Fwd from AHA...
[email protected]
This came through another list of mine tonight - I thought you guys might
like to read it, if you haven't already...
Linda in FL :) (seething after reading this)
From: Linda Dobson <ldobson@...> (by way of American
Homeschool Association)
From: Linda Dobson <ldobson@...>
FYI. Preliminary comments are not mine - but could have been...
Linda
-----------------------
Thought you all might be interested in checking out an editorial by Jeff
Berry in the recent Creative Loafing (you can find it at their website:
http://www.clnetwork.net/ - scroll down the page to "Columns" then click
on Jeff Berry).
If you have high blood pressure, take care! Mr. Berry feels
homeschooling should not be legal - and his view of homeschoolers is
unfortunately as limited and uninformed as that of many of our
legislators. We need better - and more accurate publicity!
A suggestion to anyone interested in responding to Jeff Berry: flaming
him back will not accomplish much - educating him might. As with any
lobbying attempts or letters to legislators, thoughtful, polite and
reasonable communications accomplish far more in the long run. Now take
a deep breath, calm yourself - and check out the article.
Miranda (Paymer)
-----------------------
Stop home schooling
By Jeff Berry
Special class: Ignorance & paranoia 101
Many of you may not know that in addition to being a fabulously
talented writer, I am also a lawyer, brain surgeon and architect.
I did not go to college to obtain my lofty degrees. I didn't have to.
Using the logic of a burgeoning conservative movement in this country, I
home-schooled myself in these disciplines and awarded myself the
diplomas. I was an excellent student, with a perfect 4.0 grade-point
average. I graduated at the top of my class.
And by schooling myself at home instead of at some pointy-headed
"university, " I was kept safe from the twin evils of liberal elitism and
godless secular humanism.
Throughout America, it has become rather fashionable among the
conservative kook set to withhold children from public and private
educational institutions in order to "school" them at home. To hear them
tell it, they have all had great success with their youngsters, who are
insulated in a loving home far away from gangs, violence and people of
other races.
Yes indeed, conservative stay-at-home moms with high school educations
all over the nation are instructing their children in such advanced
academic pursuits as laundry folding, soap-opera watching and house
cleaning -- the skills every child needs to succeed.
Oh sure, Mom occasionally refers the kids to some printed material
written by a TV evangelist that is supposed to serve as the child's
home-school "curriculum," but that's usually only a momentary distraction
from the day's home-school schedule. The core of their academic day --
consisting mainly of shopping, telephone calls, and television -- is
rarely interrupted with an attempt at actual "instruction."
These parents believe that every school is a hopeless drug-infested
wasteland. In their minds, they are simply exercising the essence of
freedom -- which is to "school" their children at home, far from the
corrupting influences of teachers with college "degrees" and people whose
religion, race or political ideology may be different from their own.
But to my mind, they are guilty of aggravated child abuse.
Removing a child from school is to reject the very basis of human
intelligence in an enlightened society. It prevents children from
acquiring passable social skills, it deprives them of the opportunity to
forge lasting personal relationships, and it causes ignorance and
outright stupidity on a grand scale. Home schooling creates an atmosphere
of insular paranoia that breeds intolerance and suspicion of people who
are different.
But hey, if our culture is willing to allow children to obtain a high
school equivalency certificate even though they have never set foot in a
choolhouse, why can't I home-school myself in the advanced sciences,
such as medicine or law? What liberal tyrant would deprive me of that
God-given right?
Conservatives often use 1950s America as an example of the cultural
morality to which all Americans should adhere. But in the 1950s, refusing
to send your child to school would have gotten a parent tossed in jail,
and the child charged with truancy.
An Internet search on the subject of home schooling clearly reveals
that the phenomenon is being perpetuated by a host of societal misfits,
fringe political activists and fundamentalist religious zealots. Such
people are extremely hostile to any assault upon what they believe to be
their Constitutional right to deprive their children of an education. As
one home "schooling" parent asked me, "Why are you so concerned about how
other people elect to educate their kids, Mr. Berry?"
