Monday, April 23, 2012

Educational neglect--in school?

As a homeschooler, I am all-too-familiar with the term "educational neglect."  Simply put, every parent must secure an appropriate education for their child as defined by the state.  Living in NY, in order to avoid a charge of educational neglect, I must document that I am teaching Arithmetic, Reading, Writing, Spelling, English, Geography, Science, Health, Art, Music, and Physical Education.  I must document at least 900 hours a year spent on learning activities.  And I must have my children evaluated annually and tested periodically to ensure that they are being taught the appropriate skills for their ages.  Or, I could just put them in school.
Apparently, it's not that simple.
Over at Imamother, there is a thread running twelve pages long about whether or not yeshivas need to teach secular studies.  Apparently, a number of them don't even teach basic English or math, leaving it to the kids and their parents to supply these skills in the evening hours.  Now, judging by the posts, a number of the posters are writing from New York State--which has all those strict rules for us homeschoolers.  In other words, I could circumvent all these cumbersome regulations and essentially have my kids learn nothing by placing them in yeshiva--and I wouldn't be guilty of educational neglect
See, we don't often think of education neglect happening in the classroom.  However, the same regulations that mandate how many hours a day I must spend teaching and what I must teach are apparently not required by institutions supposedly designed for education.  Why not require THEM to teach Arithmetic, Reading, Writing, Spelling, English, Geography, Science, Health, Art, Music and PE?  Why assume, that just because the building is called a "school," that these necessary skills are being taught?  Why not audit THEM for hours of instruction or demand detailed educational plans?  Why give institutions the benefit of the doubt and stick it to homeschoolers?

9 comments:

  1. Do homeschoolers bloc vote?

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    1. Unfortunately, they're too split. The religious homeschoolers (aka hard-core X-tians) would prefer to remove all restrictions. The more secular ones want something less insane (do we really have to declare intent EVERY YEAR with all the other paperwork?), but can live with what exists. Also homeschool laws vary state to state. New York is one of the most restrictive states, but across the river, in New Jersey, the state pretty much leaves you alone.

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    2. My comment was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek (SO hard to convey that online!)

      I heard from another homeschooling NY mom that NY's restrictions are among the most onerous.

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  2. Very simple - separation of church and state. New York does not want to get sued by schools that say, "We teach the way we want, and you guys are investigating? You anti-Semites! Who do you think you are questioning our methods?" Yes, it's unfair, but these guys have a lot of political clout and as such, the heads of the educational departments are afraid to mess. The last thing they need is Dov Hikind and David Greenfield on their backs.

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    1. Maybe I should pass this along to Dov Hikind. The last thing HE needs is Albany breathing down his neck about widespread educational neglect in his district's private schools.

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    2. Albany has bigger fish to fry. Besides, it's a big risk. Once you get on Hikind's bad side, he can make your life miserable.

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  3. Did you see the quotes over on Orthonomics a couple months back people think you just sit home with your kids when you are "homeschooling" them. Yet every fall magazines like Binah talk about kids that couldn't get into any schools and how they are at home. How come they aren't getting caught with that?

    Oh and can you turn off the spam guard where we write the letters in the gobble-dee-gook? You moderate comments so it's really not necessary.

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    1. Ever since my email got hacked, I'm suspicious of spam. Besides, I'd rather not deal with male enhancement ads in my comments list.

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  4. In states with educational requirements, you'll find that a number of Yeshivas...well, um...lie. (Lie like rugs.) They may submit a proper ciriculum to the state, but they don't follow it. Unless the state mounts undercover investigations, how would they know? It's sad.

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