A Tale of Two Brothers

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the age of a seven-year-old’s wisdom, it is the age of teenaged crankiness, it is the epoch of belief in dad’s infallibility, it is the epoch of disgust with dad’s abject incompetence, it is the season of light-hearted giggles over a burp, it is the season of dark storm clouds because the electric pencil sharpener is too loud, it is the hope of spring, it is the despair of winter, it is a day filled with eagerness for a full slate of lessons, it is a day filled with dread for a full slate of lessons, it is a child approaching his schoolwork with a Heavenly disposition, it is a child approaching his schoolwork from the other direction – in short, it is a tale of two homeschooled brothers, and one of them just entered puberty.

Oy.

When this morning’s peace and tranquility was shattered by raised voices in the basement, it was due to General Mayhem complaining that the electric pencil sharpener was too loud and his sister could not hear the Mickey Mouse Club. That was rational. She was so focused on Goofy’s Olympics (he earned a gold medal in Rake Stepping – nobody takes a rake handle to the schnozzle like Goofy) that she clearly did not hear the offending clatter. That didn't matter to the General.  I like the fact that the General is protective of his little sister. Now all I have to do is redirect his protectiveness towards stranger danger and away from the eminent threat of loud electric devices. To date, the only threat from a pointy stylus in the hands of Major Havoc is to the correct spelling of the English language.

I sent the oldest boy back to bed. Fourteen hour’s worth of sleep obviously did not do the job. A fifteenth hour was needed. When he re-entered the day it was with a cherry disposition that allowed him to get so engrossed in an excerpt from Robinson Crusoe that he read both today’s and tomorrow’s entry and then asked for me to buy the novel for him to read. Meanwhile, the Major had completed 5/8 of his work was itching to begin the next eighth.

I wrote that last line for the Boss. Nothing says “I love you” like fractions.

So goes the tale of two brothers. Major Havoc asks to begin his school work when his feet hit the floor in the morning. General Mayhem would prefer to begin his lessons after lunch and conclude them five minutes later, finished or not. I don’t really care when he begins his lessons, as long as he has completed them satisfactorily before I start cooking dinner, long before we need to leave for evening activities. It will be interesting to discover where the Captain fits into this mix when she starts classes here next year.

Taking Out the Trash is NOT a Triathlon Event

I really don’t want to jinx myself by writing anything too positive, but this has been one of the best months of homeschooling we’ve had in six years of home education. One of the reasons is the success of the homeschooling running club that I started with Twisted Sister. Knowing Twisted the way I do, I don’t quite understand why she is a “Twisted Sister.” I’ve never heard her singing We’re Not Gonna Take It, although I have seen her running through her back yard early in the morning chasing her chickens while dressed like Dee Snider. Knowing Twisted the way I do, I understand why she runs the Eat, Fart, and Bark. She homeschools three boys. Need I say more?

While driving to her house for a play date last July, it occurred to me that we needed to start a running club to provide a quality physical education component to our homeschool as well as give the kids time to interact with other homeschoolers. I should mention here and now that the play date was for the children. When I mentioned my idea to Twisted, she told me that she had wanted to do something like this for years but could not find anyone to help her. Within three days we had the “club” formed, with a schedule of practices, 5K races, liability release forms, and a website.  Twisted doesn’t waste time when she wants to get something completed.

It isn’t a club, really. There is nothing exclusive about it except that it is designed for homeschoolers. Since we meet three mornings each week for 90 minutes of exercise, it’s difficult for our public and private school brethren to attend. We stretch, run for 45-50 minutes, and then play running games. The running is limited to those kids between the ages of 12 and 18. The running games involve all the kids, so we have children between the ages of 5 and 18 running pell-mell through the park during British Bulldog, clothespin tag, etc. Non-running parents watch the younger non-running children on the playground while the running parents watch the backs of the runners as they disappear over the horizon. Twisted was a competitive athlete and is a degreed P.E. type person, so like brick-and-mortar school gym classes we have a knowledgeable trainer. Unlike brick-and-mortar school gym classes, we never have children attend class unprepared to run because they forgot to dress for gym class. No one leaves their running shoes at home.

The other reason why we are experiencing success at the beginning of the school year is because of my two main charges, the General and the Major. The General is exceedingly pleasant due in part to the slower work pace that we started with this year and his gratitude at being home again. I don’t know how long that gratitude will last, but I will enjoy the resulting peace and cooperation. The Major is a pure pleasure to teach. He is happy, eager, smart, and funny. Once we get past the obligatory “Can I play video games? Can I watch TV? I think I need to check on the chickens. Did I just hear someone at the front door? Can we do this tomorrow? My brain is full. I don’t have room for more knowledge. I don’t want to do school work!” Gatling gun gripe session, he’s a delight. And since he recently lost a front tooth, the gap in his smile combined with all those freckles makes him just a cute little guy.

