Oversight?

I had a conversation with a brand new homeschooling mom last night. Although she’s been researching homeschooling for three years, her child wasn’t old enough to “officially” be in school. Through her research though, there were two points that came out in this conversation. One, she still tightly holds to the public school model. I guess that just goes to show that researching isn’t doing, and for some, old habits die hard. She still is filled with fear that she isn’t going to meet expectations and that her daughter won’t perform up to standards. I tried to reassure her that she’s already been teaching her daughter all along and that kindergarten is hard to flunk. Read lots and lots aloud to her, let her explore outside, go on field trips, visit the nursing home, sing songs, play with paint, playdoh and manipulatives, color and cook together. It’s as hard or as simple as you choose to make it.

Secondly, she was adamant that HSLDA can’t be trusted because they have no oversight. If they answer to no one, then they can do whatever they want with impunity. I think there are two things wrong with that. First, she kept trying to compare HSLDA to a church who generally has oversight so that if a Pastor is doing something wrong, then he’s called to account for it. Well, we know that isn’t true, just look at the various denominations out there who embrace the semi-Pelagian heresies, or have women pastors, or homosexuals in positions of leadership. They do this with the blessing of their “overseers” and aren’t called to account for it. But, HSLDA is NOT a church and we cannot expect a business to be run like a church, even if Christians are involved in the business. I tried to make a different comparison for her and told her that supermarkets don’t have overseers either, but they run their business according to customer needs. Customers vote, i.e. provide oversight, with their pocketbook by either spending their money at that supermarket or not. And it’s the same for HSLDA. People approve or not by being members or not. I also likened HSLDA, which is essentially a type of prepaid legal service, to insurance. You pay for insurance, whether you’re sick or not. The money you pay is used to help those who are, as well as provide for the company expenses and a profit for the investors. You don’t have to buy the insurance, but you MAY.

That’s capitalism/free enterprise and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I thought it was quite an American concept. Secondly, while I don’t think HSLDA is the only means to an end, I believe they have helped thousands of families homeschool in freedom and HSLDA’s main focus (notice I didn’t say ONLY focus because I know they do other kinds of advocacy too) is helping people preserve homeschool freedoms and parental rights.

I’ve been involved with the political processes here in Colorado for ten years now, and have seen first hand the blessing that HSLDA has been to preserving homeschool freedoms and parental rights. Their involvement has been cooperative and helpful and never over-reaching or without the consent and blessing of the legislative liaisons for homeschooling here.

HSLDA has also provided support and encouragement to me as I have worked to help homeschool groups who struggle with various issues in my capacity as a homeschool support group leader and as a state-level liaison for support group leaders.

I don't believe that HSLDA is perfect, but I think there's enough good going on there that I'll support it by being a member. In fact, we just re-upped for two more years.

What's Constitutional?

Ok -- so in honor of the 220th signing of the Constititution of the United States earlier this week, we are having our 7-year-old learn the one sentence Preamble to the Constitution.

We were practicing it again this morning, when this child, who is allergic to mornings, said, "Don't force a child to do this."

To which I responded, "That's not in the Constitution."

Older sister, who is 18-years-old, piped in, "You could link it to justice."

Ok, let's keep the debate theory out of it!

Also overheard this morning, "I strangled myself up the stairs." This meant she struggled up the stairs as she pulled a muscle in her calf and it hurts to walk.

I think it's funny too!

Elephant's Child has a hilarious cartoon here. Check it out!

The Proof is in the Pudding

With one of our children now graduated from our homeschool high school and working at a job she absolutely LOVES, it seems safe to assume, as my mom would have said, "The proof is in the pudding." You'd think with all the success stories out there that those who were doubtful that this form of education works might take pause and consider that they were wrong. Well, so much for thinking. Some attitudes are so deeply ingrained that it's going to take a change of heart and that I'll leave to the Holy Spirit to work on.

What prompted this thinking was that my dad called yesterday and spoke with S. He hasn't spoken to her in over 2 years, by his choice. [Vulnerable people are susceptible to being manipulated by others even with untruths.] When he called, he thought it was me (she and I are often confused by people on the phone including my husband, her daddy!). He quickly learned that it was his granddaughter. He began to cry. He was sorry for being such a bad grandpa and not being involved with her life. He was proud of what she was doing and that she was enjoying her work.

