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| "Yes Jennie, what curriculum do YOUR parents want me to teach you?" |
The Tea Party dominated New Hampshire Legislature on Wednesday overrode the governor's veto to enact a new law allowing parents to object to any part of the school curriculum.
The state House voted 255-112 and Senate 17-5 to enact H.B. 542, which will allow parents to request an alternative school curriculum for any subject to which they register an objection. Gov. John Lynch (D) vetoed the measure in July, saying the bill would harm education quality and give parents control over lesson plans.
"For example, under this bill, parents could object to a teacher's plan to: teach the history of France or the history of the civil or women's rights movements," Lynch wrote in his veto message. "Under this bill, a parent could find 'objectionable' how a teacher instructs on the basics of algebra. In each of those cases, the school district would have to develop an alternative educational plan for the student. Even though the law requires the parents to pay the cost of alternative, the school district will still have to bear the burden of helping develop and approve the alternative. Classrooms will be disrupted by students coming and going, and lacking shared knowledge."
Under the terms of the bill, which was sponsored by state Rep. J.R. Hoell (R-Dunbarton), a parent could object to any curriculum or course material in the classroom. The parent and school district would then determine a new curriculum or texts for the child to meet any state educational requirements for the subject matter. The parent would be responsible for paying the cost of developing the new curriculum. The bill also allows for the parent's name and reason for objection to be sealed by the state.
This is the dumbest, most disruptive, anti-educational piece of legislation that I think I have ever seen.
What the fuck New Hampshire?
I simply cannot imagine how this does NOT have a devastating affect on public education in the state, as well as their ability to hire new teachers, and their ability to help struggling students. Teachers already have TOO much on their plate to have to deal with a separate curriculum for individual students, simply because their parents demand it.
If I was a teacher I would not go near New Hampshire even if they were paying teachers double!
I am very interested in your input, ESPECIALLY the teachers among you.
And no you certainly do not have to hold back.
Everybody I’ve met in Alaska who came from New Hampshire is a religious fundamental extremist . I am not surprised.
ReplyDeleteA) This really really is terrible legislation and it chills me to the bone how future generations are being groomed for intellectual and professional servitude.
ReplyDeleteB) "If I *were* a teacher, not 'was'. Future perfect tense.
Sometimes you just have to let them make fools of themselves and wait for the other shoe to drop. I suspect that it won't take long for people of New Hampshire to figure out the idiocy of this one.
ReplyDeleteKind of like what happened with Sarah Palin. The package was wrapped nicely, but it didn't really take people too long to realize that it was an empty vessel, save for the mean-spirited and ugly soul that it contained.
Does the law say that the schools have to test on the alternate material or are they free to flunk the kids with shi-thead parents? (The alternate pronunciation is "shih-theeed".)
ReplyDeleteWTF. Why the HELL can't parents take responsibility for their own damned kids?
ReplyDeleteThis is going to increase the child poverty rate, because this is going to create a generation who is so irresponsible and ill-educated that they will be/are too stupid or brainwashed to use birth control and have no concept of consequences or thought outside of a moment's pleasure.
If the parents find what the school teaches objectionable, either take the time to school your own kids, or "correct" their thinking at home.
If our presidents do not get a line item veto for all the crap that is thrust upon him that he doesn't agree with, We shouldn't either!
My son is a first year high school math teacher in New Hampshire. I will be interested to hear what he has to say...
ReplyDeleteOf course it won't affect the legislators who voted on this crap bill.
ReplyDeleteParents won't bombard their offices making loony demands that they delete parts of the curriculum that they find too 'objectionable,' for little Johnny or little Sally to learn about.
