For the last 22 years, I’ve had school-age kids. None of them went to a public school; instead, we homeschooled.
Though my children certainly didn’t cost Virginia’s state and local governments the more than $10,000 a year they spend on each public school student, I sure never got a letter from the government apologizing for not “earning” my tax payments or a reimbursement check for taxes paid.
Which went through my mind when I read an email from the Virginia PTA — the Parent Teacher Association. The group’s Janet Ciaravino urged its cadre to: “Let [legislators] know that public school is your choice and team sports are a privilege you earned and expect them to protect.”
The Virginia PTA has come unglued at the thought that House Bill 947, known as the “Tebow Bill,” may pass and allow homeschool children to try out for public school sports. To avoid that unthinkable prospect, the PTA pushes politicians to “protect” their privileges at the expense of homeschool kids who simply want a try-out.
Then come horror stories, unimaginable hypothetical situations designed to overwhelm our emotions. For instance, the PTA email posed a harrowing question, “What’s next? Drama, debate, electives?”
If we’re not careful, public education could break out.
The PTA’s orthographically deviant slogan is “every child. one voice.” Why not allow every one of those children his or her own voice? And an equal chance to win a spot on the team.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
7 replies on “Earning Public School Privileges”
Horror of horrors, that home-schoolers should actually try to avail themselves of a few of the tax dollars that had been extricated from them. Next thing, everyone will be wanting to do that.
The organization’s first priority and responsibility is to preserve itself. And home-schoolers strike at the very need for an existance of a PTA, since they render public school teachers redundant or worse, superfluous. NEA should pile on as well, since their constituency is the public school system and the folks that administer it, not the students or the public.
Great Point! The lack of logic astounds…but what can one expect. It always amazes me that the concept of fairness only applies one way. Probably best for the home schoolers to form their own sports and other groups as it is more likely the will not be welcome by the adults in the government sponsored groups. Further, the other activities are another excellent opportunity for homeschooling parents to instill important values and behavior standards; perhaps the opposite of what is found in the government setting.
I sent my multiply-handicapped child to public school. I simply did not know how to teach her and there were no private/charitable institutions willing and/or able to assist. My child got a good education at public school, but I had to fight the system all the way through to ensure what she was entitled to by law. I also had to endure commentary about the wastefulness of her education… (She is completely and permanently disabled.) After completing school, she gets to stay home, ‑apparently for the balance of her life, since we do not create public spaces appropriate for her use. Yet I still pay my taxes!
How about we advocate self-supporting state colleges and universities? They are a tremendous cost to the taxpayer and too many entrants fail to complete their objectives, thereby wasting tax dollars. These institutions are of no benefit to my child! And I doubt your children could pick and choose their curriculum without regard to degree fulfillment at these public facilities either.
They should want to include homeschoolers into their test statistics as well. My main worry would be the possible bullies who might give the homeschoolers trouble with assistance from and lack of fairness from some of our less than professional teachers.
There is no logic ever when the issue is protection of a “gift” of any governmental largess.
It is fallacious that the benefit can be considered the “property” of the recipient, regardless of its source being property “plundered” from the taxpayer. Google and read Bastiat’s “The Law”.
“Fairness” arguments are normally specious.
Public schools are, for most of the population, not a choice, but rather an economically mandated reality.
Home and private schooled children are a great danger if they are allowed to intermix, they might bring with them and “infect” the public school attendees with a different views, ones not in the indoctrination outline presently labeled as the (government) approved standard curriculum.
As for participation in publicly support team sports being a “privilege you earned” for a student, resulting from their parents taking the path of least additional cost and commitment, that is nothing but an oxymoron.
Home-schoolers are even more dangerous now. The goal of the public school system is to train children ultimately to be good employees and quiet, accepting citizens. Now with manufacturing industries being priced out of functioning in this country, that leaves a potential pressure cooker for all of those trained employees-to-be that are not trained or used to doing critical thinking. Really much more dangerous to have independant-minded kids exposing them to the folly of their system.
In NJ we have the highest property taxes in the nation which is tied directly to government school taxes. The politicians in this state have sold us out to the teachers union. Many residents who would prefer to use private schools can’t afford to pay both their school taxes and tuition, in other words pay twice.
What ever happened to liberty in America? If the union can send their children to the school of their choice and charge me for it, why can’t I send my children to the school of my choice and charge them for it? The school socialists love this. The politicians, aka usurpers, control our education, retirements, commerce, transportation, energy, mining, agriculture, labor etc. They dragged the American taxpayer into the mortgage business and started an economic catastrophe. Those largely responsible got re-elected. As Mencken once said, “nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the average American.