New Jersey Governor Christie shines the light on NJEA

The sad part is that what the NJEA does is not limited to New Jersey schools. This goes on all over this country. Every state has a teacher's union that puts the screws to the taxpayers. Governor Christie though seems to be one of the few people who can articulate what is going on behind the scenes at union headquarters. You gotta love this guy for shining a light on these shenanigans.

When I first became aware of what the teacher's union in our state of Vermont was doing I tried to get people to pay attention. It was a losing battle so I simply went home and taught my children. I wasn't going to waste precious time trying to fix a broken system that I knew would take years to repair. This is why parents are foolish to think they can fix the system from within by putting their children in public school and then try to change the monopoly. They'll waste their time, their child's potential and the best years of their child's life.

Kudos to Governor Christie once again. A Triple-Dork Award to the NJEA, the VTEA and the NEA.

Napoleon Hill on developing a pleasing personality

This segment reminds me of being lectured by my drill instructor during basic training but Hill makes some rather constructive points on how to develop a pleasing personality. It's that 'catching more flies with honey than with vinegar' adage. I still have some trouble adjusting my attitude even after all these years but life has a way of being so annoying, sometimes to the point you don't give a rat's rump what people think about you. Sorry, but it is what it is although I am still working on not being so brutally honest with my opinions. Still love this ol' guy though.

Napoleon Hill explains applied faith and a burning desire

"Applied faith is the mental attitude wherein you may clear your mind of all fears and doubts and direct it to the attainment of whatever you desire in life."   Napoleon Hill

His ideas are so simple but yet powerful.


"You should begin by recognizing that you were born with the privilege of complete control over your own mind."     Napoleon Hill.

My momma always did say I had a mind of my own and fortunately I learned how to use it.

Napoleon Hill's QQMA formula....going the extra mile

This fellow's formula has been around a very long time. Why weren't we ever taught his lessons in school? Oh, I know, because the school didn't want us to succeed but wanted us dependent on the government, that's why.

Napoleon Hill's 'The Law of Success in 16 Lessons' is still relevant today

I love this ol' codger. Thank goodness for the invention of television or we wouldn't have these marvelous clips today. Listen to what he tells us about success and share this with your homeschooled children. His ideas make for some lively discussion. I plan to bring you more clips because I think what he has to say is so important to our lives as Americans. Feel free to do some research about him and his book 'The Law of Success in 16 Lessons' on your own. The 'Think and Grow Rich' book is a watered down version of his initial book.

10 Reasons School is Prison & 5 Ways to Break Free From Captive Thinking

http://www.swissarmywife.net/2010/04/10-ways-school-is-prison-and-5-ways-to-break-free-from-captive-thinking/10 Reasons School is Prison & 5 Ways to Break Free From Captive Thinking

Heather writes a great article on a subject dear to my heart...public schools are nothing more than camouflaged prisons. Today, however, the schools are much more blatant about their status with lock downs, legally drugging children into submission and the handcuffing of little children. I am so happy to see young moms like Heather take up the cause for homeschooling since I'm sort of out of the loop now that my children are 19 and 22 years old.

"3. Trust yourself. You must trust in yourself, before you can truly trust in your child."

This was probably the best advice I ever received as a new homeschooling mom over 22 years ago. I needed to learn to trust my myself to teach my own and trust that I knew what was best for my children and for my family as a whole. I needed to trust that what I saw in the public school was pure poison to children and families. I needed to trust my instincts telling me that sending a child into a public school was no less than a death sentence for that child!

Kudos to Heather for sharing her thoughts and discoveries! Be sure to visit Heather's blog to read her article in its entirety.

It's Town Meeting Day...can you pass the Civics Quiz?

Take the Civics Quiz at ISI (Intercollegiate Studies Institute) to see if you can pass. 

John Taylor Gatto: The Mystery of American Forced Schooling

This is a wonderful audio of John Taylor Gatto speaking about his book The Mystery of American Forced Schooling. This free audio can be listened to at The Link. I have always enjoyed The Link and I consider it one of the top homeschooling magazines in the country. I never get tired of listening to John Taylor Gatto.

A must see video for beginning homeschoolers

Review:

If you are simply thinking about homeschooling your child or are a beginner homeschooling parent you may want to consider watching the following 3 part video titled You Can Homeschool, Part 1; You Can Homeschool, Part 2; and You Can Homeschool, Part 3, produced by HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association). This video is informative and encouraging. The parents and home environments appear to be a little over polished but the gist is don't be afraid to follow your instincts. Only you know what is best for your own child so don't let the so-called public school experts tell you otherwise.

