http://www.townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/mm20040922.shtml

read it and weep.  if its a dupe just ignore it.

Anti-homeschooling bigots strike again
Michelle Malkin (archive)


September 22, 2004 |  Print |  Send


The public school establishment hates homeschoolers. They've smeared the movement as a conspiracy of conservative Christian zealots. They've scoffed at homeschooled kids as social pariahs. They've painted homeschooling parents as uneducated and negligent.

And now, under the guise of preparing students for a violent terrorist attack, educators in one public school district are casting homeschoolers in the role of bomb-detonating militants.

The story about a mock terrorism drill involving a local school district in the Muskegon Chronicle starts out innocently enough:

 "Local school district transportation directors instigated the exercise because they wanted to test their abilities to respond to emergencies, said Tom Spoelman, transportation consultant for the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. They eventually hooked up with Muskegon County Emergency Services, and planning for the event has been under way for about a year, Spoelman said.

"The exercise will test not only school transportation directors, but also the Muskegon County Emergency Operations Plan, which involves many agencies throughout the county.

"About 60 middle and high school students from Reeths-Puffer and Whitehall public schools will be part of the exercise, according to Kristin Tank, public information coordinator for the MAISD. Local law enforcement agencies, fire departments, human service agencies, transportation services and medical services will participate.

"Students from Muskegon Community College and Reeths-Puffer will assist in applying makeup to add to the reality of the gruesome scene. Between 200 and 300 people will observe the exercise, including school bus drivers, school administrators, emergency personnel and evaluators from agencies across the state who will provide feedback."

What's jaw-droppingly unbelievable is the next paragraph describing the attackers in the simulation:

 "The exercise will simulate an attack by a fictitious radical group called Wackos Against Schools and Education who believe everyone should be homeschooled. Under the scenario, a bomb is placed on the bus and is detonated while the bus is traveling on Durham, causing the bus to land on its side and fill with smoke."

This is not a joke. A taxpayer-funded drill is using public school students to enforce anti-homeschooling bigotry under the guise of preparing for terrorism. Terrorism by whom? By Islamic jihadists who hijack planes and incinerate kids headed to Disneyworld. Islamic terrorists who take hundreds of children hostage in Beslan, force them to drink their own urine and shoot babies in the back. Islamic terrorists who groom toddlers as suicide bombers.

Our enemies are Islamic extremist murderers. Except if you happen to attend the Muskegon County, Mich., schools, where the menacing faces of terrorism belong to parents who make untold sacrifices to give their children the best education they know how by schooling them in the loving environment of their own homes.

I recall the Islamist-sympathizing admonition included in the National Education Association's touchy-feely, post-Sept. 11 curriculum: "Do not suggest that any group is responsible" for the terrorist attacks, one tip for parents and teachers urged. Unless, it should be amended, you can work an anti-homeschooling hate angle into the lesson.

When President Bush's education secretary, Rod Paige, likened the NEA in jest to a "terrorist organization," teachers' union officials and the media became completely unhinged. How dare he make such an odious comparison, they gasped. How dare he make light of the real terrorists, they fumed.


"I can tell you what my first response was: Scary. That's really frightening," said a special-education teacher in Bakersfield, Calif., to the Associated Press after Paige's remarks. "It's scary that you can't voice an opinion in this country without being called a terrorist. . . . I don't care if it was a joke or what it was, that was a totally inappropriate comment."

Paige was forced to apologize to teachers. What about the Muskegon County, Mich., school system? Will its public education militants apologize to homeschoolers for taking an intolerant swipe at their beliefs? Or will this politicized "Wackos Against Schools and Education" terror drill be coming to a classroom near you?

I was homeschooled. Only for a year and a half though.

I was homeschooled for 4 years (highschool).  The local school district here is pretty bad.  They also try to browbeat anyone who trys to take their kids out and homeschool them, threatening to sic the law on them.

All they care about is the federal funding.  Thats why they absolutely shit a brick when bush talks about school vouchers. Because they KNOW they can't compete with private education or homeschools.

homeschooled for two years here.

not for religion. the public schools sucked ass.

Hmmm.
Both of my kids are homeschooled.
Both of them shoot well.

