Tag Archives: Homeschooling

Educational

Experiments of all types!

1 Comment

I am trying an experiment, here, on Homeschooling United. I received an email from Alan asking if he could submit a “guest” article about a science project he is involved in promoting. Because Alan is based in the New York area and Homeschooling United is based in the heartland, we have never met or collaborated on previous projects, but the idea of promoting academic curiosity among the readership and their children was definitely something that captured my interest. Good luck!

Below are the details of an initiative to promote curiosity and interests in chemistry. I hope you will consider checking out the website and projects and enjoy the processes of science exploration. I am also interested to hear of your successes, failures, and any stories as you progress through this journey. Please feel free to comment here as I will leave the comment thread open on this post.

In his State of the Union address a few days ago, President Barack Obama claimed that “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.” However it can be hard to get students motivated about studying science.  Enter the International Year of Chemsitry (IYC), a yearlong, international celebration of chemistry organized by some of the top international chemistry establishments in the world.  As Andrew Liveris (president of the International Council of Chemical Associations, one main sponsor of the event) notes, “95 percent of the things that touch our lives — such as food, water, shelter, transportation, and medicine — are made possible through chemistry,” and the purpose of the IYC is to help show people just how fundamental chemistry is in everyday life.

To get students to participate in the celebration, the IYC devised a Global Experiment called “Water: A Chemical Solution,” which has the potential to be the largest chemistry experiment of al time.  Students from across the world will participate in the water themed experiments by testing how chemistry can be used to purify water so it can be consumed. More specifically there are four activities that students will complete while taking part in the experiment:

1) acidity
2) salinity
3) filtration
4) solar still

Here is a more comprehensive look into what students will be examining in each activity.

Acidity – In the first activity students will use pH strips and learn about the pH scale in order to measure the pH of their local body of water. They finish by learning methods for testing the reliability of their results.

Salinity – The Salinity activity provides students the experience of making their own water meter and measuring the conductivity and salt presence in their particular water sample.

Filtration – Students must work with household or classroom found materials to construct a functioning water filtration system. In addition, they must test out and rank the filtration abilities of different materials. Then they will end this activity by carrying out an actual water treatment and filtration and record their findings on the Global Experiment website.

Solar Still – The Solar Still activity provides students practice in alternative methods of purifying water, with specific attention to the distillation process.

The Global Experiment assumes that teachers will direct students when they are carrying out each experiment, but the experiment urges any adults willing to get involved to provide guidance and supervision. It does not matter if a parent or teacher has an education in chemistry; the experiment comes with detailed directions with regard to the methods and tools necessary for the successful completion of the modules.  According to the IYC, the experiments will cost very little, if anything at all, to get as many people participating as possible.  Finally, they created the experiments based on the level of education for those involved.  Elementary school students can follow simpler experiments while those in middle or high school have more challenging and intricate tasks.

The International Year of Chemistry kicks off February 6th, and the Global Experiment runs all year, so if you think that your child or your class would have fun participating in the experiment visit the website!  It is a simple yet terrific method to get students engaged with science, and it also gets students involved in assisting to solve the issue many countries have finding clean drinking water.  When Liveris was in grade school he says he became “hooked on the knowledge that chemistry would open the door to innovations that would make the world a better place.”  With any luck, by becoming involved with the Global Experiment, more and more students will begin to feel this way!

Alan Parker is a blogger based out of New York, NY who writes about alternative energy, green business, sustainability, and climate change. Follow on Twitter @AGreenParker

 

Legislation

Tying Up All The Loose Ends And Connecting The Dots: RT3/Educated Citizenry 2020

11 Comments

Representative Scott Dieckhaus responded to a previous post on this blog with some accusations as to the validity of the information presented here regarding Race To The Top and Educated Citizenry 2020.

To tie Educated Citizenry 2020, Race to the Top, and the Common Core Standards together as one movement is erroneous.  To assume that they are being hatched from the same group of people is laughable. To jump to the conclusion on a previous post that just because someone (myself) listens to Arne Duncan speak somehow indicates that the person supports everything that Arne Duncan does is irresponsible.  I do hope that facts and responsibility find their way onto this blog soon – otherwise I am sure that the main stream, left-wing media could use a few more reporters similar to these.

