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Welcome
to Our World!
by
Amy Cortez, Editor - The Eclectic Telegraph
If
you camp, you know the smell. The one that grabs your nose when
you air out the tent and unpack those sleeping bags. If you stored
your gear correctly, it's not mildew. No this smell is adventure.
The campfire, the orange blossoms, the sea, the wonderful scents
you encountered the last time you hit the trail.
At our house it starts with an idea from a book, a video, junk
mail, a movie, a photo. It goes something like this. "Let's
go to the Amazon." The look. "Well, how about a remote
island that you can only get to by boat?" Google is our friend.
I have a travel budget. I fund that pot early in the year, so
if this sort of request comes early enough in the year, we may
end up in the Amazon or Bora Bora. If this suggestion comes when
the pot is almost empty, we may end up on a local lake. We have
travelin' feet. It doesn't take much to get us on the road.
Many
people who are not intimately familiar with homeschooling will
always ask the question: "what about socialization?".
If I can refrain from the snort and the sigh, I generally ask
them what they mean by socialization and I generally get the response
"you know, having your kid be with other kids and to be able
to get along in society?". A sigh and then I give them the
answer they want to reaffirm their decisions and choices. I give
them the answers about extra-curricular activities and how many
ways my kid gets exposed to other kids his age. If they still
seem skeptical, I generally run the rails with something similar
to what OldSage
found this month. If I am dealing with a particularly smart
bird asking the question, I'll give my standard answers. And
if I am dealing with someone who is genuinely interested in homeshooling,
or who I can tell is wise enough to "get it" (was that
mean?) I tell them about our travels and let them draw their own
conclusions about "socialization".
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At
the beginning of the year I look at what sort of topics we plan
to explore during the school year, and then my student and I plan
our “field trips”. We’ve had field trips for
Art, World Culture, Foreign language, Science, Engineering, Geography
and History. We even had a field trip once to learn how
to do nothing .....
I got the travel bug when I got out of college. I sailed the East
Coast, I traveled in the US. When I started working I took a job
that involved travel and I ended up traveling to Europe, Northern
Africa and the Pacific Rim. I hope that my student has the same
wandering feet! He seems to! Many of the photographs
you will find at our website come from our "socialization"
umm.....travels.
There
are plenty of people who make a living telling other people how
to travel economically, OK, cheap. There are even more who will
tell you how to spend a lot of money on travel. But it really
gets down to how brave you really are. Do you need to insulate
your experience with expensive amenities? Do snakes really bother
you? Can you deal with a place that doesn't speak the language
you do? There are degrees of bravery and with each adventure,
you can chip away another fear. The most important question to
ask yourself: Are you willing to be one of those who take fullest
advantage of the beauty of homeschooling by actually going to
the places that many school children only read about? If you answered
"yes", then perhaps you aren't the armchair tourist
you thought you were. You just need an idea and the will to go.
The rest will fall into place, I guarantee it.
You
don't need to be a jet setter to add travel to your curriculum.
You just need imagination and determination. I once edited and produced
a homeschool support group newsletter where I rarely received contributions
from the other members, so instead of sending out a slim two page
newsletter for the 12 dollars everyone spent, I filled it with what
I thought were interesting topics that were local, regional and
national. One item was about an Art show where a rather large collection
of Impressionist Art was going to be displayed at a museum that
was in another state and would have taken 8 hours to drive to see
it. A comment from one of the members of the group was that they
didn't like to see items like that because it made them feel bad
that some group members may not be able to go to things like that.
I understood the sentiment, but needless to say I didn't understand
the idea behind keeping an item like that out of the newsletter
for the reason stated. Just the idea of travel inspires the imagination
towards possibilities.
"Taking
your homeschool on the road is always an experience. Many people
have heard of homeschooling but still ask a lot of questions
anyway. Once they find out they are in the middle of your "classroom",
they share a wealth of information with your student -especially
if your student is willing to ask questions. " |
I
wrote that as part of an introduction to a website we built as part
of a
study in Geography that we did....
You don't have to spend a fortune and travel to the ends of the
earth. An adventure can be found in your own town or within driving
distance or to sound cliche, in
your basement, or in your
own back yard! Go camping, spend a weekend at an inn, go canoeing.
