I got onto this topic because of an email from the Texas Home School Coalition. Here is the National Education Assocation's (the country's largest public school teachers union) Resolution on home schooling:
"The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.
The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)"
Here is a full list of their Resolutions. I write from the perspective of a home schooler, but a private school parent could relate to many as well. These are some of my favorite Resolutions:
A-4 Parental Involvement
They're cool with it, to a point.
A-24 Vouchers and Tuition Tax Credits
Opposed, of course. All your tax dollars are belong to me!
B-18 Left-Handed Students
Wow, they have a Resolution for everything!
B-27 Speakers of "Nonstandard" English
Don't be discriminatin' all up in here, my nizzle.
B-47 Sex Educaton
You can probably guess…
B-75 Home Schooling
As noted above, we're incompetent. We ought to be rigorously supervised and tested. Our kids should not have access to extracurricular activities, even though we pay taxes just like everyone else. You'd think if they were so concerned about our kids getting a 'comprehensive' education and plenty of 'socialization', they'd be going out of their way to invite us to extra-curricular activities.
D-21 Competency Testing of Licensed Teachers
So, let me get this straight. Homeschooling parents should be required to be certified teachers. And students must be constantly subjected to standardized testing. But teachers shouldn't be required to pass their own standardized tests in order to be promoted...
F-4 Tax Deductions for Professional Expenses
They want to deduct their out-of-pocket expenses for decorating the classrooms, but they don't want homeschoolers to deduct our books, supplies, furniture, field trips, etc.
I-8 Global Warming
They clearly need more science teachers on the Resolutions committee...
I-15 Family Planning
I can't figure why they're so into contraception and abortion. They do need people to have children for them to teach, right? Maybe they've figured out that contraception doesn't work, and they promote it in order to keep the kids coming into the system. More students = more funding.
I-45 Institutional Discrimination
They're against it, except of course for discrimintating against private and home schools.
That's really just scratching the surface. They have plenty of other screwy ideas and hippy dippy statements about world peace, nuclear disarmament, GLBTQ equality, human rights, etc. This must be the document that beauty pageant contestants study to prepare for the Q&A session.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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4 comments:
Don't forget great one like:
B-1: "The Association supports regulations requiring children starting kindergarten to have reached age five at the beginning of a kindergarten program."
--Because first grade is TOO LATE!
B-56. Genocide
The National Education Association deplores any act of genocide, which is the deliberate and
systematic eradication of members of any group based on culture, ethnicity, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, and sexual orientation/gender identification. Acts of genocide must be
acknowledged and taught in order to provide insight into how such inhumanity develops, prevent its
occurrence, and preclude its recurrence. (1993, 2005)
--Not sure I understand how that fits in with their views on abortion!
B-68. Cell Phones and Personal Communication Devices in Schools
The National Education Association believes that schools should develop guidelines for the
appropriate use of cell phones and personal communication devices during the school day. Such
guidelines should promote respect for privacy, intellectual integrity, and a positive learning environment.
(2006)
-- Who do you need to call during class???
E-8. Religious Heritage in Instructional Materials
The National Education Association believes that educational materials should accurately portray the
influence of religion in our nation and throughout the world. (1988)
--Really??? Interesting.
Just a few of my thoughts :-)
It is hilarious that you just had a cyber-conversation with your husband!
As someone who is homeschool-friendly, I find that opening statement alarming and the resolutions y'all shared absurd for the most part. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so glad you shared this! What a hoot!
A1, on the purpose of education:
a. We think you should be "functionally proficient" in English. We don't want you to excel in it, as this would embarrass our members, many of whom still can't tell "it's" from "its".
b. Math is for salesclerks. But only if your POS terminal stops working.
c. The "three C" skills should be demonstrated so we can crush them and drain your spirit of initiative at the earliest opportunity.
d. This will be measured against the Democratic Party Platform. "Global awareness" should not be construed to mean geography, which is something else most of us have yet to learn. Our avid watching of the evening news is starting to pay off, though: one-third of us can now locate Iraq.
e. This should be demonstrated by the amount of paper we use to print off worksheets about old-growth forests.
f. We don't trust you to learn these on your own, as you might never appreciate performance art or Jackson Pollock paintings without our elite help.
g. Including the values associated with theft, cheating, and actively campaigning to be teacher's pet, all of which will lead to self-fulfillment.
h. Except for Christianity. Under no circumstances should Christianity ever be appreciated, or the Great Wall of Separation might crack, and a plague of locusts would eat D.C. or something--we're not sure, but we believe it religiously.
i. No daydreaming or unstructured playing allowed.
j. In case you're worse than we are at English and Math, which means you won't be able to teach or work retail.
Fun! :)
The beauty queen is right: The NEA needs to go to South Africa, and leave us alone!
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