I'm a teacher, and I think that's ridiculous. I teach two "stacked" classes in community college, which means that for much of our class time I'm dealing with students who are (thankfully) working on the same skills at two different levels. And it's complicated. School-teaching isn't just hammering a bunch of unrelated, disconnected facts into kids' heads--it's a system, and effective teaching builds on foundations laid in earlier classes. I can just imagine trying to teach an earth science class acceptable to both evolutionist and creationist students at the same time. The philosophies are incompatible, largely because the creationists cherrypick and massage their "facts." A successful classroom experience depends on the perception of unity and fairness--to have different curricula and expectations for each student is madness. Moreover, this is the path to the sort of inequity that is plaguing the rest of our social systems. Since parents must bear the cost of financing their alternative, in effect this means that the only people who will be able to implement this alternative are those wealthy enough to finance special treatment for Johnny so he doesn't have to memorize all those pesky multiplication tables. The law creates yet another instance of a double standard, where the wealthy gain what amounts to a special privilege, while the unwealthy must simply accept what they are given. This is nuts. Okay, I'm done now.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 11:18: totally agree with your comment, and, yes, it should be "were." But it's not "future perfect tense"; it's subjunctive (and bravo for being one of the last people on earth who uses it). Sorry: gearing up to teach my Advanced Grammar for Education Students in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:23. I hope you will ask your son to comment on here or at least pass along his comments through you.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am obviously not American, but I have lectured in a university and have given private tuition to students. The amount of work that one puts in to give a very good lecture is phenomenal. Add to that the fact that you are suddenly required to teach absolute bullshit, and the amount of time it takes to research this bullshit, plus the fact that you don't believe in this bullshit will most assuredly result in bullshit.
ReplyDeleteMake the parents pay for this but this is not education...it is brainwashing.
What has happened to the USA?
Bottom line, a NH education will not be worth the paper the diploma is printed on. Here on out, every college will be loathe to accept any student from NH in their university. Let's see how the parents of students in NH like them apples.
ReplyDeleteI'm from NH. I'm was a teacher but I'm retired now.
ReplyDeleteThe wording of HB 542 must have drastically changed.
Basically, it was changed to say that a parent can ALLOW a child to attend school. It used to say 'shall cause' meaning forced attendance.
It was written this way for the home schoolers. Previously, home schoolers could be forced to attend public schools even though they were being educated through tutors or family.
The governor issued this statement on Wednesday -
"This bill had the potential to disrupt classrooms and learning across the state. It would have been difficult, and potentially costly for school districts to administer. I am pleased a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House stood together to reject this severely flawed legislation which would have damaged educational quality in New Hampshire."
It's going to be a long six months, but I don't expect this bill to pass the senate as it's currently worded, ever.
NH is not a bastion of liberalism, no matter how you slice it.
ReplyDeleteTeachers would fare better even here in NC.
"If I were a teacher" is actually the subjunctive mood of the past tense verb "to be".
ReplyDeleteBut maybe parents in NH will choose not to have this taught to their kids.
Those parents need to pay for a private school education and not drain the resources of the public school. I have 22 years experience in public school employment ... We already have an alternative for those parents (at least here in Juneau) .... its called home schooling. Perhaps ... since the parents in NH will have to pay for an alternate course it won't be used very much. Can it be appealed by the NEA?
ReplyDeleteAre you going to comment on California's wonderful new regime that says schools MUST teach ALL religions in a positive light, leaving out anything controversial.
ReplyDeleteThat added to the state's passing their Dream Act continues to paint Cali as the most useless, detrimental state.
Anon 11:18, 'If I were' is subjunctive.
ReplyDelete"The state House voted 255-112 and Senate 17-5 to enact H.B. 542, which will allow parents to request an alternative school curriculum for any subject to which they register an objection. "
ReplyDeleteI don`t want my son to learn.
reading
math
While I don't agree with the specifics of this proposed law, I can understand it.
ReplyDeleteBasically, if a parent doesn't want his child to learn math the way the school teaches it, he has the alternative to teach math at home.
This process is already in place and has been in place since the 1970's. Anyone that wants to homeschool their children has the right to. They must apply to the state and the state approves the curriculum. There is no cost to taxpayers nor does the money come from the school budget that the student was eligible to attend.
Some of our public schools have already eliminated recess, gym, art and music due to budget constraints. They are not about to be overwhelmed with offering alternative subjects. It won't even be a consideration.
The way the current HB542 is framed, parents can not object to methods, only materials, i.e., books, audio-tapes, videos, etc.
I didn't like that our schools don't teach penmanship any more. The ones that do, only have a short session every other week or so. It's considered 'unnecessary'. So, I forced my children to learn penmanship the old fashioned way. They practiced at home. Their classmates print and they suck at it.
If the baggers don't like the curriculum being taught,they can send their children to a private school that is closer to their limited beliefs.Or,do home schooling were they can brainwash their poor children into another know nothing generation.Good thing N.H. isn't on my top 100 list of must see places.Don't think I would wish to spend my hard earned money in a place that has no respect for intelligence and education.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing - I've never met a religious fundamental extremist and I've lived in NH my entire life.
