austinchick
01-29-2008, 01:09 AM
from another forum....
Huckabee's Homeschooling Record
Mike Huckabee was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1996. In 1997, he helped ease restrictive homeschool laws in Arkansas. While governor, Huckabee also appointed the first homeschooler to the Arkansas state school board. As a homeschooler, I give Mike Huckabee credit for these achievement. It looked like he was off to a great start in Arkansas. That success, however, was short lived. Just two years later, in 1999, Mike Huckabee signed into law House Bill 1724 that undid many of those initial gains.
Here’s how the Homeschool Legal Defense Asssociation (HSLDA), Court Report (hslda.org/courtreport/v15n3/V15N3AR.asp?PrinterF riendly=True) tells it,
Home Schoolers Lose Ground with New Law
"The enactment of House Bill 1724 on April 5, 1999, gives Arkansas the unique distinction of becoming the first state in the nation to add restrictions to its existing home school law."
At a time when many states were easing requirements, Arkansas was sadly moving in the wrong direction. Huckabee signed HB 1724, known as Act 1117 that made homeschooling MORE restrictive. HSLDA’s website provides an overview of the new restrictions here (hslda.org/courtreport/v15n3/V15N3AR.asp?PrinterF riendly=True) and comments:
"Arkansas is now one of only 12 states to impose a deadline for beginning home schooling or requiring parents to provide advance notice to public school officials of their decision to do so. Because of this restriction, parents who encounter intolerable conditions at the public school, such as imminent danger to the safety or welfare of their child, will have to wait at least 14 days before withdrawing the child to begin home schooling or else face truancy charges for unexcused absences during the 14-day waiting period. No such restriction exists for parents who decide to immediately remove their children to attend a private or parochial school in Arkansas. This raises serious issues regarding the right of parents to direct the education of their children and equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution."
HB 1724 was introduced because Democrats in the legislature threatened to impose even more restrictive measures. HB 1724 was a compromise measure introduced by a homeschooling father to keep that from happening.
HSLDA opposed the compromise, "Home School Legal Defense Association opposes any effort to increase state regulation of home education and did not support H.B. 1724."
Despite HSLDA’s opposition, the bill was passed by the legislature. That left it up to Governor Huckabee to defend the rights of homeschool parents in Arkansas. But he didn't.
Huckabee and his supporters claim that signing the bill was his only option. But is that really true? No. He could have stood on principle and used his veto powers and challenged the legislature to override the veto. Or at the very least, he could have let the measure pass without his signature signaling his opposition to the state restricting the rights of homeschool parents. He did neither. Instead, he signed the law that added restrictions to homeschooling in Arkansas.
Huckabee’s signature demonstrates that he is not opposed to compromising our freedom to homeschool in the face of Democrat pressure. Do we want a President who will so easily surrender his principles in the face of sure opposition by Democrats in Congress?
As a homeschooler, I want a President that is not afraid to fight against and veto any legislation that would compromise our ability to homeschool no matter who introduces it. Our children do not belong to the state and no parent should have to wait 14 days before pulling their child out of a government school.
Despite Huckabee’s record on homeschooling as a Governor of Arkansas, HSLDA-PAC (hsldapac.org/dnn/Home/HuckabeeforPresident/tabid /93/Default.aspx) has endorsed Mike Huckabee for President. But when you consider that he also gained the endorsement of the liberal education group, NEA – New Hampshire (firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/05/497082.as px), it makes you scratch your head in bewilderment. How did Huckabee manage to convince Christian homeschoolers he’s "one of us” and convince the liberal NEA he’s “one of them" too? He’s pulling a fast one on someone, do homeschoolers want to wait until Huckabee is in the White House to find out which one? Not me.
Huckabee has said (moms4huckabee.blogspot.com/2007/07/mike-huckabee-spe aks-to-nea-new.html), "Education has to stop being a [horizontal] issue - left and right, liberal and conservative. Education must be a vertical issue - it will either move our country up or take us down."
Huckabee's statement of unity seems a bit naïve. Most Christian homeschoolers believe education is not a "vertical" or neutral issue. We understand there are politicians and reformers whose faith rests in the power of the state and who are actively attempting to move this country away from the principles of our founding and toward socialism and a planned economy; where our children are viewed simply as workers to compete in the global economy. The NEA routinely opposes parent directed home education. The 2007 - 2008 NEA Resolutions (nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/images/2007-2008R esolutions.pdf) makes this abundantly clear,
"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." "
It seems as though the only one who wants to compromise and make education a "vertical" issue is Mike Huckabee.
It's been exactly one year since I retired my blog and I don't plan on returning long term, but I will be posting my thoughts regarding Mike Huckabee and homeschoolers. This is the first post in that series.
UPDATE II: I have begun calling Huckabee's homeschool revisions while governor the "Huckabee Homeschool Hustle" because he has somehow convinced homeschoolers in Arkansas that increasing regulation on homeschooling was their only option; even over the objections of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. That's a pretty good hustle, when you can convince homeschoolers that you know better than the organization whose purpose is to defend them!
