It takes brave men and women to stand up to the inhumanities that are occurring today. As we see many fighting for our freedoms—holding the line, risking it all—I am motivated to talk about another freedom that we depend on: school choice. Why is school choice important to protect?
School choice prevents the government from controlling our children with ever-progressive rhetoric. The government’s progressive rhetoric currently disregards conservatives and their beliefs.
Education has veered away from learning language arts, math, science, and history. What happened to teaching civility and tolerance?
Our forefathers were escaping religious persecution when they came to America for a chance to worship freely and to be free. The queen’s army viewed them as terrorist rebels when they were honorable patriots who made America the free land it is today.
It started with the Boston Tea Party. They did not conform. They fought back.
I expect members of Congress to keep their oaths and protect our freedoms no matter what side of the political fence they are on. I expect them to uphold the Constitution, which includes the well-known phrase “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” as a sacred and unalienable right given to all citizens.
If our democracy falls, these members of Congress will forever be remembered as the elected officials who were on the wrong side of history.
There’s a misconception when it comes to homeschooling: that we are all overly religious people sheltering our children from the world. This is far from the truth. There are many secular homeschoolers within the homeschool community.
Christians only make up a fraction of homeschoolers. Although I did not start homeschooling for religious reasons, it has become a significant reason as I have grown in my Christian faith. We have a freedom in this country to educate our children according to our beliefs. Our forefathers fought for these freedoms and rights.
Many forget that democracy has worked for over 200 years in our country because of these religious viewpoints. Many of our laws and statues, including the foundation of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, are based on these covenants.
“In God We Trust” appears on American currency. When you take an oath in our courts, what are you swearing on top of? The Holy Bible.
Those biblical principles are being systematically taken out of our schools and are being treated as negative connotations of intolerance. Children are being taught to hate our country, history, and social norms. The freedom of religion is there to protect everyone.
Another reason people homeschool, other than for religious reasons, is to protect our children and give them the best opportunity to reach their full potential in the pursuit of happiness. We are a diverse group of people united by this common goal.
Parents have a choice in choosing an alternative form of education that best suits their children, whether it’s a homeschool, private school, or charter school.
Parents homeschool for different reasons. Perhaps their child has a medical condition, or they have a child with special needs. These are dedicated parents of special needs children.
Maybe their neighborhoods and schools are unsafe or low-performing. Maybe they want to spend more time with their children. Maybe they want their children to be free to be children.
The reasons are endless. Through my blog, I meet a variety of different homeschoolers. These parents are searching and always looking for the best ways to teach their children.
There are parents who pour their hearts and souls into their children’s education. Their children are being taught to know that different is not bad, like the school system has made them feel and treated them.
Many of these children were emotionally and mentally hurt by the school system. Needs were not met and they were written off as terrible.
They may have a disorder that makes it hard for them to sit behind a desk all day and focus. Recess and breaks the school system takes are not enough to mitigate these effects. These are children on the spectrum. The ability to have school choice has become a gift and light to these children.
Next, we have families with children who have special medical needs. These children are fighting for their lives or having to undergo many surgeries, which are difficult on their little bodies.
These children deserve a way of learning that meets their physical needs. They need a form of education that the school system can’t offer: a flexible, conscious one that allows them to rest and heal while working on their education.
Some families homeschool because they live in dangerous areas or low-performing school districts. They worry about school shootings and if their children will have to join a gang to survive.
They face school systems that aren’t designed for them to succeed and where the dropout rates are high. No parent should ever have to worry if they will see their children again just because they send them off to school.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the failures of our current school system with more and more parents deciding to bring education in-house. Parents are saying enough is enough.
School choice must remain an option, otherwise many will suffer. To those who fully oppose school choice: What happens when your family needs it one day? What happens when your child or grandchild is being failed? Are you willing to let your children suffer?
They deserve better. You deserve the opportunity to choose as well. If the time comes when you need to rely on school choice, it’s a freedom you will want.
Homeschool and private schools aren’t the answer for everyone, as much as I wish they were. Some parents lack financial means or time, so there must be a trusted educational system for our children.
Unfortunately, I have seen some educational professionals who think that just because of their titles, they are the only ones who can teach. This is what happened to Jesus while he was teaching in the temple courts.
The chief priests and elders of the people asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things?”
They forget who taught our children to walk, talk, feed themselves, ride a bike, use the restroom, and so much more. Education is an extension of all those milestones. A good parent has been teaching their children since the day they were born.
When there’s a desire to teach, the will is unstoppable—many who homeschool are educated individuals who have degrees. For example, they might have a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an area of concentration in child development. I am talking about myself.
I graduated from an amazing state university in our country. My professors taught me to think and question. I understand child development and growth. I understand their needs, physically and emotionally.
While I am just one, there are many other parents who are fully capable of teaching their children. Even if someone doesn’t have this formal background, there are resources available if they look.
I have used prescribed curriculums to make sure I am not missing anything. I have my children tested to verify that they stay on track. I also partner with others like me, as I listed above. The choice to school their children should always be available.
Psychology teaches us why people do the things they do. It teaches us human nature and motives, how societies have risen and fallen, how governments in history make small changes that compound, resulting in total control of the people. It teaches us how people conform and are conditioned.
For example, look what happened in My Lai. If you do not know what My Lai is, I highly suggest you research it. Soldiers were ordered to do horrific things to a town in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Like zombies, they blindly obeyed orders without thinking. They killed innocent women, children, and unarmed old men. They killed a whole town without questioning.
In America today, we have an ability to question, host open debate, make informed decisions, and stand up for our beliefs. But these freedoms are being threatened.
Don’t ever stop questioning. Never forget that we are the “we” in “we the people.” We elect government officials, pay their salaries, and expect them to represent us.
We must protect our future. We must protect school choice.
The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.
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