| Submitted by EmTeaCups TO THE TUNE OF "THE
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS"
On the first day
of home school my neighbor said to me, "Can
you home school legally?"
On the second
day of home school my neighbor said to me,
"Are they socialized, can you home school
legally?"
On the third day
of home school my neighbor said to me, "Do
you give them tests, are they socialized, can you
home school legally?"
On the fourth
day of home school my neighbor said to me,
"What about P.E., do you give them tests,
are they socialized, can you home school
legally?"
On the fifth day
of home school my neighbor said to me, "YOU
ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them
tests, are they socialized, can you home school
legally?"
On the Sixth day
of home school my neighbor said to me, "How
long will you home school, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE,
what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are
they socialized, can you home school
legally?"
On the seventh
day of home school my neighbor said to me,
"Look at what they're missing, how long will
you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about
P.E., do you give them tests, are they
socialized, do you home school legally?"
On the eighth
day of home school my neighbor said to me,
"Why do you do this, look at what they're
missing, how long will you home school, YOU ARE
SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them
tests, are they socialized, do you home school
legally?"
On the Ninth day
of home school my neighbor said to me,
"They'll miss the prom, why do you do this,
look at what they're missing, how long will you
home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E.
do you give them tests, are they socialized, do
you home school legally?"
On the tenth day
of home school my neighbor said to me, "What
about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do
you do this, look at what they're missing, how
long will you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!,
what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they
socialized, can you home school legally?"
On the eleventh
day of home school my neighbor said to me,
"I could never do that, what about
graduation ,they'll miss the prom, why do you do
this, look at what they're missing, how long will
you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about
P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized,
can you homeschool legally?"
On the twelfth
day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
"Can they go to college, I could never do
that, what about graduation, they'll miss the
prom, why do you do this, look at what they're
missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO
STRANGE, What about PE, do you give them tests,
are they socialized, can you homeschool
legally?"
On the
thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully
replied: "They Can go to college, yes you
can do this, they can have graduation, we don't
like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are
missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE
NOT STRANGE!, We give them p.e., and we give them
tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL
LEGALLY!
ON the 14th day
of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How
can I get Started, why didn't you tell me, where
do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference,
WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think we can
do this, if you will help us, can we join P.E.
and we'll home school legally."
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Submitted by Ann (Last name
withheld by request) There is a growing trend among
Christians to home school. That's fine if it's
done for the right reasons and actually benefits
the child, but I have some real concerns as my
story will illustrate:
My husband
pastors a Southern Baptist church in a mid-sized
town where I have been teaching 4th grade for 14
years. I teach in the public school system.
Last year a new
family joined our congregation. At one of our
women's Bible studies the wife proudly announced
she was home schooling her three children, one a
4th grader.
Although tempted
to ask why, I didn't need to. She volunteered a
host of reasons, citing school district policies
of teaching homosexual tolerance, passing out
birth control devices and requiring elementary
students to study meditation and other
"strange religions."
Not one of these
allegations was true, yet she stated them as if
they were the product of thorough investigation
and soon had other mothers in the group up in
arms.
Unable to
control myself further, I asked her how she knew
all this, but my question was sidestepped and she
continued to decry the public schools in our town
with the fervor of a manic politician.
Several days
later, I went to her home and we had a calm
conversation in which she finally took time to
hear me. I explained that our district had none
of the policies and practices she had described
and invited her to visit the classrooms and
attend school board meetings. She did neither.
Within a month,
the family found another church and this lady is
still loudly and effectively campaigning against
the local public school system. A number of
parents have pulled their children out of our
schools based on what this newcomer has told
them. One mother told me she was shocked that I
was teaching "Eastern Religions" to my
4th graders!
The public
school will, of course, survive, and I will keep
my job. What concerns me is that truth and reason
have been cast by the wayside. Innuendo and false
accusations prevail and have sway because they
come from the mouth of a talented, intelligent
Christian women who is active in her church and
community, organizing home schooler support
groups and offering to help other home schoolers
teach.
What is the
motivation here? Spiritual pride? A personal
vendetta? I can only guess! At the same time I am
deeply grieved that a sister in Christ would have
so little respect for truth.
Our school
system isn't perfect, nor is any other, but the
teachers care about their students and would not
adhere to harmful district policies even if they
existed. This is equally true of teachers across
the nation. Most teachers are dedicated, hard
working people who often do not receive the
credit they deserve.
The same is true
of school boards. In spite of all the horror
stories, very few public schools have any of the
"policies" attributed to them by those
who would rather trade stories and banty rumors
than take time to investigate what really goes on
in the classroom or school board meeting.
Please, if you
choose to home school, do it for valid reasons
and only after you check the facts about your
public school system. Your children deserve that
much! And so do your public schools and
teachers!!!
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