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Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts

Friday, December 3, 2010

Homeschooling Proving 'Good for America'

Homeschoolers are impacting the political arena with energetic determination, focus, and success!


From The Old Schoolhouse Magazine


In August 2001, the cover of Time magazine posed this question: "Is Home Schooling Good for America?" Today, as more and more adults who were homeschooled assume positions of leadership and service in our nation, we answer Time's question with a resounding "Yes!"

Without question, the contributions of homeschoolers are dramatically changing our political landscape. For example, leadership courses, camps, and organizations such as Generation Joshua, a division of the Home School Legal Defense Association, are coming alongside homeschooling families to train future leaders. During the 2010 mid-term elections Generation Joshua deployed 900 of their nearly 6,000 members to make a difference in 21 political races across the nation, including that of Congressman Daniel Webster (R-FL), a homeschooling father.

Dr. Brian Ray, founder of the National Home Education Research Institute, in his 2004 study of more than 7,000 homeschooled adults, showed that homeschoolers were more likely to vote, volunteer for political campaigns, and participate in community service. Dr. Ray found that 71% of homeschool graduates participated in ongoing community service activities compared to 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages, and 76% of homeschool graduates (aged 18–24) had voted in a national or state election within the last 5 years, compared to 29% of non-homeschooled graduates.

In his article titled "Revisiting the Common Myths About Homeschooling," Michael Romanowski, a professor at the Center for Teacher Education at Ohio Northern University, stated: "Homeschoolers clearly learn about the real world, possibly more than do their public school counterparts. While the purpose of public education is to educate future citizens who take an active role in improving the social, economic, and political conditions in society, Ray's research indicates that public schools, not homeschooling, should be scrutinized for their efforts regarding 'citizenship training.'"

When asked to comment about the recent political impact of homeschooled adults nationwide, Paul and Gena Suarez, homeschooling family of six children and publishers of the premier quarterly magazine for homeschoolers, responded that homeschoolers' success "only confirms what numerous stats and studies have already indicated -- that 'homeschooling' is about so much more than merely educating our children. It's about instilling in the next generation the conviction that if good is to prevail, then it must be advanced, and it can be advanced only by those who embrace it."

Many homeschooling families are training their children to make a difference by serving this nation with integrity, not for the sake of personal ambition or monetary gain but rather because they have learned how to be responsible citizens. Determined, astute homeschooling families are making their voices heard -- from leadership camps to grassroots organizations to Congress.

In January 2011, Ms. Jaime Herrera, age 32, will be sworn in as a U.S. Representative (R–WA). She will be remembered, among other things, as the very first member of our U.S. Congress who was a homeschooler. She will not be the last.


About The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine: Soon to celebrate their 10-year anniversary, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is recognized as the premier magazine for homeschoolers. This professional publication offers approximately 200 pages of information, inspiration, and encouragement to homeschooling families around the world in each quarterly issue. View a sample issue here:
www.thehomeschoolmagazine-digital.com/thehomeschoolmagazine/sample/#pg1.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

New Study Shows Homeschoolers Succeed in College

Last week, a study titled Exploring Academic Outcomes of Homeschooled Students was released and showed that homeschooled college students significantly outperformed their peers. "This is great news for the homeschool community," said Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Once again, homeschooling parents have shown they are more than capable of preparing their children for all aspects of life," he added.

The study covered homeschoolers from 2004-2009 at a mid-sized college in the upper Midwest. Among the major findings:

Homeschooled students earned a higher first-year GPA (3.41) when compared to other freshman (3.12).

Homeschooled students earned a higher fourth-year GPA (3.46) when compared to other freshman who completed their fourth year (3.16).

Homeschooled students achieved a higher graduation rate (66.7 percent) when compared to the overall student population (57.5 percent).

Other research has shown that parents spend on average $500 per child, per year to homeschool. In comparison, the average public school spends over $10,000 per child, per year. Homeschooling is proving itself everyday to be a credible and cost-effective method of educating children.

Other examples of homeschool success can also be found in the college preparatory area. Patrick Henry College Preparatory Academy, which conducts online AP* classes with a Christian worldview, released its results today for the May 2010 United States Government and Politics AP* Exam.

Reported scores for homeschooled students who studied with PHC Prep averaged "3.75" on a scale of 1-5 (with 3 being a pass). Last year's national average for the same exam was "2.78."