It reminded me of an article by Kim d'Escoto in which she encourages you to share the BIG reasons why you homeschool.

We started homeschooling in 1995 in Arizona because we knew we could provide a better education than what the local public school was offering, at least that's what we told everyone. The small community we lived in had a school district that wasn't hostile to Christianity, but mostly it showed an attitude of looking the other way. While we still had a "Christmas program" it was completely devoid of Christ and full of secular humanistic themes instead.

We weren't ready to declare that we were homeschooling for "religious" reasons because then we'd be like all those religious nuts that our family and friends believed made up the majority of homeschoolers.

We moved back to Colorado in 1997 and I set up a meeting with the principal at the public school our children would have attended if we had sent them to public school. This was something we did to pacify my parents. Afterall, both my husband and I were products of that very school system. We turned out ok. Somehow they saw our decision to continue homeschooling as an indictment against what they had done with us. Nothing could have been further from the truth. We simply were exercising our parental rights and responsibilities in regard to what was best for our children. In fact, I've always been grateful to my parents for raising me to be an independent thinker who considers both sides of an issue, in particular with regards to politics.

At that meeting with the school principal I requested to see the scope and sequence of what was going to be taught to my children. The man refused to let me see it. I asked him what curriculum they would be using. Again, refusal to see what materials my children would be exposed to in their school. I explained that this information would help me make a decision about whether or not my children would be enrolled. Again, complete refusal. Since this was a public school, I was completely incensed that all this information was off-limits to the public.

The experience made me realize the beaucreacy I was dealing with did not respect or encourage parental involvement they merely wanted us to donate our children to them for several hours a day to be indoctrinated by them.

That was the beginning of our advocacy of parental choice in education, and in particular home education. As we learned more, the Lord provided us with opportunities and we began serving in leadership capacities.

Through the years we've learned a lot about leadership and advocacy and politics. It hasn't always been pretty or nice. Educating our children at home is done from the viewpoint that all of our lives are centered on the fact that we have been redeemed by Christ's blood as propitiation for our sins by grace alone. (Romans 3: 23-26; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10) I'm not trying to be pietistic here, just trying to daily remember my baptism.

Although there are around 2 million homeschoolers in the U.S., I don't believe that the option to do so is really acceptable because there continues to be threats against it and parental rights.

I'm excited that our daughter is doing what she can to preserve homeschool freedoms, parental rights and help eliminate government intrusion into our lives by working as the Executive Director of the Hearth Fund. As the policial season is beginning to ramp up now, I ask for your prayers for her. While she's been well-seasoned in the ups and downs of policial life (she's interned at the Colorado State Capitol for 4 years), she's still young and somewhat idealistic and I don't want her to be crushed by the cruel world of politics.

Church Yesterday

Pastor's sermon was based on the gospel reading from Luke 14:1-14, and was about lurking. The Pharisees were lurking (waiting) to trip Jesus up by asking Him questions about the Sabbath and what was appropriate to do. (Interesting note from Bible class later was about the different translations of Luke 14:5, some version contain "son" others contain "donkey" or "ass" ~ puts a little different twist on that question Jesus asks doesn't it?) Towards the end of the sermon Pastor said, "Ya know there are people out there who are looking up to God in heaven, lurking, waiting to pounce if you do something wrong so He can give you hell."

Of course, then Pastor reminded us that Jesus covered all our sins, even the ones that others are waiting on.

There was a part of his sermon where he talked about us being God's feet, hands, voice to our neighbors on earth. This took some explaining for our 7-year old as she has been learning about the systems of the body *and* her grandma is in the hospital waiting to be well enough to have her foot amputated due to infection (mersa). How can grandma be God's feet if she doesn't have them both? How we can be God's feet -- "does he just come inside them or what?" R asked.

Vias tuas, Domine, demonstra noblis. (Show us Thy ways, O Lord. Psalm 25:4)

Bumper Stickers

There were -- how shall we say this -- interesting bumper stickers that we've come across in our travels these last few days. Interesting enough to share:

Keep honking. I'm reloading.

Bumper to bumper,
Butt to butt,
Get off my a**
You stupid nut!

And my favorite one which my looper buddies should love as well!

Theobromine=Chocolate
(then there was a chemical compound illustration)
Better living through chemistry!