Fearful Dementoids, Unite! November 18, 2008

So, it seems Joy Behar of The View thinks that homeschoolers are demented, and that homeschooled children learn to be afraid of other children. Forward the time to about 5:45 to hear the beginning of this discussion. The “demented” comment is about 7:08.

Here is a partial transcript of this section of the show, in case you missed some of it or your YouTube isn’t working. It’s not quite word-perfect; they kept interrupting each other and it was hard to catch everything. This began as a discussion of where the Obama girls should be educated.

JOY: I think that these kids [the Obama children] should be educated in the White House … this is my feeling …

ELIZABETH: Like homeschool?

BARBARA: You think they should have homeschool? Nooo…

JOY: Other children. They should bring them in and make a Little House on the Prairie.

ELIZABETH: Little House on the Prairie?

JOY: Yes, in the White House. That would be what I would do.

ELIZABETH: I’m all for homeschooling, I think it’s actually a good thing…

JOY: A lot of them are demented when they’re homeschooled, come on. [ROLLS EYES]

ELIZABETH: No they’re not, I have a lot of friends who are homeschooled.

JOY: [ROLLS EYES] Please!

ELIZABETH: That’s not true, a lot more parents now are actually homeschooling because it’s less expensive …

JOY: They’re afraid of children! They, they learn to be scared of other children!

ELIZABETH: No, they’re still on soccer teams …

JOY: Mommy and Daddy telling them everything [WAVES HANDS DISMISSIVELY] 

ELIZABETH: That’s not true, that is a complete stereotypical … they do it in consortium with other parents, and the kids play on teams and …

BARBARA: You’re isolated enough in the White House without not getting out and seeing other children and having …

JOY: That’s right, bring other children into the White House.

ELIZABETH: [unclear] wouldn’t turn that down, that’s kind of cool.

WHOOPIE: You know what I think, I really think that it would be hard for other kids to have the Obama girls in their class.

The discussion returned to the Obama girls after this exchange. I admit I’m a bit torn between refusing to give them any publicity – obviously what they want – and pouring outrage on their heads. Well, just on Joy’s head. Elizabeth stoutly defended homeschoolers. Barbara was not as vituperative, and attempted to calm things down, but still she obviously has some incorrect views of homeschooling.

Here you can contact ABC and The View regarding this public vilification of homeschoolers. Choose “The View” from the drop-down menu, and please BE POLITE! Also be as grammatically correct as possible. Let’s make a good impression!

so much for socialization … May 26, 2008

Every homeschooler has been questioned about the Big “S” … the socialization question. How will our poor homeschooled children ever become properly socialized? A single room with a single adult supervising 20 to 30 same-aged children is assumed to be the proper milieu for learning good social interaction skills.

Five-year-old Alex Barton might have a slightly different take on this concept. Alex is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism that causes eccentric behavior. But his kindergarten teacher thought it would be a good idea to make Alex the butt of a Survivor-type episode in the classroom, asking each of his classmates to publicly state what they disliked about the boy. As if that were not enough, at the end of this exercise, said teacher led the children in voting Alex out of the classroom. Alex spent the rest of the day in the nurse’s office. His mother has not returned him to school; but every morning since, when she drops off her older children at school, Alex is reduced to screaming hysteria though he stays inside the car.

I can’t help wondering, when public school fans are touting the virtues of institutional socialization to me, whether they would prefer their own child to be on the giving or receiving end of such an exercise?

Subway Gets Fresh with Homeschoolers May 24, 2008

So Subway has this essay contest which is open to children in pre K-grade 6 … unless they are homeschooled children. “No home schools will be accepted” is the exact language used on their contest page.

The contest winner receives, among other things, $5000 for athletic equipment for her school. Okay, I get it, the $5000 is not for a single family to win. But what a short-sighted decision! Wouldn’t it have been simpler to say that the winner could designate the institution of his choice to receive the $5000? Eligible institutions could include not only schools but community centers and playgrounds, recreational and homeschool sport leagues, and possibly even churches with community outreach programs.

I bet they get a huge backlash from the homeschool community. I admit, they’ve already heard from me.