|
(click on ads for more
details)
|
|
August
24, '01
Vol. 1, No. 29
==================================
T H E S C H O O L L I B E R A T O R
==================================
* The Homeschooling Threat * More on Patrick Henry *
* Your Child's Papers, Please *
--> I had seen the homeschool email machine light up with activity in
response to the cover story in Time and had been avoiding reading the
article. There's only so much negativity a body can stand, isn't there?
Pulling myself together by mid-week, I printed the internet version--I
refuse to buy a copy--and settled down to find myself somewhat amused.
http://www.time.com/time/covers/110101
0827/cover.html
--> As long-time Separator Ned Vare astutely pointed out in his letter
to Time's editor, "Your article on homeschooling round no real
drawbacks to homeschooling, so the writers found fault with its positive
aspects. Also, they could not find positives about public school, so they
praised its negatives.
We are left to wonder: What was the point?"
--> The point--served along side factual errors, tortured logic and
unsupported assertions--seemed to be that homeschooling parents are
violating their civic duty by abandoning the government schools. If this
is the best Time can do, then homeschoolers must finally be untouchable.
--> Authors John Cloud and Jodie Morse wrote in Kafkaesque fashion:
"In many ways, in fact, home schooling has become a threat to the
very notion of public education. In some school districts, so many parents
are pulling their children out to teach them at home that the districts
are bleeding millions of dollars in per-pupil funding. Aside from money,
the drain of families is eroding something more precious: public
confidence in the schools."
--> Oh, if this were only so.... Maybe school liberation is closer than
even Marshall thinks.
--> A reader has taken exception to my invocations of Patrick Henry and
his immortal words in the service of school liberation.
Randy DeHoff comments.
--> "Regarding your 'quotation' from Patrick Henry in the
commentary on the Heritage Foundation survey of congressmen and school
choice:
"I was representing the Colorado State Board of Education at a
conference of Chairs of State Boards and State Associations of School
Boards in Williamsburg, VA last week, and one of the sessions was a
'debate' on education between Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. You
would be interested to know (if you don't already) that the same Patrick
Henry that said 'Give me liberty or give me death' proposed a bill to the
Virginia legislature around 1784 that would have taxed the citizens of
Virginia for the purpose of providing a 'Christian education' to their
children. Each parent would have been able to designate which church or
denomination would receive the proceeds from their share of the tax. Thus,
Anglicans could designate an Anglican church or school to receive their
taxes to educate their children, and Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers,
etc., likewise. Unfortunately, Catholics and other non-Protestant or
non-Christian parents were left without options.
"Sounds an awfully lot like vouchers to me, and this coming from one
of the foremost proponents of liberty in the Revolutionary era. The point
is, be careful whom you quote to support your positions. They may not be
so supportive after all.
"As an aside, I became familiar with Separation of School and State
at your conference in Colorado Springs, shortly after my election to the
Colorado State Board of Education.
While I still don't go as far as you do on the separation issue, I
appreciate your efforts in bringing the issue to public attention. I still
believe, as did Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, that since education
is essential to the survival of our democratic republic, government has
some role to play in ensuring that all our citizens have an opportunity to
avail themselves of that education. My goal as a member of the Colorado
State Board of Education is to maximize parents' role in providing that
education, and minimizing state or
government standardization of that education, while at the same time
trying to ensure that those parents who choose the government-provided
schools (based, I would add, on the model provided by Jefferson in his
bill for the general education of the citizens of Virginia), have access
to enough variety and quality to meet the needs of their children.
An impossible dream? Perhaps. But as long as we have the current system of
public education in America, I feel it is my duty to do what I can to
provide every parent the options they want for their children within that
system.
"Randy DeHoff, Vice Chairman, Colorado State Board of Education"
--> Thank you, Mr. DeHoff, for your comments. By way of a defense,
although Jefferson and Henry are two of my heroes, that does not mean that
I agree with everything they said and did. Even the most virtuous among us
is not wholly
consistent in applying our principles, and I dare say that Jefferson and
Henry were no different. Rather than idealized paragons, they were flesh
and blood men and men of their times, after all. Despite their frailties,
I think it is right to draw from the best of their writings and speeches
and apply quotations from them to 21st century situations in our effort to
be true to our principles.
--> The significance of my modified "quotations" was not to
ponder what would Patrick Henry think about vouchers or tax credits. What
I hoped to invoke is the image of a gifted orator who turned the debate
his way with an uncompromising stand for liberty.
--> Educational freedom will not be won by embracing the status quo or
compromising with the government school system, just as political freedom
was not to be had through subjugation or compromise with England.
--> The Alliance has been pointing to the ships in the harbor, just as
Henry did, and crying out that the war has already begun. It has been
waged one-sidedly for over 150 years. When will the side of liberty truly
fight back?
