California Call-to-Action
Guest Post written by my husband and attorney, Jesse Paine
Much ink has been spilled over the last few days over the California Court of Appeal's recent decision over homeschooling. Some of it has been hype, some measured warning. In light of all the attention and potential broad affects of the ruling, I decided to read it for myself and present my own call to action.
The Decision
On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeals handed down a ruling effectively turning back the clock on home education for thousands of parents in California. The case was part of a complex series of appeals to the Court of Appeals from the juvenile court in Los Angeles County.
In the underlying case, a complaint had been brought against a family of eight, where it was alleged that the father was physically and emotionally mistreating the eldest child. In the course of investigating this complaint, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services discovered that all eight of the family's children were being educated at home by the mother and were not being sent to a brick and mortar school.
During proceedings in the juvenile court, attorneys representing the children asked the court to order that the children not be educated at home and instead be enrolled in a public or private school. The lower court, however, declined to make such an order, and instead observed that the parents had a constitutional right to homeschool the children, despite the fact that the education they had been receiving at home was, in his words, "lousy," "meager," and "bad." He further observed that, as a matter of policy, children should attend brick and mortar schools because of socialization concerns, opportunities for professional counseling, and exposure to various forms of diversity.
The case was appealed to the Court of Appeals based on the sole question: Is it legal to homeschool in the State of California?
The court determined that it was not legal to operate a home school under the compulsory attendance laws of the state. Under California's education milieu, a minor child must attend a public full-time day school, unless the child is tutored by a properly credentialed teacher for the grade being taught.
The court reasoned that a mother teaching a child at home is not a properly credentialed teacher under the law and that attendance at any form of school other than a brick and mortar school was insufficient under the statute.
The court also noted that, although the family was a member of an independent study program (ISP), California law only recognizes ISP's as a tool of the public education establishment for directed learning, and not as a vehicle for conducting home education, especially because it failed the traditional "brick and mortar" test for a "school" under the law. As such, the ISP was acting in conjunction with the family to skirt the compulsory attendance law and was illegitimate.
Additionally, the court completely disregarded the family's federal constitutional argument that they were educating their children at home because of a sincerely held religious belief. This in and of itself was the most disturbing part of the case for me, due to the light treatment it received by the court.
The Effect
This decision is a blow to home educators across the State of California and the rest of the country. In California, the case could in theory expose families to truancy prosecutions punishable by fines, according to the decision. But reality does not always follow theory.
If the decision does stand, criminal prosecutions and civil contempt penalties (for failure to obey court orders) will probably be relatively few and far between. Last I checked, California had other criminal problems more pressing than homeschool parents. Because it is a published opinion (more on this below), this decision could have devastating effect in those states were homeschooling is protected only by a mutual understanding of all parties not to enforce truancy laws against homeschoolers because of their good-faith efforts at actually educating their children.
While this case is a California case and may only be binding in California state courts, it may nevertheless (as long as it remains published) be cited by edu-crats and the education establishment as "persuasive authority" to adopt similar standards in other states. Basically, they would be saying, "Look, California has gone the way of the caveman, and this why and how, and we should adopt California's reasoning and methods and go the way of the caveman ourselves."
The Call-to-Action
This brings us to the call to action. With all that has happened, what can we do? What should we do?
1. First, and foremost, you can and should PRAY. Pray for the family involved in this litigation. Pray for the attorneys involved (for wisdom for the attorneys appealing to the California Supreme Court and for confusion for the state's attorneys). Pray for the judges hearing the case. Remember, God is still sovereign and on the throne. He holds the heart of the judges in His hand and can change it on a moment's notice.
Finally, pray for peace amongst the homeschooling community. I have seen a lot of hand-wringing over this case in recent days and a real need for the peace of God that passes all understanding. We need to keep our eyes focused on Him and trust Him for the result. As I said before, this did not catch God by surprise--He is in control.