My kids love the running club. Major Havoc and Captain Chaos enjoy 90 minutes of play, three days each week. They are with children their own age. Some of the play is structured. Most of it is not. General Mayhem’s initial reluctance to run was replaced by eagerness after the club started. His endurance is building, although I do believe that he is correct in his assertions that he is built for short distance running and not longer races. Now I must convince him that walking the garbage cans to the curb once a week is not a triathlon event!

Meet a New Homeschooler and the Answer to the Bug Question

I’ve discovered a brand new homeschooler and a brand new homeschool blogger. Head over (Not now! Wait until you’re finished here.) to It’s A Grand Adventure and meet Beth, “a teacher of my three children as we embark on this Homeschooling Adventure.” Beth has exactly seven blog entries, so it wasn’t hard to catch up on her new adventures in homeschooling. If you are so inclined, leave her a word or two of support.


I have the answer to the most frequently asked question last week, “Why did Captain Chaos return home with a bug in a jar?” The answer is, “We’re not quite sure.” One of the therapists at Apathy Elementary brings in bugs to show her students. That’s pretty cool. Last Wednesday she brought a Praying Mantis to class. She must have a genuine interest in bugology. That doesn’t explain why the Captain bugged out of school with a ground beetle in a peanut butter jar. There is a good chance that she told the therapist that the insect was “my best friend.” Recently, Miss Chaos has a lot of “best friends.” A sympathetic teacher might allow a child to bring home the bug under such circumstances. It might be that the Captain is a bugnapper, and simply absconded with the critter. I had fears that she was strolling down the hallway when she noticed the beetle sitting on a desk in some first or second grade classroom and simply took the jar. The reason that the paras did not know how she took ownership of the Spongopus verticalis is because the Captain was in therapy for three hours. She spent no time in her preschool classroom. Either way, the pictures show that If You Give a Girl a Bug, you have a very happy girl!


Yesterday, General Mayhem read Psalm 23 to his younger brother. Later in the day, I asked Major Havoc if he remembered the Psalm.


Did the General read to you from the Bible this morning?

“Yes.”

Did he read Psalm 23?

“I think so.”

Do you remember the Psalm?

“I’m not sure.”

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall…

“Have no comment!” he interjected, his face lighting up in recognition.

Psalm 23, aka the 5th Amendment!


General Mayhem asked me for help with proportions in math today. He told me that he did not understand what he read in the book. I sat next to him and read the lesson out loud. He breezed through the exercise after that point. I observed to him that his learning style was similar to his mother’s. His strength is not reading out of a text and comprehending what he reads. His strength is in listening to a thorough explanation and calculating some examples.


“That’s why I struggled so much at school last year. The explanation just wasn’t that good.”

It was an interesting observation for him to make. It also explains a little about why he wanted to return to homeschooling this year. At least in math, the classroom setting did not work well for him. I am glad that he realized what he needed and told us when he did.

Breaking the Mirror

Has it ever occurred to you that the recipient of a college diploma is not necessarily well educated? A diploma looks the same whether the student maintained a 2.0 or a 4.0 grade point average. Certainly, the college transcripts look different, and there are a few employers who actually look at them. By and large, the benchmark for employment is the sheepskin. Have diploma, will hire. So, it is understandable that the vast majority of parents in this country want the people teaching their children to have more than just a college education. They want a little extra, too. The teaching candidate must pass a state-issued examination. Only then can they be called “teacher.” Only then can they receive a license to teach. Only then can they be deemed by the government as qualified to teach children.

Even with all of this required education and testing, school systems nationwide have problems. In fact, some have severe problems, problems that homeschooling families wish to avoid and problems that homeschooling critics wish to ignore. These problems are well documented in print and visual media, on-line, and over the air waves. No matter how many times we hear that US schools are dropping in the rankings of schools world-wide, we hear homeschooling critics insist that all children should attend public school. No matter how many stories we hear about middle school and high school students distributing nude photos of girls via cell phones and school laptop computers, we also hear public educators raise concerns that home schooled children are not properly socialized. It does not matter how many teachers make the list of sexual predators who have raped students, opponents of homeschooling seem more concerned about what happens within the walls of a home school than what happens within the walls of our nation’s public schools. Inherent in the desire to shine light into the houses where homeschoolers reside is the belief that there is something evil that must be exposed. In short, no matter how poorly public schools perform, supporters continue to believe that those public schools are head and shoulders above any other choice.

