Making Sense of All of the California Homeschooling News

In the past week, I’ve done four interviews (two for TV, one for radio, and one for the paper). These are some of the questions I was asked about the Long’s case and the appellate court’s ruling.

1. What do you think of the HSLDA petition to depublish the court’s opinion? I am of two minds about the HSLDA petition. The petition’s intention is in alignment with the efforts coordinated by all the California homescholing organizations. In that regard, it’s a positive action that people can make in response to the court’s ruling. However, the petition is not likely to have much, if any, effect on whether the opinion will be depublished. The Supreme Court will look at the legal arguments that are presented, not public opinion. My concern is that the people who sign this petition think that their work is done. It is not. We cannot consider signing an ineffective petition as enough of an effort to make a difference.

2. What do you think of Assemblyman Joel Anderson’s resolution to reverse the appellate court’s opinion (ACR 115)? It is important that as many people as possible support this resolution. Although this resolution will not sway the supreme court any more than HSLDA’s petition, its presentation for vote will give the California State Assembly, and the rest of the politicians in CA, clear message that homeschoolers are unified in CA. We also can see which Assemblymen will vote for, or against, this resolution. Again, this is not the end-all of support. This is just one small part of what we can do, and not a ticket to opt-out of the rest of the effort to keep homeschooling free from regulation in CA.

3. What do you think of the Long family’s appeal to the Supreme Court? I was asked this question, and I wasn’t sure how to answer it. It seems obvious to me that they would do this, irregardless of what’s going on in the homeschooling community. I’m assuming that all of the efforts by the CA homeschooling groups to depublish the opinion are being conducted with full knowledge of the appeal. As far as I know, depublishing is still the main goal, whether or not the Supreme court accepts the appeal case. I see it this way: the Long family is concerned about their family, and CA homeschoolers are concerned with the particular section of the opinion that pertains to the education code. If those two efforts overlap, it doesn’t change our intentions.

4. Who should we listen to? CHN? HSLDA? The news? I can’t tell you who to listen to. That’s up to you. I would encourage you, however, to listen to as many different people and organizations as you can stand. I am on way too many e-lists, and I watch the google alerts. But I feel that I’m getting a multi-dimensional view of what’s going on. The information that I pass along here on this blog, are things that either are objective truths (Joel Anderson and his resolution, for example), or are opinions that resonate throughout the entire coalition of homeschooling groups in CA. If one group says something, and nobody else does, I make sure to ask around to see if it’s a rogue opinion. I also take care to see who is making the statement, and what their goals are. So listen to who you want to listen to, but keep in mind that many people and groups are working on this, and listening to only one source might not paint an accurate picture.

5. Should we be worried? I am of the opinion that even if we were literally being thrown into concentration camps, we still shouldn’t be worried. Mad, yes. Motivated, yes. On high alert, yes. Prepared, absolutely. But worry is a waste of energy. Worry makes us impatient. Worry makes it difficult to see all the data. Worry gets in the way of good decision making. Dump the worry, and replace it with determination. Right now, the best thing we can do to “beat” this, is to keep homeschooling. Don’t let them see us sweat (even if everything is falling apart).

Any other questions?