–Scott Dieckhaus

Homeschooling United stands by the information we provide to you and appreciates your attention to monitoring legislation and legislators to ensure educational freedoms and parental rights.

As there is some disagreement between Representative Dieckhaus and Homeschooling United, as it relates to the erroneous tying together of RTTT/Common Core Standards/Educated Citizenry 2020, I would like to present some facts that will put this issue to rest. I would also mention that it is very important for all citizens to understand how this is not just an issue related to the public education sector. Educated Citizenry 2020/RT3 (Race To The Top)/Common Core Standards will affect all forms of  education, and that does include the homeschooling community.

In January of 2010 Missouri applied for RT3 Initial Funding. The application was removed from the internet, but I can provide you with screen shots from the PDF file that was saved before it was removed. The applications show, very clearly, that Missouri was seriously pursuing RT3, its funding, and all of the requirements and mandates that went with it. In my opinion, Missourians have been calling for real educational reform for quite some time, before RT3 came on to the scene, but why does the legislature and DESE feel we need to be “nudged” (or led by the nose) to adopt a plan that may create more problems than it solves? And is there a plan to include parents in the decision-making process? RT3 and Educated Citizenry 2020, at this point, provide less local control and parental input than previously held philosophies that were previously the cornerstones of educational success.

Our vision for reform embraces the notion advanced in the book, Nudge, where Thaler and Sunstein outline the need for “choice architects” to subtly steer choices toward positive results while leaving people, districts and schools “free to choose.” We know that if Missouri’s public schools are to be the best choice for our citizens, they must produce the best results. This Race to the Top competition has provided the “nudge” Missouri needed to pick up the pace.

The foundations for RT3 and Educated Citizenry 2020 are Common Core Standards and Charter Schools.

RT3 states that common curriculums will be developed and across the states, by a consortium of states. DESE has made it clear, and promised in their RT3 application they would proceed with the adoption of these standards and has already done so, regardless of receiving approved federal RT3 funding or approval/funding from the Missouri legislature. Also see page 5 of Educated Citizenry 2020 which states that Missouri has already adopted Common Core Standards.

Implementation of the reform plan described in this proposal will not stop if the State does not win Race to the Top funding.

Terminology such as P20 Pipeline and P20 System are referring to coordinating common core curriculums through Pre-K through college.

RT3:

Participating agencies will agree upon a core of data elements to contribute to the common P-20 system. These will comprise a significant resource for decision making. Analyses of the factors that contribute to success from pre-school through postsecondary education and into the workforce will be included. Common definitions and standards will not only support the comparability of the data within the P-20 system, but also the quality and integrity of the data within the individual data systems of the participating agencies.

Across the P-20 community, a major challenge has been to provide access to the longitudinal data being consolidated for decision making. Individual agencies have websites and unique reporting tools, but users need a single site to access the information that the P- 20 Council and the individual agencies have provided. The Show-Me Portal will fill this role. It will be designed and built to enable all users to access relevant and permitted data.

EC2020:

Individual members offered ideas affecting early childhood through higher education, including the need to strengthen the P-20 pipeline and cooperation among stakeholders.

EC2020 promotes Charter Schools by recommending on page 6:

Provide access to high-quality charter schools to all Missouri students. Allow any public school district to sponsor a charter school within the district.

RT3:

Demonstrating and sustaining education reform, by promoting collaborations between business leaders, educators, and other stakeholders to raise student achievement and close achievement gaps, and by expanding support for high-performing public charter schools, reinvigorating math and science education, and promoting other conditions favorable to innovation and reform.

The Missouri legislature has yet to pen a bill fully addressing this, but I fully expect it to be buried in an omnibus bill at the end of the session where it will be harder to follow and garner much less attention. SB 14 was introduced, by Senator Pearce, to address open enrollment issues, however.

Addressing merit pay and teacher tenure are common threads through RT3 and Educated Citizenry 2020. On page 6 of EC2020 it states:

Develop a statewide system for evaluating teacher effectiveness to be used in performance-based compensation. Charge the Joint Committee on Education with leading a taskforce to discuss, review, and develop a statewide system for identifying and rewarding effective teaching. The taskforce will review models used in cities and states throughout the country and frame their work around current research and best practices. Considerations shall include revision of tenure laws that will empower school districts to support the retention of effective teachers and the removal of ineffective teachers. The taskforce may use the Teachers Choice Compensation Plan for St. Louis Public Schools (§168.745-168.750, RSMo.) as a foundation for their discussions. The taskforce will present a comprehensive, cohesive model with specific proposals for legislative action to the General Assembly no later than December 31, 2011.