"It's Doctor Berry," I replied. "And home schooling is nothing but
parentally sanctioned truancy. It should be outlawed."
like to read it, if you haven't already...
Linda in FL :) (seething after reading this)
From: Linda Dobson <ldobson@...> (by way of American
Homeschool Association)
From: Linda Dobson <ldobson@...>
FYI. Preliminary comments are not mine - but could have been...
Linda
-----------------------
Thought you all might be interested in checking out an editorial by Jeff
Berry in the recent Creative Loafing (you can find it at their website:
http://www.clnetwork.net/ - scroll down the page to "Columns" then click
on Jeff Berry).
If you have high blood pressure, take care! Mr. Berry feels
homeschooling should not be legal - and his view of homeschoolers is
unfortunately as limited and uninformed as that of many of our
legislators. We need better - and more accurate publicity!
A suggestion to anyone interested in responding to Jeff Berry: flaming
him back will not accomplish much - educating him might. As with any
lobbying attempts or letters to legislators, thoughtful, polite and
reasonable communications accomplish far more in the long run. Now take
a deep breath, calm yourself - and check out the article.
Miranda (Paymer)
-----------------------
Stop home schooling
By Jeff Berry
Special class: Ignorance & paranoia 101
Many of you may not know that in addition to being a fabulously
talented writer, I am also a lawyer, brain surgeon and architect.
I did not go to college to obtain my lofty degrees. I didn't have to.
Using the logic of a burgeoning conservative movement in this country, I
home-schooled myself in these disciplines and awarded myself the
diplomas. I was an excellent student, with a perfect 4.0 grade-point
average. I graduated at the top of my class.
And by schooling myself at home instead of at some pointy-headed
"university, " I was kept safe from the twin evils of liberal elitism and
godless secular humanism.
Throughout America, it has become rather fashionable among the
conservative kook set to withhold children from public and private
educational institutions in order to "school" them at home. To hear them
tell it, they have all had great success with their youngsters, who are
insulated in a loving home far away from gangs, violence and people of
other races.
Yes indeed, conservative stay-at-home moms with high school educations
all over the nation are instructing their children in such advanced
academic pursuits as laundry folding, soap-opera watching and house
cleaning -- the skills every child needs to succeed.
Oh sure, Mom occasionally refers the kids to some printed material
written by a TV evangelist that is supposed to serve as the child's
home-school "curriculum," but that's usually only a momentary distraction
from the day's home-school schedule. The core of their academic day --
consisting mainly of shopping, telephone calls, and television -- is
rarely interrupted with an attempt at actual "instruction."
These parents believe that every school is a hopeless drug-infested
wasteland. In their minds, they are simply exercising the essence of
freedom -- which is to "school" their children at home, far from the
corrupting influences of teachers with college "degrees" and people whose
religion, race or political ideology may be different from their own.
But to my mind, they are guilty of aggravated child abuse.
Removing a child from school is to reject the very basis of human
intelligence in an enlightened society. It prevents children from
acquiring passable social skills, it deprives them of the opportunity to
forge lasting personal relationships, and it causes ignorance and
outright stupidity on a grand scale. Home schooling creates an atmosphere
of insular paranoia that breeds intolerance and suspicion of people who
are different.
But hey, if our culture is willing to allow children to obtain a high
school equivalency certificate even though they have never set foot in a
choolhouse, why can't I home-school myself in the advanced sciences,
such as medicine or law? What liberal tyrant would deprive me of that
God-given right?
Conservatives often use 1950s America as an example of the cultural
morality to which all Americans should adhere. But in the 1950s, refusing
to send your child to school would have gotten a parent tossed in jail,
and the child charged with truancy.
An Internet search on the subject of home schooling clearly reveals
that the phenomenon is being perpetuated by a host of societal misfits,
fringe political activists and fundamentalist religious zealots. Such
people are extremely hostile to any assault upon what they believe to be
their Constitutional right to deprive their children of an education. As
one home "schooling" parent asked me, "Why are you so concerned about how
other people elect to educate their kids, Mr. Berry?"
"It's Doctor Berry," I replied. "And home schooling is nothing but
parentally sanctioned truancy. It should be outlawed."