Maybe they're on to something?

Is there e-mail/phone # for this school system? I sense a target for a fire mission.

Amazing. I went to a museum one day and ther was a HUGE group of homeschooling kids there. I just so happen to listen in on a conversation on what these kids were talking about. They were actually talking about the exhibits and what was the topic at hand.

NO Madonna, NO Britney Spears... They were actually talking on topics of substance. These homeschoolers are bright. No doubt about it.

Defamation of character suit...blatant defamation.  

I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic.

I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine.

Quoted: I was homeschooled for 4 years (highschool).  The local school district here is pretty bad.  They also try to browbeat anyone who trys to take their kids out and homeschool them, threatening to sic the law on them.

In Texas they cannot sic the law on you.  The only legal requirement to be removed from public school is a letter from a parent stating they are being removed from school.  That's it.  Texas has classified homeschools as private schools for the last 10 years as of August in what is known as the Leeper decision.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Quoted: Hmmm. Both of my kids are homeschooled. Both of them shoot well. Maybe they're on to something?

Mine aren't old enough to shoot yet (soon), but the one of my three that is school aged is doing quite well at home schooling.  Our six year old was just tested, and she performed between 1-3 grade levels on all of her subjects.  My 3 year old shows the most remarkable response though.  He's known his ABC's and can count to 30 since he turned 3 in March.  He's starting to teach himself to read and recognizes words.  He really has more of a benefit by absorbing what my wife teaches his older sister.  We buy a curriculum and my daughter does about 3 hours of work a day, though she's constantly taught about things when faced with them in life.  Those lessons have the most impact on her because she begins to have a real feel for them.

You should have seen her when she finally understood what happened at the Alamo when we visited last December.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Quoted: I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic.

Most states require testing and use of an approved curriculum.  A few do not, like Texas and Alaska.

I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine.

Who homeschooled him?
Was the parent who homeschooled him doing that as their full-time job?
When did he start homeschooling?
Was he homeschooled because he wasn't doing well in school or because he was getting in trouble?

There are many reasons that people homeschool.  Unfortunately some people do it because their little angel went through the public schools and around middle school they started getting in trouble or having problems and the parents decided the best way to deal with it was pull them out of school.  Unfortunately it rarely works.  My ex-roomate was 'homeschooled' because he was horribly dyslexic and couldn't read.  His father repeatedly threatened to sue the school district because they wanted him to seek assistance to get passed his dyslexia and didn't want his son to have the stigma of "special education."  So, they pulled him out and he sat on his ass all day until his father decided he graduated.  Now he's 30 years old and still can't read or write in an intelligent manner.  The bad part is he's actually a very bright guy.  And in order to deal with the fact he cannot read and always had trouble in school, he became a habitual liar, living in a fantasy world.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Quoted: Quoted: I was homeschooled for 4 years (highschool).  The local school district here is pretty bad.  They also try to browbeat anyone who trys to take their kids out and homeschool them, threatening to sic the law on them. In Texas they cannot sic the law on you.  The only legal requirement to be removed from public school is a letter from a parent stating they are being removed from school.  That's it.  Texas has classified homeschools as private schools for the last 10 years as of August in what is known as the Leeper decision. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

you and I know this.  The average parent here does not.  Most parents believe that the only legal alternative to public education is private school.  I remember a friend of my mother's who had been specifically told that she COULDN'T remove her son from the local school district unless she furnished them with proof of his enrollment in another school.  My mother had to arm her with the knowledge she needed to pull her kid out.

Quoted: Defamation of character suit...blatant defamation.

We have a group that specifically protects our legal rights.

Home School Legal Defense Association

Right now it's their top story.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Quoted: you and I know this.  The average parent here does not.  Most parents believe that the only legal alternative to public education is private school.  I remember a friend of my mother's who had been specifically told that she COULDN'T remove her son from the local school district unless she furnished them with proof of his enrollment in another school.  My mother had to arm her with the knowledge she needed to pull her kid out.