As millions of children go back to school in the next few weeks, it's important to remember the hundreds of thousands of homeschool families (representing over 2 million homeschooled children) who are achieving amazing results on a fraction of the budget.

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.


Friday, January 29, 2010

British Journalist Asks 'Can I Claim Asylum in the US?'


From The Telegraph
By Ed West

A German family have been granted asylum in the United States because their children were being forced to learn a curriculum that was “against Christian values”, according to German paper The Local.

A US court has granted asylum to an evangelical Christian family who fled Germany because they were not allowed to homeschool their children.

An immigration judge in Nashville, Tennessee ruled that parents Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, and their five children, are free to stay in the US, where they have been since 2008, news agency AP reported late on Tuesday.

The parents, who came from the state of Baden-Württemberg, allege they were persecuted for their faith and defiance of Germany’s compulsory school attendance since those who do not comply face fines and jail time.

According to Uwe Romeike, his family was fined the equivalent of some $10,000 over two years, but could not afford to make payments after their court appeals failed.

“I think it’s important for parents to have the freedom to choose the way their children can be taught,” Romeike told AP, later adding that German curriculum was increasingly “against Christian values.”

The other day I asked if parents who did not toe the New Labour political line could take their children out of “Citizenship” classes, but I didn’t realise I might be able to flee Europe altogether.

In Britain, meanwhile, the Government is trying to make homeschooling even harder, supposedly because homeschooled children could be abused more, but in reality, I suspect, because many of the parents are religious.

Homeschooling may not be everyone’s cup of tea, nor is Evangelical Christianity for that matter, but allowing parents to decide their children’s education is a mark of a free society. And many parents of young children, and not even just religious ones, feel rightfully uncomfortable about schools trying to force the state’s morality on their kids, and not just in the arena of sex.

Marc Young, editor of the Local, says the Romeikes have made a “mockery” of US asylum policy, but the decision is entirely in line with American tradition. The Puritans left East Anglia for New England not because they feared death or imprisonment but because under James I, Englishmen were expected to follow a narrow Anglican worldview. Conservatives in western Europe feel the same way today.

Now where can I apply for asylum to the US?


Ed West is a journalist and social commentator who specializes in politics, religion and low culture.


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Homeschoolers Beat National Average on ACT



Recently, ACT published its results for 2009. On a scale of 1-36 homeschoolers scored an average of 22.5, which beat the national average of 21.1. "This is a remarkable achievement and shows that homeschool parents are successfully preparing their children for college," said Michael Smith, president of HSLDA.

According to ACT officials, research shows that high achievement on the ACT strongly indicates a "greater likelihood of success in college." Success on the ACT test also reveals that the courses taken by high school students to prepare for college have been effective.

A total of 1.48 million students took the ACT in 2009 which included 11,535 homeschoolers or just under 1 percent of the total.

The new ACT results also support the numerous studies which show that homeschoolers are out-performing their public school peers in K-12. The latest study from the National Home Education Research Institute shows that the average homeschooler scores 37 percentile points higher on standardized achievement test than the average public schooled student.

It has always been the position of homeschool advocates that the one-on-one instruction provided by dedicated parents is a more effective way to educate children. It's also much cheaper.

The average public school spends $10,000 per child per year whereas the average homeschooler spends $500 per child per year. Homeschooling is also growing rapidly. The National Center for Education Statistics, part of the Federal Department of Education, estimates that homeschooling is growing at around 7% per year.

Due to the success and growth of the homeschool movement Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews recently concluded that, "Homeschooling is the sleeping giant of the American education system."

To find out more please visit www.hslda.org.


Wednesday, August 26, 2009

New Hampshire Court Orders Christian Homeschooled Girl to Attend Public School


From OneNewsNow
By Pete Chagnon

A Christian homeschool girl in New Hampshire has been ordered into government-run public school for having "sincerely held" religious beliefs.

An attorney working with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed motions with a New Hampshire court, asking it to reconsider its order to send the 10-year-old homeschooled girl into public school.

According to ADF allied attorney John Anthony Simmons, the court acknowledges that the girl in question is doing well socially and academically, but he adds that the court went too far when they determined that the girl's Christian faith was a "bit to0 sincerely held and must be sifted, tested by, and mixed among other worldviews."

Simmons contends that parents have a "fundamental right to make educational choices for their children." However the girl's parents divorced in 1999, and she is now living with her mother who has been homeschooling the child since first grade. As part of the schooling, the young girl has been attending supplemental public school classes.