================= ANNOUNCEMENTS =================
--> SepCon2001 is set for Nov. 16-18 in Arlington VA, the weekend
before Thanksgiving, at the Hilton DoubleTree
Hotel in Arlington VA. We have a SepCon2001 page listing the speakers and
topics. Registration information, too. Go to
http://www.sepschool.org/sepcon.html
Mark your calendar now.
======= SPECIAL OFFER ========
"Educational Freedom Might Be Closer than We Think."
Marshall Fritz explained to a mostly libertarian audience how educational
freedom could be victorious in as little as two years, coming as just as
big a surprise as the fall of the Berlin Wall. Get this 60 minute
audiotape as a School Liberator special--$1 plus $3.50 shipping--a full $7
discount.
Call Morgen at 559/292-1776 to order.
==================================
D.C. Plans ID Card for Students: Aim of DMV Database Is Missing Children
By Robert O'Harrow Jr., Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, August 15,
2001; Page A01
District officials plan to begin taking digital photographs and
fingerprints of schoolchildren this fall as part of a high-tech
identification initiative designed to improve the search for missing
children.
Under a plan initiated by the administration of Mayor Anthony A. Williams
(D), the information about the children would be collected at schools
using laptop computers. It would be fed into a centralized computer
system, and the children then would receive ID cards containing bar codes
that can be scanned by authorities, officials said.
Children from 2 to 14 initially would be eligible for the new IDs, and
parents would have to give their approval before their children can
participate. The IDs are to cost $5, although the city may subsidize the
fee for low-income residents. The IDs would need to be renewed every two
years.
Several officials said they hope the program could be expanded to improve
social services by closely tracking youths' involvement in schools and
government benefit programs.
Although local law enforcement agencies and private organizations have
long snapped photos and taken fingerprints for parents to use in the event
of a child's disappearance, the District's initiative is fundamentally
different because the government is to maintain the information.
"We want to take advantage of the latest digital technology to
implement a process that will enable us to protect and assist the parents
and children of the District of Columbia," Sherryl Hobbs Newman,
director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, who is overseeing the plan,
said in an interview. "We should use the technology we're developing
to get that information to whomever needs it."
It is not clear how much of a problem missing children are in the
District. The mayor's office said police list 86 open
cases of juveniles reported missing in the 17 months from January 2000 to
the end of May. Nationally, more than 5,000 children are listed as missing
at any one time, said a spokesman for a group that tracks the issue. Those
numbers include runaways and children taken by estranged parents.
Businesses, governments and military agencies everywhere are linking
computers, digital photographs and biometric identifiers -- such as
fingerprints and facial scans--to improve security and better authenticate
the identities of individuals. Many law enforcement agencies use such
technology to electronically book prisoners.
But the coupling of technology and biometric information has drawn intense
criticism from privacy advocates. And some activists and officials
expressed concern about the District's plan, saying the identifying
information could be misused by authorities and hacked by outsiders.
"I find it kind of scary," said Mary M. Levy, analyst and
counsel for Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools, an advocacy group.
She said many parents might not want police using the data for
investigations.
D.C. Council member Kevin P. Chavous (D-Ward 7), chairman of the council's
Education Committee, said he shares Levy's concerns, but he supports the
program. "Generally, I think it's a good idea," he said. "I
am a little concerned about the Big Brother aspect."
Council member Phil Mendelson (D), who is on the Education Committee, said
he was unaware of the plan but is glad it is voluntary. He said the
government nevertheless must act slowly because of the privacy issues
involved. "We need to be very careful about. obtaining such detailed
information," he said.
At the request of the mayor, council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D)
introduced a resolution July 6 that would amend local regulations to allow
for the child ID cards. There was no debate at the time, and no hearings
have been scheduled.
The resolution takes effect 45 working days after its introduction, unless
the council votes against it, officials said.
Newman said she is sensitive to privacy concerns. Although the system
would greatly ease the collection of information about individual
children, she said, it would also be configured to limit how much
information officials could get.
"I think people will eventually see the benefits," she said.
"New things tend to scare people."
The District's initiative would be the most sophisticated in the nation to
focus primarily on children, according to officials at Polaroid ID
Systems, who have worked with the DMV to create the program.
The only similar program is in West Virginia, which began offering child
IDs two years ago. The District plan differs from it in one key respect:
District DMV officials intend to go into the schools with portable
equipment to collect children's information.
Only about 5,000 children have been photographed or fingerprinted in West
Virginia, in part because officials there require parents to bring their
children to motor vehicle offices, according to Mary Jane Lopez, a
spokeswoman for the DMV there.
District motor vehicle officials described the program as a chance to use
their year-old digital driver-licensing system to help authorities find
missing children by providing instant access, including over the Internet,
to recent photos and other identifying details.
Officials have also begun planning ways to expand the program to improve
the delivery of social services for eligible children, "from day one
of their lives," said to Sandra Villeneuve, a regional account
manager at Polaroid ID Systems who has attended planning meetings in the
mayor's office.
Among other things, school officials might use the bar code on students'
ID cards to monitor attendance in school and at events. Social services
officials might use the card to track a child's benefits, officials said.
