microcosmicus
Hazard to Others
Posts: 287
Registered: 31-12-2007
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Mood: spin up
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Homeschooling verdict
On the evening news tonight, I noted the following story which may be of
interest to many of you:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/...
In a nutshell, a California court ruled that it is illegal for a parents who
do not have an official teacher certification to homeschool their
children. To be sure, there will be further appeals and it will take time
to see what this amounts to in the end, but it seems worth keeping an
eye on this case to see how it develops. In particular, a quote from the
judge's ruling struck me:
"A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children
in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as
a means of protecting the public welfare,"
In a sufficiently cynical mood, I might reply that, based on their
performance (or lack thereof) , training school children in academic
subjects certainly doesn't look like a primary or even a secondary
concern of the educational system.
I am sure this story will be of direct interest to our U.S. members who,
like good old 12AX7, were or are being homechooled as well as to those
who are or planning to homechool their children.
It is also relevant to U.S. members who are not involved with
homeschooling in an indirect way. A source of chemicals which
sells to individuals are companies which cater to homeschoolers
such as Home Training Tools; also mainstream suppliers like
Boreal cater to homeschoolers even if they only sell apparatus but
not chemicals to individuals. Should homeschooling be banned,
this source will disappear in the wake.
In a more general way, what bothers me --- and this strikes right
into the heart of amateur science --- is the underlying assumption
that only those who are officially certified as experts are to be
allowed to do anything important even for themselves or their family
at home. This, of course, is a complete about-face from the
American ideal of the self-reliant individual and society as
an association of such people for their mutual benefit. The
garage inventor and basement chemist are figures deeply
rooted in this tradition. If the ordinary citizen cannot even be
entrusted to explain the rudiments of science to a child, how
much less could such a person possibly presume to explore the
workings of nature and manipulate atoms and forces on his own?
[Edited on 14-3-2008 by microcosmicus]
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CyrusGrey
Hazard to Others
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It seems that people are trusting parents less and less nowadays with their own children. I was homeschooled for high school and when I get
married/have children I intend on homeschooling them atleast partially. The students at my grade school though were absolutly horrible, I'm very lucky
that I didn't turn into one of them.
| Quote: | | Heimov said her organization's chief concern was not the quality of the children's education, but their "being in a place daily where they would be
observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety." |
This is just sickening to me that people are automatically mistrustful of parents. If a prosecutor can convice somones kid to say in court that they
were abused or something, reguardless of other evidence the parents can be convicted and the kids taken away. So now you can have your kids taken away
if you just decide to teach them at home?
Sure, there are some bad apples, but making something mandatory for everyone because of that is stupid. I sure am glad I don't live in California.
If I lived there I would probably die horribly of cancer anyway, according to them. 
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The_Davster
A pnictogen
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I read in another news story that the governor of California, the terminator, called it "outrageous" and vowed to fight it. Hopefully it dies a swift
death.
[Edited on 14-3-2008 by The_Davster]
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Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
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Mood: Waiting for spring
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Reminder: this forum is for legal and political issues that affect our hobby and us as hobbyists. The first post by microcosmicus explained why this
is of interest to our forum members. I ask that any followup posts stay connected to that theme. If I just see a bunch of anecdotes about
homeschooling or unfocused political grousing I'll close the thread. It's an interesting topic, but it should be discussed elsewhere if the discussion
is not tied to amateur science.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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Bolt
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Registered: 26-3-2007
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Just to sum this up...
http://www.californiahomeschool.net/howTo/updates.htm
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