Homeschool regulation: The revenge of the failures

Visit WorldNetDaily to read Homeschool regulation: The revenge of the failures by Bruce N. Shortt, Ph.D.

By attacking homeschool parents, Bounds is playing a familiar game. The goal is to distract the public's attention from the abject failure of the public schools for which he is responsible. After all, no government school system so thoroughly fails to educate as Bounds' schools. Nevertheless, Bounds wants the public to believe that the same bureaucrats who daily busy themselves producing massive illiteracy in Mississippi's public schools should have more power over homeschool parents, even though homeschooling parents are already doing a magnificent job with their children.

The oldest trick in the book, if you are incapable of doing your job properly try to shift the attention to someone or something else. My kids mastered this when they were toddlers, when told to clean up their room they would try to shift the attention to their brother's room. You would think Bounds would be too mature for such shenanigans.

Perhaps we can all agree with Superintendent Bounds in one respect, however. Mississippi does need more regulation of education. Consequently, as a public service, here is my modest proposal for reforming Mississippi's public schools: Homeschooling parents should regulate Bounds until the students in the government schools for which he is responsible academically outperform homeschooled children. Unfortunately, this recommendation is not likely to be accepted, which means that state superintendents of education around the country will continue to be able to tell parents upset about the job their local schools are doing, "Well, at least we're not Mississippi."

It's too bad Mississippi isn't willing to be innovative and allow homeschoolers to regulate the public schools, we could probably whip Bounds and the public schools into shape in a New York minute (OK, it might take a little longer).





For further reading visit the where you can read Natalie's post Re-Bounding Rebuttal.

Public School Executive Misspending Public Funds?

Read Jackson Public Schools controversy: Follow through is crucial by Sid Salter.

Did a public education CEO fire a subordinate without cause? Did a public education school executive misspend public funds? Those are the issues that matter.

So why isn't the Clarion Ledger finding out? Could it be because they are too busy bashing homeschoolers? Or is their bashing of homeschoolers a futile attempt to sweep these issues under the rug?

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From The Homeschool Cafe

Thanks to Natalie I now know the Clarion Ledger is running a homeschooling poll. Their question-

Should the Legislature approve new laws to more carefully regulate homeschooling?

Please vote, the poll results will be in December 31st.

On a more positive note there was a Letter To The Editor pointing out the positives of homeschooling, Studies support homeschooling by Keith Speights of Brandon.

How Condescending

In the Clarion Ledger Homeschooling: Some Regulation Required this drivel appeared

Verifiable academic standards should be an issue. The question usually asked, after resolving issues of academics, regards socialization. Can home-schooled children cope with social pressures, people skills? More is learned in a classroom and school setting than A-B-Cs. The state should ensure that kids have a chance to learn. Not every child is a Washington, Twain or Carnegie.

No, every child isn't a Washington, Twain or Carnegie, every child is an unique individual. Some other noteworthy homeschoolers are Christopher Paolini, the author of the best selling novel Eragon, the movie is now in theaters. I wonder why the CL didn't mention him. Could it be because it would have been impossible to turn him into a social retard? Then there is Ginger Turner , one of 32 Americans chosen this year as Rhodes Scholars, there are of course more famous and successful homeschoolers I could mention, but I'll end this with a normal 17 year old boy who was homeschooled in Mississippi by me. Thanks to homeschooling Jonathan was able to study at an advanced pace. When he took the ACT at 15 he scored a 28, which made him eligible for early admission to college. He started college at 16. At 17 he is in his second year of a Computer Science degree, he made the Dean's List, he was nominated for Who's Who Among Students and he holds a part time job at Sicily's Pizza (looks like he is handling social pressures and people skills just fine to me; but then what do I know I am just his Mom). All of this was accomplished under Mississippi's current homeschool laws, which in my opinion work just fine.

And why this sudden interest in homeschooling by the CL, could it be because the director of the Clarion Ledger's editorial department, David Hampton's wife, Peggy, is in charge of public relations for Jackson Public Schools? Could it be because the public schools in Mississippi are so inadequate that the only way they can make them look good is by bashing other educational alternatives - like homeschooling? Hmmmmmmmmmm..........................................

Funnily enough they pretty much concede that homeschoolers have academics covered, so they have decided to attack homeschoolers with the "socialization" issue. But homeschoolers with their field trips, homeschool groups, park days, coops, and various other activities have socialization covered far better then the public schools do. And if my local public schools are anything to go by their socialization lacks something; this recently appeared in the Sun Herald.

Compounding the disturbing revelation that brawls are a common occurrence at Bay High is the realization that officials with the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District left it to students using the Internet to inform the community of the fistfights.

Maybe the CL should worry a little more about socialization in the public schools. There were numerous followups in the Sun Herald that made our community aware of what a serious issue these brawls are. To read more about Bay High Brawls read my post Educational News, Socialization in Public Schools, and More Soundoffs About Bay High Brawls.