The Act of and Right to Home Scool in Newfoundland and Labrador!

Today the mere suggestion of home schooling your child in Newfoundland and Labrador will get you more than a load of grief. However defined and supportive your logic is, your decision to home school your children will be contested. From a legal perspective, you will be examined and raped of pride and common sense, you will be threatened with removal of your child from your home. Why?

The philosophies of both society and school boards suggest the practice is redundant, inefficient, non practical and the worse case description, the practise is damaging to a child's social and educational growth.

Despite all of this however, if a disabled child in rural Newfoundland and Labrador cannot access the only school there, then home school becomes the process used to educate them? I get more than lost in the significance of that obvious truth and school board contradiction.

I believe, if I were attempting to home school my child, based on both the quality of education and the safety of my child, I would have to ask!

"Can the school board guarantee my child’s safe return home from school each day? This includes the time that they are entrusted to your care during the bus ride to school, before class, school hours, between and after classes. This includes but is not limited to safety in the rest rooms, in the hallways, on the stairways, in and under the bleachers, in the lunch room, in the class rooms, on the playgrounds, or on any school property.

COMPLIANCE

Can the school board guarantee that a member of it’s faculty including, but not limited to teachers, principals, aides, janitors and any school official, will not fall in love or lust and attempt to sleep with, marry, fondle, molest, rape and sexually mishandle my children in any way.

Can you guarantee me as a parent that my child will get a top notch education from a top notch school with verifiable records to prove it? Can you provide me with at least 50% of your current year’s students, verifiable records of above average success on all academic levels? With the exception of your hand picked students, can you provide me with a high level of excellence in academic records for at least 300 students that are above the national level for a period of 3 years?

Can you provide me with medical proof that all of the students that your school district has deemed autistic, ADD or ADHD are indeed suffering from these clinical deficiencies? Can you prove that the person or persons who made these medical diagnoses are qualified to do so? Can you guarantee to me that the school board has a real interest and concern for my child’s education and is not only interested in getting provincial or federal monies for my child’s presence in your school district?

Can you guarantee that my child will not be exposed to drugs or alcohol as a result of going to your school? Can you guarantee that my child will not be racially discriminated against in regards to students of other races? (Whether Black, White or other race depending on the student) Can you guarantee that my child will not be killed on school property during school hours while in the care of your faculty?

Can you prove that your school will not be one of those that helps students cheat on test to raise province wide test scores for the purpose of improving it’s image. Is your school one that accepts responsibility for children not learning, or do you blame the children for the failures of the schools. Can you give a realistic account of Newfoundland and Labradors failing schools or do you consider teachers and school administrators to be completely blameless?

Can you help me to understand why school board policy suggests that it’s schools are typically not held liable for the injury or death of a child while in it’s care and many times are not even investigated, but the same rules don’t apply if this happens while in the care of parents or other relatives, friends and non school officials. Can you give me a legitimate reason why I should entrust my children’s lives into your hands when you don’t have to protect them from hurt, harm or danger. Can you explain to me why my rights to be a home school parent are always questioned or challenged when home school students have consistently proven to be well educated? Can you explain why public school officials feel the need to interfere with home schoolers who are giving their children a safe viable education while the children under their very care are failing miserably? Why is that? Do you want more children to be given to you so that they can fail miserably too.

PROGRAMS

Can you explain to me why your policy often states that if a child goes on a field trip with your school that the parents must sign a letter stating that the school board can not and will not be held responsible for the death or injury of a child while in the care of school officials? Wouldn’t it be more feasible to say, send your child with us on this trip at your own risk? Can you give me a reasonable explanation as to why some public schools don’t report sexual abuse of children on school property, during school hours while in the care of the public school system? Can you explain why some parents have to wait months or even years to find out that their child has been sexually assaulted by other students? Can you help me to understand why the school board is more interested in protecting its image than it is the safety of our children? Can you tell me why many school officials oppose home schooling over public school when the school system is full of violence, threatening behaviour, immoral activities, delinquent behaviours, and so on and so on?

Can you tell me why many teachers question the social ramifications of home schooling when the children that they would socialize with if they attended public school are the very ones that would subject them to lewd acts, teen sexual promiscuity, alcoholic pressuring, drug pressuring, peer hazing, bullying, racism, hatred, name calling, and so much more. Can you assure me that my child will not be the next victim of an oversexed sexual predator be it a teacher or another student? I know that I have already asked this question but since this seems to be a constant occurrence on the rise, I felt the need to say it one last time."


Brudder