2008 Woodie Awards
Homeschool ruling incompetent
Lance Park
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Opinion
Before I attended High School, I was a quiet child that was often picked on and pushed around for the usual reasons; weight, looks, personality, etc. Such is life when you're young, but back then it was very upsetting to me. So, when getting into High School, my parents decided to have me try homeschooling through a program with Buckingham Charter School (now known as Buckingham Charter Magnet High School.)
With this program, I had the textbooks and assignments, but my parents were the ones who helped me with studying and learning. They were my educators for about two or so years, though a nice teacher by the name of Chad Fisk, was employed by Buckingham to come out once a week and check my progress and give me tests. I loved it; I was learning, I was being educated; all without having that constant peer pressure or abuse other students can cause. When I did start taking classes held at Buckingham with teachers, I had matured enough to deal with that pressure.
Now the California court is saying these two years of growth were illegal, and that parents have no constitutional right for homeschooling their children. A recent ruling by the California Appeals court is putting pressure on homeschoolers, with the result possibly being hundreds of thousands of kids being regarded as truants and parents of these children facing possible prosecution.
This arose from a recent child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Phillip and Mary Long when one of their eight home-schooled children filed a mistreatment complaint about being poorly educated. Basically, the County is saying that their children, by the law, must send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home, despite the fact the Longs children are enrolled in Sunland Christian School, which is a private religious academy that treats them as part of their independent study program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the California courts are, what a surprise, so full of it that it permeates their argument like the pungent aroma of a landfill.
With this program, I had the textbooks and assignments, but my parents were the ones who helped me with studying and learning. They were my educators for about two or so years, though a nice teacher by the name of Chad Fisk, was employed by Buckingham to come out once a week and check my progress and give me tests. I loved it; I was learning, I was being educated; all without having that constant peer pressure or abuse other students can cause. When I did start taking classes held at Buckingham with teachers, I had matured enough to deal with that pressure.
Now the California court is saying these two years of growth were illegal, and that parents have no constitutional right for homeschooling their children. A recent ruling by the California Appeals court is putting pressure on homeschoolers, with the result possibly being hundreds of thousands of kids being regarded as truants and parents of these children facing possible prosecution.
This arose from a recent child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Phillip and Mary Long when one of their eight home-schooled children filed a mistreatment complaint about being poorly educated. Basically, the County is saying that their children, by the law, must send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home, despite the fact the Longs children are enrolled in Sunland Christian School, which is a private religious academy that treats them as part of their independent study program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the California courts are, what a surprise, so full of it that it permeates their argument like the pungent aroma of a landfill.
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