Government Interdiction Causes Increased Education Costs

"For decades, American politicians have waxed passionate on the need to put college within every family's reach. ... The College Board, which tracks each type of financial assistance in a comprehensive annual report, shows total federal aid soaring by more than $100 billion in the space of a single decade -- from $64 billion in 2000 to $169 billion in 2010. ... And what have we gotten for this vast investment in college affordability? Colleges that are more unaffordable than ever. Year in, year out, Washington bestows tuition aid on students and their families. Year in, year out, the cost of tuition surges, galloping well ahead of inflation.

As depressing as this reality has become (and as we come closer to the bursting of this bubble), I support the ideas from numerous economists that removing the education subsidies will drive tuition costs down to a level where students can actually afford to further their education. As with any other market, costs rise as subsidies increase.

And year in, year out, politicians vie to outdo each other in promising still more public subsidies that will keep higher education within reach of all. ... Federal financial aid is a major source of revenue for colleges and universities, and aid packages are generally based on the gap between what a family can afford to pay to send a student to a given college, and the tuition and fees charged by that college. That gives schools every incentive to keep their tuition unaffordable. Why would they reduce their sticker price to a level more families could afford, when doing so would mean kissing millions of government dollars goodbye? Directly or indirectly, government loans and grants have led to massive tuition inflation. ... The more government has done to make higher education affordable, the more unaffordable it has become. Doing more of the same won't yield a different outcome." --columnist Jeff Jacoby

Brief for Monday, April 30, 2012 - Editions - PatriotPost.US

Homeschool in Texas - Yes, It's Legal

I am doing some background work in preparation for setting our children up for homeschool and am looking into how the state of Texas views the practice. It looks pretty good, actually.

The law in Texas that concerns home education is case law, based on the decisions of the Leeper vs. Arlington class action suit (Leeper v. Arlington I.S.D., No. 17-88761-85). On April 13, 1987, presiding Judge Charles J. Murray issued a decision (binding on all 1,100 school districts) which was a complete vindication of the rights of parents to educate their children at home in the State of Texas. The judge concluded that:

  "A school-age child residing in the State of Texas who is being educated in a bona fide manner by the parents, or those standing in parental authority, in or through the child's home using a curriculum, consisting of books, workbooks, other written materials, including that which appears on an electronic screen of either a computer or video tape monitor, or any combination of the preceding from either (1) a private or parochial school which exists apart from the child's home or (2) which has been developed or obtained from any source, said curriculum designed to meet basic education goals of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics and a study of good citizenship, is in attendance upon a private or parochial school within the meaning of Section 25.086(a)(1) of the Texas Education Code and exempt from the requirements of compulsory attendance at a public school." 

The only requirements for home schooling to be legal are that (1) the instruction be bona fide (i.e., not a sham); (2) the curriculum be in visual form (e.g., books, workbooks, video monitor); and (3) the curriculum include the basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship. Parents may obtain curriculum materials from outside sources or develop their own. They may also send their children into the home of another parent for instruction or have a tutor come into the home for all or part of the instruction.

Home schools in the state of Texas were determined by the courts to be private schools. As such, home schools are not regulated and they are exempt from compulsory attendance laws.  Like other private schools in the state, there are no requirements such as teacher certification or curriculum approval. 

The Leeper decision recognizes the right of school officials to make "reasonable inquiry" to determine whether or not a school-age child is in attendance upon a private or parochial school. Without the ability to make reasonable inquiry, school attendance officials could not carry out their duty as required by law. Since 1995, the commissioner of education has given direction to school districts on how to apply this ruling. (See the current letter.)

Although home education is clearly legal, THSC has often found the need to seek clarification from heads of state agencies to help clarify how the law is applied and how it should be viewed by public officials, Child Protective Services, colleges, and others.

Yes, It's Legal!

Homeschoolers Do Better than Tradionally-Educated Students

Homeschooling works! I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on the subject, just browsing the internet, and the following is what I’ve learned: Did you know that homeschooled children score better on standardized tests in academics, social skills, and self concept than public-schooled children? Not only that, but there is no empirical evidence that shows that homeschooling causes harm in academics, social skills or self concept in any way. Here are some specific statistics comparing homeschooled children to those educated in the public school system.

Standardized Tests: Studies by the National Home Education Research Institute have reported that homeschooled children typically score 30-38 percentage points higher than their public-schooled peers on standardized tests in Math, Language, Social Studies, Science, and Reading.