Huckabee and Homeschoolers (Part 2)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
My previous post (spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabee-and-h omeschoolers.html) addressed the revision to homeschool law restricting the rights of homeschool parents in Arkansas signed by Governor Huckabee. Recently, Huckabee told one homeschool supporter (onemom.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/huckabee-and-homesch oolers-the-rest-of-the-story/), that the catalyst for the revision to the homeschooling law was legislation he strongly supported in 1998, Smart Start.
With the implementation and success of the Smart Start program some legislators wanted to reverse what we had done for homeschoolers in 1997 and put in place
very severe restrictions.
Huckabee’s answer perplexed me. Why would a program designed to improve public education in 1998 cause a legislator to seek a reversal in homeschool laws just one year later? Is it possible that homeschoolers pose a problem to the complete implementation of the desired education reforms and restricting them, at least a little more, would move them closer to complete inclusion in the education reforms sweeping the country? Let's find out.
Mike Huckabee is very proud of Smart Start and other major reforms in education while he was Governor.
"In 1998 I announced an initiative we called Smart Start, the first of several major reform efforts in Arkansas that were to focus on not only increasing funding but, more important, improved results. Later the K-4 Smart Start Initiative would be joined by Smart Step for grades 5-8. Ultimately we launched Next Step (arkedu.state.ar.us/next_step/), which was the full implementation of a reform strategy that included grades 9-12.
It was a priority for me to develop more accessible and effective preschool programs and to make dramatic changes in both access and affordability in higher education. We developed a seamless curriculum from pre-K through college so that there was
coordination and continuity throughout the educational process." (From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 43-45)
This "seamless curriculum pre-K through college" is more commonly known as "P-16." A primer on P-16 can be found here (ecs.org/clearinghouse/24/28/2428.htm).
"Imagine a system of education where every child enters school ready to learn, here all third graders read at or above grade level, where all students have taken algebra by the end of the 8th grade, where high school exit exams test sudents at the 12th-grade level and are aligned with college admissions requirements, where all young people graduate from high school prepared for college or work, and where every student who enters college finishes college.
In short, imagine a European style education model here in America.
Education has been a signature issue for Mike Huckabee. While his resume is impressive, it signals that he has accepted many of the liberal reforms of those seeking to remove local control in education in favor of national curriculum and standards. The primer on P-16 was written in 2001 by the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Mike Huckabee was chairman of the (ECS) from 2004 to 2006 (ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/projectsPartners/ chair2005/Huckabee.asp). During his tenure, he did not challenge or attempt to undo any of these reforms, preferring to concentrate on music and art in education. In 2004, he participated in the task force for "Redesigning the American High School (nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.5cd31a89efe1f1e 122d81fa6501010a0/?vgnextoid=d05dcc1d03da2010VgnVCM1000001a0 1010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=4b18f074f0d9ff00VgnVCM1000001a01 010aRCRD)" chaired by Democrat Governor Mark Warner of Virginia. This task force was funded in large part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which seeks to align education standards both nationally and internationally.
Phyllis Shafly (eagleforum.org/column/2005/nov05/05-11-30.html) wrote about the Governor Warner's Commission and their report,
"The National Governors Report of December 2004 (when Virginia Governor Mark Warner was chairman) makes clear that the purpose is to use the public schools to build a planned economy.
The report speaks approvingly of "using schools to feed workers into selected corporations," "identifying their state's key industries and needs for skilled workers in order to define a common agenda between their workforce and economic development programs," "the integration of education, economic development, and workforce development policies," "seamless connections between the components of the [education] system and with the skill demands of the workplace," and "connecting workforce development to economic needs."
It's hard to see any difference between the 2004 National Governors Association plan and the earlier plans floated when Bill Clinton was President. The plan uses a lot of mumbo-jumbo to change America from free enterprise to a planned economy, and to turn public school students into a compliant workforce for multinational corporations.
Governor Huckabee also joined ACHIEVE (achieve.org/).
"A coaltion of states dedicated to aligning K–12 curriculum, standards, assessments and accountability policies with the demands of college and work."
Originally, 13 governors in the coalition agreed to adopt uniform high school standards developed by the American Diploma Project (ADP), an initiative of ACHIEVE. Achieve hopes to to have all 50 states adopt the same standards and testing in education. There are now 30 states in the coalition. Once all 50 state adopt the same standards we will have in effect a de facto "P-16" national standard in curriculum and testing.
Schafly's correct, many of the reforms encompassed in P-16, reinventing high school, ADP, and related reforms that Huckabee and other governors have endorsed are strikingly similar to the Outcome-Based-Education and School-to-Work initiatives introduced during the Clinton administration. The terminology has changed with different states adopting different aspects at different times, but the intent is the same - a smooth transition from preschool to the workforce to compete in the global economy.
HSLDA spoke against such initiatives in 2002 (hslda.org/docs/nche/000005/00000525.asp) in reference to the 107th Congress and legislation regarding education and the reauthorization of programs in School-to-Work,
Although STW was not reauthorized in the last Congress and received no funding, we oppose any efforts to create educational requirements that force students into studies that are based on workforce needs rather than academic excellence, and which promote any system that encourages employers to recognize skills mastery over academic excellence."
