Home Schooling Declared Illegal in CA!

[Thetagirl218]

Wow is all I can say for the responses so far in this thread!

Remember back in the beginning, I said I would eventually share my background on this?

Here it is:

This subject is very near and dear to my heart as I was home schooled since 1st grade up until graduation! It was one of the best experiences of my life! And yes, I did have a choice to be homeschooled or not. In fact, I chose to dual-enroll in college at the age of 16. By the time I was 20, I was done all of my requirements for my degree, and went to complete my teaching internship.

Yes, I said teaching internship. I earned a degree in Secondary Education. I am certified by the State of Florida to teach. So I feel that I have had the best of all worlds. I have been homeschooled, and have taught in both public and private schools. I see the problems and advantages in all three.

As for the issue of home school parents not having the training to teach their children, let me share something from my past. Both of my parents have two year degrees, neither have the proper qualifications in any state to get a teaching certificate, yet I learned so much from them.

Does this mean they knew every thing about every subject? No!

That is why homeschoolers and their parents do think outside of the box and participate in co-ops and other programs where they have classes with people who do have expertise in these subject areas.

And SWTXBELLE is right, home schoolers often rank above the national average in test scores. Stories like mine are not the rare exception as some think.

I also wanted to address that home schoolers for the most part do sit at home in a closet all day. Home schoolers are some of the most active, social people that I know.

[AKA_Monet]

I think this has something to do with money and how it is doled out to the schools. Every kid that attends public school, the more money the district gets out of the State Tax Pie. Home-schooled kids will mean loss of money.

In California, my mother is a retired elementary principal with a Ph.D. in education. My brother is a principal at a high school in California and his ex-wife is a elementary teacher and resourced teacher in California. If anyone can teach children it is these core of people... I don't know what they will do.

[bejazd]

I found some stats on the Calif Dept of Education web site that may add to this discussion:

There are 9.674 public schools in Calif with an enrollment of approx 6.3 million students

There are 294,366 public school teachers
The average teacher-pupil ratio is 1 teacher to 21.4 students. (that's an average, obviously some classes are much larger, with the largest classes in grades 4, 5 and 6 at about 1 teacher to 35 students.)

Of those 9674 schools, 585 are charter schools enrolling about 223,000 students.

There are 3506 private schools in Calif enrolling 584,983 students. The majority of children in private schools are in grades K-8, only 159,736 students are enrolled in private high schools. Among the private schools, about 1/3 are very small with just 6-36 total students.

My local newspaper reported earlier in the week that they don't keep records on just how many students in Ca are home schooled, but it's estimated at about 200,000 statewide.

[SWTXBelle]

The system still receives every cent of my taxes, while not having to provide any services for my children. So, there is more money in the state treasury for education that does not have to be spent on my children. If the problem is how the money is divided, then that needs to be addressed at the state level. But I refuse to feel badly because of the public school systems' mismanagement of funds. The private school at which I taught charged HALF of what the public schools were alloted per student - but that is really a whole 'nuther thread.
Right now I am visiting my folks in Katy, TX, where they literally cannot build schools fast enough - they are bursting at the seams. Were the literally thousands of homeschoolers in the area to register tomorrow, the system could not handle it.
Ultimately, it boils down to this - parents have the ultimate responsibility for their children. It is up to them to decide what is in the best interest of their children - whether it be public or private school, or to teach them at home. I feel that local control is a critical element for public schools - that no one is more committed to seeing local children educated than the principals, teachers, staff, parents and community members who love them and want the best for their community.