2. If you haven't done so already, sign the petition from HSLDA. Do something--even if it's a small thing.
3. Write to your local paper or online in support of home education. One of the striking parts of this decision is that it totally ignores any result-based method of looking at what constitutes a quality education. I guess in California, you can only get a quality education if you sit in a classroom with four walls with 20 other children your own age for 6 hours a day. Let your community see otherwise; let them see the positive opportunities and experiences that are everywhere in home education!
4. Do not lose heart! Remember the brave families that faced real threats and prosecutions in the 1980's so we can stand where we do today. To them, decisions like this were the norm. It is because of their strength and fortitude that we can stand today and decry this opinion as an aberration. Be strong and of good courage. Do not give in to the education establishment. It is your parental right and your parental duty to provide what is best for your children. And contrary to the California Court of Appeals, the State does NOT know best.
5. If you are in California, contact your state legislators and ask them to support Assemble Concurrent Resolution 115, a resolution introduced by Assemblyman Joel Anderson condemning the Court of Appeals decision. While this is in no way binding nor a change in the law, it nevertheless could be used to send a strong message of solidarity to other members of the legislature that homeschoolers are in it for the long fight and will not stand by to see their liberties trampled upon.
6. VOTE. In many jurisdictions, judges are elected by popular vote. Educate yourself on the issues surrounding judicial elections and judicial appointments and vote them out of office or vote to not retain them (if on a retention basis) if they have not been faithful in upholding the rule of law in their particular jurisdiction.
Finally, help support the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children in this country. This decision in California may only be the tip of the iceberg if the November elections give liberal Democrats a 2/3 majority in the U.S. Senate. I say this because of the looming United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by President Clinton and never acted upon by the Senate. If approved, this treaty will be the law of the land, on equal footing with the Constitution, and will greatly undermine the rights of parents in training and discipling their children.
There is a movement toward introducing a federal constitutional amendment protecting such rights from encroachment by over-zealous state government officers, like those in California, as well as international demigods in the U.N. If you want more information, go to ParentalRights.org.
***A note from Crystal***
I am thankful for my husband taking the time to read through the court decision and wade through much legal analysis to write the above article. The call-to-action has been given--we cannot sit idly by and let the government slowly take away our God-given rights as parents.
What are you going to do about it? I want to hear from you--leave a link below to a blog post you've written telling us how this case in California has motivated you to take action. Perhaps you signed the petition and emailed your friends. Perhaps you contacted your legislators to encourage them to uphold parental rights. Perhaps you wrote a letter to the editor sharing how homeschooling has positively benefited your family.
My husband and I want to encourage each of you to be energized by this case to take positive action. Sure, we can be frustrated at the court's decision, but expressing frustration without doing anything will get us nowhere.
So, leave your blog link below (or a comment if you don't have a blog) telling us what positive action you are taking to preserve and protect homeschooling freedoms, and, more importantly, parental rights.
Much ink has been spilled over the last few days over the California Court of Appeal's recent decision over homeschooling. Some of it has been hype, some measured warning. In light of all the attention and potential broad affects of the ruling, I decided to read it for myself and present my own call to action.
The Decision
On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeals handed down a ruling effectively turning back the clock on home education for thousands of parents in California. The case was part of a complex series of appeals to the Court of Appeals from the juvenile court in Los Angeles County.
In the underlying case, a complaint had been brought against a family of eight, where it was alleged that the father was physically and emotionally mistreating the eldest child. In the course of investigating this complaint, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services discovered that all eight of the family's children were being educated at home by the mother and were not being sent to a brick and mortar school.
During proceedings in the juvenile court, attorneys representing the children asked the court to order that the children not be educated at home and instead be enrolled in a public or private school. The lower court, however, declined to make such an order, and instead observed that the parents had a constitutional right to homeschool the children, despite the fact that the education they had been receiving at home was, in his words, "lousy," "meager," and "bad." He further observed that, as a matter of policy, children should attend brick and mortar schools because of socialization concerns, opportunities for professional counseling, and exposure to various forms of diversity.
The case was appealed to the Court of Appeals based on the sole question: Is it legal to homeschool in the State of California?