HSDLA rightly understands that homeschoolers have strong reasons to be concerned about all such education reforms which create a seamless transition from preschool to the workforce, especially one that uses state exams as the benchmark for earning credentials. (HSDLA fought some of the restrictions of P-16 in Indiana (hslda.org/elert/archive/2003/09/20030904174554.a sp) in 2003.)
The goal in the Clinton administration and carried into the Bush administration, is to make sure that "no child is left behind" in the global economy. For the P-16 "seamless transition" to work as designed all learners must be included. Quoting again from the P-16 Primer,
"[P-16] Is inclusive. Since a P-16 system has as its goal that all learners will master challenging material and achieve at high levels, it creates an environment that expects success from everyone – the gifted and the ordinary, the rich and the poor, the white and the black and the brown, the young and the not-so-young, urban and rural, the native and the immigrant. A system that allows no throwaways is a system in tune with U.S. needs. "
To me, it is no accident that the 1998 education reforms passed by Mike Huckabee led to more stringent regulation on homeschoolers in 1999. Education reform advocates know that for the system to work as designed, ALL learners must be included. What happened to homeschoolers in Arkansas should be a red flag to homeschoolers in every state that any attempt to align standards and curriculum across state lines must include homeschoolers. So they incrementally chip away at the freedom homeschoolers have with the goal of bringing them under the "P-16" uniform standards.
Some may think exempting homeschoolers from the requirements or ignoring the standards is all that is necessary to protect homeschooling. Cathy Duffy, one of the best-known and most respected names in home schooling provides an excellent reason why that's not a realistic option (eagleforum.org/column/2005/nov05/05-11-30.html).
"Some people suggest that private and home schools can work around the standards by first teaching the required content, then adding worldview-focused curricula to the mix. Others suggest ignoring the standards but providing students with a solid liberal arts education with the expectation that they will then be intelligent enough to "outsmart" the tests.
Unfortunately, neither solution is realistic.....
Testing is likely to become more and more problematical. If private schools and homeschools try to ignore the standards and implement a classical liberal education (or any other alternative curricular agenda), their students might test poorly as tests become more and more narrowly focused on details dictated by the standards that would be unlikely parts of their educational program. As the standards movement gathers steam, pressure will be exerted upon private schools and home schools to adhere to the same standards and tests as government schools."
Well the standards movement is gathering steam and unfortunately for Arkansas, the result was the passage of Smart Start which lead to increased restrictions imposed upon homeschoolers just one year later.
This year the federal government brought the P-16 reforms into federal education policy through the passage of the America Competes Act signed by President Bush (whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070809-6. html). (See Section 6401) Phyllis Schafly wrote about the impact of this expansion of federal education beauracracy earlier this year, "Look Out for Another Big Spending Boondoggle (humanevents.com/article.php?id=21549)",
P-16 is a rather new term meaning that Big Brother government is now supervising the next generation from preschool through the 16th year of education (i.e., college graduation). We used to think kindergarten through 12th grade was the scope of government schools here.
The federal movement toward national standards is moving forward, endorsed by our current "compassionate conservative" President that many homeschoolers supported. Do we want to continue the trend by electing another "authentic conservative" who appears to support the very same policies?
The only safeguard for homeschoolers against standards movement is diligently electing leaders who see education reform for exactly what it is -socialism. Conservative homeschooler must stand against the trend to create workers to compete in a the global economy. Exempting homeschoolers from education reform is not enough. If homeschoolers are serious about protecting the right to direct the education of our children, we must elect a President who opposes any federal involvement in education.
This is the second post in a series on Huckabee and homeschoolers.
In Part One (spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabee-and-h omeschoolers.html), I examined Huckabee's homeschool record in Arkansas.
In Part Three (spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabee-and-h omeschoolers-part-3.html), I examined Huckabee's education policy and the role of the federal government.
Huckabee and Homeschoolers (Part 3)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
In the last Iowa debate, Huckabee said (nytimes.com/2007/12/12/us/politics/12debate-tran script.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin) that he believes education is a state issue not a federal issue.
“First of all, the whole role of education is a state issue. It's not really a federal issue. And the worst thing that we can do is to shift more burden, more responsibility, more authority to the federal government when more of it needs to go to the states. But I think the federal government can play a pivotal role in -- primarily in helping to make sure that the best practices that are working in the states are shared with states who are struggling.”
One, personalize the learning for the student. We have 6,000 kids every day drop out in this country. They don't drop out because they're dumb; they drop out because they're bored to death. They're in a 19th-century education system in a 21st-century world. If we really are serious, then first of all we make sure that we build a curriculum around their interests rather than just push them into something they don't care.
Second thing, unleash weapons of mass instruction. I'm a passionate, ardent supporter of having music and art in every school for every student at every grade level
In his answer, Huckabee attempts to have it both ways; stating that education is a state issue but that it's a federal issue as well. Huckabee’s duplicitous answer was not lost on candidate Tom Tancredo who responded,
"Governor, with all due respect, you can't say on one hand, you're against having government intervention and on the other hand, tell us that you want music and art and everything else in the school. That's not the job of a president. It is the job of a governor. That's what you should run for if you want to dictate curriculum."
