Ca. courts says parents need teaching

[charliegirl]

origin.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_8486520

A California Appellate court ruling today says that parents who homeschool have to be credentialed teachers. I'm sure this will be dragged through the courts for a long time before its finsihed but it has the potential to affect homeschooling laws in every state.

[misty]

I actually agree with that ruling. With cyber school, you have accredited teachers even though they are taught at home, but with straight homeschooling, anyone can teach their children. I wouldn't be confident enough to home school, since my daughter would bypass my knowledge eventually. I think its a good idea that parents who home school be accredited.

[charliegirl]

Cyber school would be a great option but it shouldn't be the only one. It still controls the content of things which go against the parent's beliefs. It also isn't able to gear a learning disabled child's education to their unique needs.

There is no guarantee that they will keep the cyber schools. If their agenda is actually to make children go to public school, that will be easy enough for them to get rid of.

Many states don't allow cyber schooling so if they follow California, the only option is expensive private school. I firmly believe removing my son from school and homeschooling him last year is what made him capable of succeeding in school this year. If I couldn't have done that, I honestly think he would have had a nervous breakdown. NY doesn't allow cyber schools.

Enact stricter laws concerning homeschooling to make sure a child is getting an education but don't take away anyone's right to teach them until its proven that specific family isn't doing the job.

[misty]

So far 38 states have Cyber schools. They are part of the public school system.When I looked into Pa's cyber school I was told they'd take a child's IEP into consideration when planning the courses. Plus the child is still in the public school system & can take advantage of everything the public school offers.

Cyber school is growing along with technology. It can't be long until the rest of the states catch up.

That being said, I still think homeschooling parents should be accredited. I'm not saying they should have a full degree, but I think they should be mandated to take some classes before they start teaching their kids. I think they need to be held to some sort of standards.

[jj]

Oh boy, I don't agree with this ruling at all! This means parents would have to go through years of costly college to get those credentials. How could a parent ever pull their kid out of public school if they think their child isn't getting the education they need or is being mistreated? Would they have time to run out and get credentials. Of course not.

I think this would be a travesty if it is passed. Many parents are educated enough to teach their kids. If they graduated from high school then technically they are smart enough.

However, with that said, I do think there should be closer follow-up by the state to make sure the homeschooled child is learning as he or she should with exceptions made for learning disabilites, etc.

[lillian]

As a counselor, who works with children and adults who are survivors of domestic abuse and/or sexual assault, I commend this young man for bringing the charges against his father. It took great courage on his part to do so. Because of confidentiality, I cannot discuss my clients in depth, but I will tell you that parents, who are limited in their capacity to rear children in safe and stable homes, will and do remove their children from school to "home school" them, when, in fact, they are not providing any education for their children. These children grow to be adults with less than middle school educations, at best. More than once, I have searched for adult literacy and remediation programs for these once children who have become adults and dream of going to college but do not have the educational background to be able to pass a GED and do so. It's a sad reality of abuse, so, once again, I commend this young man for speaking up and holding his father responsible.

Somehow, some way, home schooling must be regulated. We need to know as a society concerned about a child's rights that the child is being given his/her right to an education, which is a right this country gives to ALL its children. I'm not sure that insisting a parent has a teacher's certificate is the way to do this, and I question how it's even possible on the high school level. In my state, there is not a general high school teaching certificate, as there is on the elementary (K-8) level. On the high school level, does that mean the parent needs to be certified in all the core subjects or will being certified in one core subject suffice?

I'm not against home schooling, and I have home schooled by own child, but I am a certified teacher. I know someone who home schools her children, and she has a serious language disability that effects her reading and writing. I question her ability to teach her children English. Sorry, but I do. She's a nice lady, and I like her very much, but I think she needs to understand that English isn't her subject. Unfortunately, I live in a state where home schooling is not regulated AT ALL, so she is her children's English teacher. Bad news for them!

And just to keep from sounding like a B, I wouldn't teach my child high school science. No way!

[lillian]

I did a search on Texas's home school regulations. Yeehaw! We basically don't have any. Yes, just use some kind of written curriculum and that will be fine:

www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Texas.pdf

[jj]

If the state would just have a parent take a test that covers all the basics that we learn in school and if they pass they can teach their child. If they fall short in some areas then the state could insist the child gets special tutoring or attend public classes in that area. For example, the test may show the parent has the knowledge to teach up to grade 4. That parent could start with homeschooling and meanwhile work to be up to snuff for grades 5-12 if they so choose.

I totally agree with Lillian that home schooling must be regulated, in some way. I know Kansas has little interest in home-schooled kids and I'm sure many kids end up with a sub-standard education.

I have 11 grand nieces and nephews (two are autistic, two ADHD) that are being home-schooled and I believe the education they are receiving far exceeds any education the public schools could have provided. I know all these Mom's have had college educations but I don't think accredited to teach.

On the other hand I have another family member who is homeschooling her daughter (ADHD(DX'd) and either bipolar or ODD)) and her Mom(college educated) is struggling with keeping her up with where she should be. Would this daughter be any better off being forced to attend public school because her Mom is not accredited to teach? I'm not to sure that would be the case.

Bottom line, I want to see every child get the best education they can without making it more difficult for a parent to home-school but rather provide support to the parent who wants to home-school.

[misty]

Mar 7, 2008 15:43:28 GMT -5 lillian said:

Somehow, some way, home schooling must be regulated. We need to know as a society concerned about a child's rights that the child is being given his/her right to an education, which is a right this country gives to ALL its children.

I agree.Lillian said it so much better than I did & I agree 100%. I don't think just anyone should be allowed to home school their kids. There has to be a way to ensure that the child is getting a good education.

[katiekat]

I have a friend who is going to home-school her daughter next year-the little girl is in Sean's class. Her reason is she believes they are not teaching her daughter enough and that the work is too easy. Anyway, although I really like her I feel that in no way is she qualified to home-school her child. She is a smart person but she is also a wreck. She is the very unorganized, forgetful, and stressed to the max. She is a single mother and works as a fitness instructor. When I asked her what she plans on doing with her daughter while she's working she told me they have day care at the fitness center. This is just one of her 3 jobs that she has. This is not home-schooling as far as I'm concerned, I don't see when she is going to have any time to teach her anything. I think that home-schooling should be monitored somehow. At the end of each school year the kids should be tested to see if they are up to grade level and are actually learning. Where I live there are no regulations. I honestly don't see how it's even legal. I know that I am in no way qualified to teach my kids-Joe's 6th grade math is already way beyond me. Like everything, there are exceptions but overall I do not agree with home-schooling unless there is monitoring and regulations.