If you really want it to happen you can make it happen. Give the
travel bug to your students and watch them grow and mature. It's
a great way to "socialize" your student!
Anyway,
all this writing about travel is to let you know that we are hittin'
the trail again for the month of February. We need to meet some
new friends, discover further that there are other cultures and
ways to live and look at things. Maybe find some new books, or a
cool library or a bookstore for sale. Shoot a roll of film or ten,
find a new market, a new pizza joint, a beach. Maybe even find a
fresh look at our everyday or find a whole new every day!
Gone
Sailing.
Really.
Happy Trails!
See you in March!
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Grassroots Campaign: Write
Your Legislators…..
by Amy Cortez, Editor - The Eclectic
Telegraph
If
you are homeschooling, you have already made a political statement. You
are coloring outside the lines by most American standards. How far you
color outside the lines really has to do with where you see yourself philosophically
on this planet. Right or left, religious, secular, gay, straight, single,
married, white, black, Latino, Asian, Native American -- all words that
describe American homeschoolers.
There
is a group here in the United States that has consistently promoted themselves
at the Federal Level as the group that represents all homeschoolers. They
can get away with that, because they do, because we let them.
Homeschooling
is a way of life that cannot and should not be represented by
any one group, and it certainly is not something that should
be regulated at the Federal level.
On great example of this is what OldSage brought to you last month and
that is
a bit about a certain subgroup of homeschoolers that want to amend
our U.S. Constitution with ideas about the rights of parents. Basically
this would get down to describing and regulating what parents are and
what a family looks like. (There is a wonderful history of this
story written by Mary McCarthy called "Parental
Rights Legislation" at the Washington
Natural Learning Association website.) This movement by this one group
illustrates how one group can and does usurp your right as an individual
and as a homeschooler. This group may tell you they are protecting your
rights and freedoms, but ultimately they are not, especially if you do
not agree with their agenda.
So
who are the "good guys" and "bad guys" with regards
to homeschooling?
There
a wonderful document written by: Celeste Land for the Virginia
Home Education Association Newsletter called "General
Assembly 2004: "Good Guys and Bad Guys"" that describes
some really good ideas about who the "good guys" and "bad
guys" are with regards to homeschooling
An
excerpt from that article:
Some
people would say that the answer to the “good guys/bad guys”question
falls along political party lines. People in one party support
homeschooling and are “good guys”; people in the other
party oppose homeschooling, and are “bad guys.”However,
VHEA has found supporters and opponents of homeschooling among
both Democrats and Republicans.
So, who are the real “bad guys” in homeschooling politics?
VHEA has found that most bad homeschooling legislation and most
bad homeschooling policies are crafted out of ignorance.
Most legislators and policymakers, regardless of their political
affiliation, know little about homeschooling. All too often, a
legislator or policymaker genuinely has no idea that his or her
bill could hurt or adversely affect homeschoolers.
Another “bad guy” in homeschooling politics is fear.
Legislator and policy makers may create bad bills or policies
because they are afraid of something and want to prevent it from
happening in the homeschooling community or the community at large.
Often these well-intentioned bills and policies create more problems
than they solve.
Finally, prejudice and stereotyping are all too
common in homeschooling politics. Legislators or policymakers
may mistakenly assume that “all homeschoolers” think
a certain way, act a certain way, or vote a certain way. We homeschoolers
can be guilty of this as well, incorrectly assuming that “all
legislators,” “all school officials,”“all
Democrats,” or “all Republicans”think a certain
way, act a certain way, or vote a certain way. This results in
misunderstandings, miscommunications, and missed opportunities
for both sides.
How do you fight against ignorance, fear, and prejudice? VHEA’s
tools are education, communication and bridge-building. We educate
and inform legislators and policymakers about homeschooling and
homeschooling issues.
[Read
on in PDF format]
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Apathy
is dangerous to any way of living. Especially if you are homeschooling,
and I would add apathy to that the list of "bad guys" VHEA describes
- Apathy
- Ignorance
- Fear
- Prejudice
and stereo typing.
Each
homeschooling family is different. Each member of a homeschooling family
is an individual who needs to be vigilant and active in protecting homeschooling
freedoms, and more importantly, freedoms and rights of the individual.