Parents interviewed for this video give some rather compelling reasons to homeschool and some have good insight into parenting in general. Part 3 heavily promotes the HSLDA but, afterall, it is their video. Over the years HSLDA has brought attention to the fragility of our rights as parents and, by its sheer presence, has emboldened many families to choose homeschooling. Try to overlook the school rooms that have been recreated in the homes in this video, since many of us threw off those institutionalized trappings long ago and 'unschooled' our children.

Homeschooling has changed much in the last 20+ years. I know, I was one of the front runners who helped pave the way for other families. We fought many battles and enlightened many skeptics but the journey was well worth it. Tough lessons were learned by both child and parent but parental and constitutional rights were restored or maintained. Even though our children are now grown many of us are still out there on the front line making sure a whole new generation experiences the ultimate homeschool benefit...FREEDOM!

Homeschool graduate fights to become firefighter

Way to go Derek! This homeschool graduate had to fight to become a firefighter even though he was doing well in his training and ranked at the top of his class. Another homeschooler paves the way for others. Thank you Derek for your efforts and we wish you much success!

Free Online Constitution Town Hall Meeting

Hillsdale College is offering a FREE Online Constitution Town Hall Meeting at their website. This is a wonderful opportunity for your homeschooler to learn about the U.S. Constitution. Parents, too, can learn from this free online experience. The online seminar is titled: "Reviving the Constitution" from the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship.

Finally, someone 'gets it'...go Rush!

"I guess the public school system in this country has successfully dumbed down enough people that idiots can triumph in our political system." Rush Limbaugh

Homeschooling myths busted by Kristina Daniele

I love this article by Kristina Daniele. She tackles some of the most common myths about homeschooling that I've been hearing for years. In fact, I've been hearing these same myths for the past 25 years and I'm certain many of these myths are still being promoted as fact by the public schools. Why? Because the public schools have the most to lose. Homeschoolers have been proving them wrong for years and that is why public school enrollment just keeps going down, down, down, down..............

More Families Homeschooling In Gainsville, Georgia

You gotta love it! All around the country more and more families are catching on to the benefits of homeschooling. News articles about homeschooling are on the rise also. This positive article about homeschoolers of Gainsville, Georgia is inspiring.

"We chose to home-school for a number of reasons. First, I had a burning desire to keep my children safe spiritually, physically and emotionally," said Kellie Stewart, a Flowery Branch resident who has been homeschooling her four children for the past nine years."

Hurray for this mom. These are some of the best reasons for homeschooling today with all the incompetent and dangerous public schools in this country. This mom is doing her job of keeping her children safe!

Stewart also says: "When placing our child in the public school arena, we immediately felt displaced. It was as if he was no longer ours. The school officials made decisions for him for most of his daily waking hours, but also for how our family time would be used." (my emphasis)

There is hope for this country after all.

Then, Jim Sargent, Hall County school system director of student services adds his ignorant opinion by claiming parents are simply keeping their older children at home so they can "go out to work to help support the family or to take care of younger siblings to cut down on child care costs." due to a worsening economy. That has to be one of the most nitwit comments on homeschooling I've ever read. Sargent is being awarded the Guerrilla Homeschooling Dork Award.

Northville, Michigan Parents Exercising Their Right To Educate Their Own Children

This is a wonderful article about homeschooling families in Northville, Michigan who are taking charge of their lives and the education of their children. Homeschooling mom, Laurie Kilpatrick, said it best: "The point of home-schooling is not to shelter them, but to make sure you know what they're learning and why." Reading about these homeschooling families is inspiring.

What Society Is Teaching Children Today

How can the children of today learn right from wrong when most of the grown-ups in our society are liars, cheats, screwballs, dead-beats, promiscuous, thieves, hate-mongers and socialists? And that's just the politicians, public school teachers and the liberal Hollywood crowd. Is this the message we're sending America's children? Do you really want to know what children are learning today? Then just view some of these items below:

Socialism...let's spread the wealth around!

Free speech...how to react and squash it!

How to steal elections...stuff the ballot box!

Wave the white flag...turn tail and run you infidel cowards!

You've got to pick a pocket or two...then blame the other party!

Home grown terrorism...how to get a PhD in murder!

Brainwashing...out of the mouths of babes!

Unborn children are baggage...or at the very least an inconvenience to the mother who CHOOSES to kill it and is encouraged to do so by politicians and feminists!

How can we expect children to become valued and valuable citizens when many of the role models in today's society are selfish, left-leaning thugs?!

Homeschoolers not taking California court decision lying down

It seems everyone is weighing in on the recent California court decision that would require homeschooling parents be credentialed. Kelly Boggs at Baptist Press had his say and a right good argument against the stupidity of the court's decision.

Luis Huerta at Teachers College Columbia University weighs in...

HSLDA says no reason to panic...YET!!!

It's all about the teacher's union and their death grip on America's children. The public schools are not doing such a terrific job but, heaven forbid, parents who can do a better job should be allowed to teach their own children. I, for one, am sick of these union thugs whose only interest is their own job security and job comfort.

