Oppose LD 1530 (Bill that is trying to make compulsory schooling begin at age 5 instead of 7)

Recently I reposted Trisha White's email on a couple of local yahoo group homeschooling lists.  Because a couple people wanted to know if that would affect homeschoolers and have a little bit further of an explanation of the bill, I thought I'd post more information here.    

So first I'll copy and paste the post.  Then I'll copy and paste a little more information about the bill and my thoughts as to how it affects Mainers and why it matters to me as a person and homeschooler living in Maine.  

This is what I posted on the yahoo groups - 

Copying and pasting Trisha White's post in case others might like to write to oppose LD 1530 (which would require 5 and 6 year olds to go to school) or attend the session on the bill on 1/23/14 at 1pm.  

Laurie 

----------------

PLEASE NOTE, they are up to the shenanigans again, the date has been 
changed to Thursday the 23rd at 1 pm! Please pass this along.

I will be going down and can take several people with me if you would 
like to ride along. I am in the Guilford Dover area and can stop at 
Walmart in Newport if you can meet there. You will not be called on to 
testify but you will be able to voice your opposition by being 
physically present and if you desire, wearing a sticker we provide 
stating your opposition to LD 1530. Remember numbers speak volumes and a 
large visual presence is very effective.

YOU CAN GET PHONE NUMBERS FROM THE MAINE.GOV WEBSITE IF YOU WOULD LIKE 
TO GIVE THEM A CALL.

Help Needed Immediately to Prevent Compulsory Schooling for 5- and 
6-year-olds
Homeschooling in Maine
Help protect parental rights.

Senior Counsel Scott Woodruff answers questions and assists members with 
legal issues in Maine. He and his wife homeschooled their children.
Read more >>

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

Your ability to decide for yourself how or whether to provide schooling 
for your 5- or 6-year old child is in danger.

A bill in the Maine Legislature, LD 1530, would make all children 
subject to government-mandated education requirements as soon as they 
reach age 5. This would destroy your freedom as a parent to be in charge 
of how to rear your 5- and 6-year-old.

We need your help right away! A committee will hold a session on the 
bill on Wednesday, January 15, at 9 a.m. The committee members need to 
see you and hear from you.
Action Requested

(1) Please send an email to the two committee chairs, Senator Millet and 
Representative MacDonald, asking them to oppose LD 1530. Say it in your 
own words, and make it personal---don&# 39;t "copy and paste" from this 
email. Some basic reasons to oppose the bill are listed under 
"background&qu ot; below.

(2) Also, send an email to your own senator or representative if he or 
she is on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. Use our 
Legislative Toolbox to find the name of your Maine state senator and 
representative.

(3) Come and attend the work session. Although you will not be allowed 
to speak, we need a big crowd to send a message. The work session will 
be in Room 202, Cross State Office Building, 111 Sewall St, Augusta.

It is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooler since this 
would affect every Maine parent.
Contact Information

Members of the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs:

Senator Rebecca J. Millett (D-Cumberland) , Chair
SenRebecca.Millett@ legislature. maine.gov

Senator Christopher K. Johnson (D-Lincoln)
SenChris.Johnson@ legislature. maine.gov

Senator Brian D. Langley (R-Hancock)
SenBrian.Langley@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative W. Bruce MacDonald (D-Boothbay) , Chair
RepBruce.MacDonald@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Mary Pennell Nelson (D-Falmouth)
RepMary.Nelson@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Helen Rankin (D-Hiram)
RepHelen.Rankin@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Matthea Elisabeth Larsen Daughtry (D-Brunswick)
RepMattie.Daughtry@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Brian L. Hubbell (D-Bar Harbor)
RepBrian.Hubbell@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Victoria P. Kornfield (D-Bangor)
RepTori.Kornfield@ legislature. maine.gov</p>

Representative Peter B. Johnson (R-Greenville)
RepPete.Johnson@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Joyce A. Maker (R-Calais)
RepJoyce.Maker@ legislature. maine.gov

Representative Michael D. McClellan (R-Raymond)
RepMichael.McClella n@legislature. maine.gov

Representative Matthew G. Pouliot (R-Augusta)
mpouliot57@gmail. com

Representative Madonna M. Soctomah (Passamaquoddy Tribe)
RepMadonna.Soctomah @legislature. maine.gov
Background

Across the nation, when homeschoolers work together, they have had 
remarkable success in protecting freedom by stopping the expansion of 
compulsory age brackets. The crucial recipe for victory includes a 
simple ingredient: the willingness of ordinary homeschool moms and dads 
to spend 15 minutes to make a phone call or send an email!

