In other words, if you want your child to attend pre-school, you must first get him a flu shot.  And kids who don’t get the shot will be banned from attending classes unless parents can prove that their child will receive the shot within two weeks of the law’s deadline.

And it won’t stop there–it will only be a matter of time before the law precludes children from attending public school without a flu shot.

No matter that according to statistics, last year’s flu season was the worst in three years.  Why? Reports state that this was due to the fact that the virus that so many people had injected into their systems was completely ineffective against the flu.

No matter that there are many children who should not get the vaccine–children with certain types of cancer or who are taking drugs that lower the body’s ability to resist infection.  No matter that some studies indicate that the flu shot may be linked to autism. In addition, all recommendations state that children younger than 6 months of age should not get the influenza vaccine.  Will they be exempt?

Perhaps you have no difficulty with giving your child the influenza vaccine.  But at what time did we decide to hand over our right to determine what we will subject our children to to the government?

And what better way for the government to control what we can and cannot do with our children than through the school system?

I personally have experienced the tragedy of a loved one who died as a result of a flu shot gone wrong.  That is not a risk I want to take with my children.

Just another great reason to homeschool-hold onto our rights as parents and have the freedom to choose whether or not to vaccinate our children.

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Despite his assertion that “home schooled children . . . are typically badly deficient in science education,” the facts tell another story. In fact, Mr. Lessenberry, statistics indicate the exact opposite:

In 1990, the National Home Education Research Institute issued a report entitled “A Nationwide Study of Home Education: Family Characteristics, Legal Matters, and Student Achievement.” This was a study of over 2,163 homeschooling families.

The study found that the average scores of the homeschool students were at or above the 80th percentile in all categories. The homeschoolers’ national percentile mean was 84th for reading, 80th for language, 81st for math, 84th for science and 83rd for social studies.

He continues with the usual blather . . . homeschoolers aren’t adequately socialized, parents should be qualified to teach, homeschoolers aren’t up to date with computer technology . . .. All of these comments clearly demonstrate his lack of experience with homeschoolers.

Let me provide my responses based on fact, not opinion. Just taking from the last three graduating classes, each year Bridgeway Academy homeschool students have received full scholarships to college, have qualified as national merit scholars, have been highly involved in volunteer efforts, have served local politicians, have established their own businesses while still in high school (including computer services such as programming and web design), have been highly recognized athletes, and have served on the mission field.

These students come from homes of all different backgrounds, but they have two things in common: a desire for excellence and a drive that takes them there.

Are all of Bridgeway’s students this exceptional? No. We also work with struggling students who have not received the help they need from their local public school. We have worked with adults who hit a brick wall personally and financially because they lack a high school diploma and are now motivated to do the work to obtain one. (By the way, every one of the American born adults dropped out of public school–not home school). And we have worked with students who seek an alternative to failing educational system in their local public school. But all of our homeschool students, no matter where they are when they enroll, exceed the standards of their local public school system by the time they graduate from Bridgeway Academy.

Many of our students come from families who seek a strong Biblical foundation for their children. A growing number do not want the Biblical element. Others are looking for a combination of both. Either way, the homeschooling community is much larger than Jack seems to realize.

So what is my point? Despite the uninformed anti-homeschooling blather of people like Jack Lessenberry (who by the way is married to a public school teacher), homeschoolers are sought out by colleges and universities, are impacting their communities and are outdoing their public school counterparts.

Look out public school graduates! The leaders of tomorrow are educated in the homes of today!

Technorati Tags: anti-homeschooling, homeschool graduates, homeschool success, why homeschool