This is why I Homeschool

There are a lot of reasons why my LW and I decided to Homeschool the Horde.

Incurring additional debt by purchasing curricula was not one of them.

Having a cluttered home was not one of them.

Forcing my LW to have no eight hours a day, nine months "down-time" a year was not one of them.

But every year, the National Education Association reminds me of a long, long list of reasons. They just did it again.

Here is the original article.

Aside: for those who are unaware, the NEA is the largest teachers union in the USA. They are the 900-pound gorilla that sits in judgment upon all who dare question so-called Public Education. (And believe me, some of them really ARE 900-pound gorillas. But I digress.)

A few weeks ago, the NEA held their annual national convention. Every year as part of this convention they spend time passing resolutions, as well as preparing their platform of ideals and official policies. One would assume that these resolutions, ideals, and policies dealt with public education and the education of our children.

One would be so wrong as to not be able to even see the Light of correctness from where one stood.

The first line of the article gives you a pretty good idea of the attendees' attitudes: "Delegates sported buttons with provocative slogans such as 'Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot!,' 'Hate is not a family value,' 'The "Christian Right" is neither' and 'Gay Rights are civil rights.'"

Yep.

It all went downhill from there.

You see, the NEA truly desires diversity. Which one would assume to be a good thing, except when you consider that all "diversity" means is "pro-homosexual." That's it. Sexual orientation and so-called "gender identification" are now discussions for pre-schoolers.

Thats right, I said pre-schoolers. Fingerpaints, graham crackers, and why Billy has two daddies.

"But wait!" I hear you say. "These issues are related to education."

Oh really? It's necessary to teach my children about homosexuality before they can read?

What would Mr. Chips say?

Need more convincing? How about supporting statehood for the District of Columbia? Urging support for and ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty? Gun control? How about "the right to reproductive freedom," and "the use of nonsexist language"?

Or this little gem from the article: "The NEA even urges its affiliates to work for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment." The article's author points out that the "ERA was declared dead by the U.S. Supreme Court 26 years ago."

Not that all the above-described Socialist sputum and progressive pap does not offend me. Far from it. But the position I take as a personal attack on my freedoms is the vitriolic opposition the NEA puts forth against ANY form of competition posed toward public schools.

Vouchers? Racist.

Tax credits? Nope.

Homeschoolers? Uneducated hicks with no training teaching their own children? No freakin' way. (You never know, after all, the kinds of things they may be teaching their children. They may even use [gasp] THE BIBLE as a textbook!)

The NEA opposes homeschooling unless children are taught by state-licensed teachers using a state-approved curriculum. The NEA wants to bar homeschooled students from participating in any extracurricular activities in public schools even though their parents pay school taxes.

That's right, boys and girls. A parent no longer has the capacity to know what is best for their child/children unless they are trained by the state Big Brother The State.

It doesn't stop there, either.

The NEA wants every child, regardless of age, to have “direct and confidential access, without notification to parents, to comprehensive health education. That would include things such as learning how to use condoms for premarital sex, as well as social and psychological programs and services.”

The NEA wants public schools to take over the physical and mental care of students through school clinics that provide services, diagnosis, treatment, family-planning counseling, and access to birth control methods “with instruction in their use.” Family planning clinics are called on to “provide intensive counseling.”

Did you catch the key phrases? "without notification to parents" and "regardless of age."

What is wrong with these people? Why and how are they getting away with espousing and teaching our children things with which, honestly, the majority of American citizens disagree.

What's wrong with them? That's an entire blog entry in itself. (Aside: briefly put, I would not argue with mental illness. I would also not argue with Evil. (and yes, that's "Evil" with a capital "E.")) Why and how are they doing it? Putting aside the "what's wrong" question for a moment, I think they have been given free reign for so long that they have completely lost sight of what they are about.

Remember the "3 R's"? Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic? They are no more.

Abortion, Birth Control, and Diversity are the new "A-B-C-D's."

When is society going to wake up and take our children back? They are OUR children after all, not The State's. When will it be too late?

I suspect we are getting close to the tipping point right now.

Look, I don't really care whether you agree with Homeschooling or not. I recognize your right to choose how to educate your child. But please whatever you choose, choose well. And know what it is you're choosing. Don't just accept it simply because accepting it is simple. In essence, it goes to your children's Liberty.

Remember: once something is put into these empty little vessels, it is very hard--if not impossible--to get that something out again.

And believe me, the other side knows that.

That's what they are counting on to survive.