Homeschooling parents don't need advice from old hags either...

What is guerrilla homeschooling?

What is guerrilla homeschooling? You've heard about homeschooling. You've heard about unschooling. Now you are hearing about guerrilla homeschooling. We're the ones who placed the word homeschooling on the tip of everyone's tongue and made homeschooling mainstream.

We are the home based educators who have paved the way for others through trial and error, through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad. We began in earnest and finished as proud parents of literate, intelligent, well adjusted and successful young adults who are now making their own way in the world. These children are of good character and are contributing members of their communities.

We are the home based educators who fought for and maintained our God-given, parental and constitutional rights. We are the home based educators who created an awareness that parents were meant to raise their own children, not some cockeyed version of a 'village' doing it. We took back our children and raised them as we saw fit to do, without interference from the so-called experts and without the public school's influence. We started from day one when our children were born. We stood our ground and didn't cave in to so-called child expert theories and shenanigans.

Our children have grown up free of labels, psychological and medically induced stupors, and whiney, self-absorbed peer pressures. Our children have grown up in the real world away from the artificial, institutionalized and self-destructive world of forced public schooling. It wasn't easy but it was worth the battle to maintain our sanity and safety of our children.

A new generation of children is emerging. A new generation of children who are educated not schooled, informed not indoctrinated, and whole not a hollowed out shell of what was once a loving, inquisitive child.

You'll read some rather frank and honest opinions here but feel free to jump into the debate. Don't be afraid to share your views or ask questions. Don't take things personally and do express your views.

You'll eventually see and understand there is a common thread here that joins us all. We all want what is best for our own children and we all want to maintain our rights, whether God-given, parental or constitutional. We all learn by trial and error. If we didn't we wouldn't be human. Instincts tend to play a huge roll in guerrilla homeschooling. Follow your instincts but arm yourself with knowledge. Question the policies, whims and propaganda that flows from the NEA controlled public schools. Learn the difference between getting an education and being schooled. Read, read, read and discuss.

The beauty of homeschooling, whether unschooling or guerrilla, is that you can learn right along side of your growing, inquisitive and loving child. Take back your child. Give them a fighting chance in this ruthlessly schooled world.

Cindy Wade
Home Education Advocate &
Guerrilla Homeschooler

Karen Maple Case: Letter To The Editor

Truant Mom Being Denied Constitutional Rights! (original title)

20 July 1999

To The Editor:

There is a procedure within the Vermont public school system where a school will carry a student on their rolls even though that same student is not in attendance, for whatever reason, of that school. I am told by a school board chair that after several months (sometimes as much as six months) the school will contact the state to inform them a child was not in attendance and then reimburse the state the funds which they provided for that student. But, what if a student has been carried on the school roll for 3 years (!) and has not been in attendance all that time due to his mother's decision to homeschool him? Once it is found out that a school has done so that would be quite a 'chunk of change' that school must reimburse the state, would it not? And with the hoopla these days over Act 60 and tight funding it is easy to see why any school would want to prevent a student from leaving their domain, especially a special education student that is bringing in thousands of extra dollars.

It appears this situation has happened within the Bakersfield Elementary School here in Vermont. A young mother by the name of Karen Maple made the choice to homeschool her son, Trevor, after years of intolerable treatment of her son by that elementary school and the school's repeated failure to teach him anything. Karen took Trevor out of school against the wishes of the school board chair's wife and the administration and started to homeschool him. She has tried repeatedly to register him with the state department of education but even they insist he reenroll at the Bakersfield school due to pressure from Superintendent Mary Sherrer who knows how important funding is to this small school. Ms. Sherrer even informed Karen that she could homeschool only 'if' she keeps Trevor in special ed. which only means Bakersfield Elementary will still get its money from the state for Trevor but Karen will still have to teach him at home if she expects Trevor to learn anything.

In a letter from Ms. Sherrer to James Hughes, State's Attorney, dated October 2, 1998 she informs him that Trevor has not attended her school since the 1996-1997 school year and she insists that Mr. Hughes 'force' Karen to comply and make 'this case a top priority.' Ms. Sherrer writes 'this child has gone two full years and now well into the beginning of a third year without an education' but meanwhile Karen has been homeschooling him and Trevor's test scores keep rising.

Karen has been battling for her constitutional and God given rights to raise and educate her children as she sees fit and she sees fit to give Trevor every opportunity to learn and to thrive without the detrimental so-called special education program offered by the Bakersfield school. Karen is determined to protect her son and see to his education herself without interference from an uncaring school administration and one that chooses to ignore Karen's success so far in homeschooling her son.