Newman said that if the program unfolds as planned, the use of an ID card
may become obligatory for some young people who receive social services
and already provide much of the information to city officials. "What
we're doing is actually making it more convenient. condensing it in one
card," she said.
Some parents expressed concern about how the DMV would control access to
the system and limit uses of the data.
Iris Toyer, the mother of a 9-year-old at Stanton Elementary School, said:
"I find it invasive. I do not know who will have access to it. I do
not know how it will be used, regardless of what they say."
Privacy specialists also criticized the plan, saying the city's apparent
aims for the program are too open-ended to justify the risks of gathering
so much information about children in one place.
"There are always benefits. There are also risks that tend to be
understated," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the
Electronic Privacy Information Center. "Now you're talking about
kids."
An official from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Childen
also questioned the wisdom of the District's plan.
Spokesman David Shapiro said there's no question that investigators
searching for missing children need access to a current photo as quickly
as possible.
But, Shapiro said, authorities can usually get the information they need
from parents. Oftentimes that includes a child's fingerprints. During the
last decade, through community-and business-sponsored programs, the center
has helped create
12 million children's "passports" containing photographs and
information about individual children. Police agencies and other groups
have done the same thing.
"It's the national center's view that only parents should maintain
this information," Shapiro said, adding that a major concern is that
outsiders or officials might misuse information collected in a database.
"There's always that potential.. Security is a major issue."
As in the District, West Virginia officials envision a major expansion of
the program in the coming years. Lopez said officials there are
considering using the ID cards to improve security and track attendance at
schools.
They may also want to create IDs for children in foster care programs to
ensure they get proper services, she said.
"I think it ought to be mandatory," Lopez said. "I just
think it ought to go nationally. . . . That database could be used for
many things."
Staff writer Sewell Chan contributed to this report.
©
2001 The Washington Post Company
--> This article is included for educational purposes. Since this
article appeared, a hearing on the ID proposal was set for August 17.
Update to follow.
===============================
SIGN THE PROCLAMATION or get a family member to: "I proclaim publicly
that I favor ending government involvement in education."
http://www.sepschool.org/Proclamation
WANT TO SOUND OFF? Discuss education issues with fellow articulate School
Liberators. Go to
http://www.sepschool.org/Other/eGroup
sDiscussion.htm
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? Send us your message at mailto:ccuthbert@fix.net
WORD OF MOUTH is the most efficient means of marketing the Separator
philosophy. Please forward this newsletter to your family, friends and
associates.
================================
FINAL THOUGHT
Dear School Liberator,
Thanks for including "Publik Skool Bigotz," by Michelle Malkin,
as a "not-our-opinion-but" in the August 17 issue. I think we
all ground our teeth at the evidence of mean-spirited attacks on home
schooling. I hope many of us take a somewhat subtler message from this
piece as well.
In fact, I *have* seen ads for bumper stickers with legends like "Prowd
2 B Publik Skooled"--and I regret to admit that I
felt a kind of vindictive amusement at the sight.
This is a good place to walk a mile in the other folks' moccasins. If we
defenders of separation and home schooling find ourselves resenting the
spitefulness of an anti-HS T-shirt... how do the not-yet-enlightened but
well-meaning parents of kids still in government schools feel when they
see a mean-spirited anti- public-school T-shirt? Or any cheap shot in any
medium that comes from our movement?
If even once they see what they can easily regard as an attack on them
personally--or, worse, an attack on their kids--how receptive will they be
to our next attempt to persuade them that we *do* know they love their
children--and need to give them something better than PS 59?
It's harder than I wish it were for me to pass up those chances to score
with a tempting ad hominem, to remember that I'm fighting a system, and
not the living, breathing--and mostly well-intentioned--human beings that
(for now) support it.
But I do try. I hope we all will.
Brian Christeson
----------------
Dear Mr. Christeson,
It sure can be tough at times, but Marshall and The Alliance is dedicated
to spreading our message without mudslinging. Thanks for your comments and
for reminding us to stay on the straight and narrow path. --Ed.
--> Have you written to your editor recently? This is the season for
not-back-to-school letters. Don't forget to forward a copy to us.
==============================
THE SCHOOL LIBERATOR is a FREE service of The Alliance for the Separation
of School & State, 4578 N First #310, Fresno CA 93726 (559) 292-1776.
We are a non-profit, grass roots educational organization dedicated to
informing people worldwide how education can be improved for all-not only
the poor-by liberating schools from politics. For more information go to
http://www.sepschool.org
Publisher: Marshall Fritz
Editor: Cathy Cuthbert
Copyright 2001, The Alliance for the Separation of School & State,
Inc. All rights reserved.
TO SUBSCRIBE to The School Liberator send an email message to
mailto:SchoolLiberator-list-request@fre
e-market.net
with just one word, "subscribe," in the BODY of the message (not
the subject.)
TO UNSUBSCRIBE do the same but with the single word,
"unsubscribe" in the body.
|
