Home Schooled Kids Should STAY HOME (Minnesota, voting, world, society)

[TouchOfWhimsy]

Originally Posted by helios666

Me too. If there is a "school" team, then it should consist solely of students that belong to that school.

But in fairness- should the number of homeschooled children begin to grow to where there is a need to place these otherwise "misplaced" children in constructive extracurricular activities such as sports and other leisures (like the arts, hopefully), then perhaps there should be a separate team consisting only of those who are homeschooled. Otherwise- well, just send your kids to school if you think sports and other such social and/or physical activities that involve their peers are important in your child's growth and well being. You can't have it both ways.

Actually, in most states you CAN have it both ways. That's the beauty of homeschooling. We are free to use school resources (that we are paying for through our taxes), community resources, and private resources to custom-build our children's education.

Your suggestion is just as absurd as if I said "I think that kids who go to school should have to stay out of the parks and museums. I mean, if they're going to be at school because the programs are so important, then they should STAY there! You can't have it both ways!"

[TouchOfWhimsy]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Here's something I was going to post earlier, but the conversation took a twist. I'm taking the liberty of changing the subject a bit, while staying on topic.

Back in my day, where I grew up, the Catholic school system was "big". I do not know of anyone who home-schooled, but I suppose there were a few. Some kids also paid tuition at public schools, to go outside their attendance area, and there were a few private, non-religious schools, and perhaps a few non-Catholic religious schools (not that I knew of any). You played sports at your school. If your school didn't offer a sport, you didn't play it for the high school sports system. (This is not to say you couldn't play your sport for some club that was not associated with the school, say like a private tennis club, for example.) That's just the way it was. It was assumed that you (or more likely, your parents) had made a "choice" and you had to deal with the consequences of that choice, both good and bad.

Fast forward 30 years and 1500 miles, here in CO when my daughters were in high school, the rules were a little different. If your school did not offer a sport you wanted to play in HS, as was the case with both my daughters, you could participate at the nearest school in the district that offered the sport. If no district school offered the sport, you could participate in the nearest district that did offer it. Private school kids, home schooled kids, and charter school kids have the same rules.

As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, paying taxes does not automatically allow everyone to use a tax supported service. This is applicable even with local taxes. One time, my family was riding our bikes on the local bike paths, and we wandered onto the tax-supported golf course accidentally. We were told to leave, b/c we weren't there to golf, had not paid an admission fee, etc, even though the golf course is public land.

The "facts" of this Tebow case seem to be all over the place. I am going mostly by what other posters say. As I understand it, Tim T. was home-schooled by his parents (probably his mother, in reality). The family lived in one school district in Florida. Florida has laws similar to CO that home-schooled students can play sports for the school in their attendance area. So far, I'm in complete agreement with this. However, the Tebows made a decision that mom and Tim would move to an apt. so that Tim could play for a better team, a coach he liked or some combination of the two in a different school district. This is where I part company with the Tebows. Their move does not seem to meet the qualifications of a "bona-fide family move". Some states have clamped down on this stuff by saying the student has to be living in the primary family residence. The Tebows are touting their moral superiority with this commercial (which I have no problem with CBS airing). To me, this seems ethically sketchy.

I really fail to see where this is ethically sketchy. People are allowed to move for any reason that they'd like. If I want to have a vacation home or apartment in a different area and decide to live in it so my kids can go to a better school, then how is that any different from waht the Tebows did? The rule in Florida is that homeschooled kids can play in the district that they live in. If they have two houses, and are paying double taxes/rent/mortgage/etc, then why on earth would it be morally wrong to choose the better of those two districts?

[Robinstyler]

Originally Posted by KevK

Well my tax money pays for lots of things. It pays for the gym in the White House but do I get to go there and use it? It pays for the day care center in the federal building downtown here but I cannot put my kids into it. It pays for lots and lots of things I do not get to use. If you are going to use the facilities and programs of a public school then enroll there. Otherwise stay home.

Students in the school district of their residence oftentimes have opportunity to enjoy their local schools sports programs. This is not a tragedy or an abuse of the system. The public schools work it out and do not suffer financially due to this arrangement.

Homeschooling has been occurring since schools have begun regardless of religious beliefs. Many have taken their children into a homeschooling environment due to the sliding of educational performance in the public schools.