Karen owns her own home on 10 acres of land and pays property taxes. She also has an 18 year old son and a two year old daughter. Karen is a nursing mother whom superintendent Mary Sherrer has brought down the wrath of Franklin County Court judge Michael Kupersmith, Social Rehabilitative Services, State's Attorney James Hughes, Director of Special Programs
Michelle Jewett, Bakersfield Elementary School Principal Jay Nichols (who informed me over the telephone that this was all a bunch of bull___t and he's never even met Trevor) and Department of Education's Home Study Consultant Natalie Casco who have all threatened to take Karen from her nursing baby and throw her in jail if she doesn't comply. They have also
threatened and have succeeded in taking her son Trevor and putting him into SRS custody. According to court docket 199-10-98 Frjv the court has ordered '-the child be detained' meaning SRS can come barging through Karen's door and take her son at any given moment. Gestapo tactics or what?! And all Karen intended to do was provide her son with a loving, nurturing
environment in which to get a solid education.

Vermonters have an opportunity here to see their hard earned tax dollars at work and can take comfort in knowing their money is being used to sever a determined mother from her children (including a nursing baby) and her property. Karen has no money for legal defense and must depend on the services of a public defender who has proven time and time again that his
interest lies with the states' actions. Many of these same hooligans are taking advantage of Karen's own lack of education to defend her children, her property and her constitutional rights.

I have before me the results of a Stanford test which Karen and her son were tricked and coerced into taking in April of this year. Since homeschooling her son for the last 3 years Trevor's scores have risen from below average to above average in many areas, including math, science and social studies. The Bakersfield superintendent, the juvenile court and the Department of Education's own Natalie Casco are all refusing to take these results into
consideration. In fact, it appears they were somewhat disappointed that Trevor did so well on this test because they can see for themselves if they would just leave he and his mother alone this young boy may actually finally get a decent education and finally heal the damage done to him over the years by the Bakersfield Elementary School's incompetence.

In a heart wrenching letter from Trevor addressed 'To Whom It May Concern' he pleads with these officials to leave him alone and let him get on with his education at home. He informs us that the best thing they could do for him is to help him gain 'more megabytes' for his computer or buy him a new one so he can continue to accomplish what the elementary school in his town
has denied him for years--a decent well-rounded education based on a solid foundation of facts and figures and not the social engineering going on at school. Trevor pleads with these administrators to stop their abuse that keeps him awake at night of his mother and family. Is their anyone in Vermont who could find it in their hearts and wallets to provide Trevor with
his wishes and to stand between him and an abusive system that seeks to pull him down?!

According to Tennyson Doane, chair of the Bakersfield Elementary School Board, he and his board are more concerned with the issue of truancy and whether or not he and other board members can be held legally responsible for a student's failure to attend school than for the fact that Trevor is finally learning something (proven by the Stanford test he was tricked into
taking) after his mother took charge of his education. Mr. Doane and I had a lengthy phone conversation on July 19 at approximately 9:00 pm and, although our conversation was cut short when his wife took the phone from him in a motherly fashion, we managed to discuss Karen's situation in length. It appears that Mr. Doane is like any other school board member I have
encountered. He, along with the other board members, are being kept in the dark by the school's hired administration. It was also at this time that Mr. Doane's wife informed me that it was her decision to not allow Karen Maple to homeschool her children because she felt Karen was not strong enough emotionally to handle the job. Say, what?!

It would appear that it is about time for our legislators and the public to step in to assist Karen with this legal battle she is having with the Bakersfield Elementary School, the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union, the Department of Education (whom by the way have links to porno websites on their very own website under the guise of language arts!!!), the Franklin
County Family Court, the Franklin County State's Attorney's Office, and Social Rehabilitative Services. The people who work in these places are quick to pass the buck and those at the Bakersfield Elementary School and it's school board keep telling me they have nothing to do with this when I beg to differ. If they truly care about the children that we are forced under the threat of jail to send to them, as they claim they all care, then why are they pursuing this mother to the point of an SRS agent hounding her at a local store on the evening of June 8th and making unwelcomed physical contact with her in order to intimidate her?

It is time for our legislators and the public to show some guts and assist this mother in her fight for her constitutional and God given rights. If Karen fails in her plight then we all fail. We'll fail to maintain our freedoms and our right to be a parent without interference from greedy, ignorant and ruthless powermongers who hide behind bad laws that serve to advance their selfish cause.

Cindy E. Wade
Home Education Advocate & Truant M.O.M.

Karen Maple Case

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=160911&secure=6970

Surprisingly, even the Investor's Business Daily had an opinion on the Karen Maple case posted on October 5, 1999. Read it here at Investors.com. Good editorial in favor of homeschooling.

"Children belong to their parents, not the state. We don't expect educrats to recognize that universal truth, though. As the trend toward home schooling grows, so will their bitter war on parents."