A bill making its way through the California Legislature is raising alarms in the homeschool community, and prompting concerns about misplaced legislative priorities.
Assembly Bill (AB) 2926 would create a new state-level advisory committee to consider imposing additional requirements on homeschools. The bill directs the new committee to consider mandating new health and safety inspections of homeschools, specific curriculum standards, and required credentialing or certification of parents. As sweeping as such mandates would be, the bill further states that proposals would not be limited to those categories.
Full story at Pacific Justice Institute.
I agree parents have the right to home school their children. However, they also have the responsibility to assure that education meets minimum academic standards. I believe the Government has the obligation to verify these standards are met.
Mike M:
If the state is not going inspect my home because I’m raising kids, what right does it have to inspect that home because I exercise my God-given right to educate them? I set my kid’s standards, not Sacramento!
Why? I am a retired teacher and the last 18 years I supervised homeschooling families. There is so much academic help available for those who need it and many online classes for those academically inclined. Most public high schools are mandated to teach highly academic courses for college prep when all students need life skills courses, which are hardly provided by public schools. The students need to learn basics and how to problem solve. Basic academics, yes but most don’t necessarily need Statistics and other high level science and math courses. They need to develop communication skills including verbal, written and technical communication.
I taught Jr. High and High School for many years. I knew my subject matter well. What I didn’t know were all the other subjects that are minimum expectations. I have grand-children whom I cannot help with their math and science because – well you know … I have nothing against home schooling if the person doing the teaching knows what they are talking about and have the education to back it up. They don’t need to be credentialed to be good teachers. But, a parent with no college degree has no business home schooling. A parent who home schools at the high school level better be able to teach calculus and statistics, English Lit and World History as well as chemistry and physics and biology or auto mechanics and robotics.
Most Catholic home-schooling parents I have known, get together with other homeschooling parents, and help each other, with skills in teaching the fields of their expertise. There are many excellent correspondence and online Catholic homeschooling programs, with all the necessary materials and help the parents need, for success! These programs have complete systems for grading and testing students’ accomplishments. Most become honor students, attend fine, faithful Catholic colleges, and go on to treendous academic and personal success! Most of them marry other homeschooled, faithful Catholics, and start new generations of faithful Catholic homeschooling families!
Homeschooling familiess often have get-togethers, desiring to help their kids socially, to meet other kids being raised with good, wholesome, traditional Catholic beliefs and values, for succes with good, wholesome friendships– and later, dating and marriage, too! They seek to avoid all the dangers, evils, and moral corruptions, of today’s society! Most are dedicated pro-life volunteers, too! A great treasure for our Church, and for our sadly-corrupt Nation– they are the hope for a better future!!
As an experienced teacher, there have been several instances in which a student who is a “casualty of homeschooling” (achieving far below grade level in reading, math and writing) has been placed in my classroom. Often these students have been taught by parents or relatives who are poorly prepared to take on this responsibility. Some oversight is a good idea.
Melissa:
I too am a veteran teacher of Catholic schools and the few kids I’ve met who were homeschooled did just fine. This proposed law is about letting foxes guard chickens: to discourage parents from homeschooling by threats of harassment so California’s homeschooled numbers don’t reach North Carolina’s (10% according to local papers) and become too big to shut down. I won’t be regulated by people who hate what i’m doing, thank you.
Our Nation’s public schools are very poor, with the worst education quality in our entire history!! Plus, they no longer uphold traditional morals, and are a great danger to children! That’s why so many parents homeschool their children!! Our government is tragically incompetent, with education!