Many parents who school their children at home have been curious as to what all of the 2008 candidates’ views are on homeschooling. A good number of them have been backing Republican Mike Huckabee. The HSLDA has even endorsed Huckabee, but are there other choices available for the homeschooling family – namely Barack Obama? It seems there are and it seems Barack might support home schools. But, should a presidential candidate’s view on homeschool really be the only deciding factor from which to make a choice for president?
Does Barack Obama Support Homeschooling?
There didn’t seem to be much in the way of proof that Barack Obama supports homeschooling when I did an internet search. However, in researching the internet for a blog post of mine (Click Here for the post), I did come across some interesting information.
The quote “none of these policies need discourage families from deciding to keep a parent at home…For some families, that may mean doing without certain material comforts. For others it may mean home schooling….Whatever the case may be, such decisions should be honored.”, which is stated to come from Barack Obama’s book, “Audacity of Hope”, was found on a personal blog written by someone named “Kemlo” or “K” on the Barack Obama website. Click here for that post.
A later quote in the same blog post, also said to be from Mr. Obama’s book, says that we should go by “Lincoln’s simple maxim: that we will do collectively, through our government, only those things we cannot do as well or at all individually and privately. In other words, we should be guided by what works.”
Based on those quotes, assuming they are, in fact, from Barack’s book, it does seem that he may well support the choice to school children at home.
Should Homeschool Be A Homeschooler’s Only Concern When Voting?
Now that we have examined Barack’s possible views on homeschooling, I think it’s important to discuss the matter of who to choose for president. While homeschooling is an important issue for those who homeschool their children, should that really be the only deciding factor in choosing a presidential candidate?
Do you really know who you are voting for and what they stand for, besides the support of homeschool? If someone supported homeschool, but was against another issue that was more important to you, would you still vote for that person? If someone supported homeschool but was strongly in favor of something you were strongly opposed to, would you still vote for that person?
For me, there is a strict process involved in choosing who I would vote for in a presidential race. I examine each and every issue I can find regarding the candidates up for consideration. I then eliminate candidates from my vote based on how well I think they will run the country. For me, basing a huge decision like who will be president on just one issue seems pretty dangerous. Running the country is a big responsibility. In my opinion, this responsibility cannot be taken lightly. I can’t and won’t tell others what to do or who to vote for and why. However, I can say that while homeschooling is extremely important to me, it is not my only deciding factor in choosing a president.
After all, even though schooling children at home is considered controversial by some, the concept of homeschool choice has still managed to survive, despite that.
It is even possible that homeschoolers have already been underneath a leader before who did not support homeschooling. If so, that apparently did not stop homeschooling from existing now and may not stop it from existing in the future. It would seem to me that in order to challenge homeschooling, one may also have to challenge private schools (which home schools are filed under in some states), as well as a parent’s right to decide what is best for their own children. If so, I don’t really see that as something that will be happening.
I’m no expert in legal issues and don’t claim to be, but to legally challenge the rights of parents regarding their own children seems pretty unlikely to me.
According to the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, posted at http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am10 , anything not “delegated to” or “prohibited by” the Constitution is to be decided by each individual state or by “the people”. Different rules apply, depending on the state, because of the ability for each state to decide upon this issue separately, but as of this writing, it is legal to home school in all 50 of the US states, according to the HSLDA (http://www.hslda.org/laws/).
It is possible that a federal law against homeschooling (or any other law) could be introduced. However, from my understanding, in order for a bill to be adopted as federal law, it must go through the legislation process. The entire legislation process, as explained by The Library of Congress, can be read here: (http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html).
Since 1983, the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association), has successfully worked at defending the rights and position of homeschoolers in the society. The HSLDA is active in matters of the federal government that may affect homeschooling families (http://www.hslda.org/legislation/national/default.asp).
Regardless of whether support of the HSLDA will continue to exist and be successful, I feel that even as a homeschooler myself, I should be thinking about more than just home schooling. It is true that homeschool is often a huge part of the lives of homeschooling families and that many of us feel education is the foundation for the future of our children and country, but in my opinion, there are also other important issues that need to be addressed and should also be taken into consideration when choosing who will be the next leader of our country.
Do you think Barack Obama supports homeschooling?
Does the same candidate who you feel supports homeschool also support other issues that are important to you?
Are you homeschooling, but voting for a candidate that does not support homeschooling?
Have something else to say about this matter?
This author welcomes feedback and discussion in the comments section below.
Sources:
Kemlo’s BarackObama blog
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/kemlo/CJxd
Library of Congress
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
HSLDA
http://www.hslda.org
http://www.hslda.org/laws/
http://www.hslda.org/legislation/national/default.asp
http://www.hsldapac.org/dnn/Home/HuckabeeforPresident/tabid/93/Default.aspx
The Homeschooling Mommy
http://thehomeschoolingmommy.blogspot.com/2007/11/obama-supports-homeschooling.html
