This site is intended to provide a place for progressive, open minded homeschoolers to network and to share resources and information about issues and elections, for the 2008 presidential election and beyond. All are welcome. Check out our Blogroll and other great links at left for more information and resources.
Congress is back in session. Lots of stuff is happening, giving you lots of opportunities to weigh in on everything from auto company bail outs to taxes. Now Open Congress offers "My Political Notebook:
It's a new way to save and share your favorite political content, from OpenCongress and around the web.
"My Political Notebook" allows you to create a personal page of everything you're following in politics: news articles, blog posts, web videos, important files, and more. You can add content with one click using a handy bookmarklet for your web browser, or directly from pages on OpenCongress.
For example, one of the biggest issues in the news is whether Congress will include a bailout of the Big Three Automakers in a new economic stimulus package. "My Political Notebook" gives you a way to collect the best info about this developing story in one place, add your own notes & tags, and share it all with your friends.
To read more about "My Political Notebook", visit our blog announcement today ::
Finally, our friends Jay & Ryanne of RyanIsHungry.com recently made a great video tutorial on how to use OpenCongress to track all the bills and issues you care about ::
Defeated: Amendment 1, calling for the removal of a law banning ownership of property by alien residents - 52% voted it down Amendment 8, asking for approval to seek authorization from voters to increase sales tax to support community colleges - rejected by 56% of voters
Passed: Amendment 2, the "gay marriage ban" amendment - passed by a 62% vote Amendment 3, exempting homes from increased property value assessment due to changes made for safety and sustainability - approved by 60% of voters Amendment 4, creating a new "conservation" land use classification to exempt property owners from taxes - by 68% of voters Amendment 6, giving waterfront businesses a tax break for maritime use - approved by 70% of voters
With respect to the currently (re)circulating UN Convention on the Rights of the Child contention that, if the Democratic Senator -- who is rumored to be unsupportive of homeschooling in the first place -- is elected, the first thing he will do is sign it and we’ll loose our right to homeschool, please consider the following:
(also supported by Church Women United: http://www.churchwomen.org/RightsoftheChild/myths-facts.asp)
And for what it’s worth, this late on election day, what folks might really want to consider when voting is where the candidates stand on various issues of major national importance that affect us all right now, things like
Angela M., a South Florida homeschooler, forwarded this along with permission to share it here:
__________________
In response to the “Candidates Views on Homeschooling” email that has been circulating, I just wanted to add what was missing from the analysis. If you actually go to Vote USA[which works to connect voters with candidates], there was plenty on the site that McCain had no response to, and neither of the candidates answered every question, it was not just those two that Obama did not answer.
Under parental involvement, Obama specifically says, “But there is no program and no policy that can substitute for a parent who is involved in their child's education from day one.” and, “Responsibility for our children's education has to start at home. We have to set high standards for them, and spend time with them, and love them. We have to hold ourselves accountable."
He also says in his general education statement that his "comprehensive plan to provide a world-class education for all Americans will... Empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child's education at home and at school.”
Many of McCain’s responses were taken from his McCain for President website dated back to 1999.
I also wanted to share what I believe to be vital information for anyone out there that is trying to discredit Obama for being against homeschooling. The following information was received directly from Obama’s Campaign Office. All you have to do is ask.
------ Forwarded Message
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:04:06 -0500
Subject: Obama Campaign on Homeschooling
Hi Angela,
It was very nice to meet you today, and I really appreciate you coming in for more information. Here is what I have regarding homeschooling so far.
Issue of Homeschooling
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are firmly dedicated to reforming our education system so that children of all ages, socio-economic status, etc. have the opportunity to receive a world class education all the way from pre-school through college, not only making education affordable and accessible to all but also by rewarding expert, accomplished teachers for taking on challenging assignments and helping children succeed, raising education and performance standards, and eliminating/reforming programs that are not working.
A significant element of Barack Obama’s education plan is to Empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child’s education at home and at school. As Obama stated during his convention speech this year, “We must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents, that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework, that fathers must take more responsibility to provide love and guidance to their children.”
While Barack Obama has never specifically discussed the issue of homeschooling in his speeches, debates ,etc. (because the majority of Americans send their kids to public or private schools) I can assure you that he is 100% supportive of parents who choose to school their kids at home and encourages all parents to take a proactive role in their children’s education.
I also wanted to add two quotes from Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope” - the first of which talks specifically about homeschooling...
In his chapter on Family, he outlines many policy ideas to help parents meet the family-work balance and provide flexibility to parents’ schedules so that they can spend more time with their children.
“Of course,” he says on page 344, “none of these policies need discourage families from deciding to keep a parent at home, regardless of the financial sacrifices. For some families, that may mean doing without certain material comforts. For others, it may mean homeschooling or a move to a community where the cost of living is lower. For some families, it may be the father who stays at home – although for most families it will still be the mother who serves as the primary caregiver. Whatever the case may be, such decisions should be honored.”
He goes on to say “our modern culture sometimes fails to fully appreciate the extraordinary emotional and financial contributions – the sacrifices and just plain hard work – of the stay-at-home mom.”
In his chapter on Opportunity, he says on page 159 that we should be guided by “Lincoln’s simple maxim: that we will do collectively, through our government, only those things that we cannot do as well or at all individually and privately. In other words, we should be guided by what works.”
Homeschooling works, and has been proven to work.
Obama wants to help families spend more time with their children, and if homeschooling is their choice, and it works, then I have no doubt that he will support the growing movement of well-educated homeschooled youth around the nation. Sometimes you just have to look further to get the right facts, and know that you won’t always get a fair representation of the candidates’ views from organizations that obviously have an opinion.
