According to this news report from New Jersey: “Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle will introduce legislation to regulate the home schooling of children. This comes on the heels of a recent investigation by the State Department Of Children And Families into the tragic may death of eight-year old Christiana Glenn of Irvington.
“Christiana died of malnutrition and an untreated broken leg. She was also supposedly home schooled. Vanieri Huttle’s bill would require medical exams and submission of student work portfolios for home-schooled children. It would also prohibit children under the supervision of DYFS from being home-schooled.”
Discussion of this potential leglislation is under discussion at the HEM Networking group, a free forum for homeschoolers prodvided by Home Education Magazine: “This bill is bad. Public school students are not required to undergo medical exams. Furthermore, there has been no evidence that homeschoolers in NJ are not doing a good job and that they suddenly need supervision by the public schools.”
In a contribution to the HEM-Networking group discussion, former HEM News & Commentary editor Valerie Moon shared a link to author Milton Gaither’s review of Timothy B. Waddell’s “Bringing it all Back Home: Establishing a Coherent Constitutional Framework for the Re-Regulation of Homeschooling” in Vanderbilt Law Review. Waddell, a recent graduate from Vanderbilt Law School and now a clerk for the U.S. District Court of Alabama, here presents a constitutional argument for increased regulation of homeschooling and much else besides.
Valerie shared this excerpt from Gaither’s review:
“As my summary indicates, I really liked this piece. It is the last of a long list of legal articles I’ve reviewed over the past few weeks, and it is the best of the lot in my view. John Holt wouldn’t like it because in his view it was always better to have things unclear than clear, for then you could get away with more. But I for one appreciated not only Waddell’s summary of the issues but his proposal as well. I know some of my readers will react strongly against what I’m about to say, but Waddell’s proposal to me does a good job of maintaining the freedom to homeschool while at the same time providing a mechanism for catching children whose parents are being abusive or neglectful. A homeschooling family that is doing its job should have no fear of outside evaluation–should welcome it in fact, as it will demonstrate to the public at large how effective homeschooling can be.”
This underscores a longstanding concern we’ve had with Gaither’s position on homeschooling, as he deliberately frames John Holt’s pioneering work for homeschooling freedoms in an unfavorable light, while dangerously welcoming government oversight of families.
Michelle said on July 24, 2011
How many children in public school are abused and neglected? How many of those children fall through the cracks every year? Are we going to install cameras inside the homes of every public schooled child to monitor whether they are being properly cared for? And when did it become the responsibility of the school department to oversee the “welfare” of the children in their homes? By nature, families that choose to homeschool, are doing so out of desire to give their child more than what they can receive in schools. These families are doing what they feel is in the best interest of their family and the child, and not everyone is in their homes hiding from the world committing crimes. Homeshooling is so overwhelmingly misunderstood by those who don’t do it, that the general public think homeschoolers are hiding something, that kids are taught in isolation, that they are not being taught at all, that they are religious or anti-government freaks. Just like those families in public school, there will be a few of those out there, but it doesn’t represent the entire population. I know the desire to over see the homeschool families is a popular one among those who don’t homeschool, and honestly I think its fear based. Its human nature to fear the unknown, and its also human nature to want to manipulate and control the unknown rather than to learn about it, and appreciate its value. I would know of not one homeschool family who would want their right to school and raise their children slowly stripped away from them because someone so remote thought it was a good idea. There will always be an exception to EVERYTHING in the world. Children will be abused and the overwhelming majority of them are public school children. Putting more restrictions on families will not stop future abuse, no more than making drugs illegal stopping people from consuming them. It only hinders and affects those who are law abiding citizens. I hate the statement “those who are doing all the right things should have nothing to worry about”. How would you feel if the police came charging through your door to demand they search your house just on speculation, just to see what goes on in there, rummage through your underwear drawer, and safe deposit box, but tells you you shouldn’t mind, they are just making sure you are doing all the right things and if you are, you should have nothing to worry about. Its an invasion of privacy, and your rights.
Brandy said on July 26, 2011
Your post indicates exactly why regulation of this “industry” is needed. Your grammar and use of punctuation could use some polishing. If someone decides to homeschool their child(ren), that is totally their choice, but the instructor should have the same educational requirements as public school teachers, at the bare minimum. A high school-educated stay at home mom has no right educating children.