College and Life Preparation: Homeschooled kids are very well-prepared for college. Recently published ACT (American College Testing) results for 2009 show that homeschooled teens scored an average of 22.5 (on a scale of 1-36), a little higher than the national average of 21.1. The National Home Education Research Institute (August 2009) reports that homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges, and they succeed at college at an equal or higher rate than their peers. NHERI also reports that as adults they participate in local community service more frequently, they vote and attend public meetings more frequently, and they internalize the values and beliefs of their parents at a very high rate, compared to the general population. As for SAT score comparisons, a few studies (Belfield in 2005, Clemente in 2006, and Chatmon in 2006) have found that homeschooled students’ scores on the SAT are equal to or higher than private or public schooled students, but none of these studies has found statistically significant results.

Social Skills: According to a study by Dr. Patricia Lines at the Discovery Institute in July 2000, homeschooled children were reported to be “well adjusted” when compared to public schooled children, and demonstrated fewer behavioral problems. The National Home Education Research Institute published a study in 2007 that said homeschooled children had higher scores in social skills than those in public schools. Homeschooled children typically participate in various social opportunities in the community. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, the average homeschooled student participates in about 5.2 social activities, and 98% of all homeschooled children are involved in 2 or more social activities.

Self-Esteem: According to thesis research by Dr. Larry Shyers (1992), no difference in self-esteem was found between homeschooled children and publically schooled children, and since then other studies have confirmed this finding.

More and more families are realizing that the opportunity to homeschool is a valid option, and are jumping in on the fun. The National Center for Education Statistics produced research findings in December of 2008 that the homeschool population is growing about 8% per year, and the National Home Education Research Institute reports that number is between 5-12%. During the 2008-2009 school year, there were a grand total of 41,042 children being homeschooled, according to the NC Division of Non-Public Education’s estimates. That’s the highest number ever. That would also mean that, according to the 2007-2008 Department of Public Instruction Report, homeschoolers would make up the ­­­­­6^th largest school district in the state:

1. Wake County (134,002)
2. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (132,281)
3. Guilford County (71,292)
4. Cumberland County (52,885)
5. Forsyth County (51,351)
6. Homeschoolers! (41,042)
7. Gaston County (32,583)
8. Durham County (32,455)

[...]

Beauty 4 Moms: Homeschooling Statistics Are In!

Homeschooling Atheist Momma Blog: The Case Against Homeschooling

A case against homeschooling? There really isn't one, at least, not one rooted in fact or reality. Here is a wonderful article as a rebuttal to an ignorant blog rant against anything other than state education.

I admit that I seldom spend any time reading the blogs of others.  Certain SPECIAL people and friends only.  I don't know, blogs tend to be too much like this one:  narcissistic, rambling, and more like stream-of-conscious therapy.  But today I went looking at blogs.  I was looking for an example of a seriously angry anti-homeschooling person.  And I found them!  I really just wanted a little fun and to mock them a bit.  Is that so bad? I decided that, for fun, I would simply respond to each criticism point-by-point.
Just for fun.


The blog post is called "The Case Against Homeschooling".  It was a bit vitriolic for some reason; seems the author is a teacher and THAT should explain that...
Anyway, my snark aside, here are her "top ten reasons" why she is against what she calls "homeschooling: great for self-aggrandizing, society-phobic mother...but not quite so good for the kid."

HER WORDS are in Blue.

MY WORDS are in Red. 
Please check the links in BOLD.   
Separate bolded words are separate links.

10. “You were totally home schooled” is an insult college kids use when mocking the geeky kid in the dorm (whether or not the offender was home schooled or not). And… say what you will… but it doesn’t feel nice to be considered an outsider, a natural outcropping of being homeschooled.

There is this part of me what wants to be VERY snarky about obnoxious near-adults still teasing (aka "bullying") "geeky" kids while in an institution of higher learning, such as college.  However, I will rise above that.
Is she saying that homeschooling has a certain connotation to uninformed individuals and a homeschooled student risks facing immature behavior that we typically associate with elementary school bullies?

Yes, wow, that is a problem.

On the other hand, Many selective colleges welcome homeschooled perspective students with alacrity.  Some reports suggest that the traditional brick-and-mortar university is beginning to change to nontraditional higher education studies.   And the HSLDA studies indicate significant success by homeschool students in the college milieu.  Homeschool students tend to score higher on ACT tests and, while in school, tend to have higher GPA and earn more credit during their freshman year than the traditionally-schooled student.  Some important people actually believe that "traditional school" is dying.

[...]

More at: Homeschooling Atheist Momma Blog: The Case Against Homeschooling

Reddit Becoming More anti-Libertarian

I keep telling people that healthcare is just a giant, government created cartel, but nobody wants to listen to my "crazy" libertarian views.

One of the only sensible comments in the thread. 

More and more, most Reddit readers sound quite vested in maintaining the status quo. Any free market or libertarian concepts that come up are met with substantial opposition, including individual liberty in the face of an authoritative regime in the US. Are they actually opposed to promoting liberty?