While problems exist, the vast majority of our public schools are safe. The majority of our public school teachers are dedicated people who truly believe in helping children. A student who attends classes each day, works attentively, completes her homework, and studies hard can receive a good education. The difference between students who fail and students who excel is often their parents. It is true more often than it is not that parents who are actively involved in their children’s lives - who instill the value of a good education and force their children to work hard at their studies - are the parents of successful students. Strong, effective parenting can mean the difference between students who do drugs and those who do not. An involved parent can make the difference between a student who distributes pornographic pictures of herself to her friends and a student who does not. It is equally true that there are no better examples of active parenting than in the homeschooling community. The results of study after study reveal that homeschooled children outperform their peers on academic tests at all levels. Home schoolers typically give up a second income and many luxuries in life in order to provide a high quality education and sound instruction in morals, values, and faith. Homeschoolers choose to do this while paying taxes to the public school system and asking for nothing in return, except to be left alone to pursue their academic freedom.

A question remains in the great debate between those who would abolish home education and those who support academic freedom. Why would citizens who support public education deny the freedom of home education to their fellow citizens, when the home educators do not harm them in any manner? Sonny Scott, writing in a Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal article titled, “Home-schoolers Threaten Our Cultural Comfort,” offered one good reason why homeschooling is disliked.

Why do we hate (or at least distrust) these people so much?Their very existence represents a rejection of our values, and an indictment of our lifestyles. Those families are willing to render unto Caesar the things that Caesar’s be, but they draw the line at their children. Those of us who have put our trust in the secular state (and effectively surrendered our children to it) recognize this act of defiance as a rejection of our values, and we reject them in return.

When confronted with a message that is uncomfortable to hear, it is human nature to attack the messenger. When confronted with an uncomfortable image, many people turn away. Parents who see the failing state of public education yet place their children in that system anyway see a homeschooler’s rejection of public education as a judgment of their values. Parents who see instances of sexual abuse in their schools and still choose to send their children to those schools see a homeschooler’s rejection of that option as a judgment of their parenting. The public school teacher who hears home educators say, “No thank you, we can do it better at home,” hears a rejection of his or her professional competence. And what makes that rejection even more offensive to the teacher is that it comes from individuals whom they consider grossly unqualified—parents who are not tested, not certified, and not licensed by the state. The success of homeschooling is a mirror which reflects the state of public education to the greater community. It is no wonder that so many people want to break the mirror. It is easier to ignore a problem than to turn an introspective eye and correct what needs to be corrected.

More than ever, homeschoolers need to stand firm in the defense of academic freedom. We need to fight to protect homeschooling as an option for all Americans. While doing so, we must meet our detractors with grace. We must listen to their arguments with love. Our communities are hurting. We must assure them that while we may not agree, we respect their right to educate their children as they choose. All that we ask is the same in return. We should be allowed the freedom to educate our children at home.

(Permission to reprint Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss.)

Now They'll Complain About Socialization

Allow me to join the hundreds of homeschool bloggers celebrating the great news by sharing this e-mail from the HSLDA...

New Nationwide Study Confirms Homeschool Academic Achievement
Ian SlatterDirector of Media Relations
August 10, 2009

Each year, the homeschool movement graduates at least 100,000 students. Due to the fact that both the United States government and homeschool advocates agree that homeschooling has been growing at around 7% per annum for the past decade, it is not surprising that homeschooling is gaining increased attention. Consequently, many people have been asking questions about homeschooling, usually with a focus on either the academic or social abilities of homeschool graduates.

As an organization advocating on behalf of homeschoolers, Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) long ago committed itself to demonstrating that homeschooling should be viewed as a mainstream educational alternative.

We strongly believe that homeschooling is a thriving education movement capable of producing millions of academically and socially able students who will have a tremendously positive effect on society.

Despite much resistance from outside the homeschool movement, whether from teachers unions, politicians, school administrators, judges, social service workers, or even family members, over the past few decades homeschoolers have slowly but surely won acceptance as a mainstream education alternative. This has been due in part to the commissioning of research which demonstrates the academic success of the average homeschooler.

