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EducationalFreedom.com News Update
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Learn more about EducationalFreedom.com
http://educationalfreedom.com
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March 8, 2004
Links and commentary provided by Cathy Henderson.
FROM THE EFC EDITORS
0) Bait and Switch
HOMESCHOOLING IN THE NEWS
1) Ever Mindful of Bible, Chastity and the Rules
2) College for the Home-Schooled Is Shaping Leaders for the Right
3) BAIT: Home school support advised
4) BAIT: Public Invited to South Bay Charter School Meeting
5) BAIT: Consolidation on minds of local school districts
6) BAIT: Governor taking push for school funding on the road
7) SWITCH: Correspondence schools scolded for reimbursements
8) SWITCH: Correspondence schools warned
9) SWITCH: Embattled charter school drops 200 students midyear
10) SWITCH: Resignation offered by district's Whiteley
11) State testing will begin on March 15
12) Home school limits upheld
13) Right call made on this home school rule, Bob Becker's column
14) Home education child abuse fears
15) New moves over home education
16) Maine School Offering Diplomas to Students
17) [Virginia] Senate passes bill relaxing homeschooling standard
18) Parents first
19) Home-school showdown
20) HSLDA Sends Letter To Wolf Films
21) Homeschooling: The question of socialization
HOMESCHOOLERS IN THE NEWS
22) Burns a National Merit finalist
23) Gideon's horn will rock the college
24) At age 11, Evin Beaulieu is already making a mark in the world of
television
25) Young 'Eragon' author on self-made adventure
26) Adoption platform a personal cause
27) Sea the world
28) Alyssa's advice: Kids ought to try spelling bee
29) A special birthday for kids of all ages
30) ALERT keeping taxpayers happy in Henry
31) Home-schoolers donating artwork to charity gallery
32) Phillips Wave members compete in Kenosha
33) Tanner, Gould write best Russell essays
INSTITUTIONALIZED EDUCATION
34) More funds will boost test scores, study says
35) Top dollar for schools' top dogs
36) Doyle plan demands more of choice schools
37) Teachers try to educate lawmakers
38) Ritalin doesn't solve every child's problem
39) Little Girl Says She Was Forced Off School Bus
40) Man charged with assaulting girl on school bus
41) TEACHERS' LETTER BOMB
42) Schools will continue using 'time-out' rooms
43) Have your thumb ready to ride the bus
44) FCAT Scoring Draws Heat
45) School cuts students; grade goes up
46) Education Chief Again Apologizes for 'Terrorist' Remark
47) Psst! Pizza van in the red zone
48) Teacher resigns 'after taping pupil to desk'
49) Third grader back in school
50) Police call for charges in beating of teen
51) Bills seek more abstinence in sex ed
THE EXPERTS
52) Clarke unveils child protection reforms
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
53) FREEDOM BIOGRAPHY: GEORGE MASON
54) Improving Environmental Quality through Markets
COMMENTARY
55) If We Bought Groceries the Way We Buy Public Education
56) Free to Worship, or Not
57) THE RESIGNATION OF A SCHOOLTEACHER
58) Have Public Schools Become a Criminal Enterprise?
59) Washington Post Supports School Choice
60) Rewind to Columbine
61) Whites-Only Scholarship Revisited
62) OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH YOUTH
63) Children Will Be Left Behind
64) I Hate Girl Scout Cookies
65) Vouchers and Visions of Freedom: A Fictional History
THE LIGHTER SIDE
66) Federal deficit: Meet the other white meat
67) Government Efficiency Machine
RECOMMENDED READING
68) Rational Review News Digest
69) Dale Reed's Math Pages
SUPPORTING EFC
70) EFC DVD Rental Program
71) Amazon.com
72) What the Heck!
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FROM THE EFC EDITORS
0) Bait and Switch
In 1998, in an essay entitled "The Seduction of Homeschool ing Families"
(<http://www.fee.org/vnews.php?nid=222>),
Chris Cardiff stated:
"Having established a viable government alternative to the private sector
and independent homeschooling, the government's next step is logical-outlaw
or regulate independent homeschooling out of existence. Not only is it
logical, it follows historical precedent."
Today In History, Bait and Switch continues. Re-visit the essay. Keep it
in mind when voucher and voucher-like proponents of "pseudo-choice" promise
that government control is not necessarily inevitable with government money.
Some arguments against government-funded homeschooling are philosophically
unsound and have unintended results. The premise that only independent
homeschoolers are "responsible" for their children is one such
argument. ALL parents are responsible for their children, and government
school parents do not escape that responsibility by virtue of the fact that
they hand to strangers the authority for making the daily decisions for the
daily events of a child's life. It is the recognition of, and the embrace
of that responsibility -- by taking back the authority that must accompany
any personal responsibility -- that will further efforts toward educational
freedom, not a claim that can only mean that some parents have
responsibility and others do not.
BAIT and SWITCH, though, can be a powerful argument. Recognize every move
in the shell game. Gather your evidence. And use it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
HOMESCHOOLING IN THE NEWS
1) Ever Mindful of Bible, Chastity and the Rules
Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., does more than train
home-schooled students.