Given the success of the Occupy movement motivating such large masses, I am saddened that the majority want to keep doing what has so obviously been outright failure. 

http://www.reddit.com/r/Libertarian/comments/svc7t/blogger_silenced_by_the_system_it_seems_to_me/

Most Reddit readers just don't get it, and are caught up in the failed Left-Right paradigm. They believe that simply swinging the pendulum of power back to the other side with fix all of our problems, but history proves otherwise. 

Left and Right are both wrong

Porn Star Teacher Plans to Fight Dismissal - ABC News

A Southern California science teacher who was fired for allegedly working as a porn star under the name Tiffany Six before she was hired will appeal her dismissal.

Stacie Halas, 32, a junior high teacher in the Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School since 2009, was fired Wednesday after a vote by the Oxnard School District trustees.

"We disagree with the decision by the board to dismiss or seek the dismissal of Miss Halas. It is our intention at this time to vigorously contest the charges," attorney Richard Schwab told the Ventura  County Star Friday.

"The type of conduct she engaged in was lawful conduct in a business which, while others may disagree with its content, is very vibrant in both Los Angeles as well as the state of California," Schwab added.

Halas had been put on paid administrative leave in March after fellow teachers used their smart phones to find her film credits on March 2.

The school district sent a letter home to parents. The letter, obtained by ABC News, advised parents that no students were involved in the controversy, but asked them to strictly monitor students so they do not access the sites that the letter says "contain extremely graphic and inappropriate pornographic material."

The letter cautioned parents to make sure their children don't share related links or content on Facebook or other social networking sites.

Rumors of the teacher's acting sideline started as gossip among students, but once these rumors reached administrators, they decided to take action.

"Some students at Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School started a rumor that one of the teachers at the school was involved in pornography," Oxnard School District Superintendent Jeff Chancer told ABC News.

Administrators were unable to find the alleged movies because software within school computers prohibited access to inappropriate sites. After they could not verify the claims, administrators sent a memo assuring the school community this was all just a rumor.

However, teachers at the school searched sites on their smartphones, which could bypass the school's protective firewall, and found X-rated material supposedly featuring their colleague.

"Administrators looked at the videos and they felt that it may be one of their teachers. So they contacted the district and we investigated it," Chancer told ABC News.

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/porn-star-teacher-plans-to-fight-dismissal

Sacramento Cops Take DNA of Kids Without Parental Consent | Liberty Conspiracy

Cute story. Without getting parental consent, without even notifying the parents, Sacramento cops march into a school, pull kids out of class, and get their DNA. But that infringement of the 4th Amendment wasn't enough. They then interrogated the kids without notification or parental consent, and his arse Deputy has the classless gall to say that they were "interviews" not "interrogations" and that the so-called "interiews" were all "consensual". Hey, fool, according to your own LAWS, kids uner 18 aren't of majority age. They can't LEGALLY give their consent. This city should be sued until it's bankrupt (it probably already is), and the cops involved should be fired, and held liable for damages demanded by the parents.

Think those things will happen? Yeah, I doubt it, too...
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/cops-take-school-kids-dna-...

Link: http://libertyconspiracy.com/sacramento_cops_take_dna_kids_without_parental_consent (via shareaholic.com)

Taxation Decreases Productivity through Dead Weight Loss

In a free market...

In a taxation-as-theft market that reduces efficiency and increases dead weight loss...

If I only had a Diploma...

A diploma is the mark of approval by an institution of education, but is hardly proof of knowledge, or of the ability to learn. We are coming to understand this as a culture, which is leading to the collapse of education as an industry, and the advent of a future where potential for learning is available to all, without the intervention or support of the State. Accreditation of institutions has become somewhat of a joke, with for-profit schools shining a light on reality. For those with the propensity and drive to learn, a simple diploma is no longer an object of desire, but a relic of an era fading away.

Never stop learning.

Khan Academy

The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.

I am thinking that resources like this are a wonderful opportunity to combine a love of travel with a yearning for knowledge.

All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.

The Khan Academy is another oasis in the field of learning. Too often, complacency leads learners to believe that traditional institutions of knowledge are the primary source for learning, which is not only unsustainable and with questionable intentions, but lacks the ability to recognize the needs and wants of individual learners. Institutional curriculums lack the flexibility required by learners that wish to broaden their horizons independently, rather than to simply follow the instruction of those with the blessing of the State.

Chose your own path. Never stop learning.

Academic Earth | Online Courses | Academic Video Lectures

Academic Earth was founded with the goal of extending high-quality online learning opportunities to people around the globe.

Academic Earth | Online Courses | Academic Video Lectures

Also available through XBMC, for those with their geek in cruise control.

Never stop learning.