Time to light the torch and polish the pitchfork

Remarks made by California Federation of Teachers President Marty Hittelman would be funny if they weren't so eerily reminiscent of life in a police state.

Hittelman, whose comments appear prominently on a page of wholesale giant Costco's website as part of a "dialogue" and survey about whether parents should have to be certified to teach their own children, is a scary man.

Sadly, his opinion is shared by far too many Americans and for this reason all homeschoolers should beware.

"Homeschoolers should be required to deliver quality instruction, and their efforts should not result in students falling behind."

It's always nice to be presumed guilty until you can prove your innocence. In other words, Hittelman assumes upfront that homeschooling parents on the whole are not delivering quality instruction and because of this their children are falling behind.

The man teaches math at the college level. This would lead us to believe he's pretty smart, yes? Would it hurt him to take fifteen minutes to research online the documented successes of home educated kids before making such an asinine statement?

In support of state oversight of homeschoolers Hittelman goes on to say, "A homeschool teacher may be a natural teacher but lack necessary training and supervision."

Oh.

So this means that I should probably hire someone to make sure I'm dressing my children appropriately, brushing their teeth just so, planning balanced meals, and all other manner of child maintenance even though I'm already doing those things just fine because, after all, I'm only their mother and I can't possibly learn or understand what they need to develop their intellects.

If I need training and supervision to follow a scripted math curriculum, to pick out books on a reading list, and to make sure my children actually read the books and pass the math tests included in their workbooks, I must need help in keeping my kids safe and healthy, right?

Is this guy serious????? When did teaching the Three R's become so complicated that it should not be tried at home? Juggling children in all the other areas of their lives is infinitely more challenging. So why doesn't Hittelman advocate that all parents should be supervised in all aspects of child raising? Where does homeschooling end and "regular" parenting begin?

Hittelman, like so many homeschooling critics, has failed to think through his arguments or he'd know that education is interwoven into the very lives of homeschooling families. It would be hard, if not impossible, to tease apart that which he thinks the state should oversee (academics) versus that in which the state should have no say (dental hygeine, nutrition, choice of clothing).

I remind you, the man is teaching college level math and this is as good as the reasoning and research skills get.

But wait, there's more.

Hittelman goes on to say, "We believe the best education comes about when parents are involved in their children's public school education. We'd prefer homeschooling parents work with their local public schools so that all students are assured of a standards-based education."

Of course professional teachers like Hittelman would "prefer" us to turn our children over to the public schools. And sadly, folks like him really believe in their heart of hearts this is what's best for kids. It's not about academics, it's about control. And job security.

What Hittelman fails to grasp, however, is that parental authority over one's children must always trump that of the state unless grave and imminent harm can be shown. As for a "standards-based" education, I invite you, dear reader, to do a little digging into what California holds up as its standards. Google phrases such as "communism in California classrooms," "alternative lifestyle education in California classrooms," "religious instruction in California classrooms" and see if you are comfortable with the so-called standards Mr. Hittelman proudly touts.

As if I need any proof to back my longstanding claim that public education in America is at an all-time low, I leave you with a quote from someone on the Costco site who, most likely, received her education in one of our nation's public schools.

The contributor writes, "Society is struggling to find educated, well-rounded people to employ. Educate kids with trained educators."

Nevermind that IN SPITE OF educating several generations of children with "trained educators" we are struggling to find educated people to employ.

No, never mind.