Attacks on our freedom

[eleneariel]

From this article about a ruling by the California appeals court restricting the right to homeschool to parents with teaching credentials:

 

"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.

WHAT?

How about reading, writing, and 'rithmatic?

I didn't grow up in California, and even if I had, my dad has the necessary degrees to satisfy the state (and in fact taught in a public school for twelve years.) But this is outrageous.

And then there is this article, in which Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis told employee and student Keith Sampson that he was no longer allowed to read a book called Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan - in which the KKK is clearly the bad guy - because the mere printing of KKK on the cover offended several of his coworkers.

Comments

[violetvale.livejournal.com]

My brain freaked out when I read the phrase "loyalty to the state."

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Sounds like something out of the Soviet Union, doesn't it?

[violetvale.livejournal.com]

No kidding. :-P But at least we'll all have health care, right?

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness, that scares me even more.

[my-everafter.livejournal.com]

ME TOO!

[violetvale.livejournal.com]

And here I was trying to comfort you. ;-) ;-)

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

There's just no comforting in this sort of situation!

[wandering-flame.livejournal.com]

I thought the same thing. Sounds very communistic.

[my-everafter.livejournal.com]

:( That frightens me about homeschooling because I certainly don't have any teaching credentials and I want to try to homeschool my kids. My mom was a school teacher and said she didn't feel that her training in teaching did her any good in that capacity as she was trained to teach in a classroom setting and not one on one. She has always told other moms who have said, “I'm not qualified to teach!” that you don't even necessarily have to TEACH your children as long as you are willing to learn WITH them. For my mom, homeschooling was as much (if not more) about learning along with her kids as it was about teaching.
Bah. Attacks on freedom are the worst. :/

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

My dad has the degrees; guess who did most of my teaching? Yep, my high-school educated mother. She did an awesome job. :) And yes, she learned much of my higher math/science/history with me, which worked out wonderfully! With all the great lesson plans and helps (and answer keys ;)) out there, it's not like the teacher has to know everything!

[ransomedsea.livejournal.com]

Loyalty to the state and nation as means of protecting public welfare??? And how's that related to homeschooling?

Incidentally, a family I know indirectly from a family at my church is currently fighting the court in California because they were told they were "homeschooling illegally." Now I wonder if this has anything to do with it.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I hope they make it. It sounds really scary right now.

[main-hoon-emily.livejournal.com]

Wha...???

Because everyone I went to public school with ended up model citizens, "loyal to the state and nation". Right.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Right. =P

[http://users.livejournal.com/patrick___/]

That's pretty crazy. That sounds like a quote out of 1984!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Good book analogy. :)

Speaking of crazy ... whoa, weird with the Hammer Guy. *frown* I'm glad he didn't hurt anybody -- be careful out there!