The last piece of major research looking at homeschool academic achievement was completed in 1998 by Dr. Lawrence Rudner. Rudner, a professor at the ERIC Clearinghouse, which is part of the University of Maryland, surveyed over 20,000 homeschooled students. His study, titled Home Schooling Works, discovered that homeschoolers (on average) scored about 30 percentile points higher than the national average on standardized achievement tests.

This research and several other studies supporting the claims of homeschoolers have helped the homeschool cause tremendously. Today, you would be hard pressed to find an opponent of homeschooling who says that homeschoolers, on average, are poor academic achievers.

There is one problem, however. Rudner’s research was conducted over a decade ago. Without another look at the level of academic achievement among homeschooled students, critics could begin to say that research on homeschool achievement is outdated and no longer relevant.

Recognizing this problem, HSLDA commissioned Dr. Brian Ray, an internationally recognized scholar and president of the non-profit National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), to collect data for the 2007–08 academic year for a new study which would build upon 25 years of homeschool academic scholarship conducted by Ray himself, Rudner, and many others.

Drawing from 15 independent testing services, the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics included 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states who took three well-known tests—California Achievement Test, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, and Stanford Achievement Test for the 2007–08 academic year. The Progress Report is the most comprehensive homeschool academic study ever completed.

The Results

Overall the study showed significant advances in homeschool academic achievement as well as revealing that issues such as student gender, parents’ education level, and family income had little bearing on the results of homeschooled students.

There was little difference between the results of homeschooled boys and girls on core scores.
Boys—87th percentile

Girls—88th percentile

Household income had little impact on the results of homeschooled students.

$34,999 or less—85th percentile

$35,000–$49,999—86th percentile

$50,000–$69,999—86th percentile

$70,000 or more—89th percentile

The education level of the parents made a noticeable difference, but the homeschooled children of non-college educated parents still scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average.

Neither parent has a college degree—83rd percentile

One parent has a college degree—86th percentile

Both parents have a college degree—90th percentile

Whether either parent was a certified teacher did not matter.

Certified (i.e., either parent ever certified)—87th percentile

Not certified (i.e., neither parent ever certified)—88th percentile

Parental spending on home education made little difference.

Spent $600 or more on the student—89th percentile

Spent under $600 on the student—86th percentile

The extent of government regulation on homeschoolers did not affect the results.

Low state regulation—87th percentile

Medium state regulation—88th percentile

High state regulation—87th percentile

HSLDA defines the extent of government regulation this way:

States with low regulation: No state requirement for parents to initiate any contact or State requires parental notification only.

States with moderate regulation: State requires parents to send notification, test scores, and/or professional evaluation of student progress.

State with high regulation: State requires parents to send notification or achievement test scores and/or professional evaluation, plus other requirements (e.g. curriculum approval by the state, teacher qualification of parents, or home visits by state officials).

The question HSLDA regularly puts before state legislatures is, “If government regulation does not improve the results of homeschoolers why is it necessary?”

In short, the results found in the new study are consistent with 25 years of research, which show that as a group homeschoolers consistently perform above average academically. The Progress Report also shows that, even as the numbers and diversity of homeschoolers have grown tremendously over the past 10 years, homeschoolers have actually increased the already sizeable gap in academic achievement between themselves and their public school counterparts-moving from about 30 percentile points higher in the Rudner study (1998) to 37 percentile points higher in the Progress Report (2009).

As mentioned earlier, the achievement gaps that are well-documented in public school between boys and girls, parents with lower incomes, and parents with lower levels of education are not found among homeschoolers. While it is not possible to draw a definitive conclusion, it does appear from all the existing research that homeschooling equalizes every student upwards. Homeschoolers are actually achieving every day what the public schools claim are their goals—to narrow achievement gaps and to educate each child to a high level.

Of course, an education movement which consistently shows that children can be educated to a standard significantly above the average public school student at a fraction of the cost—the average spent by participants in the Progress Report was about $500 per child per year as opposed to the public school average of nearly $10,000 per child per year—will inevitably draw attention from the K-12 public education industry.

Answering the Critics

This particular study is the most comprehensive ever undertaken. It attempts to build upon and improve on the previous research. One criticism of the Rudner study was that it only drew students from one large testing service. Although there was no reason to believe that homeschoolers participating with that service were automatically non-representative of the broader homeschool community, HSLDA decided to answer this criticism by using 15 independent testing services for this new study. There can be no doubt that homeschoolers from all walks of life and backgrounds participated in the Progress Report.