History shows that lawmakers respond when they get a large volume of 
calls and emails. God blesses it when ordinary moms and dads put forth 
effort to protect freedom so they can hand it down to their children.

Requiring children to attend school at age 5 is a very bad idea for the 
following reasons:

1. LD 1530 forces children into school too soon. There are no long-term 
replicable studies proving that mandating attendance at age 5 rather 
than 7 is better for the educational development of the child. Much 
research indicates that early childhood education does not improve the 
child's potential for being a better student in the future, because 
early gains disappear in a few years. This is especially significant for 
boys, because their cognitive and verbal skill development generally 
lags behind that of girls at this age.

2. LD 1530 decreases beneficial parental contact with their children. 
Two extra years of development outside of school can be critical for a 
child at this early age. Parents should continue to have the authority 
to decide what is best for their children.

3. LD 1530 would have an adverse financial impact on all Maine families. 
The rising kindergarten population will increase the financial burden on 
the state. This will result in the need to increase state education 
revenues from either taxes or shifting the burden to future generations 
through borrowing.

4. This reduction in the starting age for compulsory attendance would 
definitely apply to homeschool families despite some slightly confusing 
language in the bill.

5. LD 1530 creates an unfunded mandate. It obligates school districts to 
provide expanded services without providing any funding. Unfunded 
mandates are strongly disfavored.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom!

Sincerely,

Scott A. Woodruff,
Senior Counsel, HSLDA

--------------------------

These are my further thoughts on the bill and why it matters to me to oppose it.

Other than needing to do reviews for our 5 and 6 year olds, it won't affect us as homeschoolers as far as I can tell from what I've read and heard.  Though let me add "for now" - because the more freedoms/rights that are taken away, the easier it will be to take additional freedoms/rights away.  

At first I felt like "No big deal, we'll just send in reviews for our younger kids too."  But after I thought more about it, I felt like I did want to do something to preserve the rights all of us have now.  Because why should our 5 and 6 year olds lives suddenly be under the state's jurisdiction?  That means more paperwork for us and if that bill passes, then what is next?  It will be easier for the state to take something else seemingly simple away.  

The state won't easily be able to jump from what laws we have now to much more restrictive laws, but if they do it slowly over time, it can happen. Especially if people just let it happen without protest.  

I guess I don't mind so much about the paperwork, but it is the idea that it will be easier for the state to make further restrictions on homeschooling or education or parental rights that makes me uneasy and motivated to take action to keep what rights we have now.  

In addition, I do believe that children and parents should not be separated at such a young age because it is a benefit for parent and child to be connected and continue their close relationship.  Making children go to school at age 5 will begin to erode their bond and cause some disconnect in their relationship.  Why should 5 year olds be forced into school instead of be able to be with their parents?  And connected families are happier and more peaceful families which make a positive affect on the community.  

Also, we already know that children's learning can flourish outside of an educational institution.  

So I find that law to hinder children's and parent's best interests.   The way it is now, parents can decide what is best for their particular child up to age 7.  Let's keep that way at least.  

Check this out - I just read this a few days ago in a delancyplace email - it is an excerpt from "Dumbing Us Down" by John Taylor Gatto - It bothered me to think about those little kids being sent by force to school (by guards) and that the parents had no choice.  I think it bothered me more since this bill is in my mind.  Yes, we have the freedom to homeschool now, but what if it was ever taken away or restricted further? : "Our form of compulsory schooling is an invention of the State of Massachusetts around 1850. It was resisted -- sometimes with guns -- by an estimated eighty percent of the Massachusetts population, the last outpost in Barnstable on Cape Cod not surrendering its children until the 1880s, when the area was seized by militia and children marched to school under guard."  

And I like choices.  At least now parents have the choice to keep their very young kids home....whether or not they wish to send their kids to school later.  

