Alright, I think this is going to have to do. Now we are all inundated w/ a green goo. I have a deep and abiding appreciation for the mongo warehouse size boxes of tissue!
Briefly, let me say that if I ever wondered how Maryland became the Police State it is (and it is, believe me), my questions have been answered in the past weeks. It's the Sheeple. It is the individuals who are actually convinced that the State-mandated invasion processes are somehow benevolent and that we need them to be looking out for our "best interest". Well, I guess when you're too inept to run your own life, perhaps that makes sense, but I truly do not believe that people are too inept to run their own lives. They may not want to, and hey, who is going to do a job that someone else will do first? But most people are capable when called upon, or permitted, to answer the call. Therefore, this philosophy of the Benign Big Brother is pretty well null and void. Today I'm just going to stick with my homeschooling tirade, because the whole thing is too big for one post.
So, here is Government Intrusion Part I:
You cannot homeschool freely in MD. You must inform Them (in this case, the County) of your intent to homeschool, "15 days prior" to getting started. (Or what? Nobody seems to know, but they quake and quail and make certain to meet that useless requirement. And why? Again, nobody seems to have a clear reason "why" this is a necessity.) Then you must re-inform Them yearly because, well, we just can't have people somehow being left in peace, can we?
You have three options: use a State-approved correspondence school, use a "religious" umbrella school, or submit to the County's review up to three times per year. You must cover the classes that they teach, period. Many people have opted for the umbrella school because they don't want to deal with the County. I don't blame them. I do think it's cowardly, but when the government holds your own children over your head, it's hard to be noble. The State knows that. The people have forgotten that. That's why we're running into tyranny.
The county reviews are a joke and are nothing more than an outlet for the educational powers-that-be to strut their prowess like little old Banty Roosters, and a means of keeping a ready-to-go roster of homeschoolers when They need to crack down on this dangerous subculture of homeschoolers. But just in case you get uppity and stop thanking the reviewer profusely for his/her suggestions and feedback (a custom which is highly recommended here- be sure to thank them for their input, whether you asked for it or not!), They can request to "observe instruction". This doesn't seem to bother anyone! Or, not enough to say anything about it. Well, I am NOT letting the State into my home! No way, no how! Oy!
And yet, I cannot so much as request that people STOP giving the State more than it is already requesting or they break into the "Don't Oppress Me" skit from The Life of Brian! PUHLEEZE! Y'all are handing over your rights and responsibilities as fast as you can, but when I ask that you please not set dangerous precedents that could lead to further legislation affecting the rest of us, I'm the Oppressor. Shyah, ok.
Oh, and in case anyone is thinking that perhaps Maryland's public education system is so well-run that it can afford these extra expenditures to keep the homeschoolers under their thumbs, think again. Regularly in our local paper (and our crime rate here is far lower than in the northern counties) we read of assaults, poisonings, poor academics, aggression from faculty, arrests on school grounds. The schools are failing on every front. They cannot tend to their own, but by golly, they'll make sure WE don't make any missteps. All Hail Big Brother!
And the people actually do not mind! I'm just floored! I have been continually floored by the mentality that we need to "play nice" with the government and not anger it. In an attempt to try to circumvent a big brewhaha that's bubbling up here in our County, one group has suggested a tea for the educational heads, to show off our curricula, our kids, our portfolios. You know, show them that we're really A-OK. What?!? My jaw hit the floor when I read that. Why would I do this? I have nothing to prove, nor am I clamoring for the "approval" of this giant, control-freak father figure.
You know, I am just not accustomed to living in a culture that is afraid of its own shadow, and I'm alternately enraged and disheartened by this attitude. It's naive to think that if we can just be good little subjects, the King will leave us be. Hello? We threw off that mantle a long time ago! Why are we now donning it for tea parties? What in the WORLD is wrong with people today? My vote goes toward a mass rebellion tea party... you know, the kind of tea party that WORKS. Let's invite them to tea and let's put their forms through a shredder and pour them over the tables. Let's refuse these abuses and invasions en masse. Then let them try to arrest every single homeschooling family that is willing to stand up and say, "You do not represent me!" Ah, but that would not work out here, because so very, very few are willing to do so. So very few think there is a problem.
Yeah, so I cannot protect my family. I cannot bear my children in an environment that my husband and I deem best. (I'll cover these two tomorrow.) I cannot educate my children in peace. I'm paying huge taxes for services I don't want and won't receive (talk about taxation without representation!) And people wonder why I giggle cynically when I read that Maryland is "The Free Line State". That is just rich. What's really scary is that Maryland isn't the worst state out there!
So, tomorrow I'll finish up with Education: Right or Responsibility? Probably not worth the four-day wait, I know, but hopefully some of my readers (more articulate and well-versed than I!)will join in the discussion.
I am going to find a new box of tissues...
Dy
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