I agree with Tancredo. But to be fair, a sixty-second sound bite in a debate is insufficient to know exactly what Huckabee believes. Let’s take a look at his campaigns website to see if we can draw a more definitive conclusion.
On Mike Huckabee's campaign website (mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Iss ue_id=7) he said,
"We need a clear distinction between federal and state roles in education. While there is value in the "No Child Left Behind" law's effort to set high standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks.
Currently, NCLB allows states to set their own benchmarks, but they typically comply with federal mandates to get the much needed funding. This effectively shifts responsibility and control from the state to the federal government. Mike Huckabee has praised NCLB and a national effort to set high standards. (blog.thehill.com/2007/04/30/huckabee-backs-no-child- left-behind/) In Iowa recently Huckabee said (siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/11/08/news/io wa/f48cd10cbdeb8d508625738d000e7838.txt), "Throwing the whole thing out would be a tragic mistake." It appears Huckabee favors some measure of federal accountability if he were elected President.
Huckabee also stated that we need a clear distinction between the federal and state role in education. Does he believe the tenth amendment applies to education? According to the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) (hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000063.asp) we don’t need a clear distinction because our Constitution already provides for one in the Tenth Amendment.
"The federal role in education is a violation of the 10th amendment of the United States Constitution which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government delegated the power to regulate or fund elementary or secondary education. "
Does Huckabee want to create a new distinction which allows a federal role in education policy or does he plan on disregarding the Constitution like previous Presidents?
Huckabee not only believes there is a role for the federal government in education, but also supports INCREASING that role.
As Huckabee mentioned in his debate answer, he wants to unleash “Weapons of Mass Instruction” and supports art and music in every students’ curriculum. Such an initiative would likely come in the form of increasing federal money to states that implement music or arts education in their schools. Huckabee told an audience in Iowa (siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/11/08/news/io wa/f48cd10cbdeb8d508625738d000e7838.txt) that he would like to make arts and music part of the tested curriculum and would provide the federal funds to make it happen.
HSLDA states their belief (hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/F/Federal_Role_in_Edu cation.asp) on such federal spending very plainly,
"It is HSLDA's firm belief that federal government spending on education is unconstitutional and must be eliminated. While we support the position that the federal government should not be involved in education at any level, we also support measures that incrementally reduce the control of the federal government over education."
When President Clinton proposed increased spending for education in 1999, HSLDA was very critical (hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/familytimes/ 199902090.asp),
"For decades there has been a gradual erosion of the principle of local control of schools. Federal control has gradually increased through strings attached to various funding programs. Even though an average school receives about 6% of its funds from the federal government, nearly 50% of the regulations imposed on the school come from Washington. If Mr. Clinton’s proposals are adopted, federal strings become chains of hardened steel.."
But it's not just funding art and music education that Huckabee envisions a role for the federal government. Huckabee also favors teacher testing (mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Iss ue_id=7).
"We need to test teachers as well as students, replace teachers who aren't competent, and impose reasonable waiting periods for teachers to gain tenure."
HSLDA also opposed teacher standards when Clinton proposed them in 1999.
"Mr. Clinton’s third prong— mandatory teacher standards — should send a strong chill down the back of every homeschooler as well as those in private schools and even those in public schools."
But yet, HSLDA has been strangely silent on Huckabee’s call for increased funding and teacher testing. If they were bad ideas when Clinton proposed them, wouldn’t they still be a problem today?
Huckabee not only supports testing teachers, but students as well. When asked by a high school student in New Hampshire if he supports federally mandated testing, Huckabee used the Red Sox to make his case (concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200710 20/FRONTPAGE/710200315/1217/NEWS98),
He asked the students how many had watched the previous night's [Red Sox] game. Hands shot up. Then he asked if they would have minded if nobody kept score. "You wouldn't go to the football game or the basketball game or the baseball game and say, 'Just turn the scoreboard off,' " Huckabee said. "And neither could we realistically say we're really interested in improving the quality of education, but we're not going to keep score. So do we need tests? Yes."
Clearly, Mike Huckabee sees an increasing role for the federal government in education, despite the fact that the Constitution prohibits any such a role. In the long run, such meddling will hurt homeschooling and our freedom to direct the education of our children.
Michael Farris of HSLDA wrote in 1995 (hslda.org/courtreport/V11N1/V11N106.asp),
"The existence of the U.S. Department of Education is the only reason there are federal attacks on our rights as home schoolers. If we help to eliminate the federal role in education, we close down a substantial threat to our rights…. We need to show people that there really are a lot of us who believe in Constitutional government. The Constitution gives no role to the federal government in education and it is time to put a stop to this unconstitutional activity. You can help ignite a political wildfire.”
Farris wrote his call to action over a decade ago, but it is still true today. There are a lot of us who still believe in the Constitution which limits the powers of the federal government.
The next decade will be the deciding decade for education in this country. Will we increase the scope of the federal government in education and move toward the socialist policies of Europe or back to the Constitution which as HSLDA right points out, provides for no federal role in education?
The vote you cast in the next election will help decide which way we’re going to go as homeschoolers and as a nation. Help ignite a political wildfire and demand that any candidate who gets a homeschooler's vote will adhere to the constitutional principle of limited government and not expand the federal role in education and that the tenth amendment is still in force in the United States.
