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.

Whatever happened to Diantha Harris?

Just sitting here wondering whatever happened to Diantha Harris? How's that hope and change working out for her? If ever there was a good reason to homeschool a child here it is. This is still unbelievable. Wait a minute, no it's not. It's typical for public school teachers, especially those who can hide behind union contracts and tenure. What Harris did was wrong on so many levels. Is she still out there berating small children and military dependents? Harris is the all time top vote getter for our Dork Award!

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!

The bitter homeschooler's wish list

Digging into the archives I found this wonderful yet funny tidbit called The bitter homeschooler's wish list by Deborah Markus. It first appeared in Secular Homeschooling in 2007. I can't pick a favorite out of the list of 25 but this one I can relate to:

"11. Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school."

Daddy's special Valentine pancakes

Eighteen years ago these happy little homeschoolers celebrated Valentine's Day with daddy's special pink heart-shaped pancakes. This year we celebrated Valentine's Day with a Sunday brunch and both our grown children were home for the special occasion along with their sweethearts. I miss our little ones running around the house in their footy-jammies giving hugs and kisses as they climbed into bed with us on those cold Vermont winter mornings. Those were wonderful days, but so are these seeing them grown and happy still!

MADtv's Dot and Homeschooling

This video is hysterically funny on so many levels. MADtv is a hoot sometimes and this is a comical gem depicting homeschooling.

Why some countries welcome children being taught...

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15469407

This story about the Romeike family from Germany is an eye opener. Many of us take for granted that homeschooling is welcome everywhere in this world. Not so!

"Under Germany’s stringent rules, home schooling is allowed only in exceptional circumstances. Before emigrating, Mr and Mrs Romeike had been fined some €12,000 ($17,000); policemen had arrived at their house and forcibly taken their children to school. The Romeikes feared that the youngsters might soon be removed by the state."

Kudos and the best of luck to the Romeikes!

John Stossel : Education: Too Important for a Government Monopoly - Townhall.com

John Stossel : Education: Too Important for a Government Monopoly - Townhall.com

I love it when elected officials, members of the teacher's union, and public school administrators promote forced public schooling. It makes my job as a home education advocate so much easier. Thanks to them it takes less effort on my part to convince parents that taking their children out of public school is the best decision they'll ever make. Homeschooling is the easy part. The toughest part is taking that first giant leap toward freedom and a true education!

Unionized Rhode Island Teachers Refuse To Work 25 Minutes More Per Day, So Town Fires All Of Them

Unionized Rhode Island Teachers Refuse To Work 25 Minutes More Per Day, So Town Fires All Of Them

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School superintendent Frances Gallo deserves kudos for calling the union's bluff. Wouldn't want to play poker with this lady. Heaven forbid these 'teachers' should have to work for their pay!

"The teachers at the high school make $70,000-$78,000, as compared to a median income in the town of $22,000. This exemplifies a nationwide trend in which public sector workers make far more than their private-sector counterparts (with better benefits)."

Young Atlantan relishes first feature film role | ajc.com

Young Atlantan relishes first feature film role | ajc.com

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"In between acting gigs, Tendal is part of a local "unschooling" movement, a slightly different take on traditional home schooling. He takes a variety of classes at the fifth- and sixth-grade levels that are taught by experts. This year, he's taking Mandarin Chinese, but his favorite topics are history and science."

Tendal's education is what John Taylor Gatto would call open source learning.

Ten Things to Take From The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands - Books - Blogcritics

Ten Things to Take From The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands - Books - Blogcritics

This is a great review for a book that I highly recommend to wives everywhere. A strong marriage is essential to a harmonious home (providing you are a two parent home). If you're a single parent home that's okay too, but be the best parent you can be. Homeschooling happens best in a home that is stable, loving and with parent(s) working in harmony. That's just my opinion.

Progressives Are Targeting Your Kids - Glenn Beck - FOXNews.com

Progressives Are Targeting Your Kids - Glenn Beck - FOXNews.com

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Whether you agree or disagree with Beck this is still an interesting article.

