intelligence report

I have been a home school advocate for over twenty years now. I deeply believe in it. I would never try to talk anyone into homeschooling though. I believe you need a calling from God to be successful in it. If you disagree that's your right, but at least try it for a year before you make your final decision.

It is not easy. It is a major lifestyle change. It CONSUMES your life at times and brings much frustration and even deeper joy. The things that I am most grateful for are our children's relationships with God, with each other, and with us. Now you definitely can have those things without homeschooling. We have friends who have awesome children who attend public school. They have what I strive for in our children. I think the key is parental involvement, whichever way you choose to educate your children. They are your children and you do have a responsibility to see that they are educated. I can't imagine having children and not wanting them educated!

I received an email from a home school group I am a member of. I am quoting this from parade.com. The title is "Intelligence Report.....Education: Should Homeschooling be Illegal?" They even have a poll that asks this question: "Should parents need teaching credentials to home-school their kids?" I voted and was quite pleased to see the following totals:

Yes 6%, 2406 votes

No 94%, 34,731 votes

Now you may wonder if homeschoolers have bombarded this site and voted many times. I tried to vote again to see what would happen. It stated, "Thank you, we have already counted your vote."

The article and poll is found at http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_06-01-2008/Intelligence_Report

I am copying the first two paragraphs. It is very short if you want to read it. You may even want to voice your opinion and vote. Here's what the article says in part.......

"In February, a California state appeals court ruled that unless parents have recognized teaching credentials, they must send their children to school. The judge, citing a state education law, said that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children.” Parents and politicians were outraged, and the court will rehear the case this month.At stake is the education of the 166,000 California children who currently are home-schooled. But the court decision also could influence laws across the country. Nationwide, up to 2 million children are taught at home. Experts estimate that the number is increasing 7% to 12% a year."

I thank God for the freedom, opportunity, and grace to teach our children at home. I thank my wonderful husband who works so hard to provide for us so I can stay home to do so. I thank our children for their forgiveness for all the times I've messed up and gotten frustrated and made them sad. I thank them that they kept on studying and obeying and am grateful that they have turned out to be the responsible young men and women that they are. I am thankful to God for all that He has done in their lives. I am grateful to have been a part of it and to be able to witness His faithfulness.

Three down, two to go.