"Every student takes a course called 'Foundations of Liberty,' which
teaches that democracy rests on biblical principles, traditional sex roles,
limited government and private property rights. Aside from the issue of
slavery, the course suggests, that the early America was nearly ideal. In a
recent seminar on de Tocqueville's depiction of the early Republic, for
example, Prof. Robert D. Stacey quizzed the class: 'Who is chiefly
responsible for the raising of children? Mothers, right? Sounds like a
certain home-schooling movement I know.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/education/07RULE.html
http://tinyurl.com/32d5r
=========
2) College for the Home-Schooled Is Shaping Leaders for the Right
"Only about half a million families around the country home-school their
children and only about two-thirds identify themselves as evangelical
Christians, home-schooling advocates say. ...'We are not home-schooling our
kids just so they can read,' Mr. Farris said. 'The most common thing I hear
is parents telling me they want their kids to be on the Supreme Court. And
if we put enough kids in the farm system, some may get to the major
leagues.' That is an alarming prospect to some on the left. 'Mike Farris is
trying to train young people to get on a very right-wing political agenda,'
said Nancy Keenan, the education policy director at People for the American
Way, a liberal advocacy group, and a former Montana state superintendent of
public education. The number of Patrick Henry interns in the White House
'scares me to death,' she said. 'It tells us a little bit more about the
White House than it does about the kids.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/08/education/08HOME.html
http://tinyurl.com/2ufw3
=========
3) BAIT: Home school support advised
Proposal would set up resource center in Stanwood area
"A home-school resource center that would provide school district-sponsored
assistance to students who get most of their education at home could be on
its way to the Stanwood-Camano School District. ... In return, the
district gets about $4,000 in state money for each student, who officially
enrolls in the public school system under an alternative education plan.
... parents are looking for different things out of the program. Some want
their children to have a chance to interact with others, some want
one-on-one time with teachers, and others simply want a little break.
'Home-schooling your child can be quite demanding,' Greer said. 'Some want
to get away from it a little bit, too.'"
http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/04/3/2/18272819.cfm
http://tinyurl.com/yrtbu
=========
4) BAIT: Public Invited to South Bay Charter School Meeting
"Certain K-6 students will benefit from a combination of home school and
regular school."
http://www.eurekareporter.com/Stories/yt-03010401.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2ayky
=========
5) BAIT: Consolidation on minds of local school districts
Legislative delegation hears board members' concerns
"Also of concern to educators is a recent proposal by Gov. Mark Sanford
that would offer tax credits for the cost of sending a child to a private
school, home school or to another district. 'What sort of accountability do
private schools have?' asked Ware Shoals Superintendent Fay Sprouse.
...While Sanford said that parents would be accountable in the plan,
District 50 School Board Chairwoman Dru James said that's not enough. 'If
there are stipulations that go with my tax dollar to public schools, the
same regulations should go with those dollars to private schools or home
schools,' James said, including open enrollment requirements. There was
also concern about the amounts of the proposed credits -- up to $3,200 for
kindergartners, $4,000 for first- through eighth-graders and $4,600 for
high school students. That's much higher than this year's base student cost
-- $1,743. 'Why give them more money than you give public schools?' Steed
asked."
http://www.indexjournal.com/news/20040302a_n.html
http://tinyurl.com/3bfgl
=========
6) BAIT: Governor taking push for school funding on the road
"Legislators are working on alternatives to the [Governor] Sebelius plan,
including one drafted by the Topeka-based Freestate Center for Liberty
Studies to let parents use vouchers to put children at risk of failure into
private and home-school settings."
http://www.dodgeglobe.com/stories/030304/sta_0303040014.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/3bwtn
=========
7) SWITCH: Correspondence schools scolded for reimbursements
"New regulations for correspondence schools are scheduled for introduction
at the State Board of Education meeting in mid-March. ...The flexible
programs appeal to families who want to home school their children with
some financial help from the state. ...The programs, designed to serve as a
support base for home school students, enroll mostly children who live in
Alaska's larger cities and attend private schools. No laws or regulations
prevent full-time private school children from using correspondence
programs to fund activities such as music or hockey lessons, travel
expenses or summer camp. Some private school parents say that, as
taxpayers, they are entitled to participate in the correspondence schools,
just like anyone else."
http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~26794~1989611,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/2wvkd
=========
and more:
8) SWITCH: Correspondence schools warned
STATE: Stop reimbursing parents for questionable expenses or face an audit.
http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4802120p-4743670c.html
http://tinyurl.com/3ycku
=========
9) SWITCH: Embattled charter school drops 200 students midyear
"California education officials say the state's largest charter school
opened 11 schools in violation of state law and wasn't spending enough
money on teacher salaries for home-school students -- so last year they
docked the California Charter Academy nearly $6 million and cut a third
from its home-school budget. Now, while the charter school sues to recover
$6 million, it's dumped one of its independent-study programs, dropping 200
students midyear following a contentious semester when several teachers and
parents complained that many students weren't supplied with books and
supplies. The independent study program allowed K-12 students to work at
home under the supervision of a credentialed teacher."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/8070814.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2u97z
=========
10) SWITCH: Resignation offered by district's Whiteley
School board questions Quest cuts
"The board discussed possible cuts to the number of computers purchased for
the Connections program, the district's home-school program that provides
new computers quasi-annually to participants. Those computers are then
circulated through the district, keeping the entire system current. Gary
Whiteley, district assistant superintendent, said the district made a
commitment to the borough to keep its computers current when the borough
provided funding for technology upgrades in past years."