“How would you feel if the police came charging through your door to demand they search your house just on speculation, just to see what goes on in there, rummage through your underwear drawer, and safe deposit box…”
This is already their right to do, just with a warrant, which under proper regulation, they would be required to obtain in this instance as well. Your argument about the whole idea being fear-based is ironic because you appeal to fear in the above quoted statement. http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-fear.html
…which again proves my point that those with only primary education should not be teaching the youth of today.
Tammy said on August 13, 2011
Brandy, if you feel the way you do, why are you commenting here?
Beyond that, no matter the education, I’ve never met anyone who NEVER makes a grammatical, or any other, mistake . So to say that homeschooling needs to be regulated due to punctuation mistakes is just inane. Given the writing I’ve seen of some public school graduates AND teachers, the public school system needs to be put UNDER the jail…Just saying. And more than likely the parent of a homeschooler is a product of public school, so ponder that.
Additionally, you mention a warrant needed to rifle through your things. Well that is only given with due cause. This homeschool proposal is across the board. Kinda not the same thing. IF it were something that required a warrant, that would imply reasonable suspicion that something bad was going on. I might agree with something like that. Warrants aren’t usually handed out by judges unless something is going on and they are fairly sure they’ll find something. But then again- don’t we already have government laws and programs for this type of abuse, etc? Why would an additional law need to be passed?
The problem really does come down to society wanting you to conform to society. Outliers are always seen as trouble, but let’s not forget, historically, it’s the people that do NOT conform who usually make the biggest changes. Mostly for the better.
Sandy Kilcoyne said on August 12, 2011
You forgot to answer the opening four questions.
Two errors also appear in your reply.
Helen Hegener said on August 13, 2011
Brandy says:
July 26, 2011 at 6:53 am
“A high school-educated stay at home mom has no right educating children.”
Every mother, no matter what their own level of education, has every right to educate their own children, and those rights are protected and will continue to be protected. For whatever it’s worth, and it’s worth a lot to me, my own mother was a grade-school dropout, yet she homeschooled me long before anyone had even coined the term.
Helen, HEM publisher
courtney said on August 13, 2011
I homeschool my children. I have only a high school education. Do you want to know how well my children are doing? My third grader recently underwent state testing as mandated by law. She not only passed her test, she aced it. She came back w/ a sixth grade second month reading score and a fourth grade second month math score. My daughter doesn’t need YOU speaking for her, myself, or any right to homeschool that I might have. Her grades speak for themselves. Thanks.
Terrie Lynn Bittner said on August 13, 2011
Brandy, who educated these homeschooling parents you consider to be so poorly educated? Oh, yes, credentialed teachers with college degrees. It would appear they didn’t do a good job, wouldn’t it? So why would a less educated person do any worse?
Here is what your education failed to teach you: Classroom education is very limiting from a lifespan perspective. When my son was young, he overheard a woman complaining that she wanted to learn history and couldn’t because she couldn’t afford to go to college. My second-grader, completely baffled, asked, “Why does a person have to go to school to learn history?” He learned history by going to museums, reading books, and talking to adults who know history.
If you are never taught to become self-educated, you limit your learning to the few years in school. The best-educated people are those who are self-educated. My parents didn’t go to college, but they were the best educated people I knew. I learned nothing in school I hadn’t already learned at home. It was my mother who taught me to read and to write articles and stories. I am now a traditionally published author. My father introduced me to Shakespeare in elementary school.
I have only a high school diploma, but I’ve embarked on a lifetime of learning and I’ve passed that along to my homeschooled children who are now grown. Two are in universities and one is a stay at home mother and the wife of a serviceman. She intends to return to college when her daughter is a little older. They have always out-performed their peers in college and my son earned spending money tutoring his traditionally-educated peers.
Your comment, while common, really only revealed the shallowness of your own education. You have parroted an inaccurate comment you were taught. If you study history on your own someday, you’ll find many of the people who changed the world the most were largely self-educated.
Terrie Lynn Bittner said on August 13, 2011
I want to clarify–having posted too quickly–that I am not saying these homeschoolers are uneducated. I was putting it from her perspective. She thinks they are and has not taken the time to wonder why those people she considers qualified didn’t teach them grammar that meets her standards. We all know internet writing is the kind of writing we do in a published work. It is hastily done and more like conversation. I make errors in online comments I would never make in my published work.
Tom Landmann said on August 13, 2011
Brandy says: “A high school-educated stay at home mom has no right educating children.”