There have been several lawsuits filed against Texas school districts over that type of behavior, and all of the school districts lost.  That's comforting in my mind.  But you are right, the ignorance about homeschooling is all over the place here in Texas.  However, it is nice to know that DFW has a large group of homeschooled kids.  My little girl's soccer team is made up of 50% homeschool kids, and unlike the groups we had my daughter join while we were in Houston, the soccer league isn't centered around homeschooling.  It's simply based on who lives near me since I'm the coach.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Quoted: Quoted: I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic. Most states require testing and use of an approved curriculum.  A few do not, like Texas and Alaska. I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine. Who homeschooled him? Was the parent who homeschooled him doing that as their full-time job? When did he start homeschooling? Was he homeschooled because he wasn't doing well in school or because he was getting in trouble? There are many reasons that people homeschool.  Unfortunately some people do it because their little angel went through the public schools and around middle school they started getting in trouble or having problems and the parents decided the best way to deal with it was pull them out of school.  Unfortunately it rarely works.  My ex-roomate was 'homeschooled' because he was horribly dyslexic and couldn't read.  His father repeatedly threatened to sue the school district because they wanted him to seek assistance to get passed his dyslexia and didn't want his son to have the stigma of "special education."  So, they pulled him out and he sat on his ass all day until his father decided he graduated.  Now he's 30 years old and still can't read or write in an intelligent manner.  The bad part is he's actually a very bright guy.  And in order to deal with the fact he cannot read and always had trouble in school, he became a habitual liar, living in a fantasy world. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

No it was a single mother doing it she is a nutjob herself and it is completely her fault that the kid is where he is.

who makes up the sub-30 scores on the ASVAB? Not homeschoolers, I'd bargain.

Quoted: who makes up the sub-30 scores on the ASVAB? Not homeschoolers, I'd bargain.

I was at the bookstore last week picking up a gunsmith book I'd asked for, and I saw that there were several "How to prepare for the ASVAB" tests in the test prep area.  Does anyone actually buy those?

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Quoted: I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic. I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine.

There already is.  As mentioned, many states even regulate the curriculum, but all set standards of testing.  All the home schooled kids I know can actually read and write, as opposed to what the public schools are turning out. People, the public schools today are not what they were even when you and I went through just a few years ago.

Actually public schools are obsolete.  There is nothing you can learn in them that you cannot learn over the computer.  Even live chat would just require a camera and a microphone.

Kids in parts of Alaska, Austrailia, and Canada have been being taught for decades by short wave radio!  Muti-media over a computer should be massively better than that.

Quoted: I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic. I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine.

It is called the ACT and SAT

I will go out on a limb here and say that I believe that is a parent is truly invested the time nessicary to adequately school a child, that child will be no comparison to a similar public school trained child.

I was homeschooled for 12 years. My mom and dad thouthg this the best course of action due to the state of our school system. My moom invested countless hours in teaching me and my brothers, which I believe paid off well.  

We learned to be free thinkers, not just accept the pablum the media feed us as truth. I think that was perhaps the greatest thing that I learned, and perhaps the one that will serve me the best in life.

Quoted: Quoted: I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic. I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine. It is called the ACT and SAT I will go out on a limb here and say that I believe that is a parent is truly invested the time nessicary to adequately school a child, that child will be no comparison to a similar public school trained child. I was homeschooled for 12 years. My mom and dad thouthg this the best course of action due to the state of our school system. My moom invested countless hours in teaching me and my brothers, which I believe paid off well.   We learned to be free thinkers, not just accept the pablum the media feed us as truth. I think that was perhaps the greatest thing that I learned, and perhaps the one that will serve me the best in life.

I think it is to late if you wait till they are 17 or 18 to find out if they are getting an education. They should have to prove that can do some basic stuff at an earlier age. I totally agree with the rest of your statement. In Illinois gym is mandatory. thats an hour each day not devoted to learning but playing dodgeball. If your kid is fat and needs to get in shape then by all means put them on a diet but most kids get enough activity outside of gym and should be able to learn during this time. I wasblessed enough to have a good public school to go to, but if the school by my child is no good I will not hesistate to home schhol them.

