Below are some examples of parents’ concerns and thoughts across the country after the horrendous Newtown deaths.  We will hope for a more peaceful new year for all families.

San Diego - Interest in homeschooling surges Fox 5 San Diego

Behana is a Lecturer in child and family development at San Diego State University.  She said parents should think twice about homeschooling.  Behana said a classroom environment provides key skills for life.

“Your socialization with peers is one of the best ways you figure out how you relate to the world,” said Behana.

She said homeschooling can be effective as long as there is a social component.

It seems odd Nory Behana is a child and family development specialist, but considers the institutional lineup of desks and controlled silence key for life skills.  There’s been many a conversation of what abilities are produced.

Fargo/Grand Forks - Connecticut Tragedy Feeds Homeschooling Debate Valley News Live

The horror in Connecticut from last Friday has prompted new interest from parents in homeschooling their kids. One Minnesota mom says her experience has taught her it’s not for everyone.

Lana Olson has been homeschooling her daughters, who are in sixth and third grades, for more than a year.

She says the family had to change their whole lives to accommodate their wish to homeschool the girls.

Knoxville - More parents choose home-schooling after Conn. shooting WATE 6

[Campbell County Director of Schools] Poston says he hopes parents realize the work that it takes to educate their children at home.

“Parents will be hard-pressed to stay with the national standards,” said Poston.

Both mothers feel the sacrifice to home-school will be worth it.

“There’s always a chance something bad is going to happen, but I think that having her at home while she’s young will give here a better base to go from, and then she can deal the different trials in life when she gets older,” said Jennifer Figueira.

Lubbock - Homeschooling An Option For Fearful Parents Everything Lubbock

President of the Texas Home School Coalition, Tim Lambert says, he often sees parents taking their kids out of public school to protect them.

“We see safety is an issue,” Lambert said.  ”It is not uncommon for us to get a call and say you know my child is not safe in the school and I want to take them out for safety reasons.”

But Lambert says while safety is an issue, other day to day problems are a bigger motivation for parents.

“They have decided to withdraw that child because of an already existing condition,” Lambert said. “Not something that they are afraid might happen.”

Oklahoma City – Homeschool in Wake of Shooting KOKH Fox 25

“I know so many of my friends are homeschooling their kids because of the shootings, because it’s terrifying to know those can be your kids,” said Chelsey Gravel.

Chelsey Gravel graduated from homeschool. After Friday’s school shooting, she says she’s even more grateful about her parents’ choice.

Mesa - Some consider homeschooling after Connecticut shooting CBS 5 KHPO

“It’s a knee jerk emotional response that people have right away because it’s a horrific thing,” said [homeschooler] Oliphan.

She thinks that most people will not follow through with the idea and said although it’s a decision that’s right for her family, there a lot of things that need to be considered.

For example, she said you need to evaluate your patience and think about the sacrifices that you will have to make in your own personal life.

Orlando - Parents consider homeschool in wake of school shooting Bay News 9

Even without the school violence headlines, more and more parents are making the decision to pull their kids out of public education. The number of students who are being homeschooled in Florida have gone up every year for the past 10 years.

More than 72,000 in Florida are homeschooled including over 3,500 in Orange county, but experts warn about making a knee-jerk decision due to an isolated incident.

“We don’t want parents to be making impulsive type of decisions, homeschooling takes a lot of commitment. It is work,” said Oliva. “When we get this increased response, we make an extra effort to just lead parents through the process so they know what they’re getting into.”

Houston - Parents concerned about recent violence consider homeschooling options KPRC Local 2

On Wednesday, police arrested a 14-year-old student for bringing a loaded gun to Sterling High School on Martindale Road in Houston.  Investigators said he told them he was carrying the weapon to protect himself from gang members.

That same day administrators at La Porte High School sent a letter home to parents after a threat was made that someone was going to, “shoot up the school.”

“I do see, definitely, an increase in interest for homeschooling,” said [homeschooler] Kilgore.  “Maybe those families who were on the edge, this may be the final push for them.”

I will leave readers with Connecticut homeschoolers’ display of their sympathy and support for Newtown.

Daytime curfew shines bright in Bedford elections Fort Worth Star-Telegram May 05, 2009
By DIANNA HUNT

Continuing controversy over the curfew has spilled into the campaigns for mayor and two City Council seats.

“It probably did bring some candidates out, initially, and for a couple of them, it’s probably still their main issue,” said Mayor Jim Story, who is running for re-election against political newcomer Kenneth Kimmons.

Says Kimmons: “It is an issue, and I think it’s an important one, but it’s not the only one.”

Accuse an opponent of a one issue candidacy and you could win points.  But I have seen activists become involved in one community issue, and then take note of how leaders operate in that and other issues at council meetings.  It’s a learning experience waiting for your turn and your issue at City Council meetings.  Sometimes it leads you to try making a positive difference by running for office.

