RALEIGH — The school-choice movement broadly supports charter schools as a better alternative to the traditional public school system, but many home educators are concerned that online, or “virtual,” charter schools are being used to regain control over what home-school students are taught and perhaps lure them back into the public education system.
RALEIGH — In today’s Friday interview, Carolina Journal’s Donna Martinez discusses the explosive growth of home schooling in North Carolina with Davis Carman, the administrative vice president of North Carolinians for Home Education.The interview aired on Carolina Journal Radio (click here to find the station near you).
Public opinion is often difficult to measure. However, every now and then, a benchmark identifies the next shift. When the culture reaches a “tipping point,” the change begins to spread. The largesse of the education establishment prohibits little more than a snail’s pace of change from the issues surrounding teacher education programs and licensing, to curriculum, standards, textbooks, testing, expectations, accountability, funding, merit pay, privatization, choice, etc.
RALEIGH — U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-7th District, joined 32 Republican congressmen last week to denounce reporting by “CBS Evening News” that connected homeschooling to child abuse. The House members signed a letter Oct. 22 to CBS News President Andrew Heyward stating they “were deeply offended by the recent ‘Eye on America’ dealing with homeschooling.” McIntyre was the sole Democrat, and also the only representative from North Carolina, to sign the letter.
RALEIGH — Between 1.9 and 2.2 million children in the United States “go to school with mom,” and many make creative use of museums, travel, and family businesses to achieve educational success. North Carolinians for Home Education estimates that as of March 2003, about 26,000 North Carolina families had registered as home schools. That translates into 86,000 to 90,000 home-schooled children statewide. Families home school for a variety of reasons, including religious or philosophical views, academic concerns, and negative experiences in regular schools.