The court determined that it was not legal to operate a home school under the compulsory attendance laws of the state. Under California's education milieu, a minor child must attend a public full-time day school, unless the child is tutored by a properly credentialed teacher for the grade being taught.
The court reasoned that a mother teaching a child at home is not a properly credentialed teacher under the law and that attendance at any form of school other than a brick and mortar school was insufficient under the statute.
The court also noted that, although the family was a member of an independent study program (ISP), California law only recognizes ISP's as a tool of the public education establishment for directed learning, and not as a vehicle for conducting home education, especially because it failed the traditional "brick and mortar" test for a "school" under the law. As such, the ISP was acting in conjunction with the family to skirt the compulsory attendance law and was illegitimate.
Additionally, the court completely disregarded the family's federal constitutional argument that they were educating their children at home because of a sincerely held religious belief. This in and of itself was the most disturbing part of the case for me, due to the light treatment it received by the court.
The Effect
This decision is a blow to home educators across the State of California and the rest of the country. In California, the case could in theory expose families to truancy prosecutions punishable by fines, according to the decision. But reality does not always follow theory.
If the decision does stand, criminal prosecutions and civil contempt penalties (for failure to obey court orders) will probably be relatively few and far between. Last I checked, California had other criminal problems more pressing than homeschool parents. Because it is a published opinion (more on this below), this decision could have devastating effect in those states were homeschooling is protected only by a mutual understanding of all parties not to enforce truancy laws against homeschoolers because of their good-faith efforts at actually educating their children.
While this case is a California case and may only be binding in California state courts, it may nevertheless (as long as it remains published) be cited by edu-crats and the education establishment as "persuasive authority" to adopt similar standards in other states. Basically, they would be saying, "Look, California has gone the way of the caveman, and this why and how, and we should adopt California's reasoning and methods and go the way of the caveman ourselves."
The Call-to-Action
This brings us to the call to action. With all that has happened, what can we do? What should we do?
1. First, and foremost, you can and should PRAY. Pray for the family involved in this litigation. Pray for the attorneys involved (for wisdom for the attorneys appealing to the California Supreme Court and for confusion for the state's attorneys). Pray for the judges hearing the case. Remember, God is still sovereign and on the throne. He holds the heart of the judges in His hand and can change it on a moment's notice.
Finally, pray for peace amongst the homeschooling community. I have seen a lot of hand-wringing over this case in recent days and a real need for the peace of God that passes all understanding. We need to keep our eyes focused on Him and trust Him for the result. As I said before, this did not catch God by surprise--He is in control.
2. If you haven't done so already, sign the petition from HSLDA. Do something--even if it's a small thing.
3. Write to your local paper or online in support of home education. One of the striking parts of this decision is that it totally ignores any result-based method of looking at what constitutes a quality education. I guess in California, you can only get a quality education if you sit in a classroom with four walls with 20 other children your own age for 6 hours a day. Let your community see otherwise; let them see the positive opportunities and experiences that are everywhere in home education!
4. Do not lose heart! Remember the brave families that faced real threats and prosecutions in the 1980's so we can stand where we do today. To them, decisions like this were the norm. It is because of their strength and fortitude that we can stand today and decry this opinion as an aberration. Be strong and of good courage. Do not give in to the education establishment. It is your parental right and your parental duty to provide what is best for your children. And contrary to the California Court of Appeals, the State does NOT know best.
5. If you are in California, contact your state legislators and ask them to support Assemble Concurrent Resolution 115, a resolution introduced by Assemblyman Joel Anderson condemning the Court of Appeals decision. While this is in no way binding nor a change in the law, it nevertheless could be used to send a strong message of solidarity to other members of the legislature that homeschoolers are in it for the long fight and will not stand by to see their liberties trampled upon.
6. VOTE. In many jurisdictions, judges are elected by popular vote. Educate yourself on the issues surrounding judicial elections and judicial appointments and vote them out of office or vote to not retain them (if on a retention basis) if they have not been faithful in upholding the rule of law in their particular jurisdiction.