While it is true that not every homeschooler in America was part of this study, it is also true that the Progress Report provides clear evidence of the success of homeschool programs.
The reason is that all social science studies are based on samples. The goal is to make the sample as representative as possible because then more confident conclusions can be drawn about the larger population. Those conclusions are then validated when other studies find the same or similar results.

Critics tend to focus on this narrow point and maintain that they will not be satisfied until every homeschooler is submitted to a test. This is not a reasonable request because not all homeschoolers take standardized achievement tests. In fact, while the majority of homeschool parents do indeed test their children simply to track their progress and also to provide them with the experience of test-taking, it is far from a comprehensive and universal practice among homeschoolers.

The best researchers can do is provide a sample of homeschooling families and compare the results of their children to those of public school students, in order to give the most accurate picture of how homeschoolers in general are faring academically.

The concern that the only families who chose to participate are the most successful homeschoolers can be alleviated by the fact that the overwhelming majority of parents did not know their children's test results before agreeing to participate in the study.

HSLDA believes that this study along with the several that have been done in the past are clear evidence that homeschoolers are succeeding academically.

Final Thought

Homeschooling is making great strides and hundreds of thousands of parents across America are showing every day what can be achieved when parents exercise their right to homeschool and make tremendous sacrifices to provide their children with the best education available.

It's a Homeschool Again!

I was returning home from Karate practice last night when I noticed the message board on the sign in front of the Apathy fire house. The sign might be for the Apathy prison, too. One sits in front of the other. I drive past the sign regularly but I have no idea which organization owns it. The message informed me that registration for the 2009-2010 Apathy school year was on the last day of July.

Oops. I guess I missed that deadline.

Ironically, Sunday morning I mailed notices to the superintendent of the Apathy School District and to the principal of Apathy Middle School, informing them that I was withdrawing General Mayhem from school. I used the generic withdrawal form supplied by the Home School Legal Defense Association. I love using HSLDA letterhead to send a message to the school district. It screams, “Mess with me, I dare you!” Apparently, the forms have not arrived yet. Twenty minutes ago I received a phone call from the registrar of the middle school. She wanted to know if the General was returning for classes this year.

Nope.

I have not written much about home schooling. Last year was a very difficult homeschooling year that saw all three children in our local public school for a brief period of time. The general was in for the longest time, and when he was discharged for the summer he told the Boss and me that he wanted to return to the middle school this year. I was disappointed. The decision was not solely his to make, but his desire to return would make the decision on whether or not to homeschool that much more difficult. Fortunately, letting go of the issue and allowing God to work in our lives paid off. Rather than forcing a decision, we just enjoyed our summer.

Long before the school year ended we decided that the General would complete his Saxon7/6 math curriculum over the summer break. His math grades plummeted after he started at the middle school. The math instruction hop scotched through the textbook in what was obviously an attempt to teach to the state mandated tests last March. The remaining instruction time between March and May was used to fill in the concepts that had been skipped throughout the school year. We strongly felt that regardless of where he attended school this year, we needed to re-teach sixth grade math if the General had any hope of understanding math at the next higher level.

Last month, at the end of a particularly fun math lesson, I teased the General. “Are you enjoying working with me on math as much as I am enjoying working with you?” I asked.

He smiled. “Yeah.”

“So, are you ready to stay home and home school this year?”

He smiled again. “Yeah.”

My jaw hit the floor. Instead of my getting a rise out of him, he had me speechless. It was obvious by his tone that he was sincere. I allowed a couple of weeks to pass before I seriously pursued the topic. He did not change his answer after I asked him if he was serious about homeschooling. Not only was he enjoying our work together, but he had rediscovered the joys of school work in jammies at the kitchen table after sleeping in. That was enough for him.
Several conversations took place before we made the final decision. The General is returning to the home school. I am thrilled. This is the way it is supposed to be. The Major will be home again (and if he karate chops his teacher this year there will be consequences!). Only the Captain will return to the elementary school, but that will be for two mornings each week and only for the purpose of receiving speech and occupational therapy. I promise that if there is one case of swine flu at that school this year, she is out of there!

We are collecting the last of the curriculum needed for the seventh grade school year (we already have the Major’s and the Captain’s curriculum), and completing some basement work to move the classroom into a new location. I am looking forward to a challenging school year where I will be teaching three children full time. I am looking forward to participating in a homeschooling running club that I started with Twisted Sister, a regular reader of BiB and a homeschooling mother of three. It will provide a regular opportunity for our younger two to meet with and play with other homeschoolers in the area while the older kids run. We’ll be participating in four 5K races this fall. If that doesn’t shed some pounds, nothing will.