Maybe some who keep their 5 and 6 year olds home now do decide to keep their kids out after continuing to be close with their kids and noticing all the learning taking place.  And even if they do eventually send their kids to school, I bet they are more connected.

Laurie :)

Here's the letter I wrote - I didn't go into the financial impact, just this.  Maybe I should have written more, but I kept it short.:

Dear XXX -

I am writing because I would like you to oppose LD 1530.  

I appreciate that our 5 and 6 year old Maine children have the opportunity to continue to grow and learn outside of the school system. I hope that this continues to be the case.  

It is beneficial to children to have more connection and contact with their parents, especially when they are very young.  In addition, it should continue to be up to the parents to decide what is best for their child.

Sincerely, 

Laurie Wolfrum

26 Good Wind Lane

Camden, ME 04843

207-236-4275 home

207-975-2953 cell

Maine’s Department of Education, University launch first statewide autism resource, research institute
The Maine Autism Institute for Education and Research will support educators and other professionals in better serving the thousands of children in the state with autism spectrum disorder

AUGUSTA – Mainers who serve children with autism and their families will soon have a statewide system of supports.
 
The Maine Autism Institute for Education and Research (MAIER), a partnership of the Maine Department of Education and the University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development, will open on Jan. 1 at the UMaine campus. The two organizations have committed to contribute a total of $288,000 to fund the first 18 months of the new collaborative.
 
Deborah Rooks-Ellis, an assistant professor of Special Education at UMaine, will serve as the institute’s full-time director, overseeing its efforts to build statewide capacity to improve outcomes for children with autism.
 
MAIER will be the state’s primary resource for leadership, training, professional development and technical assistance for evidence-based and promising practices for professionals working with children with autism and their families, as well as post-secondary students aspiring to serve children, families, schools and community service providers. The institute will also provide Maine’s families with services, support and resources to increase their understanding of autism and their ability to help their children with autism live productive lives.
 
Planned activities of the institute are extensive and include developing roadmaps to navigate services from birth to adulthood, providing family to family mentoring, hosting a clearinghouse of information including an events calendar, putting on professional development workshops and webinars, and strengthening existing regional collaboratives.
 
Autism is a developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate, to reason and to interact with others, with varying degrees of severity. It is the third most common developmental disability, occurring in approximately one out of every 88 births according to the Autism Society of Maine.
 
“This is an incredible step forward in Maine’s ability to ensure children with autism and their loved ones are well-served,” said Maine DOE Director of Special Services Jan Breton.  “For many Maine families, the services this institute will directly provide and support will greatly increase the quality of life they and their children with autism will experience in our state.  From day one, the hope and help we are able to provide through the institute will make a meaningful difference in the lives of so many Maine people.”
 
Most notable is the coordinated support MAIER will provide to Maine’s K-12 public schools, which currently enroll about 2,600 students with autism, Breton said. Doing so will further Maine DOE’s commitment to ensuring the state’s schools serve all students and that educators and parents have access to research-based educational tools that support the teaching of children with disabilities.
 
“I am thrilled to be a part of this coordinated effort,” said Professor Rooks-Ellis. "In addition to providing families and children with autism resources, information and tools to contribute to awareness, the Maine Autism Institute for Research and Education will serve as the primary source of education and training for professionals working with children and families and for undergraduate and graduate students aspiring to serve children with autism spectrum disorders, and their families, schools and communities.”
 
The announcement of MAIER, made last week at the annual conference for the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities, came just days after MaineHealth’s Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook revealed it had received a $1.2 million grant to study severe causes of autism.
 
For more information about the Maine Autism Institute for Education and Research, visit www.umaine.edu/edhd/ or contact 207-581-2352.

Joyce Fetteroll's "Unschooling Toolbox Cards "

The Unschooling Toolbox is a set of 48 business-sized cards, each with an unschooling idea on front *and* back (so 96 thoughts total), plus a magnet.

Each day pull out a new card and attach it with the magnet somewhere you'll run across it several times a day (like your refrigerator).

The deluxe version comes with a tea tin and has a memory stone to carry in your pocket. So if there's an idea you're having trouble remembering to do in the moment, you put the memory stone in your pocket to remind you.

Some sample Unschooling Toolbox ideas.