Finally, help support the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children in this country. This decision in California may only be the tip of the iceberg if the November elections give liberal Democrats a 2/3 majority in the U.S. Senate. I say this because of the looming United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by President Clinton and never acted upon by the Senate. If approved, this treaty will be the law of the land, on equal footing with the Constitution, and will greatly undermine the rights of parents in training and discipling their children.
There is a movement toward introducing a federal constitutional amendment protecting such rights from encroachment by over-zealous state government officers, like those in California, as well as international demigods in the U.N. If you want more information, go to ParentalRights.org.
***A note from Crystal***
I am thankful for my husband taking the time to read through the court decision and wade through much legal analysis to write the above article. The call-to-action has been given--we cannot sit idly by and let the government slowly take away our God-given rights as parents.
What are you going to do about it? I want to hear from you--leave a link below to a blog post you've written telling us how this case in California has motivated you to take action. Perhaps you signed the petition and emailed your friends. Perhaps you contacted your legislators to encourage them to uphold parental rights. Perhaps you wrote a letter to the editor sharing how homeschooling has positively benefited your family.
My husband and I want to encourage each of you to be energized by this case to take positive action. Sure, we can be frustrated at the court's decision, but expressing frustration without doing anything will get us nowhere.
So, leave your blog link below (or a comment if you don't have a blog) telling us what positive action you are taking to preserve and protect homeschooling freedoms, and, more importantly, parental rights.
Labels: Homeschooling, Hot Topics
posted by Crystal Paine at 8:30 AM
36 Comments:
I was being homeschooled by my mom during the 80s in Southern California (LA County) and was pretty much "hidden". Even our close neighbors didn't know we were homeschooled even though it was technically legal at the time depending on how you looked at the law. We had friends that had their kids taken away from them without any child pretective issues....all to say, it can get worse and we can keep pressing on. I think of my mom and all the other homeschool moms that I knew then and I'm so proud of them. They had it tougher than we do...although maybe not for long...always making us duck in the car to leave the neighborhood, rehearsing our responses to people that would question us as to why we weren't in school or what school we went to, praying for protection and freedom. We have to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps today and take on the courage they had.
It is a little discouraging though. This last year I wrote my state (not CA) senator over a different issue concerning children and education and even though he is a religious/republican he wrote back to me that he believes that the state is the one to make the best choices for families and children. I was shocked.
I know I'm not offering a whole lot of encouragement here but thanks for letting me vent. I appreciate Jesse's encouragement and proding to do something more.
Thank you so much, Crystal and Jesse, for taking the time to formualate these thoughts and a call to action. I am not even American, but as a homeschooling Canadian, I know that these issues still affect our family and our right to continue to homeschool and train our children.
My husband was raised and homeschooled during those difficult years in the 80's, when homeschooling was still illegal in much of Canada. I noticed that my MIL already has links up on her site for where to find more information and where to sign the petition. She understands the necessity of acting quickly, and yet she is also calm and trusting in God, because she has walked through similar times before and she knows that ultimately He is the one in control.
I will be posting links to the relevant information on my blog and alerting people to Jesse's post and call to action. And we will pray... for our country (and yours), for our liberties, for our children, for justice, for peace...
I wanted to thank you, Jesse and Crystal for this call to action. We are new to homeschooling and have only met opposition within my family (my mother) but do not want this right taken away from me. I love having my son with me and showing him all there is to see. I know my husband and I are the best people to decide what is best for our children. I know for sure because the government isn't looking out for the best interest of my daughter who is special needs. I must be her advocate and therefore I am qualified to be an advocate for my son as well.
I am also very discouraged that this issue started with an allegation of abuse.
Amanda
I am all for whatever type of education you feel is best for your child-- I received a fabulous secular education at public and private schools while receiving rigorous religious instruction at home and in the church. But the issue here is not homeschooling in theory. It is the poor practicing of education.
There is no excuse to give your child a poor education; home education is not always practiced poorly, and I am sure most of you ladies are teaching your children quite well. The government wants to look after the social welfare of its minors.