Somewhere in Illinois, Prodoceo will be dancing!

Guest Column #1

In light of Arby's computer having committed virtual Hari Kari, today’s entry was written by retired teacher and local 46 shop steward, Mr. Iggy Noramus.

Alright you heathens. You uneducated slobs. You know who you are. You’re members of the great unwashed masses of homeschoolers who have not received your diplomas or your state certificates or your blessing from the local chapter of the NEA, but you still have the audacity to think that you are qualified to teach your own children. Except for Kelliann, of course. She taught. And Kathleen. She taught. And then there’s Arby. He has six or seven years in the classroom. I cannot forget Prodoceo. She started teaching back before chalk was invented and her oldest just graduated with a 4.0 from Northern Illinois University. But the rest of you, and you know who you are, you’d better listen up! You think you know what you’re doing with your Apologia Science and you’re A Beka history and your Saxon Mathematics. You uppity Johnny-come-latelys. I bet you even resort to using one of those gimmicky, prefabricated worksheets that you can buy in a book at Walmart or download from some website like edhelpers.com. I’m here to tell you that teachers, real teachers, teachers with a pedigree and a license and a local 46 union card would never resort to such material. Well, unless they teach Math at Apathy Middle School. Then an edhelper.com worksheet is just fine. Sometimes teachers, real teachers, are so busy with taking attendance and handling discipline and distributing condoms that they don’t have the time to create a worksheet for math review. Then an edhelper worksheet is just fine.

Now, the rest of you, you snobitty snobs who think you’re so high and mighty because you actually look over your children’s papers and check them for accuracy and errors, you need to accept some facts. Professional teachers, real teachers, are busy people. They have lots of responsibilities. Deadlines to meet, state assessments to assess. Sometimes these real teachers just don’t have the time to collect and grade every student’s paper. Sometimes we put the answers on the overhead projector, making the students self-correct their papers, and then quiz them on those self-corrected problems by having them copy the problem from their homework sheet onto the test. Don’t look at the fact that students aren’t being required to demonstrate mathematical mastery by calculating a full set of equations. This method of instruction and testing is perfectly sound, rooted in pedagogy, and should not be attempted at home by amateurs. Leave this to the professionals.

Any evidence that Mr. Arby might have seen, or that the oh-I’m-so-smart-because-I-have-an-engineering-MS-degree-wife of his claims to have seen of a dramatic drop in General Mayhem's math scores since entering public school is coincidental. One or two more years of Apathy Middle School instruction should clearly demonstrate consistent “C” level work, a far better indication of the General’s ability than one of those Iowa tests. Can’t trust those results. Arby might have given him the answers.

You just need to accept that an education provided by a certified, card carrying union represented professional teacher is far superior to anything you can do at home, thank you very much. Harrumph!

Dangling Some Red Meat

A fellow blogger, in graciously announcing my return to the blogosphere, wrote, “If the state of education is something you get worked up about easily, then Arby's new blog is so far about 75% red meat. They're planning on going back to homeschooling right quick.” I read that with a hearty laugh. Am I highly critical of the state of public education? Yes, I am. I make no apologies. As a parent, a tax payer, and a former public school teacher, I am concerned. I have good reason to be. Still, my blog is far from simply red meat dangling in front of a snapping pack of public school hating homeschoolers looking for anything that supports their preconceived notions about education. I was dragged into homeschool apologetics kicking and screaming by fellow blogger Prodoceo. There are people who are not able to and should not try to homeschool their children. Public school education is a viable option for them. Those who can homeschool their children should. After our brief foray into the Apathy School District, we will return to homeschooling on May 23rd, one day after the school district releases for the summer.

Why? Well, since you asked…

The genius who confiscated General Mayhem’s school supplies to ensure that he would be prepared for only one class each day has a policy that students may not bring home major writing assignments and complete them at home. Students are to work on their assignments in class only. When he assigned the last major writing assignment of the year, a research paper on a career, this teacher required all of his students to bring home a “Note to Parents.” This note described the assignment, provided due dates for each part of the assignment (outline, bibliography cards, etc.) and required a parent’s signature. One line read, “I will encourage and supervise him or her in the timely completion of each part of this assignment.” I am still waiting for this teacher to explain to me how I was supposed to supervise my child in the timely completion of the assignment when the General was not allowed to bring his assignment home. So far, that e-mail remains unanswered.

