Homeschool ESOL

Recently, Denver decided to do a little affirmative action in the gifted program of their public schools. You can read about it here. Read the article for yourself, but may I just point out that essentially, they are turning their gifted program into an ESOL program. Brilliant, Colorado! Maybe we'll consider moving to the Centennial State because my highest aspiration is to have my students--gifted or not--learn English as a second language. Actually, with my training and experience in an ESL class years ago, I really could just turn our homeschool into the Pierce Academy for English as a Second Language. Please don't get me wrong: I love diversity. I even enjoyed teaching ESL. But, come on, let the kids who actually test gifted enjoy an environment where they can shine and where they do not have to waste educational time waiting for the language learning curve to catch up with their classmates!

And on other educational fronts--this one pertaining to homeschooling--please go to this website to sign a petition to depublish the recent California ruling that homeschooling is illegal and may only be an option to parents who are certified to teach. The California law is actually more specific in saying that the parent must be certified for the age/subject he/she is teaching. This means I wouldn't be eligible to teach my children until they are in middle school and then I could only teach them English. I suppose if I lived in Cali, I could set up a little tent in the schoolyard and have my children come out during their 4th period study hall so they could be learned in their readin' and writin'. I know the Golden State is a world away from us here in the south, but trends tend to start in California. Let's stop it before it spreads!