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/030304/new_030304new004001.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/37cm6
=========
11) State testing will begin on March 15
"State testing will begin the week of March 15 as students in third, fifth,
sixth and seventh grades take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. ...
Students on state approved home school programs can test for third through
11th grades."
[News flash. Unless underground, we're all on state-approved home school
programs, in one way or the other. We call 'em homeschool "freedoms". ]
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1078385157191500.xml
http://tinyurl.com/yrxpt
=========
12) Home school limits upheld
Court says public schools may exclude students from sports
"The rights of parents and their home-schooled children were not violated
when the students were excluded from public school athletic teams, a state
appellate court panel has decided. "
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-7/107841705767792.xml
http://tinyurl.com/2s758
=========
13) Right call made on this home school rule, Bob Becker's column
Son of a gun, the courts finally got one right!
"I respect parents' right to educate their children in the way they think
is best for them. But if they make the decision to move away from the crowd
-- no matter how good the reason -- they can't then come back and demand to
be included in everything they voluntarily gave up. They can whine, 'We pay
taxes,' all they want, but it's just a self-serving, vacant argument.
Here's a news flash for them: We all pay taxes. "
http://www.mlive.com/sports/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1078501576259770.xml
http://tinyurl.com/3g2fe
=========
14) Home education child abuse fears
"Some parents claim they are educating their children at home to hide the
fact they are abusing them, welfare officers say. The Association for
Education Welfare Management has asked the Children's Minister, Margaret
Hodge, for the power to check up on home educators. It says the forthcoming
Children's Bill is a good opportunity to change the current practice. Home
educators regard the move as offensive and unnecessary."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3493342.stm
http://tinyurl.com/35bkr
=========
15) New moves over home education
"A leading education welfare manager has apologised for stating wrongly
that a child, who died from natural causes, had been subjected to abuse."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3536629.stm
http://tinyurl.com/2qhqb
=========
16) Maine School Offering Diplomas to Students
"North Atlantic Regional High School in Maine primarily serves home school
students, but for $255 and four years of transcripts the school will issue
a diploma to almost any student. State education officials call the diploma
worthless. They're advising students and parents to avoid the easy way out. "
http://www.wtev.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=BE0E9EB4-842B-4775-B499-89A01CF6FF96
http://tinyurl.com/2yyff
=========
17) [Virginia] Senate passes bill relaxing homeschooling standard
"After spirited debate, the Senate passed legislation Monday to relax the
academic qualifications required of parents who teach their children at home.
'If you are a proponent of children, you do need to be somewhat repulsed by
this legislation,' said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax. "
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=66836&ran=238353
http://tinyurl.com/3g8fo
=========
18) Parents first
"AS DIRECTOR of student services of Fredericksburg city schools, state Sen.
Edd Houck of Spotsylvania is manifestly no stranger to nor foe of public
education. Serendipitously, he is also a friend to home-schoolers. Last
week, he cast the decisive vote in the Senate Education and Health
Committee's decision to advance a bill to relax home-school regulations.
The measure would allow parents with a high-school diploma to home-educate
their children with no more restrictions than those binding parents with a
college degree. The bill is headed for the governor's desk, where Mark
Warner holds a veto pen like a dagger."
http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FLS/2004/032004/03032004/1283432
http://tinyurl.com/3cmfe
=========
19) Home-school showdown
Senate passes bill easing guidelines
"Melissa Goodson of Newport News started home schooling her three daughters
this year "to get them off the hamster wheel." She said having a bachelor's
degree probably has better prepared her to teach, but she supports the new
legislation - as long as the law maintains rules such as administering
standardized tests yearly. Parents 'have to show some signs of
connectivity' to the public system, she said."
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-59833sy0mar04,0,3541043.story?coll=dp-news-local-final
http://tinyurl.com/3gkbx
=========
20) HSLDA Sends Letter To Wolf Films
"One of the unfortunate consequences of this show is that some people might
actually believe it and use the anonymous tip procedures available to make
reports of suspected neglect of innocent homeschool families. Child
Protective Services are obligated to follow-up these reports and homeschool
families will face unwarranted harassment. This already happens all too
frequently to homeschool families all across America. More importantly,
because of this, the investigation of real abuse can be missed as the
system is bogged down with false reports. "
http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200403/200403010.asp
http://tinyurl.com/22r7s
=========
21) Homeschooling: The question of socialization
"Advocates of homeschooling chuckle or sigh when critics describe the
typical homeschooled child as a wan, maladjusted recluse."