RT3 states:

Attracting and keeping great teachers and leaders in America’s classrooms, by expanding effective support to teachers and principals; reforming and improving teacher preparation; revising teacher evaluation, compensation, and retention policies to encourage and reward effectiveness; and working to ensure that our most talented teachers are placed in the schools and subjects where they are needed the most.

The legislature must have thought this issue was worth pursuing because SB13 has been introduced to address this very issue. Senate Education Chairman David Pearce filed this bill and it has advance through its second reading as of this posting.

Technology is the answer in underperforming schools in both RT3 and EC2020.

RT3:

Supporting data systems that inform decisions and improve instruction, by fully implementing a statewide longitudinal data system, assessing and using data to drive instruction, and making data more accessible to key stakeholders.

Using innovation and effective approaches to turn-around struggling schools, by asking states to prioritize and transform persistently low-performing schools.

EC2020, on page i of the executive summary:

Technology in the delivery of education at all levels.

School Readiness, also in both documents.

EC2020: P. 6 and 7

Provide parents and early childhood educators with the information they need to see that all children enter kindergarten on par with their peers and ready to learn. Formalize DESE’s existing school readiness standards by requiring that standards be distributed to parents, early childhood educators, and school districts. School readiness assessment data and information on prekindergarten experiences for all kindergartners shall be included in core data reporting requirements.

Advance efforts to support voluntary, universal prekindergarten. Explore potential funding sources for prekindergarten education including federal funding. The Committee would like to note that there was not unanimous support for the prekindergarten recommendations.

RT3:

2. Provide quality, universal early childhood educational opportunities to all three and four-year olds;


SB 20 and SB 21 were introduced in Missouri’s legislature, at the beginning of the session, by Robin Wright-Jones. Each bill addresses early childhood education and mandates lowering of the compulsory school age and kindergarten enrollment.

Be it noted that not all the proposed education reform is bad, but there are many concerns that we all should be looking at as Missourians and parents. We need to make sure the solution aren’t worse than the problems.

This week has seen some highly reactive responses from Jefferson City as it relates to information circulating on blogs and testimony given at committee hearings concerning education reform proposed by the 96th general assembly. If the leadership isn’t confident in the vehicle they are driving, to bring quality education to the children of Missouri, perhaps they should rethink the proposed plans or just not put their signatures on the documents.

So, if  Representative Dieckhaus would still like to dispute any erroneous to ties to the afore-mentioned items, we will be happy to provide more comparisons. As for any future career with the “main-stream, left-wing media”, I think I’ll pass, but if Brietbart or FOX is reading this post, I am happy to consider any offers.

Legislation

A Call To Action For Homeschoolers To Protect Their Educational Freedoms

7 Comments
If you are not familiar with how things are done in Jefferson City, with regard as to how legislation is formed, it is important to understand that even though January marks the beginning of the legislative session, work has been going on behind the scenes for months, even years, in formulating plans for lawmaking. This year seems to be the year of culmination for education reform in Missouri. It is also very important for you to understand why this may be a grave threat to your ability to maintain your homeschooling freedoms.
With the unilateral implementation of Common Core Standards across Missouri and Race to the Top being redressed and repurposed in order to camouflage and re sell its philosophy of nanny state eduction to the taxpayers, the next focus will be the switch from traditional public education to a massive infusion of Charter Schools across the state and maybe even vouchers and/or tax credits. Disastrous for homeschoolers? Yes, and here is why.
The legislature, Republican and Democrat, is deeply rooted in the idea that it is government’s job to monitor, regulate, supervise, oversee, the education of the children under their representation. We continue to see, year after year, more and more legislation designed to put more educational bureaucracy into government. With that ever growing bureaucracy, more authority to define and choose standards also shifts from parents to the bureaucrats and legislators. It is this mindset that defies the homeschooler’s freedom to make the best educational choices for their own children. Read these comments from Senator, Jane Cunningham:

“There are many times that government uses the private sector to achieve their goals,” Cunningham said. “I think maybe this is the time, because we are slipping behind so dramatically in global rankings, to ask what is the best way to deliver education to the public. …

… We so desperately need education reform and quality schools. The Legislature has to look at what we feel are appropriate measures.”