ReplyDeleteI have no clue what the religious preferences (or sexual preferences) of my neighbors are and I like it that way.
I'm a lifetime resident of NH,
ReplyDeleteand we have a fungible state, according to Snowdrift Snooki
NH has turned a bit more liberal over the years, but the 2010 election got a lot of religious folks into the NH house
I'm not sure if this bill can make it through the NH Senate or not.
This is partly about teaching creationism and religion, and NOT teaching any sex ed or even basic health to kids.
I think the hidden agenda is to destroy public schools eventually, cuz, also too, these public schools cost money, and the only BIG GOVERNMENT services we really need are:
Federal Abortion police
Federal Abortion clinic demolition Dept.
State Miscarriage police
State Pregnancy monitoring commission
Licensed Vagina Inspectors
Homosexual prison Dept
Chastity belt Commission
The Cotton Mather Church Attendance Committee
These people want vouchers to make the state pay for private ("christian") schools. They want the public system to wither away, starved for funding.
ReplyDeleteThis alternative curriculum scheme is just a tiny step toward making the public school system a miserable excuse for education of the "other" (not OUR kind of people) students.
Spent three years in NH on a work assignment. Kept my mouth shut and so my co-workers assumed I agreed with their blatant bigotry. It was appalling. For example, "lynching" was not an uncommon reference.
"Live free or die" is the state motto. And the residents are plenty happy to shove their disgusting world view on anyone that dares to disagree.
the dumbin' down of America's reachin' a crescendo...instead of havin' just a small percentage of uneducated fuk_tards ala willow, bristool and soon piper, (ah hell the entire palin/heath clan for that matter) the teabagger_tards as well as the fundamentalist christian_tard taliban are gonna be crankin' 'em out in droves...
ReplyDeleteFUK !
This is will just wind up being a total clusterfuck when it comes to implementation. Basically if I'm reading this right, this law gives a parent carte blanche to fuck up their kids education . If a parent objects to the curriculum they are free to homeschool their dumbass kids themselves or pay for private school, end of story.
ReplyDeleteAgain, my son will be graduating in June with a Masters in Teaching. Guess where he will NOT be looking for a teaching job?
ReplyDeleteThese idiots will only be happy when they get rid of public education because they don't think everyone has a right to have an education.
Wait until all these idiots find out that they will be billed $20K a year for each child they want educated. Can't wait to see what they are going to do then. Of course they think that it only costs $6K for private schools (not where I live).
Yeah, if they can find teachers who want minimum wage, no health care and definitely no pension. Why should they get paid for six years just for the pleasure of teaching? Can't think of any reason at all (sarcasm here).
That is if anyone remains a teacher. Like they don't have enough GD crap to put up with now.
We are all a ticking time bomb from waking up in another century and it won't be one in the future. These people are morons. The republicans are using them and they are just too stupid to figure out that it is for NOT for their gain. It is only to further the money the already wealthy republicans have.
I know my neighbors. I know my peers. I'll be damned if I let them drive the educational decisions of my children's school system.
ReplyDeleteThat's about a good idea as letting Sarah Palin sign up for the car pool program.
This is what the 'low information voter' generation gets you. The dumbing down of America continues full speed ahead in New Hampshire. And how is America supposed to compete with the rest of the world...the world that bases the education of their children on reality? I'm sorry, but dinosaurs and humans didn't co-exist. The earth is not only 6,000 years old. And global warming IS happening. Sigh.
ReplyDelete"This is the dumbest, most disruptive, anti-educational piece of legislation that I think I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteWhat the fuck New Hampshire?"
Well said!
Private schools and homeschooling are the appropriate option for people who object to the public school curriculum adopted by their local school boards. I'm so glad the tea party candidates ran on platforms of economic reform (snark). At least they've been quick to unveil their idiocy and true agenda and, hopefully, they'll be kicked out of state and federal office. I also hope they'll lose federal funding.
Corporate media keeps commenting that candidates need to stick with the economic issue. (Have you seen all the advice for Santorum to stay away from social issues?) The public needs to demand that a candidate's entire agenda for government be revealed. And we need to pay much closer attention to local and state elections.
I'm not a teacher but I've been hip-deep in alternative ed plans.
