“Huckabee the Friend of Homeschoolers? “

November 1st, 2007

SK Johnson

As I have said before, as a Homeshooler I don’t believe I can support Mike Huckabee. He did some good things for homeschooling but he also helped build up the public education bureaucracy and pandered to the NEA while Governor of Arkansas. Now that he is out of office, the bureaucracy and NEA-pro educational system is backtracking everything he “did” for homeschooling.

But, what exactly is wrong with the NEA?

Read the following from http://www.heir.org/oldsite/oppwho.htm:

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Homeschooling in Georgia has come under concerted attack by those who would reduce the access to homeschooling and control both the content and method of home study instruction. Who are the opponents to homeschooling, and what do they want to accomplish?

The most obvious attack on homeschooling in Georgia at this time is HB586, introduced in the 1997 session of the General Assembly by Rep. Carolyn Hugley (D-133). HB586 was drafted by representatives of SSWAG (School Social Workers Association of Georgia) and GAE (Georgia Association of Educators–a teachers’ union), the local arm of the NEA (National Education Association). What do these organizations have to say about homeschooling?

NEA has a “continuing resolution” on homeschooling that includes the following statements (from the NEA accounts of the national meeting in Atlanta):

• “…home schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.”
• “…if parental preference home schooling study occurs, students enrolled must meet all state requirements. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.”

According to the NEA, homeschooling “can’t” work, and if it’s permitted, it should be a mirror image of the public schools.

GAE also has an “official” opinion of homeschooling, which includes the following:

“There is insufficient monitoring, both in guidelines/laws and actual practice, to preclude the possibility that children are being kept out of public/private schools for reasons other than differences in educational philosophy, e.g., baby-sitting, parent-sitting, legalized truancy, work, etc.”

“[T]he Association insists that the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Legislature strive to provide sufficient funding and support to bring about changes in the home school monitoring procedures that will make home schools valid by state education standards.”

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Also see this resolution from the NEA earlier this year:

“B-75. Home Schooling
The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice
cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs,
students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of
assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of
the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by
persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved
by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any
extracurricular activities in the public schools.
The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to
determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering
the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)”

And so now, the NEA which is a powerful force in public education has said that Homeschoolers can not engage in any public school activities, but the public schools can decide what the homeschoolers study (they must approve the curriculum), and determines credit and grade placement. This is the organization Huckabee is friends with and he has only hurt homeschooling by helping grow the public educational system, giving them more power to enact those tenets against homeschoolers.

So what did Governor Huckabee have to say to the NEA? Here’s a part of his speech:

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I have talked to other homeschoolers about Huckabee’s support of a huge educational system, but have always been met by the response that he “had to do it” because of the Arkansas Supreme Court. I am not totally convinced this was the case but let us assume for a moment that it was. Huckabee is here speaking before the NEA proud of what he did, as if it were his policy and his idea. He is either telling the truth that his focus on enlarging the public education system is sincere, or he is pandering. I don’t like either scenario.

A Ron Paul supporter noted this detail about Huckabee’s website and although minute and quite possibly insignificant, it could also be very telling:

“When Mike Huckabee launched an exploratory committee, I visited his website and had a look at his education platform. Here is the very first item that appeared (notice the tense of the verb) on a pithy enumerated list when I made my visit many months ago:

I believe that every child in America has the right to a quality public education that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in a global economy.

As soon as I read this, I forthwith became skeptical about his entire education platform. To the Huckster’s credit, he does mention homeschooling but I was nevertheless mystified concerning the way in which the he might reconcile his position on homeschooling with a seemingly obvious declaration or allusion to a universal right to public education (for those who do not see why there is room for concern, I am currently blogging on this issue at my personal blog). My skepticism has since then multiplied when I recently took a proverbial stroll back to the holy one’s campaign site to find the following, in place of what was written previously:

I believe that every child should have the opportunity for a quality education that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in a global economy.

Why, one might reasonably inquire, did he mollify his original statement by changing his use of language? Some folks might believe that this is just an honest revision and perhaps it really is. But I am slightly more skeptical. Firstly, the remainder of the text in his platform appears to be relatively unaltered from the original. Secondly, he did not make the changes due to grammatical or otherwise syntactical ambiguities. He only changed and removed a few key words. If one considers the changes that were made, it seems reasonable for one to deduce that he is trying to keep himself from sounding too much like a socialist or a Democrat.” (http://www.secessionist.us/blog/2007/10/huckster-and-education.html)

I find this at the very least somewhat suspicious and at the very most very very dangerous and a huge warning to us homeschoolers. Please note that this, if I have my dates correct, occurred before and after the HSLDA’s endorsement.

Consider for a moment Duncan Hunter who is rated only 17% by the NEA, has ALWAYS voted for school choice (while Huckabee avoided the issue and supported enlarging the public schools), and is a strong supporter of homeschooling. The ‘choice’ is yours, though I think Huckabee would rather you didn’t have one. At least that’s what the NEA told him to think.

“While many elected officials pontificate proudly about their deep interest in and commitment to public education, so many put their own children in private schools. If the public schools are so deserving of their (and our) support, why aren’t they deserving of the ultimate support–having confidence enough in them for their own children to be educated there?My three children were the first children of any Arkansas governor in at least 50 years who spent their first through senior high education entirely in the public schools of Arkansas.” – Mike Huckabee

“Our basic constitutional responsibility is to provide for free, equitable and adequate public education for students through the 12th grade. I would recommend that we set for ourselves the task of raising teacher salaries in this state by $3,000, recognizing that’s not enough and it’s not the finish line but it’s a good starting point. If we don’t raise those salaries at least by that kind of money, we are going to be further and further behind. ” -Mike Huckabee

When will the HSLDA take back their endorsement of Governor Huckabee? I’m waiting.