Minibytes from Twitter - 2008-03-07
- Sera is full term today! She can come at any time now! #
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Archive for 7th March 2008
Sara Em
I heard the angels sing
Why won’t you let us in?
Sara Em is a Christian singer from Sweden. She also happens to be a lesbian. Her song “Include Me” has a heartbreaking quality to it as it explores the exclusion and confusion that some people feel because they’re told that their sexuality makes them sinners. Definitely worth a listen.
If Dragonlance were made into a movie…
I’ve got to admit that I hate Raistlin with a passion but even I have to admit that this fantasy casting of Raistlin is awesome.
California: 1, Home Schooling: 0
Homeschoolers’ setback in appeals court ruling
A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution.
The homeschooling movement never saw the case coming.
*snip*
“California courts have held that … parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children,” Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. “Parents have a legal duty to see to their children’s schooling under the provisions of these laws.”
Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.
“A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare,” the judge wrote, quoting from a 1961 case on a similar issue.
The ruling was applauded by a director for the state’s largest teachers union.
Uh, sorry but bullshit. What the fuck does California think it’s doing?!
While we’re not planning on homeschooing Sera exclusively (though I would seriously consider it if I were a SAHM; as it is, we are planning on supplementing her education ourselves,) this really burns me. Yes, children should be in school. That’s never at question. But I strongly believe that parents should have the right to choose their child’s education, whether it is a public, private or homeschool setting.
Ruling that a child should only be taught be credentialed teachers is just plain bullshit. As long as the child keeps up with the any state mandated requirements — and correct me if I’m wrong but generally speaking, homeschooled children tend to fare better at these requirements than their classroom-schooled peers — then what the hell does it matter if the person teaching them is a credentialed teacher or not? Conversely, I feel that if the child is consistently failing to meet mandated requirements then an alternative must be sought.
