I got this as a joke.....but if it's tru
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| Fri, 03-14-2008 - 8:22pm |
Wacky Americans
- We yell for the Government to balance the budget, then take the last dime we have to make the down payment on a car.
- We whip the enemy in battle, then give them the shirt off our backs.
- We yell for speed laws that will stop fast driving, then won't buy a car if it can't go over 100 miles an hour.
- Americans get scared to death if we vote a billion dollars for education, then are unconcerned when we find out we are spending three billion dollars a year for cigarettes.
- We know the line-up of every baseball team in the American and National Leagues but don't know half the words in the "Star Spangled Banner".
- We'll spend half a day looking for vitamin pills to make us live longer, then drive 90 miles an hour on slick pavement to make up for lost time.
- We tie up our dog while letting our sixteen year old son run wild.

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Too funny!
>>You
Geez...I can't believe you didn't know public education is FREE Dollie!
Um...if FREE means I'm FREE of money each year because of the taxes I pay...then yeah...it's FREE alright!
I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure
They are not FREE in any way.
I hear ya...we'll be paying dearly this year with none of that FREE (yeah right)
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Exactly what payment do you make directly for the use of the public schools?(not talking school tax, but a
I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure
>>Then you must be a victim of public education!
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This reminds me of a interview I heard with a long time Libertarian recently. He proposed having fire protection available by subscription, much as one pays for any other type of insurance. He included an option for individuals to purchase the coverage from the fire protection service at the time of need, but at a higher rate than for those who had previously obtained it.
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I'm not quite sure how this turned into a debate about public schooling versus home education. I saw nothing to indicate a value judgement on how one was educated mentioned in the original piece, though there was the line about funding for education versus spending for tobacco.
I would like to correct some assumptions/misconceptions about the availability of public school services for non-public school students that have been mentioned here. Only 18 of the 50 states allow participation of home educated students in public school activities such as sports teams. California, where I reside, is not one of those states. California also does not require public schools to provide special education services such as speech therapy to private schooled students, including those whose school shares their home address. They did up until 5 or 6 years ago when the legislature indicated that they would no longer serve non-public students with a few exceptions. One example of programs still offered would be programs for autistic preschoolers.
I live directly across the street from a public school with a city park bordering on the school grounds. Though my taxes help pay for the upkeep and modifications to the city park, my home educated sons are unable to use a portion of the park during school hours because the school treats it as a field for soccer and other field sports. While I don't believe that my children should participate in free activities at the neighborhood school as they would not have to meet the same standards as the other students for involvement, I am frustrated that my children cannot use the field in our city park for our physical education or science activities during those hours.
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In regards to the original post, I asked my sons if they knew the "Star Spangled Banner". While the teen sang it quickly (and off-key), the youngest admitted he did not know it. I'm not certain he could say the Pledge of Allegiance, either. (To be fair, they know next to nothing about most professional sports either.) Neither has been an integral part of their education. As the youngest is now studying the Revolutionary War, we will discuss the national anthem and the events that surrounded its writing as well as the meaning of each of the words. At some point, we will cover the loyalty oath recited by so many school children, possibly when learning about the reconstruction period following the Civil War. I do not believe that rote recitation or singing makes one a patriot. I believe patriotism is about something other flag waving and loyalty oaths, something much larger. Both by teaching and example my husband and I do our best to show them how to be informed, committed, involved members of the community and nation.
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But attendance is all that is required of students, not learning.
And unfortunately it is precisely this mindset that has gotten us into the situation we're in as a society.
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