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031773372572&path=!news!archive
http://tinyurl.com/34v93
----------------------------------------------------------------------
HOMESCHOOLERS IN THE NEWS
22) Burns a National Merit finalist
"Courtney Burns is a National Merit Scholarship finalist. The Good Shepherd
Home School senior aced the SAT exam, a leading indicator for recognition
by the 49-year-old nationally acclaimed scholarship program."
http://web.theparisnews.com/story.lasso?wcd=11904
http://tinyurl.com/28k7d
=========
23) Gideon's horn will rock the college
A 12-year-old sax player and his group headline this years vocal jazz fest
at Clackamas Community
"Gideon and the Waz, a jazz quartet featuring 12-year-old saxophonist
Gideon Hawkins, will make a guest appearance Thursday, March 11, at
Clackamas Community College during the college's 21st annual Vocal Jazz
Festival. ...Gideon also loves his studies -- a home-school student, he is
taught by his mother, Susan Hawkins -- golfing, skiing, video games, Net
surfing and other interests. But he finds the time for music because he
loves the saxophone. "
http://www.oregonlive.com/metrosouth/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_south_news/1078319280116670.xml
http://tinyurl.com/3cd5h
=========
24) At age 11, Evin Beaulieu is already making a mark in the world of
television
"Evin is one of the youngest members of Fox 23's bi-weekly YESToday TV news
show. Created for kids by kids, most participants are at least 13 when they
start. The show's adult producers were impressed with Evin's
expressiveness and his obvious passion for all things wild. ... Producers
agreed to make 'The Animal Kid' a regular feature. It gave the Litchfield
home-schooler a way to combine his two loves: nature and teaching about
nature."
http://www.sunjournal.com/story.asp?slg=030804small
http://tinyurl.com/2l74g
=========
25) Young 'Eragon' author on self-made adventure
"Christopher Paolini has spent more than five years planning, writing and
promoting his first book. ...Paolini started writing "Eragon" just after
he graduated from American School, an accredited distance- learning high
school, at age 15. His mother, a trained Montessori teacher, began his
schooling when he was born. When he reached school age, he was ahead of the
class, so his parents opted to homeschool. His parents, Kenneth and Talita,
both served as teachers. "
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=1193428
http://tinyurl.com/229pc
=========
26) Adoption platform a personal cause
"Andrea Massey treated the Miss Mansfield Scholarship Program like a North
Central State College midterm -- she crammed. The Shelby 19-year-old spent
the last few weeks getting ready for Saturday's contest, focusing on vocal
work with her coach and keeping up on current events by reading newspapers
and watching TV news shows. The hard work paid off when she was crowned the
new Miss Mansfield. ...But Massey hasn't lived here long. Two years ago,
she moved from Valdosta, Ga., after graduating from a home-school program."
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20040308/localnews/36104.html
http://tinyurl.com/3fqbr
=========
27) Sea the world
"Their family and friends supported their decision to live at sea and
home-school their children, but occasionally the Martins faced criticism
for putting their kids in potentially risky situations. They retreated from
a journey in Cape Town, South Africa, after locals complained that the seas
were too dangerous for a family. Otherwise, the Martins say they've always
felt like a normal family that just happens to do extraordinary things."
http://www.pressherald.com/homefam/stories/040307arctic.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/2nefs
=========
28) Alyssa's advice: Kids ought to try spelling bee
But she sets her own priorities, too
"Alyssa Rosselli thought she might enhance her education by entering the
home school spelling bee earlier this year. ...The 11-year-old daughter of
Jim and Sue Rosselli of LaPorte, home-schooled all but one semester,
started reading at age 4 and is currently studying at an eighth-grade
level. She said she entered the bee because 'it is something every child
should do at least once.'"
http://www.heraldargus.com/content/story.php?storyid=4174
http://tinyurl.com/37jkh
=========
29) A special birthday for kids of all ages
"... this party will be extra special for this trio -- it will be their
first 'real' birthday. Katie Buchanan, Zachary Ethell and Brian Hall are
leap year babies. They were born Feb. 29, 2000, at Salem Hospital. Today,
the three will celebrate together at Papa's Pizza Parlor. Their mothers
didn't know each other four years ago, but now they all belong to a
home-school co-op at Capital Park Wesleyan Church."
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=76191
http://tinyurl.com/2sfyk
=========
30) ALERT keeping taxpayers happy in Henry
"Members of the Air Land Emergency Resource Team, a national volunteer
organization that comes to Henry County twice a year, continue that
tradition of community service through the middle of next week. A
construction team of nine, including leader Lt. Phillip Smith, has worked
countless hours at Camp Fortson, building an amphitheater. But along the
way, the team n a total of 18 young men n put a roof on a widow's home and
erected a pole barn at the city of McDonough's maintenance shop. The
roofing project was especially important to Luke Friedli of Lubbock,
Texas....ALERT members are primarily graduates of home school programs."