With the introduction of Charter Schools added to the mix of educational reform, there will be, as there has been in the past, discussion of vouchers and tax credits. There has always been a debate about the amount of taxation that homeschoolers pay to support public education, but it is extremely important to understand that no tax relief would ever come without serious strings attached.

This year, Scott Dieckhaus, (R) District 109 – Franklin and St. Charles Counties, is the Chairman of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. He will be spearheading, for the House of Representatives, all legislation related to education. Here is the problem. Representative Dieckhaus has repeatedly voiced opinions which may be adverse to educational freedoms.
The St. Louis Beacon published and article in which Dieckhaus said that he is willing to go as far as changing the Missouri Constitution and putting all options on the table as it relates educational reform. Does Dieckhaus believe that private schools should be pulled under the umbrella of public education oversight if they accept vouchers? Will he also expect the same from homeschoolers who receive tax credits?

He also realizes that if public money is going to go to non-public schools, taxpayers are going to want some sort of say over how it will be spent.

“There should be some form of oversight or accountability,” he said. “I’ve talked to quite a few private and parochial schools, and they seem to be at least willing to look at it.”

On November 29th-30th, Dieckhaus attended a conference on Education and had this to say, on Twitter, about the experience:
Scott Dieckhaus
sdieckhaus Scott Dieckhaus
Ready to spend three days with some of the greatest education reformers in the world. Better education is coming to Missouri soon!
Scott Dieckhaus
sdieckhaus Scott Dieckhaus
At #EIA10 and excited to hear from Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Eva Moskowitz, Arne Duncan among others.

Why would Republican, Dieckhaus, choose a Democrat who is about as far removed from the republican platform, as a mentor? Let’s talk about Arne Duncan as a mentor. Arne Duncan is President Obama’s Secretary of Education. He is the steam engine behind Race To The Top, the most restrictive educational philosophy this country has ever seen. RTTT would take all local control from schools and parents across the country and impose national curriculum standards in all schools. As Chief Executive Officer for Chicago Public schools he declared his animosity toward homeschoolers in an amended board report in November of 2005.
… Parents/Legal guardians who choose to educate their children at home are subject to the provisions of the Illinois School Code.  Those provisions include the Compulsory School Attendance Law, … parents/legal guardians who choose to educate their children at home must provide an education “at least commensurate with the standards prescribed for the public schools.” … there must be an organized, coherent plan for educating the children in a home school using appropriate materials and teaching methods.” … Parents/Legal Guardians who choose to educate their children at home should notify their local school of their intention to homeschool. …
Once notified of the presence of particular home school or of particular home-schooled students within the boundaries of District 299, appropriate offices within  the CPS will, with the cooperation of the parents/legal guardians, determine whether the home school provided an education at least commensurate with the standards prescribed for the public schools. Such determination will thereafter be made on an annual basis.
CPS may employ any appropriate means, including site visits, to determine whether home schools are providing an education at least commensurate with the standards prescribed for the public schools in the aforementioned subjects. CPS may also employ any appropriate standards and assessments in making that determination.
Remember that Race To The Top Standards, SB 21, vouchers/tax credits, all have common threads of regulation and control that could reach into the homeschooling community. It is important to remind representatives that homeschoolers do not want to be included in any educational reform they have in mind for the coming year or in the future. We are following all state regulations concerning homeschooling and doing an excellent job of making educational choices for our own children and do not need or want the interference of government, state or federal.

Please contact Representative Dieckhaus and tell him you are watching the activity in the legislature and do not want any of the educational reform they have planned for public schools to reach into the homeschooling community and restrict your educational choices and freedoms.

