This is part three of an ongoing series on The Common Core Standards. This installment will discuss homeschooling as an alternative to public school.
To catch up, read part one and part two.
Many are asking, ‘Is homeschooling the answer?’
Our schools would seem to be more than a bit out of control these days, ironically by being control freaks. Couple the zero tolerance and common sense policies with the new Common Core Standards and we have chaos. Our kids are confused in learning and in what the rules of behavior are. (Read: Public School Insanity)
One reaction to the Common Core Standards (CCS) as parents find out more about the standards seems to be the desire to investigate the possibility of homeschooling. While parents can supplement a great deal more information into their child’s education by homeschooling, the CCS is still in place. This means that the curriculum must be included in order for the children to pass state requirements.
It must also be noted that certain homeschooling supply groups have made it known they are changing the texts and materials they offer to integrate the CCS. No matter which way we turn, our kids are going to have to face CCS until it can be repealed. So, why not put pressure on our school boards and local legislators to turn this train wreck back or at very least derail parts of it? The answer is even more frustrating and insidious. Getting rid of the CCS is proving to be a carbon copy of trying to repeal Obamacare; tied to stimulus funding and No Child Left Behind waivers.
Parents should be aware there is also a potential fight on the horizon between this administration and parents wishing to home school, as evidenced by Eric Holder’s DOJ and its disposition on homeschooling in the case involving the Romeike family from Germany. In the eyes of the DOJ, there is no fundamental right of citizens to homeschool their children. (Read more about the Romeike case: Holder’s DOJ – No Fundamental Right To Homeschool)
Reason TV recently explored the Romeike case and the idea of homeschooling being a universal human right:
As a parent, I am unsure of what the answer is here. I do know that sitting by doing nothing while watching our kids take this train ride is not one of them. Most states signed right up for the CCS and few advertised it to the public. Such was the case in North Carolina where I live. The scant media coverage alone told me the powers that be wanted this thing was slipped in by stealth. My advice to parents reading this: Get educated on the CCS. Resources to start with are posted below. Then, find out who sits on the Education committees of your local legislature, who sits on your state school board and also local school board. Call them or write them. Demand for a public hearing on the CCS and tell every parent you know to attend. We have got to get this train off the track before it wrecks with our children on board.
Resources:
Civitas – Education Links
WatchDogWire – Common Core
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