ReplyDelete--They are rarely very good
--They are wildly expensive
--They cannot be developed in a timely way
--Another unfunded mandate
--They isolate students from each other
--They won't actually happen
--NH will be ensnared in litigation that aims to (legally, now) squeeze blood out of an underfunded school system
This legislation *destroys* public education. In the extreme, students will be taught by a series of tutors and the common classroom will be a thing of the past. Only if the financial penalty is sufficiently high can this be mitigated. (Or, of course, a change in the legislature, which repeals this sucker).
ReplyDelete~physicsmom
The modern American Taliban is looking to have Christian madrassas
ReplyDeleteGiven that the parents have to pay for the new lesson plan, I suspect that very few parents will take advantage of this law. Talk is cheap, but when you have to pay to play, things change.
ReplyDeleteIn Alaska for special ed and gifted kids, teachers are required to have IEP's or Individualized Educational Programs. This is a recognition that each kid is unique. I always thought it should extend to all kids.
I realize that the point of the legislation here is political, but schools assume all kids of the same age are ready for the same educational experience. Maybe some parents will take advantage of this to get teachers to set up programs that are educationally more appropriate for their kids.
It would also be interesting to know what sort of options New Hampshire parents have for home schooling. If they really object to the public school curriculum, they could just take their kids out
and teach them at home.
I also see from the numbers that NH has a very big House of Representatives. NH has 1.3 million people, just less than double what Alaska has, but these numbers show 367 in their state house, while Alaska has 40. (Wikipedia says they have 400 members so almost 10% didn't vote. It also says the US Congress, with the same representation would have 99,000 representatives.)
What the ?????????? So, uneducated parents suddenly know more than trained teachers about what and how classes should be taugh? This is like Michelle Bachmann saying to let the students decide if evolution or intelligent design is the correct theory.
ReplyDeleteThis is horrid and will disrupt the schools and cost more than the budget probably allows or the parents are willing to pay to get what they want.
More kids will end up being home schooled (poorly, probably) and there won't be any good teachers left when it fails as it will.
Plus, one of the most important factors in deciding where to live is the school system. What will happen to the states' economy and real estate market when people decide they don't want to move to NH because of the crazy school system? There go job opportunities from new business.
The state's Live Free or Die motto has gone way too far. I just hope it doesn't bleed over into Vermont, MA or Maine the neighboring states.
I foresee a massive lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteRick
One more reason to be glad I don't teach anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhat if a parent wants to have their children taught that Blacks are still in the eyes of the founders merely 3/4 of a person and women really had no rights - hence they should be stripped of what rights they have? Or that the history of Jeebus is just as valid as studying the Roman Empire? Or that - oh never fricking mind. It's pathetic that parents get to decide what their children are taught. If you don't like the school curriculum then home school your robots, send them to parochial school or send them out on the streets like the Palins do with Willow. This is becoming as narrow minded a country as the Taliban led Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteTeabaggers and Republicans in general are trying to decimate public education nationwide. Public school teachers and their unions are demonized by them. Trying to balance their state budgets on the backs of the overpaid, too much health care and crippling pensioned teacher. All this for the future of our children's success and future. Way to go assholes!
ReplyDeleteSo my son and I were debating this whole fundie crap the other day. I asked the question if these crazies get their way and make abortion - either having one or providing one becomes murder then what happens of two twin brothers get into separate accidents? One tbones someone and kills the occupants - he would be charged in MN with negligent homicide. The other son sideswipes a pregnant woman who miscarries from the collision. HE would be charged with murder no matter at what stage of the pregnancy the woman was in. Now it seems to me they are really getting out of hand around the country. Someone needs to bitch slap these fundies back into reality before this country becomes a christian fascist land.
ReplyDeleteThis came about because some parents did not want their child to be taught from the book "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America".
ReplyDeleteMy son is a freshman in high school. I am certainly not happy about it. However, things change in NH every day and I look forward to this changing as well.
As far as everyone in NH being a religious fundamental extremist, I doubt it. NH is 2nd for the LEAST amount of people going to church.
Marie in NH
I lived in NH for 3 years. I met a lot of fundie extremists, a lot of "all government is bad unless it helps me" nuts, a lot of "the ____ (whatever group) is ruining the United States and it would be better if everyone was like me" loonies, a lot of misogynists, a lot of gun nuts. There's some middle of the road types, but they are on the quiet side.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I totally concur with your assessment, Gryphen. This legislation is a horror at best. They will see an exodus of teachers from their state or from the profession. These idiots have no idea how much prep time goes into every area of a curriculum. Essentially, it provides personalized instruction for every student in every subject.