* The right answer isn’t as important as trying things out to discover what is right for them.
* If they can’t say no, then you aren’t really asking.
* Build meeting your own needs into your day. You have that power!
* Unschooling is about creating an environment in which natural learning can flourish. — Sandra Dodd
* Why not?

Two options for the cards (WITHOUT the tea tin and stone):

$7 for buff/oak tag/manila folder color card stock (limited supply)

$10 for brightly-hued card stock (colors vary). (They're also available bilingual in English/Portuguese, translated by Marta Pires and Alexandra Souza Lima Polikowsky.)

$5 extra (for postage) for tea tin and stone **WHEN** Joyce gets some more tea tins

Contact Joyce if you're interested:
jfetteroll@verizon.net

"Is School Enough" Video

This video was suggested by Kim Williams - It is great!  Thank you Kim!!  -

I saw this video link through an article on Village Soup about Hope Elephants. It aired on PBS a couple of weeks ago. The fact that it includes Hope Elephants is just a little bonus! It highlights some really fascinating kids that are following what they are passionate about and are unable to accomplish through traditional schooling methods. 

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365073145/

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Happy homeschooling!

Kim

Roya's Dedeaux, MFTi - Exercise of the Day to help parents validate what their children love to do

Reposted with permission from Roya Dedeaux, MFTi 

http://royadedeaux.com/ 

Exercise of the Day: write down 3 things your child is interested in, and then write down at LEAST 25 benefits they receive from doing/watching/working/etc on that thing. Now do it for yourself.

Why? It's so hard sometimes for parents to watch their kids on that 3rd, 5th, 12th hour of something they so *clearly* enjoy, without doubting what it is they are getting from it. You making that list makes you stop and think and really be an ally to your child.

Parents who find this challenging also tend to be the ones who are hard on themselves and the time they'd like to spend on their own interests. It's validating for you, too! Give yourself, and your kids, your spouse, your friends - the respect to understand the benefits of what they love.

How to Unschool by Pam Sorooshian

Love this article!!  (Reposted with Pam's permission.  Thank you Pam!)

How to Unschool by Pam Sorooshian

1. Give your love generously and criticism sparingly. Be your children's partner. Support them and respect them. Never belittle them or their interests, no matter how superficial, unimportant, or even misguided their interests may seem to you. Be a guide, not a dictator. Shine a light ahead for them, and lend them a hand, but don't drag or push them. Youwillsometimes despair when your vision of what your child ought to be bangs up against the reality that they are their own person. But that same reality can also give you great joy if you learn not to cling to your own preconceived notions and expectations. 2. Provide a rich environment. Unschooled children who grow up in a stimulating and enriched environment surrounded by family and friends who are generally interested and interesting, will learn all kinds of things and repeatedly surprise you with what they know. If they are supported in following their own passions, they will build strengths upon strengths and excel in their own ways whether that is academic, artistic, athletic, interpersonal, or whichever direction that particular child develops. One thing leads to another. A passion for playing in the dirt at six can become a passion for protecting the natural environment at 16 and a career as a forest ranger as an adult. You just never know where those childhood interests will eventually lead. Be careful not to squash them; instead, nurture them. 3. Bring the world to your children and your children to the world. Revel in what brings you together as a family. Watch TV and movies and listen to music and the radio. Laugh together, cry together, be shocked together. Analyze and critique and think together about what you experience. Notice what your child loves and offer more of it, not less. What is it about particular shows that engage your child - build on that. Don't operate out of fear. Think for yourself and about your own real child. Don't be swayed by pseudo studies done on school children.

4. Surround your child with text of all kinds and he/she will learn to read. Read to them, read in front of them, help them, don't push them. Children allowed to learn on their own timetable do learn to read at widely divergent times - there is no right time for all children. Some learn to read at three years old and others at 12 or even older. It doesn't matter. Children who are not yet reading are still learning - support their learning in their own way. Pushing children to try to learn to read before they are developmentally ready is probably a major cause of long-term antipathy toward reading, at best, and reading disabilities, at worst.

5. It doesn't matter when something is learned. It is perfectly all right for a person to learn all about dinosaurs when they are 40; they don't have to learn it when they are 9. It is perfectly all right to learn to do long division at 16 - they do not have to learn that at 9, either. It does not get more difficult to learn most things later; it gets easier.