http://www.henryherald.com/articles/2004/03/05/news/news4.txt
http://tinyurl.com/yrmdj
=========
31) Home-schoolers donating artwork to charity gallery
"A progressive teen home-school group will be donating several original
works of art to the Benevolent Art Gallery during the month of March. The
home-school group "Jet" will be donating artwork ranging from prints and
oils to pottery, and they'll be on display starting Friday, March 5, said
Jeanne Sarmento, public relations/home-school mother."
http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11064651&BRD=1673&PAG=461&dept_id=17915&rfi=6
http://tinyurl.com/2uve5
=========
32) Phillips Wave members compete in Kenosha
Levi, Joshua and Benjamin Illick will participate in individual and relay
events
"At the state meet, the three brothers, who are homeschooled, will swim in
individual events, including the 50-yard free style. They will also join
with other swimmers to participate in relays. "
http://www.phillipswi.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=6&story_id=166739
http://tinyurl.com/3y2cw
=========
33) Tanner, Gould write best Russell essays
"Two students Amanda Tanner, of Morningside Elementary, and Brandon R.M.
Gould, who is a home school student in Ulm, were honored Sunday for having
the best 'Why I Like Charlie Russell' essays in the city and county. The
first home school student to win, Gould said Russell's spirit reminded him
of his mom, Amy Gould, who came to Montana to be a cowgirl."
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040301/localnews/49562.html
http://tinyurl.com/3fjfu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTITUTIONALIZED EDUCATION
[Study by the Educrats for the Educrats results in Huge Surprise Finding]
34) More funds will boost test scores, study says
"School districts need additional funding of between $226 million and $408
million to ensure that at least 55 percent of students pass the state's
reading and math tests, according to results of a long-awaited education
study released Thursday. "
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2434137
http://tinyurl.com/2pzra
=========
35) Top dollar for schools' top dogs
"Being a school superintendent in Texas can be a lucrative job the top
salary in the state was $322,000 in Dallas in 2003, according to Texas
Education Agency data. But for taxpayers, superintendents' salaries can be
a contentious issue. 'The problem is that the money is coming from tax
dollars. If it was a CEO of a private company, it would be different,' said
Anne Dixon, a former superintendentat Somerset School District."
[duh. Anne can think. See Anne think. Think, Anne, think.]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA08.01A.Superintendent_Salaries_0307.43be15e7.html
http://tinyurl.com/2ou4m
=========
36) Doyle plan demands more of choice schools
"Gov. Jim Doyle will unveil a sweeping education package today proposing
significant changes to Milwaukee's voucher and charter programs as well as
Milwaukee Public Schools. ... The package also includes some of the same
provisions calling for accountability in the choice program passed by the
Assembly on Friday but goes further than those bills. It proposes that
private schools in the voucher program be required to administer many of
the same standardized tests as MPS schools, for instance, and to comply
with the state's open meetings and records rules."
[Switch, baby, Switch]
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar04/213077.asp
http://tinyurl.com/3bux6
=========
37) Teachers try to educate lawmakers
[Teachers _did_ educate lawmakers. Big Rah. ]
"About 3,000 public-school teachers, students and school administrators
swarmed the state Capitol on Wednesday to press lawmakers to raise teacher
pay and to protest the unfunded requirements in President Bush's No Child
Left Behind Act."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0304teacherrally04.html
http://tinyurl.com/2dzzf
=========
38) Ritalin doesn't solve every child's problem
"AB 1424, defeated in committee, would have provided that parents cannot be
charged with abuse or neglect of their children if they refuse the
administration of psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs, including Ritalin, to
their children. While AB 1424 was but a small step, it would have
represented a break in the stranglehold that the psychiatric/
pharmaceutical industry has on the treatment of so-called attention-deficit
disorders."
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/valley_voices/story/8203495p-9053666c.html
http://tinyurl.com/39cqg
=========
39) Little Girl Says She Was Forced Off School Bus
"A 7-year-old girl says she had a pretty rough day. First, she says she was
put on the wrong school bus. Later, she was ordered to get off. 'I don't
know where I was, so I started walking,' said Kimberly Hernandez. 'This
friend of mine told me where I was going and I didn't want to talk to him
because I thought I was lost.' Hernandez, a 1st grader at Nichols
Elementary School, says she made it home about 30 minutes later. She was
drenched, caught in the middle of a heavy storm. Her mom is not happy with
the bus driver."
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2BAB3003-575A-443B-8B58-FF225FF4A5FD
http://tinyurl.com/2lj26
=========
40) Man charged with assaulting girl on school bus
"An 18-year-old man, accused of assaulting a 14-year-old girl, has been
charged in the crime. Police say Ronald Hunter, accused of forcing the girl
to perform oral sex in the back of a school bus in Branch County, has been
charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct. Officers say there were
as many as 60 kids on the bus at the time."
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1688867&nav=0RceLIQC
http://tinyurl.com/ytyzy
=========
41) TEACHERS' LETTER BOMB
"Courageous [now there's an objective journalistic description] teachers at
a Brooklyn high school - fed up with unprepared and even illiterate
students - made an impassioned plea to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein
yesterday to end social promotion. ... 'As New York City high school
teachers, we are wholeheartedly opposed to the practice of social
promotion,' the letter said. 'It is not a solution. It is a lie that is
eroded year by year as students realize they have been given flattery
rather than the basic skills they need to survive in a classroom ...'"
