WARNING: YOU MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH ME

Look at that title. It warns you. Now, let me tell you that if you don't agree that doesn't mean I don't like you. Hopefully it also means that you won't stop liking me just because we don't agree. I know there are many out there who will be just as concerned as I am and who will agree with me wholeheartedly, and who may even wish I was more radicalized than I am about this issue. So, what is this issue? HOME SCHOOLING. Not just home schooling itself, but rather the right of parents to elect to home school. I am 100% wholeheartedly in support of parents' right to choose to home school their children. I do not think anybody should be forced to home school, but man do I think every parent has a right to make that choice without the interference of the government. What brings me to air my views about this sometimes controversial subject now? A ruling earlier this week from a California Court of Appeal that says only parents with a California teaching certificate have the right in California to home school their children. I heard about it here: http://listen.family.org/daily/A000000997.cfm a Focus on the Family broadcast. I agree with what I heard! For those of you who do not know, I do not home school my child. My husband and I have determined that government schools are not desirable and we do use a Christian private school that teaches a Christ Centered Classical model of education, and we are very very very (I can't stress it enough) very happy with this option. If you are curious, here is a link to the school's web site: http://www.petraacademy.com/. We elected not to home school for three basic reasons - one, I would make a terrible elementary school teacher because I am flawed in that I do not have the patience; two, in order to run my husband's law practice in a manner that allows him to work with indigent people we needed to keep costs down, so I pretty much need to be available to be his secretary, receptionist, para-legal and all around encourager, cheerleader leaving insufficient time for me to over come my flaws and be an adequate teacher to our child; and three, we have an only child and live in a place that is relatively isolated, so socializing was a concern to our unique situation. However, I know many families, in Montana, in California, and in other states, who do home school, and I am very impressed with what happens in that model of education. I will stand for their right to continue electing to home school. Now, for those of you - some of whom are relatives and dear friends - who are very supportive of government schools, I don't have any problem with your right to make that choice for your children. I don't dislike you because of your choice. I may reach different conclusions or focus on different issues when making my choice regarding education of my child, but I in no way desire to force anyone to make a particular choice. And for those who it is just not possible, practicable, or feasible to use either home schooling or private schools to meet your children's needs, I am very thankful that free government schools are available to you and that your children have access to some form of formal education. Why then, do I open this can of worms on a BLOG that until now has been very apolitical? Because it means something to me. Because I went to law school in a country that was founded at least in part because of a desire for religious freedom, and I believe this issue goes to that core in a profound way. You see, when Andy and I elected to avoid use of government schools we did so because we honestly believe (and believe more so today) that the manner of teaching and the values taught at government schools were in many ways antithetical to our deeply held faith. We do not believe there is such a thing as values neutral anything. Our faith permeates everything we do, and impacts all of our thinking, analysis and processing of issues. We hold to a world view that does not allow for the separation of God from the physical, emotional, intellectual or any other realm of experience. This is fundamental to our very existence as who we are and to our free expression of our faith. Government schools, on the other hand, are based in large part on the premise that God can be separated from the rest of life and set aside and reserved for elective use on Sundays. My faith tells me two things about that point of view: 1. God will not force anyone to have faith in Him and does not give us the authority to impose our faith on them - that wouldn't be faith, that would be coercion; and 2. Nobody but me, in active relationship with God, can define what my faith is and how it should be lived out. The implications of those two things is that for deeply held faith reasons, I do not have to buy into the "values neutral" propaganda of government schools and its supporters, and the election to avoid government schools is an exercise of fundamental religious freedom that is granted to me by the Constitution of this nation. I believe these are rights and freedoms for all people in this country, and so I believe the government has no right to tell me or anybody else whether or not I can home school. For those of you who will say that the government has the right to regulate the quality of schools, I say sure in the schools they run. But they do not have the right to regulate my faith, and regulating the "quality" of schooling I provide to my child is a regulation of my faith. If I elect into the government school system, then I make the choice to subject myself to government regulation on education issues. If I elect to educate differently outside of government schools, then, frankly, any attempt by the government to regulate the quality of education, including the qualifications of the teachers, is an encroachment on my basic fundamental right to religious freedom. The end. Well, not quite. For those of you who are so inclined, there is a petition being circulated by the Home School Legal Defense Association that will ask the California Supreme Court to order that the appellate court ruling be de-published, thereby effectively limiting the application of that ruling to the particular family involved - the case involved a family characterized by abuse and neglect as I understand it, so the Appeals court was over broad in their application of the ruling to all home school families. If you wish to sign this petition you can go here: https://www2.hslda.org/Registrations/DepublishingCaliforniaCourtDecision/ Thank you for reading with an open mind. Remember, I don't require you to agree with me on every point to be someone I like or love. However, I do expect to be treated with respect regarding my views, so keep that in mind with any comments you might add. Just for a clarification, someone once told me that by sending my child to a private Christian school I would turn him into "a homophobic bigot." That is not only untrue, it is not respectful, so please don't leave comments like that. Now, THE END, for real.