Doc’s Sunrise Rants

Okay, so I saw this comment (in last post) from “Mandy” from Sweeping The Home:

Hay, I know we don’t have much in commen as I am a born again saved Christien and you are obveously a heathen headed for hell, but I totelly agree with you on you’re post! I homeschouled my self threw high school with a corespondance coarse that I sent for threw Glamor magazine, and now I’m home schouling my own children using the KJV Bible as our main textbook! Praise the Lord!

And sure, I was like wtf. Then I remembered Candy, and HER site “Keeping The Home“. If you’re not familiar, Candy has a big xtian website where she blogs like a lunatic and mostly hates catholics and everyone who isn’t exactly the same brand of moronic christian she is. The idiots in power at the Homeschool Blog Awards (no link provided) gave the twit an award and have her linked from their site, in spite of repeated requests by other Christians to remove it. But then again, what would one expect from a group who couldn’t run an honest awards program if their souls depended on it?

There are a couple of sites (maybe more) where the disinformation and hatred Candy spews is tempered with reason and logic. Here’s one. Here’s another that’s way more to the point.

It won’t be long before the assholes ladies of the HSBAs start spamming their latest contest. I will make my yearly plea that thinking homeschoolers refuse to participate. Here’s an alternative, honest contest going on - no prizes, but at least it’s fair.

Thanks for the laugh, Mandy.

EDITED For the confused:

Candy - Actual blogger, and catholic hater. Writes uber stupid christian blog - keeping the home. Candy, while claiming to be courted daily by MENSA, is a really poor speller.

Mandy - Candy Parody - sweeping the home. The bad spelling is part of the parody.

Elena - Writes “Visits with Candy” where she gently and logically refutes Candy’s silly anti Catholicism rhetoric. Elena’s spelling is fine.

CandyIsANutJob - Writes at “Candy is a liar and false prophet“, where they not so gently refute Candy’s anti Catholicism rhetoric. If the spelling isn’t always perfect, it’s okay, because they aren’t claiming to be MENSA members.

Super Unethical People who manage the Homeschool Blog Awards - you can google those “ladies” on your own.

Some of the comments below are ALSO parodies.

I hope this clears things up. However, the confusion is funny too. Just roll with it. Heh.

Educratic edutard yaps

Her premise, that homeschooling be protected, is barely discernable among these gems:

I stand by my original sentiment, though. I do think homeschooling is an odd choice when I look at the bounty offered in the public school system.

The bounty offered in my very rural, very poor district is a big fat zero. What little we did have was destroyed in a flood in Dec. 07. Red tape and the fact that MANY other schools across the country have also been destroyed in storms means 25 portable buildings, no extras, no sports, no gym, and no money. I really doubt that this district is much different than countless others. If she meant in terms of diverse experiences - hello? Rural, conservative, 100% white. That be my town.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires “failing” districts to provide tutoring vouchers to students, though the tutors do not have to be certified teachers. Charter school teachers are not always certified in the subjects that they teach. It would be hypocritical for the law to require that parents who homeschool hold teaching degrees.

I actually laughed out loud. NCLB has LOTS of requirements, and offers districts no money to cover them. My district has failed every single year that NCLB has been mandated. There are no tutors. There is “special ed” and/or “title one” which provides for 2 aides that work with identified students 15 minutes a week. I know - I’m one of those aides. Parents pay me out of their pocket to do additional tutoring, the federal gov’t doesn’t.

The issue gets sticky because sometimes the parents of truant children claim that they’re homeschooling when they’re not.

Yawn to this argument. Show me a statistic that proves parents aren’t homeschooling. Any will do. I didn’t school my kids. I unschooled them. They all graduated ahead of their same age peers. They graduated when I said “okay, I’ve taught you enough, get jobs or go to college”. Then I guess they were “drop outs”.

Where the bill goes wrong is in requiring them to register with their already overburdened school district. The registration should be handled by the state.

Is this the same district that offers the bounty?

Some parents do a fine job of educating their children. But if they don’t, we as a society can’t ignore it.

Why not? Society is surely ignoring the millions of poorly educated public school children every single day. I have a better idea - how about if society minds its own business, and children, and I’ll take care of mine.

HT to Tammy 

A post on this blog (the one with the pictures of the boy’s haircut - not titled so can’t post it individually).

As homeschoolers, we usually take stereotyping in stride and just shrug it off, or correct the offender if we have the energy, but I was confronted with a new one I’d never heard.

An acquaintance from my area was at fair, and stopped to watch the kids during the fitting contest. I think I mentioned that Katie’s team were all homeschooled, and she asked if 4H was just a homeschool organization, to which I said no. Then she pointed at one of the team and said “that boy can’t be homeschooled” and I assured her that he was. And she looked confused and said:

“But he’s drinking a soda” 

Next weekend is my annual “bash”. It coincides with my small town’s annual celebration (every small town has one in the summer), and lots of old friends and ex neighbors, and even a couple of old girlfriends come for the weekend, enjoy the town’s activities (parade, vendors, art show, car show, rodeo, logging show, black powder encampment, and huge softball tourney). I am planning to host about 30 of my own friends for the three day weekend, my kids are all coming home, their 39347904 friends will be here, and if that’s not enough, my upper pasture is “spill over camping” for some of the hundreds of softballers who come to town - and everyone knows how THOSE girls like to party. So, I have lawns to mow, porto-potties to rent, tents to put up, food to prepare (butchering a lamb, marinating it for 2 days, and bbq’ing it in a pit),

the pit to prepare, all that stuff. For the softballers, I usually provide a flat space for their camping and outhouses, but the last two years, water was a problem, so this year, I’ve rented a portable water tanker. It is supposed to also have a propane on-demand hot water heater and three shower heads. My kids are freaked out because they’re sure we’re going to have a mini “mich-fest” in our upper pasture. For my gentle readers who have no idea what this is (and that my kids know surprises me), it’s a women’s (but spelled womyn’s although I can’t bring myself to do that) music festival held each year in Michigan. There’s always lots of nudity, some of it unappreciated. It’s like gay pride, on estrogen, without the pride. Self exams and no y chromosomes allowed. Enough said.

Occasionally the ‘ballers crash my personal party. I don’t know, I think it’s fun. Or maybe I’m usually just too drunk to care.

I think the dykes will behave themselves. And if they don’t, I’ll hang shower curtains and hope they use ‘em.

(I stole the following image off of someone’s michfest photoblog. Cloth menstrual rags hanging on the line at michfest - this is probably what makes my kids nervous)

July’s (only) topic question:

Do you agree that college for all is a worthy goal? Why or why not? Is it even a reasonable goal for all students to be “college ready”?

Entries due July 31. Everyone is invited to participate.

Basic information here

July topic page here

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If you need help entering your post, contact me. If you don’t have a blog and want to participate, you can guest host your entry on my blog.