[The skills needed to survive in a classroom. Why it's the American
way!
http://educationalfreedom.com/efp/helm/07082001/hendra.html ]
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/19728.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2nr2c
=========
42) EDUCATION: Schools will continue using 'time-out' rooms
"Two years after considering a ban on locked time-out rooms for misbehaving
students, the Minnesota Department of Education now hopes training of
educators will reduce abuse of such rooms."
[Brilliant use of language, "abuse" of "rooms", "abuse" of "the
practice". Is this _children_ we're talking about or not?]
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/education/8118870.htm
http://tinyurl.com/24t5a
=========
43) Have your thumb ready to ride the bus
"The Pinellas school system is ready to approve a new [$2 million]
technology that uses student fingerprints to keep track of who is riding
school buses. ...But some parents and national organizations are concerned
about the implications of fingerprinting 45,000 bus riders, some as young
as 5. ...Critics say programs of this nature raise significant privacy
concerns and teach students at a young age to accept what amounts to a 'Big
Brother' surveillance society. 'We are conditioning these children to
understand that they have no personal space, no personal privacy,' said
Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Program
on Technology and Liberty. ... Superintendent Howard Hinesely said the
district also plans to apply for a federal Homeland Security grant that
could reimburse some of the cost."
[Ah. Homeland Security. Well alright then.]
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/28/Tampabay/Have_your_thumb_ready.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/3cpdd
=========
44) FCAT Scoring Draws Heat
"Lake Gibson High School senior Brittany Radney has been trying to jump
through her last graduation hoop -- the FCAT -- since 10th grade. ... This
year, 2,500 Polk high school students -- 126 sophomores, 1,488 juniors and
886 seniors -- will take the completely multiple-choice retake test,
cutting out the original's writing portion. ... Testing Coordinator Debbie
Coffman ...:'We finally got, in education, the writing down pat and
students were doing better,' she said. 'Then they changed the formula for
grading it.' ...Last year, seniors who failed the test were offered a deal
by the state to exchange FCAT scores for an acceptable SAT or ACT
score. This year, the Florida Senate is considering a bill that would
allow all students to use alternate scores, such as the ACT or SAT. The
bill would also allow out-of-state transfer students to use alternative
assessment for graduation."
[Let the games continue.]
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040303/NEWS/403030419/1039
http://tinyurl.com/3gud4
=========
45) School cuts students; grade goes up
Orange's Oak Ridge High dropped 126 pupils shortly before FCATs last year.
"Oak Ridge High School in Orlando boosted its school grade from an F to a D
last year after purging its attendance roll of dozens of low-performing and
often-absent students in the weeks leading up to the FCAT."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-asecoakridge05030504mar05%2C0%2C5859270.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
http://tinyurl.com/2s23f
=========
46) Education Chief Again Apologizes for 'Terrorist' Remark
"Education Secretary Rod Paige was hoping for a friendly exchange of views
about a sweeping federal education law when, a month ago, he offered to fly
50 of the nation's best teachers to Washington at government [TAXPAYER /
PARENT] expense. ... But as the teachers gathered here on Monday, many said
they were still feeling the sting of Mr. Paige's remark that the nation's
largest teachers union was a 'terrorist organization' and were eager to
give the secretary an earful about what they said were arbitrary provisions
in the federal law, known as No Child Left Behind."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/02/politics/02PAIG.html
http://tinyurl.com/2b3ms
=========
[An editorial addressing one way the mind monopolists seek to expand their
territory to the body]
47) Psst! Pizza van in the red zone
"Expanding the 'vendor-free' zone around schools from 200 to 1,000 feet --
as five board members suggest in a recent letter to the Seattle City
Council --- is unnecessary. It's also unfair to legitimate operators. The
board members' letter to the City Council argues the wider zone would
address student obesity and nutrition issues. That's silly. High-school
campuses are open at lunch. Students are free to go anywhere and buy
anything they want to eat. "
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2001870441_pizzaed04.html
http://tinyurl.com/3cgt6
=========
48) Teacher resigns 'after taping pupil to desk'
"...the boy allegedly had his hand, feet and arms taped to the desk, and
his mouth taped shut. According to Oran School Superintendent, Tom
Anderson, the teacher enlisted the help of two students to secure Tommy to
the desk. It's thought the teenager took about 15 minutes to free himself.
His father, Larry Brindley, said: 'He's got a small airway and by taping
his mouth shut he had problems breathing and he could have died.'"
[The teacher resigned and the parents might sue. That'll fix it. 'Til
next year's crap shoot.]
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_881709.html
http://tinyurl.com/yqty9
=========
49) Third grader back in school
Suspension canceled over G.I. Joe pistol
"Nine-year-old Austin Crittenden expected to be out of school for at least
a week and was awaiting a Monday hearing to determine his punishment for
bringing a plastic G.I. Joe handgun to school earlier this week. But on
Thursday, school officials changed their stand, allowing him back to class.