This problem came to my attention after the General failed to hand in his completed paper on time. I was ready to strangle the boy. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. I asked him every day for weeks how his assignment was coming. He told me he was working on it in class. He had plenty of time to complete it at home. Had I been allowed to supervise him the paper would have been completed on time.

It also appears that this teacher has a policy about not collecting, grading, and returning assignments promptly. He did not collect each part of the assignment (outline, bibliography cards, etc.) on the due dates listed on the “Note to Parents.” Why not? He wrote to me, “I told [General Mayhem] to bring them up for me to look at if he is unsure of something… I apologize that I was not able to get around to every child but as I am the only one in class it can be a difficult task to just keep up with the questions that I was receiving about how to construct the ideas into paragraphs.” Gee, there’s a great attitude for a teacher. Don’t bother collecting and grading work. Don’t provide written feedback and grades. When questioned, fall back on the “I’m only one man” defense. Do this while teaching students that due dates aren’t really due dates, they’re just days where you can come to me with questions if they are “unsure of something.” That’s preparation for the real world.

This is not simply “red meat” for the homeschooling crowd. This is public education in one of the better school districts in eastern Kansas. The unintended (I hope) consequence of this “bring no work home” policy was that it pitted the General against his parents. Every time we asked where his work was and how the paper was progressing, we were told, “It’s at school. We aren’t allowed to bring it home.” He was in a no-win situation, as he was trying to satisfy the teacher’s requirements as well as his parents’ demands to see the work as it progressed. That was wrong. This teacher hasn’t gotten it through his head that teaching our children is a privilege. He is teaching MY child. Any policy that separates me from supervising the education of my child is bad policy. I would think that if this man is as busy as he claims to be, so busy that he cannot check each individual student’s work, he would welcome the active support of parents, not actively discourage it.

We are still waiting for this teacher to return the fairy tales that were due on March 4th. They have not been returned, and there are no grades for them in the grade book. We know this because the Apathy School District uses a computerized grade book. Parents have access to their children’s grades on a daily basis. Last Sunday, in a candid conversation with a different Apathy School District teacher, I was told that the General’s language arts teacher is the better of the two sixth grade L.A. teachers. That’s scary.

I know that I can do better at home.

And I will.

Big Teacher Is Watching Our Children (Through 20/300 Vision)

Just shy of her fifth birthday, Captain Chaos is a tomboy’s tomboy. I haven’t seen anything her two older brothers do that she hasn’t wanted to join in on. Chase chickens across the back yard? She’s the first to catch one and the last to let go. Ride bikes in the thick of heavy traffic? Make way for the pink Big Wheel. Paint the dog? She wants a brush. It never comes as a surprise to see her with a new scratch or bruise. It’s rare to see her with a clean face. So, when she came in from the back yard with a rash of red bumps near her left eye and few large, swollen bug bites on her right arm, I gave her a bath and watched her carefully for the next few days. The Boss immediately checked her over for chicken pox, the very first thing she does when any of the children sport a red bump located anywhere on their bodies. I don’t know how she is going to handle the General’s pending puberty and accompanying zits. The Captain’s bumps slowly began to fade the next day. Whatever it was, it appeared to be temporary.

The rash appeared on a Sunday afternoon. Three days later, I was picking up the Captain from her preschool when I was approached by one of the paraprofessionals who assist in the classroom.

“What did the girl do?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she replied, stepping in closer to me. “When I was helping the Captain in the bathroom I noticed that she has a scab on her knee. The skin around it is red and swollen. We sent her to the school nurse. She cleaned the Captain’s knee with peroxide and put ointment on it. She wants you to continue to do this for the next few days.”

“We are aware of her knee,” I replied. “We’ve been cleaning it and applying Neosporin.”

“Oh, good!” she responded, obviously relieved. “You’ve seen it. You’re taking care of it.”

“Yes, thank you,” I told her. I finished strapping the girl into her trailer seat, climbed on my bike, and headed for home, shaking my head.

I just don’t get these people.

Captain Chaos attends preschool four days each week for three hours each day so that she can receive Occupational and Speech therapy. She receives these services because she has significant delays due to her cardiac history. Her teachers know this. They know her history, which also means that they know that we cared for a seriously ill girl who needed close attention at home. We didn’t farm-out this care. We provided it ourselves. We know this girl’s health history and needs better than anyone, except maybe her cardiologist.

Now, take this history and couple it with the fact that the girl has attended class three days this week with a rash on the side of her face and large red spots on her arm. The Captain’s teachers said absolutely nothing about her appearance. They didn’t ask about it. They didn’t send her to the nurse. They didn’t seek medical attention for our girl. But, she drops trou in the bathroom one day and reveals a cut knee and it’s off to the nurse for medical attention and directions for dad on how to care for his daughter.