My public school career was a dismal failure for the most part.  I was a smart kid, but i was stuck in with all the other kids and foced to learn at thier pace.  the only time i ever had anything interesting or challenging was when i was part of the gifted kids class (GATE) once a week.  Out of the entire school district (7 elementary schools) there were only about 25 kids in my grade that were in that class.  We learned studied logic, and dabbled in science, latin, history, computers, cooking and dozens of other highly useful things.  It was the stuffm i learned there that i rely on today.  That one day a week was the only really useful thing i got in elemenmtary school.  

By high school things were more interesting and challenging, but even though i was in the advanced english classes, i was still reading books and stories that i had read in 4th grade in the gate program.   (And in fact, i kept running into gate literature even in college!)

When i got to college (junior college, i wasn't rich...) i was really depressed to see how illiterate most of these college students reallly were.  Most of them couldn't even write a coherent sentence, let alone an entire paper.  We were supposed to read each others papers and offer advice, but these dumb  bunnies were so helpless that they couldn't understand any advice i gave them, and they couldnt offer any constructive criticism of my papers, other than "yeah, it was good".  not everbody was this bad, but it mustve been a good 5-10 percent of students that were barely literate.  and this was in college!

Now that i am aware of homeschooling, i feel that almost my entire public school career was wasted.  i wish to God my parents had known about it and taught us that way.  Hell, mom stayed home and took care of us anyway, it wouldn't have been a burden on the family in the least.

My brother (the moderator Troy) had a similar experience, as he was another of those super smart kids.  The interesting thing is that both of us really ended up educating ourselves to a great extent.  Both of us are voracios readers, and whenever we wanted to learn something we hit the books.  it was our natural desire to self-educate that saved us from moronhood.  under no circumstances will i ever allow my kids to become part of the public education brainwashing scam.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I think there should be some testing of homeschooled kids, relax it will be very basic. I knew a homeschooled kid who at 17 could barely read and write, this is why I say this. I'm sure most homeschooled kids do just fine. It is called the ACT and SAT I will go out on a limb here and say that I believe that is a parent is truly invested the time nessicary to adequately school a child, that child will be no comparison to a similar public school trained child. I was homeschooled for 12 years. My mom and dad thouthg this the best course of action due to the state of our school system. My moom invested countless hours in teaching me and my brothers, which I believe paid off well.   We learned to be free thinkers, not just accept the pablum the media feed us as truth. I think that was perhaps the greatest thing that I learned, and perhaps the one that will serve me the best in life. I think it is to late if you wait till they are 17 or 18 to find out if they are getting an education. They should have to prove that can do some basic stuff at an earlier age. I totally agree with the rest of your statement. In Illinois gym is mandatory. thats an hour each day not devoted to learning but playing dodgeball. If your kid is fat and needs to get in shape then by all means put them on a diet but most kids get enough activity outside of gym and should be able to learn during this time. I wasblessed enough to have a good public school to go to, but if the school by my child is no good I will not hesistate to home schhol them.

In AZ, kids are now tested every three years by the state.

Stanford also gives SATs to gradeschoolers.  We took SATs in 1st, 3rd, 6th, 8th(other places 9th but my JR High was only 2 year) plus "the" PSAT/SAT that the colleges look at in the 11th and 12th grades.

The ACT people may sell similar serivces in other states, but that was what California did with the SATs.

Im agreeing with alot of what Sawgunner101 said.

My expierance in public school made me not want to stay around it, most ways to do anything were presented in the most basic ways that were normally not very efficent.  This was the only way to do things though, anything else was wrong.  Last years in HS it mattered more if you were on some sport team, that would get you  better grades and stuff then trying to do work and behaving. We dont care that you miss 50% of class, act like a fool and do things halfasses since your on the football/tennis/baseball team.

The onyl exception to this was 12th grade Lit out teacher who was alos the soccer coach was fair and tried.  But 11th grade lit we motstly watch TV sometimes took a test but we were basicly given the answers 10 minutes before, alot of people still failed.

Quoted: Quoted: who makes up the sub-30 scores on the ASVAB? Not homeschoolers, I'd bargain. I was at the bookstore last week picking up a gunsmith book I'd asked for, and I saw that there were several "How to prepare for the ASVAB" tests in the test prep area.  Does anyone actually buy those? Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Before I got out of my Jarhead contract I was sitting in the recruiters office waiting to go to a poolee meeting. To make a long story short a total rock walked in and bombed the practice test and the Gy told him to go check out "How to pass the ASVAB" book from the library......scary.  OTOH he might make a good grunt.

