SB 136 – A Hot Topic for Illinois Homeschoolers

Earlier this week, I wrote in to the SouthtownStar Newspaper about the proposed SB 136 bill, put forth by Sen. Edward Maloney, 18th District (my district), here in Illinois. The same day that the newspaper published an abridged version of my letter (see my post on that here), it also published a letter from one Dana P. Zigmund. Today’s post is a comment I wrote on the SouthtownStar’s website in response to her letter.

Below is Ms. Zigmund’s Letter to the Southtown Star, which was entitled ““Need to assure all students are prepared for future.”

I appreciate that Fran Eaton and many other homeschool parents do a wonderful and thorough job educating their children.

However, some children are pulled from school to avoid perceived conflicts with teachers, special education services and other reasons. Sadly, those children may miss out on valuable skills that allow them to support themselves as adults.

As a state and a community, we owe it to the children who are homeschooled to make sure that they are learning at home and will be prepared to enter the work force.

Obviously, failure to learn can happen at school, too. However, in the home setting, a child who is not learning has few, if any, chances to reach out for help.

The parents who are confident in the excellence of their home curriculum should welcome this important safeguard for the children of Illinois.

My comments to Ms. Zigmund:

Take a trip to the Cook County Criminal Courthouse, at 26th and California, and you can personally see the many former public school students who failed to learn those “valuable skills” that you wrote about.

It is not the state’s, nor the community’s, job to make sure that children are learning and are prepared to enter the work force as responsible citizens. This is the task of PARENTS.

There are thousands of students being graduated every year from public schools who are not at grade level. If government schools cannot make sure every graduating student goes out into the world with a real education, then why should the same state which oversees public school students take on the task of overseeing private and homeschooled students.

As parents, we need to take responsibility for our own children. I have seen the village – I do not need it raising, nor overseeing the education of, my children.

The original letters may be found on the SouthtownStar website here: http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/opinions/letters/3759592-474/forum-state-should-focus-first-on-public-school-students.html

Join Illinois Homeschoolers this Tuesday, February 15, 2011, in Springfield to attend a hearing at 10:45am, with Senator Edward Maloney, regarding SB 136.

For more information, visit the ICHE website: http://www.iche.org/blog/1513/02-11-2011/alert-legislative-task-force

Stop SB 136, Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/STOPSB136