ReplyDeleteThere is going to be a sudden migration of the ultra religious to NH. Everyone on all sides will push the limits and this will be settled in court.
ReplyDeleteSo if I want my child to learn about marriage equality, will that happen?
ReplyDelete@Anon11:56 -- which piece of legislation are you referring to? I live in California and have never heard of a law that makes "schools MUST teach ALL religions in a positive light, leaving out anything controversial."
ReplyDeletePost a link to this law if you can.
When I commented on this story on HuffPost, (and told NH'ites to enjoy their tea) I got this reply:
ReplyDelete“... They were apparently all endorsed (and funded by?) a group called the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, and I cannot find out anything about who they are and how they are funded. Whoever it is, they have basically staged a coup and taken over the NH legislature.”
Also in NH (and determined not to be outdone by the dimwit who introduced the education legislation), another group of 'gaggers is planning to introduce legislation that would require all new bills introduced to be supported by the Magna Carta.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/01/04/397520/new-hampshire-gop-bill-mandates-that-laws-find-their-origin-in-1215-english-magna-carta/
Meanwhile, out west, Montana's super majority (super-gaggle?) of 'gaggers is full off into Nullification, an ancient Libertarian scheme claiming the State has the right to simply nullify federal laws they don't like. (I'm pretty sure we settled that issue in the 1860's.) They're really getting their heads together on this one. It should be brilliant.
I think I'm beginning to understand why the Founders thought it necessary to create the Electoral College.
test
ReplyDeleteYou are 100% right. You couldn't pay me enough to teach in that kind of environment.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don't think it is as extreme as you might believe. We are currently having a dust-up in my district after the German teacher dressed up as a Krampus before the holidays to give the kids a taste of Christmas traditions from other parts of the world (in this case, Alpine countries). It is a tradition in our school that the kids love, even if they are initially a bit frightened. I'm sure you can imagine where this is going...
Well, ONE parent called the superintendent to complain about this "pagan" demonstration, and now the teacher (who is a devout Christian, I might add), has been asked to justify his actions and prove that it should remain part of his curriculum.
Seriously. Did I mention that we are a public, not parochial, school? And that he was the German teacher demonstrating an Austrian tradition?
And I live in the relatively "liberal" state of New Jersey.
12:41: Yes, I work in a library and you would be absolutely amazed how many people who didn’t earn a high school diploma are homeschooling their kids. The curriculums they access are Christian based. Our library purchases the books they request. Their history books challenge the facts with conservative doctrine. The science books are entirely from a creationist point of view. The American Taliban is already here.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, I concur that this is one more step on the path to destruction of our public school system. There are enough alternatives for parents who disapprove of the curriculum...private school or home schooling.
ReplyDeleteThis comes from the same state whose freshman representative is pushing a bill that requires all new legislation to prove that it originates in the Magna Carta, which was written in 1215!
Fuedal days are here again!
Maybe dismantling the system is what the goal. If there is enough confusion, conflict, and if there are failing students as there are bound to be and not enough teachers, they have the perfect excuse to do away with public education in NH.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's see: parents object to their child's history, math, English and art classes - four subjects in total. If the district charges say a nice round $1,000 per subject, that would be a cost to the parent of $4,000 to change their child's curriculum.
ReplyDeleteSounds fair to me. A thousand bucks might be on the cheap side too: the teacher will have to spend an untold amount of hours writing it up, the principal has to confer with the teacher at every step, and the district lawyer overseeing them both has to make sure as well.
If NH is as hide bound as Arizona is (where I teach), they may not have any 'wiggle' room on the curriculum, since the state usually dictates what is taught. Most state requirements have very little slack away from their standards, so it may be impossible to change some areas of study.
I predict a complete and utter mess o' poo resulting from this. Home schooling may get a big push in NH as a result.
What happens when a NH senior applies to college? How is a college to know what the course of study was if a parent chooses an alternate curriculum? Colleges and University could deny admittance to a student because the course work is not in line with the guidelines for acceptance to the school. It could happen!
ReplyDeleteWell, let's see: parents object to their child's history, math, English and art classes - four subjects in total. If the district charges say a nice round $1,000 per subject, that would be a cost to the parent of $4,000 to change their child's curriculum.
ReplyDeleteSounds fair to me. A thousand bucks might be on the cheap side too: the teacher will have to spend an untold amount of hours writing it up, the principal has to confer with the teacher at every step, and the district lawyer overseeing them both has to make sure as well.