I took the SAT when I was 16 in 1999 and got an 1140. 640 in English and 500 in math( yeah my math skills suck, so what? I got the bare minimum anyways)

I wanted to go directly to a public university, but was told that since I "didn't have a high school education" that I would have to go to a junior college first.  Texas A&M at that time had a disciminatory policy toward homeschoolers.  In order to prove your education, you had to take the SAT II (which is usually only taken by science or math majors).  Everyone with a public highscool education was only required to take the SAT.

As far as I know, that is still their policy.

my junior college (affectionately known as Country Bumpkin College) was a pretty good waste of time.  everything was freaking easy.  The whole purpose of junior colleges these days is to bring students up to speed so they can go to a real college imo.

Quoted: My expierance in public school made me not want to stay around it, most ways to do anything were presented in the most basic ways that were normally not very efficent. .

Most public school teachers send their kids to private schools.

Public school proponents hate homeschoolers, and private schools for that matter, because they're outside the system and can't be controlled. It's not about education, it's about control.

After spending 2 years in a totally private school, and then 2 years in a semi-private school (state funded, but they had next to 0 control over us by law) after 8 years in public, I'd never set foot in a public school again, nor advise anybody to send their kids there.

I wasn't homeschooled, but really wish I had been.  It was something my parents kept talking about doing, but with both of them working, it just didn't happen.  They've since said that if they were to do things over again, they'd have worked something out so sis and I would have been homeschooled.



Public schools suck.  There's just no better way to describe them that won't get me booted for a few days.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: who makes up the sub-30 scores on the ASVAB? Not homeschoolers, I'd bargain. I was at the bookstore last week picking up a gunsmith book I'd asked for, and I saw that there were several "How to prepare for the ASVAB" tests in the test prep area.  Does anyone actually buy those? Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas... Before I got out of my Jarhead contract I was sitting in the recruiters office waiting to go to a poolee meeting. To make a long story short a total rock walked in and bombed the practice test and the Gy told him to go check out "How to pass the ASVAB" book from the library......scary.  OTOH he might make a good grunt.

I saw one of those ASVAB books sitting on a desk in my high school. The previous semester I had taken that test and gotten the highest score in my school. I thought it was the easiest most common sense test ever written.

I then saw the owner of the study aid. He was a student that moved to teh US from Egypt and was studying to get the highest score possible. I now look back years later and wonder if he made it and if he  was actually an AQ operative.

The liberals are pissed because as long as our children aren't wasting away in public schools they can't control them and fill their minds with liberal bullshit.

I went to private school from 10th grade to 12th.

My sister went all through public schools. But our local public schools weren't that bad.

Bad but if you were smart, you got past the BS.

CRC

<rant>

Why should we expect a reasonable and informed attitude on homeschooling from the public school crowd? They have been programmed to act like sheep... IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM!! They (your children)  are being programmed to be liberal, government -dependant, post-modern non-thinkers.

What started as a temporary government sponsored and controlled effort has become one of the most monstrous social failures of our country's history. The whole system exists in its present form as an insidious and unassailable agent for the liberal indoctrination of our nation's youth.

We decided to homeschool because we felt responsible for our kids education. The public schools in our area were not meeting the challenge. Our decision to do this was not a trivial one. It was not an experiment - something to be tried for a year and lets see if little junior likes it or not. - it was a commitment that demanded we change our lifestyle to provide enough resources and attention to make it  successful.  Is it hard? hell yes. Is it a financial burden? Sure,  we don't have the nicest cars or cable TV or eat out a lot or wear designer clothes.  Is it worth it? YES!! Our kids deserve nothing less than whatever it takes. When I see my 6 yr old reading bedtime story to his 16 yr old babysitter because he reads Treasure Island better than she can, it makes me smile. When I give my 21 yr old's hand away in marriage next  year to fine home-schooled young man, I will feel confident that they have a leg up in this world. I wish it could have been easier, but no one said life should be easy.


</rant>