While I am not in favor of any government intrusion into home education of children, I will say the following: A public-school primary education may not be the best preparation for teaching home-schooled children. In fact, it is probably a liability to be overcome.
I am still struggling with deeply ingrained assumptions about “education” and learning due to having been a product of institutionalized education.
Michelle said on August 13, 2011
Brandy, I never claimed to be a perfect scholar, and last I checked, there isn’t one, educators included.
You make the presumption that only classically educated persons can pass on knowledge.
Your response was attacking my grammar and punctuation, yet you weren’t able to follow the actual topic at hand. This article had nothing to do with the educational level of those teaching their children at home, yet that’s what you turned it into. Should I make the assumption that you are unable to read, comprehend, and debate a piece of written material based on your response?
I am aware of the law, and police obtaining warrants to search homes. I wasn’t referring to that scenario. I was making a comparison of “what if’s”. In that situation , I was inferring that the police had no just cause, same as school departments have no just cause in assuming abuse is rampant in homeschooling families, and that they should be in charge of monitoring that. Both are a violation of personal rights. But I suppose that doesn’t matter as long as you can sleep at night and it doesn’t affect you.
Your last sentence implies I am no more than primary school educated. You have no idea of my educational level, the research I have done on how children learn, or the material my children cover. But because I type fast, have a short attention span, and don’t bother with spell check on a quick, internet response, suddenly I’m the poster child of those who shouldn’t be allowed to guide and educate their children.
I will assume you consider the first 5-6 years of a child’s life devoid of any educational experiences or that the parent is only smart enough to point to colors and grunt. I guess that’s why they invented kindergarten. I cant, (according to your line of reasoning) educate my child, yet if they were in public school, I would be expected to help with homework, projects, spelling words, vocabulary and explain concepts to them that they don’t understand. Is that not educating? What do I do if I don’t know something? Oh, I know, exactly what you would do….look it up.
I would rather my children see that I’m not perfect, that I do make mistakes, and that the journey of education is never ending, rather than assume adults are perfect and all knowing.
I don’t mean to rant, but ignorance irritates me.
Do yourself a favor and read some books on the subject starting with ‘Dumbing Us Down” by John Taylor Gatto. He was a New York City public school teacher for years, so he should be credible to you. Then if you have the same opinion, then there isn’t much more I can really say. If your really interested in the education of children, and how they truly learn, follow that book up with anything by John Holt.
courtney said on August 13, 2011
@Terrie,
I couldn’t have said it any better. If public schools are so bad that they can’t prepare me to teach my own children, then it sounds to me the issue should still remain w/ the public school system and NOT homeschoolers.
Jennifer said on August 13, 2011
Geez. I feel gyped. If a piece of paper is all it takes to qualify one for a position, why does not my MASTER’S degree make me a better scientist? I want my money back.
But I do find it ironic that she lashes out at someone for grammar errors while making one herself. Brandy, when you use a singular noun to reference a non-specific person, the corresponding pronoun must be singular as well. “Someone” is singular. “Their” is plural. The correct way to write the sentence is “If someone decides to homeschool HIS child(ren), that is totally HIS choice…” Of course, you may opt to use the pronoun “her” in place of “his” if you so choose.
Cheryl T. said on August 13, 2011
Hmmm, when working in private schools, I knew some great teachers who did not have college degrees. Few would disagree that private schools give a better education than public schools, yet private schools do not necessarily have credentialed teachers. Why should homeschoolers be required to have more education than private schools might require of their teachers?
And, in years of working in public and private schools, I saw many horrible teachers. Like the math teacher who told his students that a certain website must read their minds to figure something out–he couldn’t see that simple algebra was used. Or the science teacher with a PhD (How’s that for “qualified?”) who handed photocopied packets to students each week for them to figure out on their own and then sometimes left them on their own (such as while he headed out to the airport for an early flight). Or the teacher who literally wrote an assignment on the board and then put his feet up on the desk and read the paper while students were left to figure out the lesson for themselves–any parent could do a better job than he. Or what about all the substitute teachers, some of whom are only required to have a high school diploma? Many public schools will put substitute teachers in a classroom for months on end; how then can those with a high school education not teach their own?
And my own mother, with just a high school education, was a great teacher when I was homeschooled. Of course, she later went on to get a college degree, and I think that her homeschooling us gave her a bit of confidence to think that she could do it.
Frankly, I’m convinced that any parent who can read and write is capable of teaching their own children, as long as they are willing to put in the time and energy required…