If NH is as hide bound as Arizona is (where I teach), they may not have any 'wiggle' room on the curriculum, since the state usually dictates what is taught. Most state requirements have very little slack away from their standards, so it may be impossible to change some areas of study.
I predict a complete and utter mess o' poo resulting from this. Home schooling may get a big push in NH as a result.
Grph - can you comment on this story?
ReplyDeleteBristol is slagging off Levi
http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2012/01/06/bristol-palin-levi-johnston-is-not-using-his-visitation-not-paying-child-support
Anon@1:27. The bill is SB48, and the person here who has squawked about it several times has been reading the right wing bullshit about it. It amends existing education code to include some catagories that can't be discriminated against in educational materials and instruction. As a Californian, I fully support the changes in the code. Here is the pdf of the language as it was introduced in the Senate.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sb_48_bill_20101213_introduced.pdf
and here is the news release about its passage.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr11/yr11rel49.asp
Well, the race to the bottom winner is: New Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP is hobbling this country. Left to their guidance, we will become a third or fourth tier county in just one generation.
I wonder how long until some parent sues because their little Susie or Johnnie can't get into college because they can't pass entry tests.
I would say this makes me sad (it does), but it makes me so angry that low IQ politicians are not thinking about the consequences of their actions.
If parents want their kids to get special curricula - home school or send them to private school, but do not water down the public school systems. If they knew anything about the history of education in this country, they would know that the public school system has been a blessing in lifting generations of people out of ignorance and enabling them to create better lives than their parents or grandparents. What dolts these NH politicos are!
C'mon folks, this is nothing but legislative grandstanding. Have you ever tried to get a school district to accommodate a reasonable academic demand, like say, educating your gifted child who has been reading since three and is stuck in a first grade class doing c-a-t is CAT.
ReplyDeleteYou get responses like, I know he has an IEP, and his paper of the nuances on Tolstoy's portrayal of the female peasant in War and Peace is quite fascinating, but he didn't turn in yesterday's phonics worksheet on short vowels |:headdesk:|
Charles Pierce covered this earlier here with a link to an editorial by the conservative Union Ledger (which actually, amazingly, supported the veto): http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/new-hampshire-school-opt-out-6634135. I thought the comments in the Union-Ledger article were priceless--gives you an idea of the brain trust we're dealing with in New Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteMy sense is that a bigger tragedy is being completely ignored here (which I highlighted in the comments section on Pierce's blog). Clearly, there is an epidemic of feeble minded children in New Hampshire who are unable to reconcile more than one perspective. Unlike the vast majority of children everywhere else who are quite capable of integrating what they learn in school with the values of their parents and/or their church, these NH children apparently have some sort of devastating cognitive impairment that renders them incapable of holding more than one narrow, insular viewpoint at once. We are talking about a generation (or more accurately second generation, as the parent's seem quite feeble minded, as well) of virtual idiot children all from one regional area. This is an alarming and major public health story. Why is no one covering it?
ONE MORE TIME... not all people homeschool for religious reasons.
ReplyDeleteSome homeschool or safety.
Some homeschool because of health conditions.
Some homeschool because their very talented child (acting, athletics, etc. ) doesn't have the time for the massive timesink that is bricks and mortar public education.
Some homeschool because their children aren't the one size fits all average child.
Some of those are at the needs more help end of the spectrum, so a parent provides that help - at no cost to the school system.
Some of those kids are at the very high end. The Einsteins and Hawkings and Ronan Farrow the Rhodes Scholar. Many, many higher education professors homeschool their kids.
Not all homeschoolers are religious nutbags. Please acknowledge that.
11:56 AM - oh, my, that saddens me to think one must present only "positive" facts about any religion. That means that history itself must be censored and huge portions omitted or twisted.
ReplyDeleteThis means history teachers cannot teach the truth about the Crusades or how missionaries and politicians from dominant religions demanded native populations abandon their traditional beliefs, dress, and language when they invaded and colonized areas of the world.
Are the extremist Christians so scared, so insecure in their faith that they cannot have truth and facts presented to their children?
We once lived and taught in southeast Kansas in an area that the state had designated as a high risk area - rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic violence, rape and child abuse.
ReplyDeleteParents there were always trying to dumb-down the schools. There were no minimal educational requirements to run for the local school board, so if they had had a grudge towards a particular teacher, they would get on the board and try to oust the teacher that flunked in in gym, home economics, etc.