...
School Superintendent Wayman B. Shiver said Sun Valley Principal Teresa
Ragland acted appropriately. Although he received numerous phone calls at
his home and office after Austin's suspension was reported Wednesday,
Shiver said public pressure had nothing to do with the decision to
reinstate the boy. 'Keep in mind that we're trying to run safe schools,'
Shiver said. 'Now sometimes the public does not like what we do to make
schools secure, but at the same time we have to make sure that the children
are protected.' ... Stewart said her grandson slipped the one-inch plastic
handgun that accompanied his G.I. Joe action figure into his pocket and
took it to school Monday. He reportedly pointed it at two girls and said
'bang.'"
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1077877244315970.xml
http://tinyurl.com/ypgtr
=========
50) Police call for charges in beating of teen
"Drouillard's mother is shocked at what happened. 'Anybody can get on your
kid's bus, and there's nothing anyone can do about it,' said Heather Burks,
Drouillard's mother. 'I'm just lucky that my son wasn't permanently
injured. ... It's unfathomable that a person can get on your school bus and
nobody says, 'Get off.' ...[Drouillard's] mother said she withdrew him from
Tarpon Springs High School last week and will home-school him."
[But as soon as they make it "safe" by installing a bus fingerprint system,
she'll feel all safe and stuff.]
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/02/Northpinellas/Police_call_for_charg.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/3g4nk
=========
51) Bills seek more abstinence in sex ed
"Michigan schools would be forced to stress abstinence to students during
sex education classes under two proposed Senate bills. The state already
requires that abstinence be taught in sex education classes, but the bills
-- which were passed out of the Senate Education Committee on Thursday --
take it further and force districts to pay more than lip service to
abstinence, said Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, chair of the Senate
committee and sponsor of one of the two bills."
[Regardless of which flavor of sex ed you favor -- or none -- the question
remains. Exactly what argument can be made that "majority opinion" should
decide for each parent this important personal decision regarding the
raising of a child?]
http://www.freep.com/news/education/absti5_20040305.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2odqh
----------------------------------------------------------------
THE EXPERTS
[Coming soon to a country near you.]
52) Clarke unveils child protection reforms
"An electronic file will be created on every child in England to help child
protection and law enforcement agencies keep track of signs of abuse,
neglect and offending behaviour under legislation unveiled by the education
secretary, Charles Clarke, today. The children bill will require 150 local
authorities to set up a database to keep tabs on local children in a bid to
enable childcare staff to identify those at risk much earlier. "
http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1161932,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/2aquu
----------------------------------------------------------------
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
53) FREEDOM BIOGRAPHY: GEORGE MASON
http://www.fff.org/whatsnew/2004-03-06.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2fgls
=========
54) Improving Environmental Quality through Markets
PERC -- Property and Environment Research Center
http://www.perc.org/index.php
----------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY
55) If We Bought Groceries the Way We Buy Public Education
"Public education is a monopoly controlled by the government. Whenever I
point out that socialism doesn't work, I am invariably told that I am wrong
and that education is too important to be left to the private sector.
Children have a right to education, and some children would not be educated
without total government involvement. Should we then decide that food is
too important to be left to the private sector, in the belief that only the
government can equitably distribute groceries? After all, if we don't eat,
we can't learn."
http://www.wptf.com/listingsEntry.asp?ID=175350&PT=Thoughts+By+Jerry+Agar
http://tinyurl.com/2chh2
=========
56) Free to Worship, or Not
"'A wall of separation between church and state.' These words of Thomas
Jefferson's have guided America's conscience for centuries. Religion and
government keep changing, but that wall is always there. ... Now Alabama's
two Senators are pushing a bill to 'protect public religious displays.'
They say they want to make it 'legal' for children to pray in school or
public officials to invoke God while speaking 'on the clock.' Last time I
checked, both things were already 'legal.' "
http://www.termlimits.org/Press/Common_Sense/cs1060.html
http://tinyurl.com/23svz
=========
57) THE RESIGNATION OF A SCHOOLTEACHER
"Over the course of four years of teacher training and nine years actually
teaching, I found public schools to be places where bad ideas are
legitimized. My role wasn't to transmit 'basics,' or literacy, or
proficiency at anything, but rather to promote 'mental health.'
Accountability, I learned, meant satisfying government mandates and
bureaucrats, not answering to parents."
http://www.newswithviews.com/Eakman/beverly2.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2waeo
=========
58) Have Public Schools Become a Criminal Enterprise?
by Samuel Blumenfeld
"This criminal enterprise has become totally impervious to rational reform.
The only sensible thing that parents can do is remove their children from
these schools and put them in private schools or teach them at home.