Why shouldn't your child be taught by someone who understands educational philosophy? I have taken several education classes on my way to liscensure, and they have been invaluable. There is the basic "what are children of x age supposed to learn?" to the "how do I deal with x, y, and z social / behavioral / mental problem / disability and what educational methods are proven to work in that instance?" covered.
All people should be educated in the fields they practice-- each one of you was taught by a mother, grandmother, or other family member or friend to be a good homemaker, or else you "apprenticed" to yourself and helpful and inspiring resources like Chrystal.
But child training is the hardest and most varied job you will ever do, and for that job, apprenticing to yourself is simply not enough to prove that you will be able to deal with educational issues most effectively.
So, fight for your right to teach your child in your home, but don't fight for the right poorly practiced home education. This issue should be about making home educators good at what they do so that even those who are not naturally good at teaching can be and can practice the education they feel is best for their child.
Thank you for the insight. I would encourage Californians to get a good lobbyist the 1953 law(and the earlier one the court relied on) changed. Get legislation enacted that supports your rights. We're behind you!
I'm a mom of two (one on the way) who plans to start homeschooling (other than the daily life we have now!) in the fall. We firmly believe homeschooling is the best educational option for our children - yes, we believe we can do a better job than the state! Quality depends on the individual situation of the child and the home, but that's all the more reason this ruling should not be applied to all homeschooling families.
I agree with your two last posters. This ruling should not affect all homeschooling families only those that are doing a mediocre job at it. I am a teacher at a public school in CA who hopes to homeschool our boys soon. I see first hand how bad the school system has become. But many times parents are not doing a good job at homeschooling. A couple of years ago I had a student who was "homeschooled" at 9 she did not know how to write her name, did not know her ABC's, or numbers let alone read or write. So I do understand the fear of the state, but believe the ruling should affect just those that are not doing their job as educators. I have a lot more to add but I think I will have to post on my blog.
What we are doing:
Praying - Together as a family, at the beginning of our homeschool day, and individually.
Petition - We signed the petition and I'm going to send out an email to friends with a link to the petition. I also wrote 'hslda.org' on a stack small post-it notes for my oldest husband and sons to hand out to people at work and college who want to sign. We're very encouraged by the amount of non-homeschooling people we've talked to who are strongly opposed to the ruling.
Thank you - I emailed a thank you to Governor Schwarzenegger for his opposition to the ruling and support of parental rights.
governor@govmail.ca.gov
Local - Our state legislature meets every other year. Last year there was a lot of activity, both for and against hs. We wrote letters and attended the hearings at the state capitol. It does make a difference and is a great field trip!
HSLA - After years of hs and seeing how it only takes a few legislators who want to chip away at our great state hs laws, we joined HSLDA last night. Even though we're blessed with some of the best hs laws in the nation, we feel like this is a great way to help strengthen hs throughout the nation.
We are encouraged and energized. Although there is opposition, hs is looked upon more favorably today than years ago, we have greater numbers, and statistics that prove it works!
May the Lord bless you for all the work you've put into this.
Valerie
Thanks Jesse, for taking the time to write the post. And thanks Crystal for bringing the issue to the attention of your many readers!
I signed the petition and I am a public schooler.I think it is terrible that the govenment wants to take away the right to homeschool and look at it what would be taken away next.
I also find the thing absurd because there are times when I teach/help our 2 children with their school work,so I guess even now in California that would be against the law!!
I may have missed something in reading this but...what was the decision regarding the abuse allegations? Were they proven/disproven?
We have done much of what you suggested: blogged about it, written a letter to the editor, prayed.
Today there was good news, though. Did you hear? State Superintendent of Public Instruction says that he has no interest in changing the way things have been done and that they will still allow us to register our homes as small private schools.
I did wonder, though, if this means the ruling will be applied to ISP programs. That was the situation with the family in question.