Do they think we’re stupid?

I don’t understand why they’re so concerned about a cut knee but fail to notice or mention the rash on her face. I don’t understand why they think we need to be told about the cut knee. This girl cannot dress herself without help. They know this. Who do they think is getting her dressed for school each day, the blue jean fairy? How could I possibly dress her for school each day without noticing her knee? And if I cared for her through the intense recovery from her cardiac problems, why do they think they need to hold my hand through a cut knee?

I am convinced that these teachers and paraprofessionals simply do not put two-and-two together, or when they do, their answer isn’t four. Oh, I suppose that I should be grateful that they care enough for the Captain that they are helping her, but come on! If the glaring red rash on her face didn’t draw comment…they may not think that I am stupid, but a part of them must think that I am inept.

I felt a load of relief lift off of my shoulders last Thursday when I informed the Captain’s preschool teacher that I would be teaching the girl at home next year. I needed to tell them before her annual IEP meeting. The Captain’s kindergarten year will be at home with Major Havoc in a split K/1 homeschool classroom. If there is anyone to inspect my children and tell me something needs closer attention it will be their mother. Captain Chaos will get any of her therapy needs addressed through the county co-op. I won’t have to put up with the attitude that Dad needs to have his hand held through parenting his children.

Public school arrogance. I’ve had enough of it.

Homeschooling in Bedlam?

General Mayhem's 6th grade Language Arts teacher confiscated his school supplies to save them in the teacher's desk "just in case" the General came to class without supplies.

Take a little time to wrap your mind around that concept…

Yes, this college educated man decided that General Mayhem didn’t need to carry pens and pencils in his book bag from class to class, ensuring that he’d be prepared for all six classes each day. He took all of the boy’s extra pens and pencils out of General Mayhem’s book bag and placed them in his teacher’s desk so that “just in case” General Mayhem arrived in his Language Arts classroom unprepared, there’d be a steady supply of writing utensils. Never mind the fact that by confiscating all of General Mayhem’s supplies the teacher was guaranteeing that General Mayhem would arrive at class unprepared each day. Never mind the fact that General Mayhem needs writing utensils in all of his classes and not just in Language Arts. Are all of General Mayhem’s other teachers supposed to give him a hall pass each hour in order to run to Language Arts to get a pen or pencil, or is Language Arts the only class important enough to require a student to write?

Our local middle school only hires the best and the brightest.

Standing outside of the elementary school yesterday, I listened to a mother explain how her daughter’s kindergarten teacher did not require her students to put a horizontal line on the top of a capital “J.” It’s too challenging for the young ones. They’ll be taught how to write a capital “J” properly in first grade, when they will be required to write a line across the top of the letter. I never noticed that this was being taught because Major Havoc has been writing for well over a year. He knows how to properly write a capital “J.” This teaching strategy begs the question, “How many years of school will it take for children to master writing capital “R?” Two? Three? Will they be allowed to write a capital “P” instead of an “R” in kindergarten? Will “Pichard” become “Richard” 18 weeks into his first grade year when the class finally gets around to covering “R?” I can see a room full of fourth graders running out of school one day, wildly exclaiming, “We’ve finally mastered W!”

Apparently, the teachers who cannot handle middle school get bumped down to the lower grades.

I have extreme difficulty navigating this nonsense because I struggle to get past the fact that I must deal with these insane situations. I cannot believe that I have to send an e-mail to a teacher telling them to return my son’s school supplies so that he can be prepared for class. I cannot believe that my local elementary school sets a standard for academic performance so low that it does not cover the bare basics, such as what a letter in the English language looks like. Supposedly, this is one of the better school districts in our corner of Kansas. Wrap your mind around that one.

Underneath those issues is the frustration that I feel when I haul my children to and from a school system that I do not believe in. I know I can do better. Placing that issue aside for a moment, I want to share with each and every one of you who are still homeschooling your children: on your hardest, darkest days, you are soaring above the clouds. When your child is giving you fits, starting his seventh hour of a 30 minute math exercise, you are doing more to ensure your child’s success in the future than 12 years worth of public education. Have faith. Have faith in yourself and your abilities. Have faith that God is leading you in the right direction for your children’s sake. I have written often of the madness of schooling in my home, but that was nothing compared to the madness I experience at the hands of the employees of our local school district. I long to return to Bedlam.