we know that future Vice President Joe Biden has publicly indicated that this UN Convention should be ratified by the United States.

It does appear that we will soon have the challenge of keeping the UN Convention from being ratified by the U.S. Senate, ratification requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.

Should the UN Convention be ratified, it would impose the United Nation’s view of children’s rights on America. Under the U.S. Constitution, treaties become the Supreme Law of the land, taking precedent over state laws and state supreme court decisions.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is not in the best interest of parents or children, as it would undermine the parental authority that our laws currently recognize. For further information on the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child visit ParentalRights.org.

To summarize, homeschoolers should not live in fear, but we do need to be wise, and we will need to be vigilant to protect parental rights and homeschooling freedoms in the future. We stand prepared, with your help, to do that as we’ve done for 25 years.

Michael Smith
HSLDA President