By the way: it is interesting to me that some posters are saying that we should not defend the rights of mediocre homeschoolers. I would say that this needs to be rethought a bit. Either a family has a right to homeschool, or they don't. To set it up where some of us can while others can't is to encourage a type of elitism. Besides this, we do not know for sure that they really are mediocre. Just because a State official disapproves is not reason to think that they are not accomplishing the goals that they, as a family, have defined.
The true clash that is going on here is this: who do the children belong to? If they belong to the parents, then the parents need to have the right to make decisions regarding them. If the parents have committed a crime and mismanaged their responsiblities, they should be arrested. Abuse, after all, does not take place only during school hours. However, if the parents have not committed a crime, then I think we can trust God to convict them and eventually hold them accountable for the jobs they do.
Besides, the public schools I attended were full of mediocre teachers. Good teachers were a rarity. When we criticize other homeschoolers for mediocrity, I think we fail to view the situation in reality. Mediocrity is everywhere. Excellence is just that: excelling, rising above the norm. Should we strive for it? Absolutely. But some families will only maintain the status quo. We need to be okay with this.
Amanda,
Fourteen years ago my mother was against me homeschooling because she just didn't understand it. Today she can see the benefits of hs and is thankful her grandchildren were hs. She gives them art lessons and being a retired nurse, loves to help with dissection labs. She is also active politically, making phone calls, and going with me to the state capitol every time there is a hearing concerning important issues.
I'd like to encourage you to hang in there and continue to do what you know is best for your children. Your mother will soon see how much better off your children are, and she'll become your greatest cheerleader!
Valerie
Thanks for the thoughtful post Crystal and Jesse. I signed the HSLDA petition and will be praying over the issue.
Your efforts to keep us informed and lift up biblical ideals is much appreciated.
Thanks for posting this. I will have to show my husband Jesse's post later on this evening.
So far, we have first and foremost prayed as a family
We have signed the petition
We are members of the HSLDA
We have written our representatives nnd senators. They actually have legislation coming up here in Louisiana that would give tax breaks to homeschooled families.
I keep hearing about homeschooled families that are ill prepared for college and the work force. While there may be a few, study after study shows how much better homeschoolers as a whole are preforming. I have to think that there are more ill prepared students coming out the current public education system.
Homeschoolers just come under a more scrutinous eye. I see more kids that have come out of the public school system that can't read. Is that ok?
I am homeschooling 4 out of my 6 children so far. My just turned 5 yo is 2 grades ahead, my 10 yo son, who is dyslexic and was 2 grades behind when we brought him home, is in his right grade now, my 12 yo is one grade ahead, and my 14 yo is also one grade ahead.
Should there be more goverment oversight for homeschoolers? No! Slowly, but surely, the goverment is "overseeing" more and more areas of our lives. The sad thing is, we expect them to. It's not the way goverment is supposed to run.
I believe we have a right as parents to decide what is best for our child. I plan on sending my child to a christian preschool. However, the option for me to homeschool him or my other boys should be there! This is a disturbing trend. I think its very money driven...
What if this family really was mistreating their child? What if the education WAS meager and lousy? I understand, in theory, the right to home educate, but what about the responsibility to protect and educate our children? What happens to these children when they aren't being protected and educated properly? My heart breaks for these children if the allegations are true.
My personal take on all of this is that we should really be focusing on ALL parental rights - not just education.
The government wants control from the cradle to the grave....does it not? When my son Isaac was in the hospital in January, one of the first questions was "Are his immunizations up-to-date?" My answer was "No. We don't vaccinate." I think the medical staffs eyes all fell out of their heads. "WHY NOT?????!!!!" was the communal chorus. "Don't you know how sick your baby could be, become or infect other children because he is NOT vaccinated???." I sort of felt a little intimidated at that point, but I swallowed and said that from my own personal research and from working in drug studies, that I knew the risks and that I felt very comfortable that he was not immunized.
Just so you know and probably already do....."Experts" are not usually the real "Experts". They are a bunch of edumecated lemmings from the brick and morter schools that have extensive finanical holdings in "research" and the commercial field in which they are the "experts". Their scope of knowledge is very limited and they do not have the time OR the inclination to do any further self study themselves.