6. Don't worry about how fast or slow they are learning.Don't test them to see if they are "up to speed." If you nurture them in a supportive environment, your children will grow and learn at their own speed, and you can trust in that process. They are like seeds planted in good earth, watered and fertilized. You don't keep digging up the seeds to see if the roots are growing - that disrupts the natural growing process. Trust your children in the same way you trust seeds to sprout and seedlings to develop into strong and healthy plants.

7. Think about what is really important and keep that always in the forefront of your interactions with your children. What values do you hope to pass on to them? You can't pass on something you don't exemplify yourself. Treat them the way you want them to treat others. Do you want respect? Be respectful. Do you want responsibility from them? Be responsible. Think of how you look to them, from their perspective. Do you order them around? Is that respectful? Do you say, "I'll be just a minute" and then take 20 more minutes talking to a friend while the children wait? Is that responsible? Focus more on your own behavior than on theirs. It'll pay off bigger.

8. Let kids learn. Don't protect them or control them so much that they don't get needed experience. But, don't use the excuse of "natural consequences" to teach them a lesson. Instead, exemplify kindness and consideration. If you see a toy left lying in the driveway, don't leave it there to be run over, pick it up and set it aside because that is the kind and considerate thing to do and because kindness and consideration are values you want to pass on to your kids. Natural consequences will happen; they are inevitable. But it isn't "natural" anymore if you could have prevented it, but chose not to do so.

9. We can't always fix everything for our kids or save them from every hurt. It can be a delicate balancing act - when should we intervene, when should we stay out of the way? Empathy goes a long, long way and may often be all your child needs or wants. Be available to offer more, but let your child be your guide. Maybe your child wants guidance, ideas, support, or intervention. Maybe not. Sometimes the best thing you can offer is distraction.

10. Be sensitive to your child's interest level. Don't push activities that your child isn't interested in pursuing. Don't letyourinterests dictate your child's opportunities. If your child wants a pet, be realistic and don't demand promises that the child will take sole care for it. Plan to care for it yourself when the interest wanes. Do it cheerfully. Model the joy of caring for animals. Model kindness and helpfulness. Help a child by organizing their toys so they are easy to care for. Plan to care for them yourself much of the time, but invite your child's help in ways that are appealing. Ifyou act like you hate organizing and cleaning, why would your child want to do it? Always openly enjoy the results of caring for your possessions - take note of the extra space to play in, the ease of finding things you want, how nice it is to reach into a cupboard and find clean dishes. Enjoy housework together and don't make it a battle.

11. Don't pass on your own fears and hates about learning anything. If you hate or fear math, keep it to yourself. Act like it is the most fun thing in the world. Cuddle up and do math in the same way you cuddle up and read together. Play games, make it fun. If you can't keep your own negativity at bay, at least try to do no harm by staying out of it.

12. Don't try to "make kids think." They will think; you don't have to make them. Don't use every opportunity to force them to learn something. They will learn something at every opportunity, you don't have to force it. Don't answer a question by telling them to "look it up" or by asking them another question. If you know the answer, give it. If you don't, then help them find it. Speculating about an answer often leads to a good conversation. If your child stops seeing you as helpful when they have questions, they'll stop coming to you with their questions. Is that what you really want?

13. When you offer a child choices, be sure they are real choices. Offer them choices as often as you can. Try to limit the "have to's" as much as you can. Frequently ask yourself, "Is this really a "have to" situation or can we find some choices here?"

Pam Sorooshian and her husband, Cyrus, have three successful grown-up unschooled daughters, Roya, Roxana and Rose. Pam is on the Board of Directors of the Home School Association of California and occasionally speaks at conferences about unschooling. She is an active participant and a moderator of the AlwaysLearning Yahoo group. Herblogcontains fun math-related games and ideas as well as comments about unschooling. Pam teaches economics and runs the theater box office at Cypress Community College in Southern California.

© Pam Sorooshian
Posted with permission of the author. 

This article originally appeared as a posting on the Home School Association of California Yahoo group.

The Science of Football

It's fall to some and football season to others!

Here are some interesting links football as it relates to science.:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/football/index.jsp

http://www.howstuffworks.com/physics-of-football.htm