Home Education Magazine

July-August 1997 - Articles

I thought we were free. We packed up our worldly goods and broken lives and headed across country and back home. It's amazing to me how a bad school experience can wreak havoc not only on parent/teacher relationships and parent/child relationships, but marital relationships as well. The mental and physical health of everyone involved was touched. I learned that extreme stress affects all aspects of life. It refuses to be categorized or scheduled.

Before I found out that homeschooling existed I seriously considered bundling up my kids and heading for the hills. The state we moved from required attendance keeping showing 875 hours of instruction in the subjects taught in public schools. I was assured that with a little creativity and common sense the homeschool law was good. The law was good enough to allow us to exit an intolerable situation. Just before we left there was talk of truancy laws being enacted. I envisioned children riding their bikes in the sunshine and getting hauled off to jail for the sake of education and keeping the streets safe in our small rural-turning-suburban community outside a larger university town. Perhaps I was being overly negative but I was coming from a bad place and my main concern was how to get out.

I thought homeschooling was a wonderful way to focus on the positives, but it seems the law won't allow it. The state we moved to requires yearly testing of homeschool children. Children who score lower than the 15th percentile must score higher the following year. If they don't, they're obligated either to return to school or seek a certified teacher to supervise their work. I wondered about families with later bloomers, but I was reassured by the homeschooling liaison at the Department of Education that the homeschooling community was quite satisfied and even proud of the law. I found out later that while the Department of Education may be considered expert regarding school issues, there are no experts on homeschooling issues. Or maybe there are many experts. I was also busy settling in to our new home and familiarizing myself with our new community and getting reacquainted with family and old friends, some of whom I hadn't seen for twenty years since I left as a newlywed.

So we tested. The law requires each child to be tested at age and grade level. One of my concerns with school was that age and grade level aren't one and the same. I let my then 10 and 12 year olds choose what grade level test they wanted to take. My ten year old informed me that he wanted only to do the minimum required as far as any test was concerned. Even though I know he could do well on a higher level test, I don't know what that would prove. I reasoned that his attitude was learned in school. He decided never to try advanced math again after he got an Incomplete grade on his report card for not finishing the next year's math in a period of weeks, even though this was never discussed as a goal. He commented that he'd never do THAT again. I'm reassured to find that he enjoys doing math at home without grades or assignments. And this child, who I was urged to have tested for Attention Deficit Disorder, will sit for hours pursuing a topic of interest. Perhaps he realized that tests are meaningless as a measure of a person (unless that person wants to take them, of course).

I'm constantly amazed at the tidbits to be gleaned when searching for answers to seemingly unrelated questions. Parents in a testing predicament might be interested to know that if a child who can't read or speak English takes The tests and answers the questions randomly, they will usually fall in the 22nd percentile. If you start early you'll have plenty of time to try, try again, if at first you don't succeed. Of course, this assumes that parents don't mind filling the test administrator's coffers in such a way.

My twelve year old decided he'd like to take the 10th grade test, even though he would be entering 7th grade according to the principal at the local Middle School who I phoned shortly after our move. She informed me during a brief phone call that she doesn't believe in acceleration. This prompted another call to the Department of Education as I was somewhat taken aback by her comment. I asked the D.O.E. representative how he would respond to such a statement. He said, "It doesn't take a belief system. It's a law." After this phone call and our experiences in school (where this child was coming home in tears of frustration and had an advanced math book removed from his possession) I've come to realize that schools are not in the education business. I'm happy to find that by following his interests and pursuing his hobby of model rocketry, my son has blasted off and discovered not only that learning is allowed and can be fun, but that life is not school. I've also concluded that government schools are breaking the law on a daily basis.

Both of my children scored exceptionally well on the tests. It was time to think about what to do for next year. The test administrator explained to me that the 11th grade test, which would be the next step for my twelve year old, was the same as the twelfth grade test. So it appeared that my son would need to take the same test for five more years if he wished to continue homeschooling.

This made for some interesting conversations between my husband and myself as we discussed concern for our children and the negative effects of testing and concern about setting an example in civil disobedience. We realized that we needed to protect our children not only from the attitudes and actions of some teachers, principals, and school boards, but also the State. Our children have come to understand that an important part of citizenship involves questioning authority. I believe that's how this nation was formed.

Now that we're settled in our new home and community and have had opportunities to meet other homeschoolers, I've discovered that most of the homeschoolers I've met are not registered. Some removed their children from school because it wasn't providing for their children's needs and saw no reason to put themselves under the watchful eye of an institution which failed them, or it's faulty philosophies on how their children learn. Some of the children never attended school and their parents want a different sort of education than that being offered in schools. A common trait I've seen in the diversity of homeschoolers is that parents enjoy spending time with their children.

On the few occasions of uneasiness following our unregistration I consoled myself with the support of friends and books. Although I didn't ask for permission, I was reassured by my parents' response when the conversation turned to our predicament. Their only remark was, "You have to take care of your kids." From books I discovered, among other things, that it's an offense to hitch a crocodile to a fire hydrant in Michigan. Pigeons aren't permitted to fly over Bellvue, Kentucky, and a Wanamassa, New Jersey law prohibits dogs from crying. In Klamath Falls, Oregon, it's unlawful to kick the heads of snakes and a California law prohibits a person from entering a tavern on horseback. A Burns, Indiana Statute enacted in 1926 says that bed sheets in hotels must be at least 81 inches wide and 99 inches long. If I lived in Indiana I would have one more good reason to revert (or upgrade) to solar and wind power because they obviously don't have my clothes dryer. My cottons would shrink under the scrutiny of the law.

From our experiences I've concluded that we have some very silly laws which are hampering rather than helping people to live full and meaningful lives. We already have federal and state requirements of various sorts specifying that all children have a right to access to an education commensurate with their interests and abilities regardless of race, religion, etc., etc. It seems to me that what we don't have is a population who wants and is aware of their rights. States may provide educational services for residents who would choose to avail themselves, but states don't have the right to compel families to submit their children to compulsory education as it is described by educrats. Rights belong to people, not political organizations. Parent's rights and responsibilities don't belong in the law books of our land. I can't help but wonder what this country is coming to that parents need to go to the Constitution of the United States of America looking for the right to raise their children free from state interference. The rights of parents are fundamental and natural and no law will guarantee them. Only parents can do that.

Perhaps there are some children who are able to fit the tests without much difficulty. Those aren't my children. And there's something I want my children to have which no test, attendance record, portfolio, or certified teacher review can measure and which they were deprived of for too many years - an opportunity to pursue their interests in their own time and at their own pace. And time for childhood.

© 1997 Teri Avecilla

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