They would also publically announce that they saw no reason to upgrade the curriculum or buy supplies or new text books because that might give their kids "uppity ideas" that would make them want to and be able to move away.
One school board member actually said "my kid doesn't need to know any more than me. We want her to stay right where she is, make babies and take care of us as we get old." We heard similar comments about their sons.
My husband was able to get scholarships for several kids and got reamed for doing so. Needless to say, we moved before our own child got to second grade so she would never be exposed to these mind-numbing attitudes.
I think most parents want their kids to know more, be more and live an easier life than they did. Not so, apparently, in New Hampshire - they are just like the rural folks in SE KS. I guess they are afraid their kids will leave them in the dust if they get a real education.
Anne, I love your comments. NH is going to pay a big price for their decision should this be implemented.
ReplyDeleteWhy would tourists visit such a backward state? Why would businesses relocate there? Why would businesses want to stay there?
A.J. Billings - thanks for the laughs! That was quite a list, and a nice safety valve for the frustration I felt about this NH House bill. Thanks for the release of pent-up anger.
ReplyDelete"Fuedal days are here again!"
ReplyDeleteAgreed..."Serfs up!"
joemac1114 - you nailed it!
ReplyDeletePart of it, too, I think, is that the fundie legislators hear only from certain constituents, so they truly believe that vast swaths of people believe as they do. Therefore, they cook up this plan: allow parents to opt out of certain curriculum topics; create a great deal of chaos in the school system due to this option; cite the chaos as the reason for changing the core curriculum; and, finally, replace the former core curriculum with the one most requested by the opt-out parents, i.e., intelligent design, abstinence-only sex ed, and Christian-centric history. That's what they really want, and what they really think will happen.
ReplyDeletethey can't get to stupitiy fast enough. We are really heading for the dark ages again.
ReplyDeleteHow will employers and universities react to this?
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine that this will help college enrollment potential, even if the ACT is passed, not help students who are going into the work place straight out of high school.
I taught at a university for years. It's hard, time intensive work to develop a comprehensive, balanced curriculum. Having some parent come in and request, basically, a custom "ala carte" education for their child is at it's very base ludicrous. Would they ask the same of their church (Yeah, I'd rather we skipped a few of those commandment thingy's)? The police (I'd prefer it if some of these laws weren't enforced)? They should STFU and let the professionals do their job. We've studied our respective fields extensively and should know what core knowledge needs to be passed on to the students. I stopped teaching over a decade ago now in lieu of other opportunities but if this is how things will be trending, and as much as I miss the interaction with the students, I'm glad I got out. Once again, the bag-tards are trying their very best to force social regression on the US.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, from my experience homeschooling is not just for nutjobs. More often than not it's a better alternative in certain situations. We homeschooled our children for years because, quite simply, we could NOT find a decent enough school system in the rural area that we were living in. And when we moved to a new area that had a very nice, multi-tiered school system our children entered public school well ahead of their peers. (I'm assuming that the fact that both my wife and I have backgrounds in education helped a bit). Homeschooling is a viable alternative to those who have limited options.
"Sounds fair to me. A thousand bucks might be on the cheap side too: the teacher will have to spend an untold amount of hours writing it up,"
ReplyDeleteteachers don't do curriculum design. IT is purchased from one of the big publishers, Foresman, Pearson, Saxon etc.
@Anon 3:54 PM
ReplyDeleteOMG! Where at in SEK? And how recent was this?
As Laural and Hardy used to say "that's another fine mess" ...
ReplyDeleteThis is just an attmept to get all those skool book publishers in Texas more profits.
This would mean that each child, in essense, wouldn't be able to pass standardized SAT tests, so they'd have to customize the standardized tests, which wouldn't be standardized, to ensure X number of children EVER get out of school.
I don't see this bill ever passing, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Isn't the goal of education to broaden the horizons of the students? Or did I miss something along the way?
"As far as everyone in NH being a religious fundamental extremist, I doubt it. NH is 2nd for the LEAST amount of people going to church.
ReplyDeleteMarie in NH
1:00 PM"
The most vocal fundies I know...Palin and Bachmann, never attend church either..their church is in their heads.
Ironically, I homeschool because of the bat shit crazy stuff the schools do, such as new-new math or telling kids creationist's science is as valid as evolution.
ReplyDeleteI happen to be a teacher too.