Disruptive 6 year old handcuffed at school

Disruptive 6 year old handcuffed at school

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What is it with Florida schools? Not sure who deserves the Dork Award more...the school or the parents! Either way, this is wrong on so many levels. This child must feel as though she fell down the rabbit hole!

Outrage Over Fake Pills at School

Outrage Over Fake Pills at School

Look at the size of this pill bottle. What was that teacher thinking?! Oh, right, she WASN'T thinking.

Whoever came up with this idea of a 'test taking anxiety pill' (candy) is a jerk and needs to be kept far away from children. Our Dork Award goes to this whole Florida school's staff in this case!

Homeschooling Missouri mom receives custody

This homeschooling Missouri mom deserves kudos. Why? Throughout divorce proceedings she fought a long and difficult battle to keep her constitutional, parental and God-given right to homeschool her children. She eventually WON!

"A St. Charles County mother now has the final say in whether she continues to home-school her children, but a judge's ruling in a divorce case also suggests she find work to support herself."

Finding 'work to support herself' is the least of her worries. Lisa Payne-Naeger and her former husband were awarded joint legal custody but Lisa was granted the right to make the final decision if she and her ex-hubby cannot agree on educational issues. This is a BIG deal because most cases don't end this way.

Kudos to Circuit Judge Rick Zerr too! Hopefully, this will set a precedence for future cases. Zerr wrote in his brave and wise ruling: "For a case that was said at the start to 'not be about home schooling,' a substantial portion of the trial time, by both parties, centered on the concept and practice of home schooling."

Homeschoolers visit PA firehouse

This is from the archives (11/14/08) but is relevant to today because you can never learn enough about fire safety and prevention. More homeschool groups need to schedule a tour such as this. The Shoemakersville Fire Company #1 Station 40 in Pennsylvania did a wonderful job teaching a local homeschool group about fire safety and prevention. Kudos to all who were involved, especially firefighters Dave Rubright, Tim Seyfert and Tim Bower!

Our daughter took a field trip to the local firehouse when she was 4 years old. Today she's a volunteer firefighter! Evidently that experience left a lasting impression.

Homeschooling firefighter and his wife make extra cash selling online

Richard Davis is a firefighter in Texas who wrote this informative article for Ezine. Davis and his wife of over 20 years homeschool their three children. When his wife gave up her $10,000.00 a year job to become a stay-at-home mom they learned how to earn extra cash for their family by buying and selling online at eBay. They have turned to the internet for other sources of income as well. Kudos to the Davis family!

Fire prevention printables

In celebration of my firefighter daughter being promoted to Lieutenant and her husband promoted to 2nd Assistant Fire Chief recently, I thought it would be fun to focus on firefighters and fire prevention this month. Here is a fun website with fire prevention printables. Have fun, stay safe and be sure to visit your local firehouse to learn more about fire safety and fire prevention!

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!

My 18 Year Prison Term By John Danz, Jr.

My 18 Year Prison Term By John Danz, Jr.

John writes: "I witnessed firsthand the dictatorship and suppression of freedom of thought. Teachers who pass off their personal opinion as fact, and fill in the void that a busy or careless parent leaves. A void filled with self-righteous lectures on abstaining from drugs, alcohol, profanity, and sex. A void that the typical parent refuses to fill, or the void that the typical parent expects the society they shelter their child from will somehow fill."

"I witnessed firsthand the pressures of peers. The superficiality which leads to a child completely revamping his or her self-image to satisfy the eyes of the shallow and superficial, the same ones who debase them based on their hair, skin, attire, or overall appearance."

But most telling: "I overheard the debasement of students and the cries of “I hate this job” from teachers who spent four years in college to end up in the situation that has them on their knees."

This article is at Parent at the Helm website. PATH is the brain child of homeschool mom and author Linda Dobson. You'll find lots of truly great information and reading on her new website.