Huckabee's Homeschooling Record
Mike Huckabee was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1996. In 1997, he helped ease restrictive homeschool laws in Arkansas. While governor, Huckabee also appointed the first homeschooler to the Arkansas state school board. As a homeschooler, I give Mike Huckabee credit for these achievement. It looked like he was off to a great start in Arkansas. That success, however, was short lived. Just two years later, in 1999, Mike Huckabee signed into law House Bill 1724 that undid many of those initial gains.
Here’s how the Homeschool Legal Defense Asssociation (HSLDA), Court Report (hslda.org/courtreport/v15n3/V15N3AR.asp?PrinterF riendly=True) tells it,
Home Schoolers Lose Ground with New Law
"The enactment of House Bill 1724 on April 5, 1999, gives Arkansas the unique distinction of becoming the first state in the nation to add restrictions to its existing home school law."
At a time when many states were easing requirements, Arkansas was sadly moving in the wrong direction. Huckabee signed HB 1724, known as Act 1117 that made homeschooling MORE restrictive. HSLDA’s website provides an overview of the new restrictions here (hslda.org/courtreport/v15n3/V15N3AR.asp?PrinterF riendly=True) and comments:
"Arkansas is now one of only 12 states to impose a deadline for beginning home schooling or requiring parents to provide advance notice to public school officials of their decision to do so. Because of this restriction, parents who encounter intolerable conditions at the public school, such as imminent danger to the safety or welfare of their child, will have to wait at least 14 days before withdrawing the child to begin home schooling or else face truancy charges for unexcused absences during the 14-day waiting period. No such restriction exists for parents who decide to immediately remove their children to attend a private or parochial school in Arkansas. This raises serious issues regarding the right of parents to direct the education of their children and equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution."
HB 1724 was introduced because Democrats in the legislature threatened to impose even more restrictive measures. HB 1724 was a compromise measure introduced by a homeschooling father to keep that from happening.
HSLDA opposed the compromise, "Home School Legal Defense Association opposes any effort to increase state regulation of home education and did not support H.B. 1724."
Despite HSLDA’s opposition, the bill was passed by the legislature. That left it up to Governor Huckabee to defend the rights of homeschool parents in Arkansas. But he didn't.
Huckabee and his supporters claim that signing the bill was his only option. But is that really true? No. He could have stood on principle and used his veto powers and challenged the legislature to override the veto. Or at the very least, he could have let the measure pass without his signature signaling his opposition to the state restricting the rights of homeschool parents. He did neither. Instead, he signed the law that added restrictions to homeschooling in Arkansas.
Huckabee’s signature demonstrates that he is not opposed to compromising our freedom to homeschool in the face of Democrat pressure. Do we want a President who will so easily surrender his principles in the face of sure opposition by Democrats in Congress?
As a homeschooler, I want a President that is not afraid to fight against and veto any legislation that would compromise our ability to homeschool no matter who introduces it. Our children do not belong to the state and no parent should have to wait 14 days before pulling their child out of a government school.
Despite Huckabee’s record on homeschooling as a Governor of Arkansas, HSLDA-PAC (hsldapac.org/dnn/Home/HuckabeeforPresident/tabid /93/Default.aspx) has endorsed Mike Huckabee for President. But when you consider that he also gained the endorsement of the liberal education group, NEA – New Hampshire (firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/05/497082.as px), it makes you scratch your head in bewilderment. How did Huckabee manage to convince Christian homeschoolers he’s "one of us” and convince the liberal NEA he’s “one of them" too? He’s pulling a fast one on someone, do homeschoolers want to wait until Huckabee is in the White House to find out which one? Not me.
Huckabee has said (moms4huckabee.blogspot.com/2007/07/mike-huckabee-spe aks-to-nea-new.html), "Education has to stop being a [horizontal] issue - left and right, liberal and conservative. Education must be a vertical issue - it will either move our country up or take us down."
Huckabee's statement of unity seems a bit naïve. Most Christian homeschoolers believe education is not a "vertical" or neutral issue. We understand there are politicians and reformers whose faith rests in the power of the state and who are actively attempting to move this country away from the principles of our founding and toward socialism and a planned economy; where our children are viewed simply as workers to compete in the global economy. The NEA routinely opposes parent directed home education. The 2007 - 2008 NEA Resolutions (nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/images/2007-2008R esolutions.pdf) makes this abundantly clear,
"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." "
It seems as though the only one who wants to compromise and make education a "vertical" issue is Mike Huckabee.
It's been exactly one year since I retired my blog and I don't plan on returning long term, but I will be posting my thoughts regarding Mike Huckabee and homeschoolers. This is the first post in that series.
UPDATE II: I have begun calling Huckabee's homeschool revisions while governor the "Huckabee Homeschool Hustle" because he has somehow convinced homeschoolers in Arkansas that increasing regulation on homeschooling was their only option; even over the objections of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. That's a pretty good hustle, when you can convince homeschoolers that you know better than the organization whose purpose is to defend them!
