NEA’s opinion of homeschooling continues

5 Responses to NEA’s opinion of homeschooling continues

1. 

   Valerie on September 15, 2007 at 11:00 am

   Re: parents retrieving children from school

   Orange will redo policy after storm delays kids, 28 August 2007, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida

   The Orange County school district will change its emergency policies in the aftermath of Friday’s controversial decision to hold some 2,000 students at two Ocoee schools until about 9 p.m. because of lightning storms.

   …

   Parents were infuriated when they came to pick up their children and were turned away. Many said they did not understand why they could not take custody and responsibility for their children.

   …

   School administrators were following a policy based on national safety recommendations that states no one can go outside until 30 minutes after the last lightning flash or thunderclap. But the severity and length of Friday’s storms, which produced more than 1,000 lightning strikes between 5 and 7 p.m., created a scenario that officials said they had never faced before.

   …

   Administrators said they did not let parents check out students because it was hard to do a safe dismissal with so many students in buildings across a large campus — and a crashed computer system meant it was hard to locate individual children at Ocoee Middle, where many are in portables.

   Harris said he and other district officials also were “overwhelmed by the nature of the event” and took extra precautions to make no mistakes.

   Lightning Lockdown Prompts Changes, 29 August 2007, Central Florida News 13

   News 13 checked with other Central Florida school districts to find out what their policies are regarding lightning.

   – In Seminole County, if children are held for weather, parents cannot pick them until the all clear is given.
   – Brevard County will hold students at school until 30 minutes after a storm passes, but children can be released to parents if they show up.
   – Marion and Flagler counties do not have formal policies, but Flagler County principals can hold students if the weather is bad.
   – Sumter County principals use their best judgment, but most schools have an extensive bus loading and parent-pick up area.
   – Osceola County schools delay dismissal until the storm passes. Each school in Volusia County has its own customized safety plan.

   How did the schools in Pine Hills, Winter Park or Orlando handle school dismissal that day? A search doesn’t show any other controversies.

   Comments on the parents’ complaints and talk of lawsuits centers on the conjecture that the parents would also sue if the children were hit by lightning after the school dismissed them. The point missed is that the parents are not threatening to sue because the school did not dismiss the children at all, but because the school did not release the children to their parents after the parents arrived at the school to collect them. For lawsuit purposes, once the school releases the children to the parents, there should be no grounds for a parent suing regardless of what happens after they leave the school. Schools are supposed to ‘parent’ the children while the children are in their care, not ‘parent’ the parents.

   Of course, this is an extreme situation, and the first time something like this happens, there are many Monday-morning-quarterbacks slicing and dicing the situation. The point that the extreme situation highlights, though, is who has the ultimate decision-making power over the children? When parents enroll their children, do they give up all parental authority?

   Reply
2. 

   Melinda S. on September 18, 2007 at 10:12 pm

   I posted this on my sister’s blog, in which she quoted yours, and she encouraged me to come here and post this for you. Here’s my idea of a rewrite:

   B-75. Public Schooling: The (fictitious)National Home Education Association believes that public schooling programs based on BUREAUCRATIC choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When public schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including LEARNING TO READ FUNCTIONALLY, MAKE CORRECT CHANGE, AND LOGICAL EVALUATION OF PROPAGANDA. Public schooling should be limited to the children of FAMILIES IN IMMEDIATE DISTRESS, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are PROVEN TO BE BOTH CAPABLE AND COMPASSIONATE and a curriculum approved by the PARENTS should be used.

   The Association also believes that public-schooled students should not
   participate in any HOMEWORK IMPEDING extracurricular activities OUTSIDE the public schools. (THAT’S WHAT SCHOOL TIME IS FOR.)

   The Association further believes that local PARENTS should have the authority to determine grade placement, ESPECIALLY FOR ADVANCED OR STRUGGLING STUDENTS, and credits SHOULD BE GIVEN toward graduation for students’ EDUCATIONAL LIFE EXPERIENCES.

   Reply
3. 

   Valerie on September 19, 2007 at 8:16 am

   Thanks for the contribution, Melinda.

   Reply
4. 

   Valerie on October 8, 2007 at 5:33 pm

   Family Unschoolers Network (FUN) did a re-write for an earlier NEA resolution about homeschooling (identical to this year’s).

   FUN 2000-2001 Resolutions (see site for links in text)

   To fully appreciate the following, you should first read the NEA 2000-2001 Resolutions, B-68. Home Schooling Since the NEA seems to have removed it from their web site (too much controversy?), I have included the exact text of their resolution below:

   B-68. Home Schooling. The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state requirements. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.

   The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

   The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2000).

   FUN 2000-2001 Resolutions

   RU-40 Public Schooling The Family Unschoolers Network believes that public schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.1 When public schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all parental requirements.2 Public schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family who choose to attend public school. As long as the expenses of public schooling are borne by the taxpayers, those funds must also be made available to parents/guardians for use in the educational program of their choice whether that be public schools, charter schools, private schools, or homeschools. Instruction should be by persons who are approved by the appropriate parent or guardian, and a curriculum approved by the parent or guardian should be used.

   The Network also believes that public-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities that are not open to all students. Extracurricular programs paid for by the taxpayers must be open to all residents.

   The Network further believes that local homeschool parents should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering a homeschool setting from a public school setting.3 (1988, 2000)

   ================
   1) Public school programs artificially segregate children by age and require seating at desks set in rows. This does not permit a normal social interaction with other children or adults such as may occur in everyday life outside of a school setting. The low number of adults encountered in the public school setting provides little opportunity for children to see the modeling of appropriate social behaviors and they are thus more likely to see only the behaviors of other children their own age without an appropriate social context.

   In addition, public schools cannot provide the customized, extensive and flexible curriculum available to the homeschool. The public school setting artificially schedules learning and segregates it into separate subjects with a limited amount of allocated time per day. This limits activities to what can fit the allocated time slot and to what can easily be classified as related to a particular subject. The predetermined schedule also means that many children will either not have enough time to master the material before moving on, or will have to waste time on material they have already mastered before moving on.

   2) Parents have a compelling interest in the education of their children and should therefore be able to determine the requirements that must be met when their children are educated in public school.

   3) Test scores and evaluations from public schools may not be accurate indicators of knowledge or proficiency and are often of little value in determining grade placement or credits for a homeschool setting. The scores often reflect only the ability to memorize material long enough to complete a test, and the skill set being evaluated is often limited. Therefore, the Network recommends that the initial months of homeschooling a former public school student be used primarily to explore the interests and abilities of the student while allowing the family to adapt to the challenges of the independence and integration of the flexible and multi-disciplinary environment of homeschooling which can provide hands-on, “real world” activities not available in public school settings.
   Copyright © 2000, The Family Unschoolers Network http://www.unschooling.org

   The above may be reprinted freely as long as it is used in its entirety and includes this note.

   Reply
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