Heads Up Illinois Homeschoolers

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Early this year, this broken state’s perennial Speaker of the House gave a speech to incoming lawmakers and other interested parties at the start of one more governor’s tenure. Besides the usual, part of Speaker Madigan’s plan is to address children’s mental health and those “falling through the cracks.”  Connecticut’s Adam Lanza was mentioned and it was noted he was homeschooled. Here’s how The Leader’s concern was laid out in the Chicago Tribune:

Madigan also unveiled plans for a group to study a report made in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, when 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza killed more than two dozen students and adults. Madigan said the goal would be to develop recommendations regarding safety and mental health to try to prevent a similar tragedy.

“There were several missed opportunities to help Lanza. Additional intervention might’ve helped,” Madigan said. “We should do all that we can to prevent kids like Lanza from falling through the cracks.”

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Martin Luther King Jr. – His Dream of Love

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“…love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate; we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power.” MLK Jr.

The above quote was part of a Dexter Avenue Baptist Church 1957 sermon delivered in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King wrote those words in jail in the midst of the Montgomery bus boycott.

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“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”  MLK Strength to Love 1963

“The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.“

 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1963 I Have A Dream

Reverend King had a dream.

Hands-On Learning in Tennessee

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Here’s an appealing homeschool story from Shelbyville, Tennessee:

Homeschool kids show creative sides By Jason Reynolds

Sierra, 15, is an incoming 10th grader who started her studies at age 4, mother Beth Johanson said. Alex, 13, is an incoming 9th grader who started learning to read at age 3. He was the youngest participant in the homeschool spelling bee during one contest, Beth Johanson said. He began teaching himself to read so he could read the instructions for his Pokemon video games, she said.
The Johansons began homeschooling after attending a homeschooling event, Beth Johanson said. She said she had considered being a homeschool parent ever since high school. She had a part-time job then, and would pick up her co-worker’s children from school at times. The children had been homeschooled prior to attending middle school and had a great relationship with their mother.

“I wanted that,” Beth Johanson said.

Our youngest kids learned how to read via Garfield. The library kept us well-stocked.
Writing books, drawing, hiking and studying our bountiful natural world is a delightful way to follow various passions.

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School of Living

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Bangalore’s Times of India posted a great article on Indian unschoolers and other homeschoolers.  Nice coverage of each family’s educational customization shown in this piece.

The school of living
By Shrabonti Bagchi

“I found most playschools to be too structured. They have classes and everything, but my daughter didn’t want to do that. She felt hungry and wanted to eat her lunch in the middle of the ‘class’, and she was told she couldn’t do that,” says Chinmayie. The next day, Alaru simply woke up and announced that she wouldn’t like to go back, she said she had more fun at home than at school.”It fits in with our parenting style. The kind of schooling you choose is an extension of your lifestyle and your beliefs. And for us, putting her into an environment where there are so many rules just doesn’t make sense. I have no doubt that she will learn them when they make sense to her, but right now, these rules have no meaning for her,” explains Bhat. “As of now, I don’t see any reason for her to go to school. Her presence at home fits perfectly with our life. It feels just right. I don’t see any other way to live.”