Parents still have the freedom to take matters into their own hands. If
they don't, then it is the children who will suffer."
http://www.homeeducator.com/FamilyTimes/articles/12-2article13.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2a949
=========
59) Washington Post Supports School Choice
[In which Citizens for a Sound Economy take the position that "free market"
could be putting a $10,000 check into the hands of parents. A check from
the government. From taxpayer pockets. Underwhelming. ]
http://www.cse.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=1697
http://tinyurl.com/3b6dy
=========
60) Rewind to Columbine
"There's a violent internal menace that has plagued our land since the
close of the 20th century. You know who I'm talking about -- that radical
and now unpredictable enemy -- our kids! America's total concern about our
nation-threatening external terrorist threat has shifted attention away
from this grave and growing danger. It's time to righteously divide our
interests -- and face both crises head-on."
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/douggiles/dg20040306.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/34zfa
=========
61) Whites-Only Scholarship Revisited
"RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie has much to worry about: a soaring deficit, low
approval ratings for President Bush, and an amnesty program that has Bush's
conservative base fuming. So what is Gillespie's next move? Writing to a
20-year-old College Republican. His letter scolded me for sponsoring a
much-publicized 'whites-only' scholarship, a political gesture designed as
a parody to protest affirmative action and race-based scholarships handed
out by federally-subsidized universities."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/mattera1.html
http://tinyurl.com/yvgt5
=========
62) OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH YOUTH
THE SECRET WEAPON IS DESTROYING US
"Poorly-educated young people are not a bright light on our horizon, given
what has been accepted by gullible parents, taxpayers and politicians of
all stripes for a couple of decades. Agenda-indoctrinated and
poorly-educated classes have already moved on to positions where they
initiate, implement and carry out programs and policies that truly
well-educated people would recognize immediately as sure roads to
socialism, tyranny or impoverished futures. They are adult parrots of the
careful indoctrination they received in schools and colleges -- and in
later years even in their religious sanctuaries formerly devoted to
teaching moral aspects of societal involvement."
http://www.etherzone.com/2004/batt030404.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/37ese
=========
63) Children Will Be Left Behind
"George Bush's school accountability law, enacted to much fanfare two years
ago, is something of a fraud. It cannot possibly perform as advertised. The
No Child Left Behind law, which sailed through Congress with overwhelming
majorities two years ago, has a giant problem--one that will cause the act
to fail. But no one discusses this problem in public. "
http://forbes.com/business/forbes/2004/0315/086.html
http://tinyurl.com/3ymau
=========
64) I Hate Girl Scout Cookies
"Television is a free-market phenomenon, and as such I can't oppose it. Its
ubiquity and influence still can be blamed on government, in the form of
government schools. With textbooks that devote more space to Marilyn Monroe
than to George Washington, and college courses devoted to the cultural
implications of television sitcoms, it's no surprise television per se is
overvalued in our culture. Combine this with the tendency of government
schools to emphasize self-esteem over achievement (self-esteem based on
hollow praise in the absence of effort to earn the praise), emotions over
correct answers on objective tests, a general refusal to encourage diligent
study, and the overarching incentive of government schools to produce
sheeple who welcome domination by others, and you arrive at couch potatoes
who prefer passive entertainment to thinking. This is nothing new. Bertrand
Russell said it 100 years ago: 'Many people would sooner die than think; in
fact, they do so.' Government schools teach them how to do so."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/edmonds/edmonds184.html
http://tinyurl.com/2es3j
=========
Worth Revisiting:
65) Vouchers and Visions of Freedom: A Fictional History
"The following fictional history was inspired by and is meant as a response
to a lecture entitled Competition,delivered by Nobel Laureate economist,
Gary Becker, on September 12, 1999, in Chicago and published as a monograph
by the Heritage Foundation in its Leadership for America Lecture Series,
No. 15.
One hundred and fifty years ago, in 2009, shortly after the inauguration of
Hillary Clinton as the first woman president of the United States, the
Democrats and Republicans in Congress reached a consensus concerning the
moral decay of American society."
http://www.fff.org/comment/vouchrme0901.asp
http://tinyurl.com/yrhjz
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIGHTER SIDE
66) Federal deficit: Meet the other white meat
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/8121224.htm
http://tinyurl.com/3arzo
=========
67) Government Efficiency Machine
http://www.ucomics.com/garyvarvel/2004/03/01/
http://tinyurl.com/3g63m
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDED READING
68) Rational Review News Digest
News:
http://www.rationalreview.com/news/
Rational Review News Digest
Early morning e-mail delivery, Monday through Friday
Subscribe:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rrnd/join
=========
69) Dale Reed's Math Pages
Are you looking for some interesting math ideas and web sites? If so,
this is a comprehensive list of sites for math and logo programming.
Check it out.
http://www.educationalfreedom.com/pages/dale_reed/index.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPPORTING EFC
70) EFC DVD Rental Program
http://mentura.com/dvdrentals/EducationalFreedom.com.html
=========
71) Amazon.com
Shop at Amazon.com and support EducationalFreedom.com!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/educationalfr-20
=========
72) What the Heck!
Vote for EducationalFreedom.com in the WHat the Heck Top 25
Libertarian Sites Poll. Get us on the list!
http://www.whattheheck.com/cgi-bin/topsites/topsites.cgi?efreedom
----------------------------------------------------------------
End of this edition of the EFC News Update
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