From the S-T article:

The council approved an ordinance in September that prohibits people under 17, with a few exceptions, from being in a public place between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on school days. Violators and their parents can be fined up to $500. Businesses are required to alert officials if a youth is on their property during those hours.

The measure has drawn opposition from home-schooling families and civil libertarians, who say the measure erodes personal freedom and forces students, parents and businesses to go to court to prove their innocence. Supporters say the ordinance is having the desired effect of reducing truancy and daytime crime.

Mayor Story said that his leadership “accommodated home-schoolers in the ordinance“.  But it appears that Bedford businesses and families (not on the 9-2:30 education schedule) have to continuously respond to authorities if kids go out and about during Bedford school district hours.  The public front doesn’t appear to be a  business or family friendly community, if anyone asked me.

One City Council candidate, Jason McCaffity, ( a police sergeant)  said they should get rid of the daytime curfew.

“This is just another senseless or needless law that is on the books,” he said. “It doesn’t actually address truancy — it makes it illegal for children to be in public in the daytime.”

There are no useful “exemptions” to daytime curfew when you are guilty until proven innocent.

Home Education Magazine January-February 1997

Truancy, Curfews and Our Response- Janie Levine Hellyer

In July, 1996, the U.S. Department of Education in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice issued a “Manual to Combat Truancy.” The manual speaks of truancy as “the first sign of trouble,” and “a gateway to crime.” It encourages communities to involve parents, ensure that students face firm sanctions for truancy, create meaningful incentives for parental responsibility, establish ongoing truancy prevention programs in school, and involve local law enforcement in truancy reduction efforts. The manual then goes on to describe what it calls “successful models of new anti-truancy initiatives” in communities across the nation. Statistics are provided that hold up truancy prevention efforts beside crime reduction figures. Sources for funding, training and technical assistance to communities are offered. In response, communities across the country are setting in place ordinances and regulations. In early October, we asked families to tell us what they were seeing and how the new regulations were affecting their families and communities. [Continue reading the homeschoolers' observations of curfew regulations at the HEM site and within News-Commentary archives.]

Home Education Magazine March-April 1999

Taking Charge- Curfews and Homeschoolers
Larry and Susan Kaseman
As homeschoolers, we need to be informed about daytime curfews for several reasons.

* Although only a few communities have enacted curfews so far, the number is increasing.

* Curfews undermine everyone’s basic freedoms.

* Our efforts to oppose curfews are much more likely to be effective if we act now, before curfews are proposed in our community, or at least are prepared to act immediately if they are proposed in our community.

* We may be drawn into debates about how curfews can be made less inconvenient for homeschoolers. This shifts the focus away from the serious issues. There are no “good” curfews. [Continue reading at the site]

Home-school interest grows in hard times Houston Chronicle April 27, 2009
Expense of private schools leads some to make a change

An estimated 300,000 Texas children are homeschooled, compared to the nearly 4.7 million who attend traditional public schools.

Seems like they wouldn’t have a clue how many Texas homeschoolers there are?  Texas homeschoolers don’t register or notify government authorities about their education choice.  Unless homeschool groups are reporting their member numbers.   I would hope that the “estimated” term is used very loosely.

This piece from the article made me wonder if Texas public schools haven’t learned that fees are the new tax:

The home-schooling gains are a surprise for the leaders of the advocacy group, which feared that the economic downturn might force home-schoolers to return to public schools. It’s cheaper to attend public school than to pay hundreds of dollars a year for the curriculum, supplies and activities needed to home-school, experts said.

When our kids attended public school, we paid hundreds of dollars a year in fees in Illinois. Extra curricular activities were cheaper via park districts, libraries, zoos and museums.  The biggest benefit was educational accountability rested on us, as the parents.  Their soccer practice and games did not revolve around whether the kid passed their spelling test.

Home Education Magazine’s Mary Nix did a Closer Look at homeschooling older kids and this Mark Hegener quote seems to ring true:

I picked this particular column for Closer Look because I believe the additional pressure to buy, buy, buy to make sure your child excels causes more stress to our homeschool community than it helps. Mark Hegener, HEM Publisher and homeschool Dad once said that all you need to homeschool is love and a library card. That continues to remain true as well and I hope you will read and take to heart Cafi Cohen’s sage advice in Less is More.

Ht to TAFFIE’s Susan Frederick who contributed this Michigan article link on the Home Education Magazine Networking list.

Via HEM-Networking:

Texas Home School Coalition

House Bill 1569

UIL Participation

An act relating to participation in school district services and activities by home-schooled students.

The following were also posted along with the site linked (above).

• Home Education Magazine, May-June 2000, Why the Question of Homeschoolers’ Playing Public School Sports Affects All Homeschoolers
• Home Education Magazine, November-December 1999, Convincing Others We Don’t Want Homeschooling Legislation

posted by Valerie