Also, a person's religious beliefs are protected by the First Amendment. A person in the US is free to not believe or believe in whatever they wish spiritually. If you want to pray to a bar of chocolate, you are allowed to do so.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by TouchOfWhimsy

I really fail to see where this is ethically sketchy. People are allowed to move for any reason that they'd like. If I want to have a vacation home or apartment in a different area and decide to live in it so my kids can go to a better school, then how is that any different from waht the Tebows did? The rule in Florida is that homeschooled kids can play in the district that they live in. If they have two houses, and are paying double taxes/rent/mortgage/etc, then why on earth would it be morally wrong to choose the better of those two districts?

But the whole family didn't move! In Colorado, a state that has had problems with this issue, the definition of a "bona fide family move" is as follows:

"a bona fide family move has not occurred unless and until the student's custodial parent or legal guardian, the student, and the student's family have abandoned the immediately preceding place of domicile and have no present intention to return to that place of domicile."

It goes on to say that if the family retains ownership of the former home, the move is not considered a bona fide family move. Under no circumstances is a move made for athletic purposes considered a bona fide family move, and the burden is on the student/family to prove that the move was not made for athletic purposes.

The issue of a vacation home is treated like it is for voting. You have to declare ONE place your home.

All this is from the link I supplied earlier. The second sentence is not a quote, mods.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by KevK

I have mixed feelings about Tim Tebow. He is a great football player and I hope he does well in the NFL. Lord knows they need some excitement there. But he is also a religious nutcase.
I was shocked when I found out that he played high school football for a school that he never attended for even one class! It seems like the state of Florida allows the "home schooled" to play sports for any school they want without attending school there. No only that but they may go there for a variety of activity including the free lunch program if they wish.
And unlike most athletes who must play for the school they attend- usually the one in their neighbourhood, the home schooled religious nutcases can actually CHOOSE the school they want to play for.
In my view if the school is not good nuff for your kids to attend, they should not be going there for other things. If they home schoolers want to have athletics they ought to have their OWN league- maybe "Jesus League" or something.

I've known a few homeschooled people and they were very naive, extremely brainwashed into Christian fundamentalism/extremism, and had poor writing skills. Not sure why they couldn't write well, but anyway, I think homeschooling is most often a tool used by religious extremists to severely brainwash their children.

[TouchOfWhimsy]

Originally Posted by denverian

I've known a few homeschooled people and they were very naive, extremely brainwashed into Christian fundamentalism/extremism, and had poor writing skills. Not sure why they couldn't write well, but anyway, I think homeschooling is most often a tool used by religious extremists to severely brainwash their children.

If I came up with any similar stereotype about any other group based on my knowledge of "a few" of them, everyone would be all and and . I know hundreds of homeschooled children, and none that I can think of are extremely brainwashed extremists.

I know lots and lots of lots of public schooled people who have no common sense and appalling grammar and spelling skills. I do not think, however, that public school is most often a tool used by grammatical ignoramuses to perpetuate their English-usage-hatin' ways.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by denverian

I've known a few homeschooled people and they were very naive, extremely brainwashed into Christian fundamentalism/extremism, and had poor writing skills. Not sure why they couldn't write well, but anyway, I think homeschooling is most often a tool used by religious extremists to severely brainwash their children.

WOW - you need to get out more. For what you describe is RARE - VERY rare indeed.

Major colleges and Universities are going after Home Schooled kids because of their high academic achievements -

[swagger]

Originally Posted by denverian

I've known a few homeschooled people and they were very naive, extremely brainwashed into Christian fundamentalism/extremism, and had poor writing skills. Not sure why they couldn't write well, but anyway, I think homeschooling is most often a tool used by religious extremists to severely brainwash their children.

Speaking of "severely brainwashed"...

[KevK]

Originally Posted by denverian

I've known a few homeschooled people and they were very naive, extremely brainwashed into Christian fundamentalism/extremism, and had poor writing skills. Not sure why they couldn't write well, but anyway, I think homeschooling is most often a tool used by religious extremists to severely brainwash their children.

I agree. Then after they are home "schooled" they go to Bob Jones University and get another 4 years of religious nutcase instruction and then they go out and try to force it on everybody else.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by Greatday

WOW - you need to get out more. For what you describe is RARE - VERY rare indeed.

Major colleges and Universities are going after Home Schooled kids because of their high academic achievements -

Major universities:

Liberty
Bob Jones
Oral Roberts