ReplyDeleteI've been a student in highschool in the US for a year in 90-91 and I couldn't believe the poor quality of some of the classes. Some were great ; Advanced Spanish gave me a hard time, and sophomore English did teach me some things about American litterature. Choir was fun.
Still, the hardest scientific class (calculus) I took in this Texan highschool was two years behind what I had left at home. The brightest (and perhaps, more affluent) youngsters would complement it by classes at Texas University.
I read everywhere on the internet that science teaching has gone downhill in the US since 1990.
Sure, in my country science has been impacted too, and we've gone from a challenging 9-hours-a-week maths, in the most scientific-oriented type of senior year, to a measly 6-hours-a-week and 2 more hours optional. And there are people, who run higher education schools, who write open letters on how we're sacrificing our youth's future to financial gain, in having to pay less teachers.
But reading law proposals like this one ? What do the legislators intend to do ? Have a massive wave of teachers' suicides ? Replace them with clones ?
Are the US citizen not undereducated enough as it is ? Can't the big corporations screw them out of enough of their hard-earned money, while they passively hope for the Rapture ?
How many Americans believe in the "Rapture" anyway ? As many or more than in the European Middle Ages, when there was no public education at all ?
ReplyDeleteBecause in Europe that kind of belief is totally extinct. Yeah, I was told there maybe was some stupid millenia scare in the older Middle Ages, but then probably it was Enlightenment philosophers who had invented it from scratch, in order to depict the Middle Ages as darker than they really had been.
There is not even a word in my language for the "rapture". I had to Wikipedia the term, and I was baffled at what I read.
And now, everybody I happen to explain "the belief in the Rapture" to, breaks out laughing, and says "those Americans, they really have no education whatsoever, unbelievable ! How come you still care for them and what they do ?".
And that includes my very devout mother, a biology teacher, who never considered that her religion (catholic) opposed science in any way. And she loves fossils.
European public education has made it mandatory for children to attend school, despite their parents' wishes.
ReplyDeleteIn 1900 it was "Yes we know, the hay must be in the barn by tomorrow ; but your child must be in school". Today it's "Yes we know, it's much cheaper to rent a vacation place outside of the school holidays ; but your child must be in school".
What happens to people who don't provide an adequate education to their children ? They loose their children, quite simply. Children become wards of the State, because not providing a "good enough" education to your children is child abuse.
Homeschooling does exist, but it's very regulated ; as far as I know the child must take exams every year, and prove that he's not falling behind the normally-schooled children on the state-defined curriculum. Homeschooling is for gifted students, or for otherwise unable-to-attend-normal-school students, not for making your children blithering idiots.
In my country, your child would be free to have a good education, whether you'd want it or not. Call it socialist if you want.
This sounds like something you would expect from the people in Texas who thought it would be a great idea to teach intelligent design!
ReplyDeleteCome ON, NEW HAMPSHIRE!! :/
-Victoria
@ 8:52 AM
ReplyDeletethat is exactly what this bill was about. This allows the students to be taught at home without question.
All home schoolers have to be registered with the state already and use an approved curriculum. Someone posted above exactly which book caused the controversy.
There is another one involved too - students discussed "Hunger Games" in a class and a parent objected to the material as inappropriate for 6th graders.
As also stated above, the bill probably won't make it through the senate as it's recognized as a "frivolous" bill.
If, by chance, it does pass - it doesn't change anything for the classroom except it will be legal for little Johnny not to be there. He will be at home or in a private school at the parent's expense, not the school districts.
Really great observations An European Viewpoint - it's truly ironic that for quite some time now here in America we are working so hard to undermine educating our children - in contrast to the rest of the world. It has reached an almost profoundly stupid level now, with the rewriting of history texts in Texas, and the equating of Creationism as a science on the same level or higher level as Evolution. It is truly tragic, and of course, it is our children who will bear the burden of being so poorly educated - even compared with children educated in much poorer countries.
ReplyDeleteAnd the sad, ironic fact is that the very thing the American Fundies value above all else besides instituting biblical law in place of secular law is military might and power on the world stage - you know - so the US can dominate other countries with GUNS, BOMBS, and threats is at risk because they refuse to fund education. Education - no, but more guns and bombs - YES!
They fail to understand that as they destroy education in America -
our illiterate citizens won't be the ones building our munitions or missile defense systems, nor will they even be able to effectively operate the high tech weaponry being developed - I guess they want to have all that outsourced, too! How militarily secure will that be?