Huckabee and Homeschoolers (Part 2)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
My previous post (spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabee-and-h omeschoolers.html) addressed the revision to homeschool law restricting the rights of homeschool parents in Arkansas signed by Governor Huckabee. Recently, Huckabee told one homeschool supporter (onemom.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/huckabee-and-homesch oolers-the-rest-of-the-story/), that the catalyst for the revision to the homeschooling law was legislation he strongly supported in 1998, Smart Start.
With the implementation and success of the Smart Start program some legislators wanted to reverse what we had done for homeschoolers in 1997 and put in place
very severe restrictions.
Huckabee’s answer perplexed me. Why would a program designed to improve public education in 1998 cause a legislator to seek a reversal in homeschool laws just one year later? Is it possible that homeschoolers pose a problem to the complete implementation of the desired education reforms and restricting them, at least a little more, would move them closer to complete inclusion in the education reforms sweeping the country? Let's find out.
Mike Huckabee is very proud of Smart Start and other major reforms in education while he was Governor.
"In 1998 I announced an initiative we called Smart Start, the first of several major reform efforts in Arkansas that were to focus on not only increasing funding but, more important, improved results. Later the K-4 Smart Start Initiative would be joined by Smart Step for grades 5-8. Ultimately we launched Next Step (arkedu.state.ar.us/next_step/), which was the full implementation of a reform strategy that included grades 9-12.
It was a priority for me to develop more accessible and effective preschool programs and to make dramatic changes in both access and affordability in higher education. We developed a seamless curriculum from pre-K through college so that there was
coordination and continuity throughout the educational process." (From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 43-45)
This "seamless curriculum pre-K through college" is more commonly known as "P-16." A primer on P-16 can be found here (ecs.org/clearinghouse/24/28/2428.htm).
"Imagine a system of education where every child enters school ready to learn, here all third graders read at or above grade level, where all students have taken algebra by the end of the 8th grade, where high school exit exams test sudents at the 12th-grade level and are aligned with college admissions requirements, where all young people graduate from high school prepared for college or work, and where every student who enters college finishes college.
In short, imagine a European style education model here in America.
Education has been a signature issue for Mike Huckabee. While his resume is impressive, it signals that he has accepted many of the liberal reforms of those seeking to remove local control in education in favor of national curriculum and standards. The primer on P-16 was written in 2001 by the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Mike Huckabee was chairman of the (ECS) from 2004 to 2006 (ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/projectsPartners/ chair2005/Huckabee.asp). During his tenure, he did not challenge or attempt to undo any of these reforms, preferring to concentrate on music and art in education. In 2004, he participated in the task force for "Redesigning the American High School (nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.5cd31a89efe1f1e 122d81fa6501010a0/?vgnextoid=d05dcc1d03da2010VgnVCM1000001a0 1010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=4b18f074f0d9ff00VgnVCM1000001a01 010aRCRD)" chaired by Democrat Governor Mark Warner of Virginia. This task force was funded in large part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which seeks to align education standards both nationally and internationally.
Phyllis Shafly (eagleforum.org/column/2005/nov05/05-11-30.html) wrote about the Governor Warner's Commission and their report,
"The National Governors Report of December 2004 (when Virginia Governor Mark Warner was chairman) makes clear that the purpose is to use the public schools to build a planned economy.
The report speaks approvingly of "using schools to feed workers into selected corporations," "identifying their state's key industries and needs for skilled workers in order to define a common agenda between their workforce and economic development programs," "the integration of education, economic development, and workforce development policies," "seamless connections between the components of the [education] system and with the skill demands of the workplace," and "connecting workforce development to economic needs."
It's hard to see any difference between the 2004 National Governors Association plan and the earlier plans floated when Bill Clinton was President. The plan uses a lot of mumbo-jumbo to change America from free enterprise to a planned economy, and to turn public school students into a compliant workforce for multinational corporations.
Governor Huckabee also joined ACHIEVE (achieve.org/).
"A coaltion of states dedicated to aligning K–12 curriculum, standards, assessments and accountability policies with the demands of college and work."
Originally, 13 governors in the coalition agreed to adopt uniform high school standards developed by the American Diploma Project (ADP), an initiative of ACHIEVE. Achieve hopes to to have all 50 states adopt the same standards and testing in education. There are now 30 states in the coalition. Once all 50 state adopt the same standards we will have in effect a de facto "P-16" national standard in curriculum and testing.
Schafly's correct, many of the reforms encompassed in P-16, reinventing high school, ADP, and related reforms that Huckabee and other governors have endorsed are strikingly similar to the Outcome-Based-Education and School-to-Work initiatives introduced during the Clinton administration. The terminology has changed with different states adopting different aspects at different times, but the intent is the same - a smooth transition from preschool to the workforce to compete in the global economy.
HSLDA spoke against such initiatives in 2002 (hslda.org/docs/nche/000005/00000525.asp) in reference to the 107th Congress and legislation regarding education and the reauthorization of programs in School-to-Work,
Although STW was not reauthorized in the last Congress and received no funding, we oppose any efforts to create educational requirements that force students into studies that are based on workforce needs rather than academic excellence, and which promote any system that encourages employers to recognize skills mastery over academic excellence."