Honorable Scott Dieckhaus
Missouri House of Representatives
201 West Capitol Avenue
Room 413B
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

573-751-0538

Scott.Dieckhaus@house.mo.gov

Homeschooling, Legislation

Will They Or Won’t They …

1 Comment

… Work to protect our rights to educate our children as we see fit. Today the Associated Press released a statement by the Missouri Senate stating that they are ready to release their agenda for upcoming session as it relates to education. The question is, will they fight for your rights as a parent to make choices about your own child’s education, or will they acquiesce to Race To The Top, Common Core Standards and the money that does or does not come with it? Will they try to insert programs such as the Parent’s Trigger, vouchers, tax credits, or use Charter Schools as a crutch for failing public education? Will these things set the stage for regulation on homeschooling?

All the major players of the House and Senate have signed the Educational Freedom Pledge, which states that they will advocate for freedoms without such mandates or regulation. We will keep an eye on this one for you.

Homeschooling, Legislation

Is Homeschooling Under Attack In Missouri?

1 Comment

Homeschoolers in Missouri have long enjoyed reasonable freedom to educate their children at home without much government interference, but the last several years have brought subversive attacks to chip away at those freedoms. The upcoming session proves to be no different. Culture Vigilante reported that the 96th general assembly will once again consider placing more restrictions on the citizenry as it relates to a parent’s right to make educational decisions for their children. Robin Wright-Jones pre-filed a bill, SB 20, in early December which would lower compulsory school age for students in metropolitan school districts to 5 years of age. While the present compulsory age is 7 to 17, (18 in metropolitan school districts and 16 under certain credit hour parameters) this bill mandates that children start school at age 5. While it does address, specifically, students of metropolitan school districts, and exclude homeschoolers, here’s where it gets sticky.

SB 21, also filed by Wright-Jones, pretty much negates the exclusions in the previous bill. And it also plays fast and loose with the definitions of calendar year and school year so that not only will your children be mandated to begin schooling at age 5, some of them will actually be 4 years old, if the bill is adopted as written. And remember, these are mandates, not suggestions.

… ANY child whose fifth birthday occurs at any time during the calendar year shall be deemed to have attained the age of five years at the commencement of the school year beginning that calendar year.  The parent, {guardian, or other person having charge} of ANY child who has attained the age of five years in accordance with this section shall be responsible for enrolling the child in kindergarten.

So, that means if your child is 4 years old and does not turn 5 until after the beginning of the school year, he is 5 years old in the eyes of the state and must go to kindergarten. Present laws would postpone admittance to school until the following year. Also, there is no exclusion for children outside of a metropolitan school district or homeschoolers in this bill. And just incase your child misses the age mandate of the first part of this bill there is a provision to allow the school system to evaluate your young geniuses and admit them even earlier to school.

If passed, SB 20 will also raise the compulsory school age in metropolitan school districts to 18, and firms up the upward adjustment to 17 years of age in other (seven director) school districts, and takes away the ability of those districts to adopt a lower compulsory age via their school board.

Now, anyone who has ever had any involvement with public education knows that there is, in Missouri, a provision in the law for schools to collect funding for any warm body who inhabits a school building. So, perhaps that is where some of the motivation comes from in these two bills. Culture Vigilante also outlines resolutions from the NEA lobby and their influences in this area of legislation.

What ever the motivation, for the reoccurring attempts to mandate that a government school have more and more control of your children, it is important to communicate, with your representation, that you will accept no regulation that takes away your rights to choose how and when you educate your children.

In 2009, Republicans in the House and Senate introduced and passed legislation, SB 291, that tightened the noose around the neck of parents by raising the compulsory school age for all students, including homeschoolers, in the state from 16 to 17 and changed the requirements for graduation. Because the homeschool community, as a whole, has no directed lobby or representation in the capitol, the legislation was not flagged early during the session, and was slipped through and voted on the at nearly the last possible moment in the 2009 legislative assembly. This unfortunate circumstance gave very little opportunity for constituents to be educated on and voice their displeasure with its intrusive constraints. Well, hopefully, we have learned our lesson about how important it is to be proactive and educated about our rights and freedoms, or they will be taken away. Maybe not all at once, but they will be taken away, and when our children have children they may be living in a very different world with a lot fewer choices for themselves or their progeny.

It seems that each year there is an effort to chip away at your rights to educate your children in the manner you, as a parent, deem appropriate. While we still have the choice, perhaps it is important to teach your children about their freedoms and which actions and laws ensure those liberties, so that we strengthen the liberty loving culture and maintain it for the future. That education also includes watching your representation and letting them know how you feel about maintaining your freedoms.