Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[World Net Daily]

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today blasted a court ruling that endangered homeschooling and homeschoolers statewide.

“Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what’s best for their children,” the governor said in a prepared statement. “Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children’s education.”

“This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don’t protect parents’ rights then,as elected officials, we will,” he said.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Even the Terminator gets it. My words to the California Courts–”We’ll be back!”

What do you think?

[Family News in Focus]

In one year Alabama jumped from 22^nd in the country to fifth. But interestingly the test scores didn’t change all that much. Alabama, like many other states, is simply redefining what it means to be successful. The temptation to fudge the scores to meet the required progress in federal law is too much for some states to overcome. Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute says his state could not resist.

“Under No Child Left Behind we’re showing about 65 percent of fourth graders being proficient at reading. When you look at the NAEP scores that goes down to about 30 percent.”

NAEP is a private standardized test most schools take to gauge progress. Palmer says the National Governors Association is implementing another voluntary standard to measure the graduation rate.

“Instead of an eleven percent dropout rate what the new standard will show is that Alabama’s dropout rate is somewhere between 35 and 40 percent.”

Kevin Carey of the Education Sector says Alabama is particularly adept at changing the definition of success.

“And really when you look underneath the test scores, it’s not because the students are learning more, it’s just because the state has gamed the system particularly well.”

Read about it here.

A state appeals court has decided California parents without teaching credentials do not have a right to home-school their children.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals ruling could affect up to 200,000 home-schooled students in the state.

“The court is guilty of an imperious assault on the rights of parents,” said Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family. “How dare these judges have the audacity to label tens of thousands of parents criminals — the equivalent to drug dealers or pickpockets — because they want to raise and educate their children according to their deeply held values?

“The case before them involved one couple — the ruling should have been confined to that one couple, not used to punish an entire class of people, the vast majority of them religious conservatives.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

For those who think the government is the answer to the ills of the world–think again! I spent 2 years teaching in the public school system and it was one of the better schools in my state. We had lots of NASA engineer children. You can’t get any smarter than a “rocket scientist.” We had great parental involvement. If you were looking or a school for your children, this was one of the top 5 in the state. But because of discipline issues and the fact that the Principal wanted the school to have the appearance of being successful we fudged grades. I taught 2 Senior Economics/Government classes and was told by my Principal to give my failing students extra credit or whatever it took to allow them to graduate. I didn’t think that was right but he reminded me I was non-tenured. That is one of the reasons I left teaching to enter the business world.

I feel for teachers. Most are dedicated and loved what they did when they entered the profession. I would say 99% of them want to teach but they are not allowed. When you have over 30 students how can you effectively teach each one? What is going on in Alabama is going on everywhere. Teachers are being forced to teach for “TESTS!” It is not about education anymore, it is about politics and looking good.

So we can’t trust the government only to educate our children. If schools are educating so well, why do I always hear complaints from parents about all of the homework? Shouldn’t the education be occurring at school? Why should a student come home from being at school for 8 hours and have to spend another 2 to 3 hours doing work at home?

I’m sure there are some fantastic schools around. Even if 99% of the schools were doing great jobs in educating children, what right does the government have in telling a parent how to educate their children? Parents know what is best for their children not politicians! If someone wants to send their children to public or private school–great! But if they want to home educate then they should be allowed to do that too!

What do you think?

[Christian Post]

Tens of thousands of parents could be subject to criminal sanctions after a California appeals court ruled parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children.

“Are you kidding me?” said Kevin McCullough, conservative radio talk show host, on Thursday.

The court ruled last week that minor children must attend a public school unless the child attends a private school or is taught by a teacher with a valid state teaching license. And religious convictions of families do not guarantee a right to homeschool their children.

Parents must have teaching credentials to educate their kids at home.

“This decision is a direct hit against every homeschooler in California,” said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which represents the Sunland Christian School, which specializes in religious home schooling. “If the state Supreme Court does not reverse this . . . there will be nothing to prevent homeschool witch hunts from being implemented in every corner of the state of California,” as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

The institute estimates there are 166,000 California students who are homeschooled.

The ruling stems from a case involving Phillip and Mary Long, parents of eight children. One of the children reported “physical and emotional mistreatment by the children’s father.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

This is a load of bunk! Are there bad parents who homeschool? Yes. Are there parents who homeschool for the wrong reason? Yes. But for that reason you throw out the other 99% who want a better education for their children than they can get where they live? There are predators in schools. There is overcrowding. It isn’t safe in a lot of schools.

My wife home educates our two children. We don’t do it to shelter them. We don’t do it to hide anything. We do it because we believe it is our job to prepare our children for the future. We have considered Christian or Private schools but we don’t have the money. Homeschooling is not a bunch of ladies wearing long dresses and hair in a bun. My wife is a vibrant, beautiful, college educated, Godly woman who has a conviction that she has been called to homeschool our children. Our children get lots of socialization though homeschool co-ops. In fact in this part of Charlotte most of those that homeschool could afford private school but do it to “CUSTOMIZE” their child’s education. When we lived in Atlanta the opportunities were even greater.

Do we thing everyone should do it? NO! It is up to each family to decide. But what gives the government to tell parents how to raise their children? This is so wrong.

What do you think?

[BBC News]

A gay Christian who won a claim against the Church of England has been awarded more than £47,000 in compensation. John Reaney took the Hereford diocesan board of finance to an employment tribunal after his appointment as a youth worker was blocked. Bishop of Hereford Anthony Priddis has apologized and gay rights group Stonewall said the “substantial compensation” sent a clear message. Mr Reaney, from Colwyn Bay, Conwy, said he was delighted the case was over.

“Lesbian and gay Christians working within the Church of England are entitled to be treated with humanity,” said Mr Reaney, 42.

“I’m very grateful to Stonewall for supporting this case throughout.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

Why isn’t a church allowed to operate according to the teachings of the Bible?

What do you think?

[Boston.com]

What to do when the rain won’t come? If you’re Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, you pray. The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief from the drought gripping the Southeast.

“The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power,” Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday. Perdue’s office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday.

Perdue has several times mentioned the need for prayer — along with water conservation — as the state’s drought crisis has worsened. Over the summer, he participated in day of prayer for agriculture at a gathering of the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon, Ga. Perdue, a Baptist, has enjoyed strong support from Georgia’s Christian conservatives.

Read about it here.

[From me]

This should be fun. Sonny is the real deal. He even teaches a Bible Study at a church in metro Atlanta. Before people blast him he has opened it up to people of all faith. Maybe we could have a prayer off?

What do you think?