prairiemom
12-23-2010, 09:47 AM
religion which is intolerant of the beliefs of others."
In case you haven't read it, you really should read HSLDA's lead article in their Nov/Dec magazine. It details the latest round of attacks on homeschooling. Right now the attacks are academic (i.e. being published in scholarly and law journals) but that means you can expect that they will be legislative and judicial within the next 3-5 yrs.
The newest argument against hsing is that it does not teach a tolerance for all religions and lifestyles and this is detrimental to the children and our society. Some have proposed a state imposed curiculum or program for all schools (public, private or hs) teaching diversity and tolerance. Some have said this is one reason that
"public education should be mandatory and universal. Parental expressive interests could supplement but never supplant the public institution where the basic and fundamental lesson would be taught and experienced by all American children: we must struggle together to define ourselves both as a collective and as individuals." (Italics in the original)
Another quote from the anti's:
"...parental control over children's basic education flows from the state (rather than vice versa). States delegate power over children's basic education to parents, and the delegation itself is necessarily subject to constitutional constraints."
We need to be alert to these ideas, especially if they start taking root in the minds of our state legislators. This is where the battles will begin. We must be cultivating good relationships with our lawmakers, but more importantly, work together to hold them accountable (responsive) to us.
I know we all know this but we have a moral obligation to be involved--ACTIVELY involved--all the time. And even if we weren't moved by our moral obligation, surely protecting our children from the state should motivate us. Our politicians interpret the least lack of attention to the process as a sign that we approve of what they are doing.
For most of us a new state legislative session begins in a couple wks. Are you ready?
In case you haven't read it, you really should read HSLDA's lead article in their Nov/Dec magazine. It details the latest round of attacks on homeschooling. Right now the attacks are academic (i.e. being published in scholarly and law journals) but that means you can expect that they will be legislative and judicial within the next 3-5 yrs.
The newest argument against hsing is that it does not teach a tolerance for all religions and lifestyles and this is detrimental to the children and our society. Some have proposed a state imposed curiculum or program for all schools (public, private or hs) teaching diversity and tolerance. Some have said this is one reason that
"public education should be mandatory and universal. Parental expressive interests could supplement but never supplant the public institution where the basic and fundamental lesson would be taught and experienced by all American children: we must struggle together to define ourselves both as a collective and as individuals." (Italics in the original)
Another quote from the anti's:
"...parental control over children's basic education flows from the state (rather than vice versa). States delegate power over children's basic education to parents, and the delegation itself is necessarily subject to constitutional constraints."
We need to be alert to these ideas, especially if they start taking root in the minds of our state legislators. This is where the battles will begin. We must be cultivating good relationships with our lawmakers, but more importantly, work together to hold them accountable (responsive) to us.
I know we all know this but we have a moral obligation to be involved--ACTIVELY involved--all the time. And even if we weren't moved by our moral obligation, surely protecting our children from the state should motivate us. Our politicians interpret the least lack of attention to the process as a sign that we approve of what they are doing.
For most of us a new state legislative session begins in a couple wks. Are you ready?