The
best way to protect your individual freedoms is to use them. Use them
by speaking out on your own and on behalf of your children. Speak out
and say that you don't want anyone else deciding who "parents"
are and what a family should look like. Speak out and describe that you
don't want anyone else representing you as a homeschooler. Speak out and
say that you don't want to Federal government regulating anything already
protected by the U.S. Constitution regarding parenting, families and schooling.
Now that there has been a changing of the guard in Washington and in many
states, take time to write a letter.
Judy
Aron of National
Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD) provides parents across the nation
with a wide variety of information on legislative issues writes a homeschool
political blog and wrote recently: "Who
Represents Homeschoolers in Washington, DC?". This entry had
a good sample letter I chose to start with, but also added my own sentiments.
Feel free to copy, edit and use:
Dear
[Mr/Ms Politician],
Congratulations on your [re]election to the [Senate or House of
Representatives]!
As a homeschooling family, we’d like to thank you for your
public service and to welcome you [back] to Washington,DC.
Sometime in the course of your career in the [Senate or House of
Representatives], you will no doubt hear legislation presented
on behalf of "American homeschoolers." I'd like
to take this opportunity to let you know that we are a diverse group,
representing all religious beliefs, races and ethnic groups, and
economic levels. We range across the political spectrum. Not
all legislation claiming to be helpful to homeschoolers is what
it seems, and in fact homeschooling legislation should not be considered
at the federal level at all!
As
a homeschooling parent, I have found that just as I have become
local expert concerning my child, I recognize that no one bit of
legislation, at any level, can meet the needs of all the kinds of
families there are in the United States and I don't want something
added that further regulates my family. The U.S. Constitution
already provides freedoms as parents, citizens and homeschoolers
and there really is no need to add anything that narrows rights
already provided.
If you hear someone claiming to speak for all homeschoolers,
please keep in mind that they may not have asked me what
I think, and that I have not asked them to speak for me. No
one group represents homeschoolers, so please do not take the advisement
of any particular homeschooling organization regarding
legislative matters, especially as it relates to federal legislation.
My advice and sincere request to you is that if you have
homeschooling language, or a homeschool issue before you, please
reject it because homeschoolers do not receive federal
monies and are also not subject to federal regulation according
to the US Constitution. Any issues that homeschoolers face
should be dealt with in their own state legislatures, not in Washington,
DC.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Kids should sign their own names - it's endearing from the little
ones, and empowering for older kids.]
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See how other homeschoolers are approaching this idea:
Grassroots
Activism at Learning
is for Everyone "Whatever your interests, whatever your goals,
for yourself or for your family, you can and should be actively involved
in your choices." |
Mary
Nix an editor and writer for Home Education Magazine recently wrote
an excellent article called "Grassroots
Political Activism". In that article, she quotes another
great article I read years ago :Let’s Not Link Homescholing
to Partisan Politics” which was published by Larry and Susan
Kaseman in their Taking Charge column in the November- December
2004 Issue of Home Education Magazine:
"However, our broad base is being undermined as the largest
and best-known national homeschooling organization, the Home School
Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) becomes increasingly involved
in political activity and so links homeschooling to right wing politics,
something that is gaining increasing attention in the media. The
problem is the linkage, not the fact that HSLDA is right wing. In
fact, many homeschoolers take the same position as HSLDA on various
issues, but they realize that their homeschooling freedoms would
be threatened if they mixed non-homeschooling issues with their
work to maintain homeschooling freedoms. It would be just as problematic
for homeschooling to be linked to left wing politics. “To
maintain the strength of the homeschooling movement, we need to
remember how varied homeschoolers are and what a small minority
of the movement HSLDA represents (only about 10% of homeschooling
families have paid HSLDA dues). We need to share this information
with other homeschoolers, legislators, the media, and the general
public" |
Prior
to this, Mary wrote "Grassroots
Campaign to Write Your Legislators….." which contained
a simple idea and a letter to politicians from Nancy McVicker a New
Jersey homeschooler. |
What
can you do? become familiar with issues regarding family and
education in your state. Become familiar with issues regarding family
and education at the Federal levle. At the very least write a letter letting
your legislators know what you think!
Communicating
with Elected Officials |
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