{"id":658,"date":"2007-12-16T01:21:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-16T01:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arkansasfreedom.net\/?p=658"},"modified":"2007-12-16T01:21:00","modified_gmt":"2007-12-16T01:21:00","slug":"huckabee-enemy-of-home-schooling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arkansasfreedom.net\/?p=658","title":{"rendered":"Huckabee enemy of home schooling"},"content":{"rendered":"


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An Open Letter To Homeschoolers<\/font><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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As a
\nfather of three children, who my wife and I homeschool, I am deeply
\ndisappointed with the recent endorsement for President of former Arkansas
\nGovernor Mike Huckabee, by an organization which has helped a lot of us over
\nthe years. The Home School Legal Defense Association has come out in favor of a
\ncandidate who has touted his Christian beliefs and support of homeschoolers,
\nbut whose record belies that support.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>Like me, you
\nprobably view any government involvement in your children’s education with a
\njaundiced eye. We’ve seen the literacy and graduation rates plummet year after
\nyear in our nation’s public schools while special interest groups constantly
\npass blame for this onto parents, taxpayers and a lack of enough centralized
\ncontrol.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>HSDLA has for
\nover two decades been a great help to homeschoolers and has advocated against
\nthose who have stood in opposition to our goals. Their staff members advised my
\nfamily when local Child Protective Services personnel wanted to investigate a
\nmother who we’d taken in. Their advice was invaluable and saved us from a
\npotentially perilous situation. But the advice they are providing with regard
\nto the Presidential election is a poor example of scholarly research and
\nappears to run counter to the ideals they’ve promoted for so many years.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>As a
\nhomeschooling parent, I hold that the state has no authority to dictate what my
\nchildren should learn or the methods by which my wife and I teach them. In
\nshort, the state does not own my children. Mike Huckabee, whom the HSLDA has
\nendorsed, does not feel this way in spite of statements he has uttered
\nsupporting that view. As Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee showed a poor
\nunderstanding of this fundamental truth and advocated that parents be forced to
\nsubmit their curriculum choices to the state for approval while claiming that
\nthe law in question was an increase in freedoms for homeschooling parents.
\nHSLDA has typically advocated that families shouldn’t be required to get
\npermission from the state to homeschool their children.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>Huckabee’s record
\nis at odds with their general principles. He has played politics with the issue
\nand tried to please both unions and homeschoolers in his state. In order to
\nkeep homeschoolers’ objections at bay, he appointed leading homeschooling
\nadvocates to the state board of education. Like Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee is
\na very slick politician. Maybe we need less slickness and more uncompromising
\nprinciple on the matter of schooling.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>If Mike Huckabee
\nis such a strong advocate for homeschoolers as some suggest, how could the
\norganization which said the following<\/a>
\n(pdf) about homeschooling have justified their endorsement
\nof his candidacy?<\/a><\/font><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nNational Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on
\nparental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education
\nexperience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state
\ncurricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to
\nensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the
\nchildren of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents\/guardians.
\nInstruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state
\neducation licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department
\nof education should be used.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>The Association
\nalso believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any
\nextracurricular activities in the public schools. The Association further
\nbelieves that local public school systems should have the authority to
\ndetermine grade placement and\/or credits earned toward graduation for students
\nentering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting.
\n(1988, 2006) pp. 45 B-75<\/font><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

That
\nis taken directly from the NEA’s charter. The NEA is one of the largest
\nanti-homeschooling organizations in the U.S., yet its New Hampshire
\norganization has endorsed Mike Huckabee. Does something seem wrong with this
\npicture? Before you imagine that this was somewhat random, Huckabee in fact
\nactively sought the
\nendorsement<\/a>.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>Just how is it
\nthat Huckabee can be perceived as a homeschooling advocate? The actual record
\nisn’t as pretty as the flowery words he uses to describe it.<\/font><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n