Homeschooling parent nominated for education board

7 Responses to Homeschooling parent nominated for education board

1. 

   Valerie on December 18, 2007 at 9:57 am

   Mother Who Home-Schools Kids Elected Chair Of Public School Board In S.C., WCSC Live5, West Ashley, South Carolina

   A woman who homeschools her four daughters has been elected head of the board that oversees public schools in South Carolina.

   Kristin Maguire of Clemson was voted chairwoman-elect for the State Board of Education on Wednesday. She is scheduled to become chairwoman in 2009.

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2. 

   Valerie on December 19, 2007 at 9:51 am

   SC Update, HE&OS

   The Panda’s Thumb is reporting that the home educator chosen to lead SC’s Board of Ed is a YEC. Ugh. That info comes directly from the Institute for Creation Research:

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3. 

   Valerie on December 19, 2007 at 9:32 am

   State school board’s choice fuels controversy, 13 December 2007, The State, Columbia, South Carolina

   South Carolinians with a stake in education had mixed reactions to Maguire’s ascension to a mostly ceremonial post.

   Some see her as a dedicated, energetic public servant who they hope will be able to spur change that helps children.

   Others see Maguire’s election as a step backward — or at the least, a distraction.

   …

   Maguire said she attended public schools and is the daughter of a public school teacher. She said she sought the position at the helm of the 17-member board “to make sure public schools are the best they can possibly be.”

   …

   “Having Kristin Maguire chair the State Board of Education is akin to Dick Cheney teaching a gun safety course,” said state Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler.

   “What does a woman who home-schools her four children know about South Carolina public schools?”

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4. 

   Valerie on December 19, 2007 at 12:46 pm

   Public criticizing next education board chairman, 17 December 2007, Beaufort Gazette, Beaufort, South Carolina

   Kristin Maguire, in line to become chairman of the South Carolina Board of Education, may seem like an unlikely fit for one of the state’s top jobs in public education: Maguire teaches her four girls at home.

   “I fully recognize that having someone who home-schools their children serve in this capacity is unique, but at the same time it’s very disappointing that so much ink has been devoted to critics who have never met me and are wholly unfamiliar with my work on the board or who have a political ax to grind,” she told The State newspaper in an interview last week.

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5. 

   Valerie on December 19, 2007 at 11:23 am

   Business leaders withhold judgment, 14 December 2007, The State, Columbia, South Carolina

   Businesses believe all kinds of schooling — public, private and home — are valid alternatives, said Herriott, head of Global Chemical Manufacturing for Roche in Florence who helped win passage of a statewide education initiative in 2005 to create individually tailored graduation plans for all students.

   “The question is: Does her appointment weaken our public school system or not?” he said. “Will her leadership take away resources from our public schools? … If, in fact, that is the case, then, yes, business is going to be very concerned that our public school system is headed in the wrong direction.”

   Herriott said it’s strange for a home-schooler to chair the public board of education.

   “Somehow the values seem to be in conflict,” he said. “It is a little like having a teetotaler in charge of a brewery.

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6. 

   Valerie on December 19, 2007 at 12:14 pm

   Everyone has a stake in public schools, 17 December 2007, Spartanburg Herald Journal, Spartanburg, South Carolina

   The educators fussing about a home-schooling mother being elected to head the State Board of Education should be careful ” they’re playing right into the hand of the voucher supporters.

   Some of these folks say the members of the board shouldn’t have chosen Kristin Maguire of Clemson to chair the body because she home-schools her four daughters. Sheila Gallagher, president of the S.C. Education Association, said the candidate who lost the vote should have been chosen because he sends his kids to public school.

   …

   The truth is that we are all stake holders in public education. The family that home-schools its kids, the family that sends its children to private school and the couple that has no children all pay taxes to support public schools. We do so for the good of the community.

   We don’t pay for public schools so that we can educate our own children. We pay taxes for public schools so that we can live in an educated society.

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7. 

   Valerie on January 3, 2008 at 1:38 pm

   Board should be led by public school advocate, 27 December 2007, Hilton Head Island Packet – Hilton Head Island,SC,USA

   Nothing could be a clearer case of a wolf being brought in to guard the sheep. The Packet quoted a “public education advocate” who said it was “a little like having a teetotaler in charge of a brewery.” I think it is more like having a prohibitionist in charge of a brewery.

   According to Kathy Carper, the president of the S.C. Association of Independent Home Schools, the top reasons for home-schooling are parents’ political and religious beliefs — just the things we should not be teaching in our state’s public schools.

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