HSDLA rightly understands that homeschoolers have strong reasons to be concerned about all such education reforms which create a seamless transition from preschool to the workforce, especially one that uses state exams as the benchmark for earning credentials. (HSDLA fought some of the restrictions of P-16 in Indiana (hslda.org/elert/archive/2003/09/20030904174554.a sp) in 2003.)
The goal in the Clinton administration and carried into the Bush administration, is to make sure that "no child is left behind" in the global economy. For the P-16 "seamless transition" to work as designed all learners must be included. Quoting again from the P-16 Primer,
"[P-16] Is inclusive. Since a P-16 system has as its goal that all learners will master challenging material and achieve at high levels, it creates an environment that expects success from everyone – the gifted and the ordinary, the rich and the poor, the white and the black and the brown, the young and the not-so-young, urban and rural, the native and the immigrant. A system that allows no throwaways is a system in tune with U.S. needs. "
To me, it is no accident that the 1998 education reforms passed by Mike Huckabee led to more stringent regulation on homeschoolers in 1999. Education reform advocates know that for the system to work as designed, ALL learners must be included. What happened to homeschoolers in Arkansas should be a red flag to homeschoolers in every state that any attempt to align standards and curriculum across state lines must include homeschoolers. So they incrementally chip away at the freedom homeschoolers have with the goal of bringing them under the "P-16" uniform standards.
Some may think exempting homeschoolers from the requirements or ignoring the standards is all that is necessary to protect homeschooling. Cathy Duffy, one of the best-known and most respected names in home schooling provides an excellent reason why that's not a realistic option (eagleforum.org/column/2005/nov05/05-11-30.html).
"Some people suggest that private and home schools can work around the standards by first teaching the required content, then adding worldview-focused curricula to the mix. Others suggest ignoring the standards but providing students with a solid liberal arts education with the expectation that they will then be intelligent enough to "outsmart" the tests.
Unfortunately, neither solution is realistic.....
Testing is likely to become more and more problematical. If private schools and homeschools try to ignore the standards and implement a classical liberal education (or any other alternative curricular agenda), their students might test poorly as tests become more and more narrowly focused on details dictated by the standards that would be unlikely parts of their educational program. As the standards movement gathers steam, pressure will be exerted upon private schools and home schools to adhere to the same standards and tests as government schools."
Well the standards movement is gathering steam and unfortunately for Arkansas, the result was the passage of Smart Start which lead to increased restrictions imposed upon homeschoolers just one year later.
This year the federal government brought the P-16 reforms into federal education policy through the passage of the America Competes Act signed by President Bush (whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070809-6. html). (See Section 6401) Phyllis Schafly wrote about the impact of this expansion of federal education beauracracy earlier this year, "Look Out for Another Big Spending Boondoggle (humanevents.com/article.php?id=21549)",
P-16 is a rather new term meaning that Big Brother government is now supervising the next generation from preschool through the 16th year of education (i.e., college graduation). We used to think kindergarten through 12th grade was the scope of government schools here.
The federal movement toward national standards is moving forward, endorsed by our current "compassionate conservative" President that many homeschoolers supported. Do we want to continue the trend by electing another "authentic conservative" who appears to support the very same policies?
The only safeguard for homeschoolers against standards movement is diligently electing leaders who see education reform for exactly what it is -socialism. Conservative homeschooler must stand against the trend to create workers to compete in a the global economy. Exempting homeschoolers from education reform is not enough. If homeschoolers are serious about protecting the right to direct the education of our children, we must elect a President who opposes any federal involvement in education.
This is the second post in a series on Huckabee and homeschoolers.
In Part One (spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabee-and-h omeschoolers.html), I examined Huckabee's homeschool record in Arkansas.
In Part Three (spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabee-and-h omeschoolers-part-3.html), I examined Huckabee's education policy and the role of the federal government.
Huckabee and Homeschoolers (Part 3)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
In the last Iowa debate, Huckabee said (nytimes.com/2007/12/12/us/politics/12debate-tran script.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin) that he believes education is a state issue not a federal issue.
“First of all, the whole role of education is a state issue. It's not really a federal issue. And the worst thing that we can do is to shift more burden, more responsibility, more authority to the federal government when more of it needs to go to the states. But I think the federal government can play a pivotal role in -- primarily in helping to make sure that the best practices that are working in the states are shared with states who are struggling.”
One, personalize the learning for the student. We have 6,000 kids every day drop out in this country. They don't drop out because they're dumb; they drop out because they're bored to death. They're in a 19th-century education system in a 21st-century world. If we really are serious, then first of all we make sure that we build a curriculum around their interests rather than just push them into something they don't care.
Second thing, unleash weapons of mass instruction. I'm a passionate, ardent supporter of having music and art in every school for every student at every grade level
In his answer, Huckabee attempts to have it both ways; stating that education is a state issue but that it's a federal issue as well. Huckabee’s duplicitous answer was not lost on candidate Tom Tancredo who responded,
"Governor, with all due respect, you can't say on one hand, you're against having government intervention and on the other hand, tell us that you want music and art and everything else in the school. That's not the job of a president. It is the job of a governor. That's what you should run for if you want to dictate curriculum."
I agree with Tancredo. But to be fair, a sixty-second sound bite in a debate is insufficient to know exactly what Huckabee believes. Let’s take a look at his campaigns website to see if we can draw a more definitive conclusion.
