I have just learned from the Family Research Center that the 2nd District Court of Appeals has vacated the decision by the California Supremes to ban anyone and everyone who does not a California quality teachers certificate and/or belongs to one ……..

Doesn’t that seem a bit divisive? Please, I want to be clear here: do you think that Thomas Jefferson went to hell?

(Sorry for taking so long to respond!)

Several families from our church took the children temporarily. After swearing up and down that they would change, the parents were allowed to get the children back, but under the very watchful eye of DHS. The families who had kept their children continued to serve as advocates for the children.

Fortunately this case ended up being a shining example of the system working well, although I will say that the advocacy that my church provided helped a great deal. Unfortunately, the parents repeatedly failed to meet goals set by the court and eventually the children were removed permanently and placed in permanent foster care. Thanks to a lot of help, they are all thriving.

What broke our hearts about this situation was that the oldest child, who was 12, tested at a second-grade reading and math level. Her brother, who was 10, didn’t do any better. They had been neglected by their parents, who had used them as free babysitters. We figured out that something was wrong when we offered to help them with homeschooling (which involved looking at the curriculum that they were using and getting their kids involved in homeschooling networks) and the parents flatly refused. They knew their flimsy cover was about to be blown.

There is an old saying, “unusual cases make bad law.” This family was certainly, by far, the exception for homeschooling families. Overall, homeschooling is a great option for parents who cannot afford private school. And here in OK City, we have a large network of homeschool programs that provides music, laboratory science, intramural sports, and other activities, in partnership with private schools and churches.

As I wrote earlier, it is not in anyone’s best interest for courts to overreact and take down the whole homeschooling system just because a handful of families abuse it. I hope that the California decision is reversed — the sooner the better.

What sends folks to hell is the ultimate rejection as Jesus Christ as your Saviour and repenting of your sins.

So does that mean Jews are going to hell? What about atheists? Agnostics? Deists? Unitarians?

What about folks like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin? Both of whom were argueably Deists (or possibly a Unitarian in Jefferson’s case) and questioned the divinity of Jesus? Do you have to believe Jesus was the Son of God? Or is it OK to just think he was a great moral teacher?

Can you be an atheist that believes Jesus to be on par with thinkers like Socrates? What if you try your best to follow the morals and principles of Jesus yet reject the notion that there is a supreme being?

OK, /threadjack mode off, we now return you to our regularly scheduled program.

The court has granted rehearing, effectively agreeing to reconsider the issue (Malkin, Mar. 27; earlier)…….

1) Will government credentials for home school parents eliminate all “bad” home school parents?

And if not, then

2) Should we logically assume that there are no “bad” teachers in government schools so that if all kids were forced into government schools they’d all be protected from “bad” parents?

I’m just asking….

If the kids can’t pass a high-school equivalency exam then its all on the parents and the kids don’t get a diploma from the state. If they ace it, then good for them (and the parents) and the state should recognize this and the home-school degree should be no different than a govt. school degree.

That’s what I heard 25 years ago while I was pregnant with my child.

I had read the book by the Moores-said I could – and did it!

To give courage to those who are considering home-schooling-my child was accepted by one of the Academies.