If you are a home educating parent, part of your job is to read, read, read some more and research, research and research until your brain is mush. You stay up late because you want to do the best for your children. Most people who have home educated for a while will tell you too, that every child is different and therefore, what worked for one doesn't for the other. It is EXHAUSTING at times.
I wonder how many public or private school teachers for that matter, stay up late to research for one child on how to best explain a math concept, or to glue butterfly wings onto a science project for that child. I wonder how many of them don't know how to do fractions, know that it is coming up within the next few months that they will be having to "teach" this new concept to their student and then they dig in - without any HELP from anyone because they are too embarrased - and teach themselves until THEY have mastered it.
I sincerely doubt that any teacher (meaning outside the realm of home education) would do this much for one student....perhaps not always because they don't want to, but because they don't have the time.
The nanny state has it all wrong in most cases. Parents are the BEST source for ANYTHING regarding their children. If not, then why would our God put such a high calling onto parents. The United States goverment isn't the first government in the world - in fact it is one of the youngest.
Our fight isn't so much for homeschooling, our fight and our war call should be for our God-given parental rights to be first and foremost in ANY circumstance regarding the parent/child relationship. It should be us - the parent's - that decide what is best for our families and then how we implement our decision and see it through.
On the other hand too, I can see in all that is happening to parental rights, that it is a direct reflection on how perhaps we aren't living up to our parental responsibilities given to us by God. For example, look at how many people just jump on the homeschooling band wagon and then decide it is too hard or they can't stand being around their kids all the time. We have become weak and lazy. Like it or not, it is true and the consequences are being reaped.
It is time that we all take a good look at our motivation and our purpose for doing the things we are doing with our children. Sometimes Crystal drives me crazy with how much she "thinks" on things regarding her every responsibility (love you Crystal :-), but she is right.....she takes the time to be:
Purposeful: By design; intentionally; with predetermination.
Psalms 119:2 Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.
Prudent: Cautious; circumspect; practically wise; careful of the consequences of enterprises, measures or actions.
Proverbs 14:15 The simple believeth every word; but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
Perseverant: Persistence is nay thing undertaken; continued pursuit or prosecution of business or enterprise begun.
Galations 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
We should all being praying for ourselves and each other that we would at the very least, do the above faithfully and in every thing we take on in our lives.
(Really great article Jesse - very thought provoking.)
I'm wondering how this ruling is affecting private schools. In most Christian and private schools,(I don't know the particulars about California) the teachers do not have to have teaching credentials. Not even a college degree. I've seen many cases where they have no college at all. If this is the case in CA how is the ruling affecting these schools?
Crystal and Jesse~
When I asked if you could post about this or help in some way, I never expected this! Thank you so very much for this!
As for us, well, we still homeschool here in CA. Both my husband and I have signed the petition and sent the link for it to many friends and family. We've both put it stuff on our blog about it as well. And of course..pray...pray...PRAY!
Thanks again!
Sommer
I have a link to the petition on my blog. We homeschoolers here in PA are very concerned and are praying for the homeschoolers in California.
Thanks for the very informative article. We have to keep informed and stand up for our rights.
I have posted on my blog about this. We have a first grader and home school in California. While we are continuing to school as usual I have become more aware of my need to make sure that we are "doing school" every day. I have also been more careful about not going out in the middle of the day since that always brings questions. We are also looking in to signing up our children with a charter school for next fall just in case we are forced to relinquish our freedom. The particular school that we would be with allows you to home school full time but just keeps a close watch on you. The school is filled with Christian families and teachers so although the state would still be involved I feel safe knowing that I can still school at home. Of course this isn't our first choice but it may be the only way that we can do it.
Thank you for posting this and encouraging others to get involved.
We are a homeschooling family and California. We have 5 children and have been doing this for the last 6 years. It is amazing to me how much we really take for granted. I know God is in control, I am praying His will be done. If it comes down to California Homeschooling becoming Illegal we will move out of state. We are praying and have signed the HSLDA petition. Thank you for all your prayers and support!
i was really glad to read this call-to-action. i live in california and have been seriously contemplating homeschooling since before i got married (and had a child). thank you crystal, for your concern about this subject and to your husband, also, for his research.