As part of parental custody hearings, a court-appointed guardian stated that the child reflected her mother's "rigidity" on questions of faith and added that girl's best interest would be served by exposure to a public school setting.

According to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Home Education is an enduring American tradition and right. ADF concludes, based on that statement, that there is no legitimate legal basis for this latest court ruling.


Sunday, January 13, 2008

German Homeschooling Family Flees to England After Attempt to Seize Children

German homeschooling father greets family after stint in jail.


By Peter J. Smith

LONDON, January 9, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A German family has fled to safe haven in the United Kingdom after the mayor of their town attempted to have their children seized and put into state custody for the crime of homeschooling according to WorldNetDaily (WND).

WND reports that officials with Netzwerk-Bildungsfreiheit, a German homeschooling advocacy group, said that Klaus and Kathrin Landahl and their five children, "are in safety in England. They reached Dover on Saturday midnight."

The Landahl family was preparing to leave the country and had deregistered themselves as German citizens, when the Mayor of Altensteig filed a lawsuit with the local family court demanding it intervene and take custody away from the Landahls.

A spokesman for the advocacy group told WND, "As the mayor knows that the family wants to leave Germany and that they have deregistered, his attempt is that the family court takes custody away in a so-called … (preliminary warrant) which means that custody can be taken away without a hearing [for] the parents."

He added also that in the Landahl case, not only were the authorities seeking to usurp the parents' right to decide their children's education, but also their right "to determine the place of abode," an action more in line with Soviet-era East Germany.

The Landahls were in the process of moving into a rented apartment abroad when the court served them with a legal notice of the lawsuit.

Joel Thornton, President of the International Human Rights Group, which advocate for homeschoolers in Germany, told LifeSiteNews.com that the report from Netzwerk-Bildungsfreiheit is troubling since, "German government officials are willing to violate their own procedures to take the custody of children from the parents for nothing more than homeschooling. Were there criminal activity going on that was being avoided it would be understandable, however the system would probably not be so quick to act."

It is outrageous that children would be separated from their parents over this issue. The German courts need to move to protect the well being of their families from such severe government action," Thornton said.

"Every parent in the world, not just homeschool parents, should be outraged that their rights are trampled by the Mayor of this town, he said. "Parents should express their outrage to the Mayor by email and let him know that this is not acceptable behavior in civilized countries."

The local court has not issued a final ruling in the case, but ever since Germany's Supreme Court ruled in favour of the state against homeschooling last fall, most families have found safety to exist in flight.

WND reports that this week a Bavarian man identifying himself as "Mathew" sent this message: "This morning we received a call from the German ministry of education. Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning they will send the police to our home and take Josia (6), Lou Ann (10) and Aileen (13) by force, to the public school."

According to "Matthew," the government was emboldened by the high court's decision, and since then it has increased substantially its persecution of homeschooling families.

"If we do not comply the government will ultimately revoke our rights as parents and take custody of our children," he said.

Another family said they were escaping Germany after their lawyer concluded that "only jail and loss of custody are left" as penalties from the government.

"We are leaving Germany for now, and our children and my husband Tilman have already given up their permanent residence in Germany," said a note from Dagmar Neubronner. "I will maintain my permanent residence in Bremen because I am the bearer of our small publishing house…"

"It is hard to leave everything behind, especially our tomcat (a neighbor will take care of him), our relatives and friends and choirs and music ensembles and sports teams, our house and garden - our town and our country."


To contact the Mayor of Altensteig:

Herr Bürgermeister
Jürgen
Großman
Rathausplatz 1
72213 Altensteig
Germany

Email: juergen.grossman@altensteig.de

Phone: 0 75 53 / 94 61-117 Go ahead and write, email or fax, in English if necessary.

See Laigle's Forum website:
http://laiglesforum.com/2008/01/08/parallel-society-your-nam...

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Homeschooling Missionary Family Narrowly Avoids German Deportation for Now
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07122110.html

German Homeschooler Melissa Busekros Home with Family after 3 Month Ordeal
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07042301.html

Three More Families Appeal for Help as Germany Continues Crackdown on Homeschooling Families
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041609.html

German Court Places Custody of Yet Another 5 Homeschooling Children with Government's Youth Office
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/mar/07032204.html

Authorities Ask German Homeschooling Family to Give up Custody of Other 5 Children
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/feb/07022602.html

European Human Rights Court Rules State May Deny Parents Right to Home School Their Children
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/06092708.html &nbs...;