On Mike Huckabee's campaign website (mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Iss ue_id=7) he said,
"We need a clear distinction between federal and state roles in education. While there is value in the "No Child Left Behind" law's effort to set high standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks.
Currently, NCLB allows states to set their own benchmarks, but they typically comply with federal mandates to get the much needed funding. This effectively shifts responsibility and control from the state to the federal government. Mike Huckabee has praised NCLB and a national effort to set high standards. (blog.thehill.com/2007/04/30/huckabee-backs-no-child- left-behind/) In Iowa recently Huckabee said (siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/11/08/news/io wa/f48cd10cbdeb8d508625738d000e7838.txt), "Throwing the whole thing out would be a tragic mistake." It appears Huckabee favors some measure of federal accountability if he were elected President.
Huckabee also stated that we need a clear distinction between the federal and state role in education. Does he believe the tenth amendment applies to education? According to the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) (hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000063.asp) we don’t need a clear distinction because our Constitution already provides for one in the Tenth Amendment.
"The federal role in education is a violation of the 10th amendment of the United States Constitution which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government delegated the power to regulate or fund elementary or secondary education. "
Does Huckabee want to create a new distinction which allows a federal role in education policy or does he plan on disregarding the Constitution like previous Presidents?
Huckabee not only believes there is a role for the federal government in education, but also supports INCREASING that role.
As Huckabee mentioned in his debate answer, he wants to unleash “Weapons of Mass Instruction” and supports art and music in every students’ curriculum. Such an initiative would likely come in the form of increasing federal money to states that implement music or arts education in their schools. Huckabee told an audience in Iowa (siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/11/08/news/io wa/f48cd10cbdeb8d508625738d000e7838.txt) that he would like to make arts and music part of the tested curriculum and would provide the federal funds to make it happen.
HSLDA states their belief (hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/F/Federal_Role_in_Edu cation.asp) on such federal spending very plainly,
"It is HSLDA's firm belief that federal government spending on education is unconstitutional and must be eliminated. While we support the position that the federal government should not be involved in education at any level, we also support measures that incrementally reduce the control of the federal government over education."
When President Clinton proposed increased spending for education in 1999, HSLDA was very critical (hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/familytimes/ 199902090.asp),
"For decades there has been a gradual erosion of the principle of local control of schools. Federal control has gradually increased through strings attached to various funding programs. Even though an average school receives about 6% of its funds from the federal government, nearly 50% of the regulations imposed on the school come from Washington. If Mr. Clinton’s proposals are adopted, federal strings become chains of hardened steel.."
But it's not just funding art and music education that Huckabee envisions a role for the federal government. Huckabee also favors teacher testing (mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Iss ue_id=7).
"We need to test teachers as well as students, replace teachers who aren't competent, and impose reasonable waiting periods for teachers to gain tenure."
HSLDA also opposed teacher standards when Clinton proposed them in 1999.
"Mr. Clinton’s third prong— mandatory teacher standards — should send a strong chill down the back of every homeschooler as well as those in private schools and even those in public schools."
But yet, HSLDA has been strangely silent on Huckabee’s call for increased funding and teacher testing. If they were bad ideas when Clinton proposed them, wouldn’t they still be a problem today?
Huckabee not only supports testing teachers, but students as well. When asked by a high school student in New Hampshire if he supports federally mandated testing, Huckabee used the Red Sox to make his case (concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200710 20/FRONTPAGE/710200315/1217/NEWS98),
He asked the students how many had watched the previous night's [Red Sox] game. Hands shot up. Then he asked if they would have minded if nobody kept score. "You wouldn't go to the football game or the basketball game or the baseball game and say, 'Just turn the scoreboard off,' " Huckabee said. "And neither could we realistically say we're really interested in improving the quality of education, but we're not going to keep score. So do we need tests? Yes."
Clearly, Mike Huckabee sees an increasing role for the federal government in education, despite the fact that the Constitution prohibits any such a role. In the long run, such meddling will hurt homeschooling and our freedom to direct the education of our children.
Michael Farris of HSLDA wrote in 1995 (hslda.org/courtreport/V11N1/V11N106.asp),
"The existence of the U.S. Department of Education is the only reason there are federal attacks on our rights as home schoolers. If we help to eliminate the federal role in education, we close down a substantial threat to our rights…. We need to show people that there really are a lot of us who believe in Constitutional government. The Constitution gives no role to the federal government in education and it is time to put a stop to this unconstitutional activity. You can help ignite a political wildfire.”
Farris wrote his call to action over a decade ago, but it is still true today. There are a lot of us who still believe in the Constitution which limits the powers of the federal government.
The next decade will be the deciding decade for education in this country. Will we increase the scope of the federal government in education and move toward the socialist policies of Europe or back to the Constitution which as HSLDA right points out, provides for no federal role in education?
The vote you cast in the next election will help decide which way we’re going to go as homeschoolers and as a nation. Help ignite a political wildfire and demand that any candidate who gets a homeschooler's vote will adhere to the constitutional principle of limited government and not expand the federal role in education and that the tenth amendment is still in force in the United States.