My family and I are praying for you all in California, for the whole country, the whole world. Although I live in Canada,I feel we, as homeschoolers and Christians all have a responsibility to support each other. Keep seeking God! Keep strong! God Bless!
Thanks so much for the info, especially about the parental rights. Most of the Christians I know do not homeschool (like we do), but they should know this affects them as parents. Your article explained that well.
We are praying, signed the petition, e-mailed everyone about the petition and passed on your article too.
Although we do not homeschool, I so appreciate Jesse taking the time to research and write about this (and thank you Crystal for posting it). I truly believe there's so much more at stake than just 'homeschooling' and this really helped my dh and I to understand more of exactly what is going on. Thanks!
Debi
Thank you for taking the time to let everyone know and tell them what they can do.
Kayla
I appreciate your husband's willingness to read the case and give his opinion.
I have written a post on my blog encouraging others to sign the petition.
I have also written an article about homeschooling entitled 'Why aren't those kids in school?' and it was printed in local paper. It was well received and the paper is willing to print more like it.
These articles are designed to educate the local populous about homeschooling.
I couldn't agree with you more, that this battle starts at the grass roots. Even if my neighbors don't choose to homeschool, we are all better off if they understand its benefits, and my right to do it.
I also blogged about this issue, and provided links to both your blog article and the HSLDA petition. It is so important that we as parents retain our ability to be able to choose the education we believe is right for our children.
Thanks to you and Jessie, Crystal, for praying for us here in California and for the great post. I will send people over to read it! I'm blogging quite a lot about this right now, hopefully encouraging people to not be fearful as our sovereign God is still in control and can change the hearts of kings.
Blessings,
Carmon
Interesting reading. Thanks for your thoughts.
I signed the petition for sure, because I fully intend to home-school if I have any children of my own (we have two adopted children now). Although I was well-educated in public schools myself, I know that not everyone can be. I fully believe in the benefits of home education, because I SEE the affects on my second grader from his public school education currently. My husband and I have to help him un-learn so many incorrect things that he is taught at school. Teachers notes and letters from the principal have gross misspellings and horrible grammar mistakes. If I could afford to quit my job and stay home, I would!
I spend my weekends teaching him and his younger brother myself, because I know they will learn more and not feel pressured to be "cookie cutter" children. I am a home-school advocate for many reasons, but religion is not one of them, and I am a VERY liberal Democrat. Politics aside, I think parents need some freedoms when it comes to making decisions about their children, but I also think there should be some checks and balances in place. The abuse suffered by the eldest child in the California case is unexceptable, but it should not be related to how the children are educated. The issue should be making sure that parents are qualified to educate their children, and have the tools to do so if they please.
I am a mother of both Home schooled and Public schooled children. My children have experienced happier moments at home than at school since they have experienced harrassment at public school. I also continue to teach my children their school work once they are home again. Public school is not the end all be all. Therefore, I am still homeschooling. A teacher once told me that she does not have the time to teach my son because of a class of 30 children. So if I can give my child one on one education doesn't that have the child's best interest in mind? People tell me that my children are very mature. My preference is home schooling!!
Understand I don't relish saying "I told you so" but frequent readers here may remember a few months back when the issue of which states were good homeschool states came up and there were some responses to the effect of CA is a great homeschool state they give us 4 options! States should have nothing to say about anything to with our child period. So much for CA having an A as for as home schoolers - we must take nothing for granted and fight for our God given rights to raise our children.
Thanks so much, Crystal and Jesse, for supplying us with this information! I quoted you on my own site (and linked my readers here), encouraging them to sign the petition.
My father (for my family) and I have both signed the petition. And we are praying that God would intervene on behalf of His children in Cali. This is not the first time this threat has raised its ugly head, but God is always faithful.
Blessings,
stephen
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