- September 18, 2018 — THSC Protecting Homeschoolers from CPS
- September 11, 2018 — “Medical Kidnapping” on U.S. Soil
- September 4, 2018 — Empirical Evidence When Answering “What About Socialization?”
September 18, 2018
THSC Protecting Homeschoolers From CPS
One thing that homeschoolers have always been concerned about, with good reason, is Child Protective Services (CPS). The homeschool community has always been sensitive to reports of CPS targeting homeschool families because of some anonymous allegation.
Not infrequently, CPS workers are not familiar with homeschooling, or worse, are suspicious of parents who homeschool. One of the most recent and egregious cases was the Tutt case, which dragged an innocent family through the courts for over three years.
How can this happen in Texas where we have good laws? It is because many CPS workers are not well trained and can be very aggressive when the families they are investigating are not docile and compliant.
That is why THSC does not encourage people to waive their constitutional right against unreasonable searches and allow CPS workers into their home without a court order. In our view, it’s always best to have a problem with them getting into your home rather than a problem because they have taken your children.
Some ask us if this is a serious problem. It depends on your perspective. If you look at the number of homeschoolers that have such problems, that would amount to less than 200 contacts per year, of which we are aware. Compared to the total number of homeschoolers in Texas (around 150,000 families) that’s not a lot.
However, if you happen to be one of those families, it is not a small thing. THSC members have access to our CPS counsel who handles these kinds of contacts for member families. It is far better to have a well-qualified attorney representing you than to deal with CPS on your own.
THSC has had 15 cases so far in 2018 in which our attorney is representing member families. These numbers seem to be on the rise, which is just another reason to become a member of THSC.
While THSC works with CPS on a policy basis and we continue to work to change the law to protect innocent families, it is critical to have legal representation when the state of Texas behind the guise of a CPS worker calls on your family. Legal representation in CPS cases is just another way that THSC is Keeping Texas Families Free!
Become a member of THSC today and receive free legal protection in CPS investigations.
Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets
September 11, 2018
“Medical Kidnapping” on U.S. Soil
In another story of “medical kidnapping,” the Mayo Clinic is being reported to have refused to allow an 18-year-old woman to be transferred to another hospital. Her parents finally helped her “escape” and the hospital called the police to report an “abduction.”
The woman and her parents, however, contend that she was being kept against her will. CNN reports that the hospital was seeking to gain guardianship of the young woman.
This horrible kind of thing seems to be happening more frequently as the state and officials often refuse to acknowledge the God-given constitutional right of parents and families to direct the care, control and upbringing of their children.
This lack of respect for the fundamental right of families to make decisions for their children is often seen in cases in which Child Protective Services (CPS) investigates or removes children without due process or actual grounds to do so. THSC has been involved in a number of these cases.
Some ask why we spend so much time and resources on these cases that seem to have little to do with homeschooling. In fact, some legislators have gone so far as to tell us that these issues “are not homeschool issues.” Of course, they don’t get to decide what issues are relevant to homeschooling…we do!
We point out to people that our legal right to homeschool is based on the fundamental constitutional right of families to make decisions for their children. When that constitutional right is weakened or removed, it undermines our freedom to homeschool. It is critical that the right of families to make decisions for their children is protected, and that is why THSC is here.
We believe that families have the God-given right to raise their children. Do you support that right? Consider signing up for our blog updates to hear the latest in the battle for family rights.
Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets
September 4, 2018
Empirical Evidence When Answering “What About Socialization?”
If you have homeschooled for any length of time or have been researching or considering home education, you have, no doubt, thought about or had someone ask you the question, “What about socialization?” This question comes up today as often as it did three decades ago when our family began to teach our children at home.
It always amazes me that this question is most often directed to parents with young elementary age children. The presupposition of the question is twofold. First, it is assumed that homeschool students are isolated and spend all of their time at home with no exposure to other children. This is, of course, untrue.
In fact, both experience and research indicate that homeschoolers have a great deal of opportunities for what educators call enrichment activities.
The second assumption is that young children must be exposed to other young children to “learn how to get along in the world” or to be well socialized. The reality is quite the opposite. Talk to any parent of young children and they will tell you that when their five-year-old spends time with several other five-year-olds, the kind of socialization they attain is of the negative kind.
In spite of all the research and data on homeschooling that has developed over the last few decades, some still say that “claims ‘that homeschooling ‘works’ and ‘leads to’ desirable outcomes’ might be true but cannot be supported by analyses of extant empirical evidence.”
Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) has once again addressed this issue in the peer-reviewed Journal of School Choice, which published a manuscript entitled “A Systematic Review of the Empirical Research on Selected Aspects of Homeschooling as a School Choice.”
Ray summarizes the research that shows what the vast majority of homeschoolers know by experience in response to the socialization question:
“In 13 of the 15 peer-reviewed studies on social development, there was a definite positive effect on (or correlation with) social, emotional, and psychological development for the homeschooled students as compared to students in other educational settings. That is, 87% of peer-reviewed studies in existence at the time of the article’s writing showed a statistically significant positive connection with home education.”
Yep. Homeschooling works both academically and socially, but then we already knew that.
THSC believes that parents should be empowered to raise the next generation of leaders. It exists to promote homeschooling and to defend the right of families to raise their children.
Sign up for our blog updates to stay informed about what you can do to help preserve homeschooling for the next generation!
Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets
- September 18, 2018 — THSC Protecting Homeschoolers from CPS
- September 11, 2018 — “Medical Kidnapping” on U.S. Soil
- September 4, 2018 — Empirical Evidence When Answering “What About Socialization?”
September 18, 2018
THSC Protecting Homeschoolers From CPS
One thing that homeschoolers have always been concerned about, with good reason, is Child Protective Services (CPS). The homeschool community has always been sensitive to reports of CPS targeting homeschool families because of some anonymous allegation.
Not infrequently, CPS workers are not familiar with homeschooling, or worse, are suspicious of parents who homeschool. One of the most recent and egregious cases was the Tutt case, which dragged an innocent family through the courts for over three years.
How can this happen in Texas where we have good laws? It is because many CPS workers are not well trained and can be very aggressive when the families they are investigating are not docile and compliant.
That is why THSC does not encourage people to waive their constitutional right against unreasonable searches and allow CPS workers into their home without a court order. In our view, it’s always best to have a problem with them getting into your home rather than a problem because they have taken your children.
Some ask us if this is a serious problem. It depends on your perspective. If you look at the number of homeschoolers that have such problems, that would amount to less than 200 contacts per year, of which we are aware. Compared to the total number of homeschoolers in Texas (around 150,000 families) that’s not a lot.
However, if you happen to be one of those families, it is not a small thing. THSC members have access to our CPS counsel who handles these kinds of contacts for member families. It is far better to have a well-qualified attorney representing you than to deal with CPS on your own.
THSC has had 15 cases so far in 2018 in which our attorney is representing member families. These numbers seem to be on the rise, which is just another reason to become a member of THSC.
While THSC works with CPS on a policy basis and we continue to work to change the law to protect innocent families, it is critical to have legal representation when the state of Texas behind the guise of a CPS worker calls on your family. Legal representation in CPS cases is just another way that THSC is Keeping Texas Families Free!
Become a member of THSC today and receive free legal protection in CPS investigations.
Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets
September 11, 2018
“Medical Kidnapping” on U.S. Soil
In another story of “medical kidnapping,” the Mayo Clinic is being reported to have refused to allow an 18-year-old woman to be transferred to another hospital. Her parents finally helped her “escape” and the hospital called the police to report an “abduction.”
The woman and her parents, however, contend that she was being kept against her will. CNN reports that the hospital was seeking to gain guardianship of the young woman.
This horrible kind of thing seems to be happening more frequently as the state and officials often refuse to acknowledge the God-given constitutional right of parents and families to direct the care, control and upbringing of their children.
This lack of respect for the fundamental right of families to make decisions for their children is often seen in cases in which Child Protective Services (CPS) investigates or removes children without due process or actual grounds to do so. THSC has been involved in a number of these cases.
Some ask why we spend so much time and resources on these cases that seem to have little to do with homeschooling. In fact, some legislators have gone so far as to tell us that these issues “are not homeschool issues.” Of course, they don’t get to decide what issues are relevant to homeschooling…we do!
We point out to people that our legal right to homeschool is based on the fundamental constitutional right of families to make decisions for their children. When that constitutional right is weakened or removed, it undermines our freedom to homeschool. It is critical that the right of families to make decisions for their children is protected, and that is why THSC is here.
We believe that families have the God-given right to raise their children. Do you support that right? Consider signing up for our blog updates to hear the latest in the battle for family rights.
Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets
September 4, 2018
Empirical Evidence When Answering “What About Socialization?”
If you have homeschooled for any length of time or have been researching or considering home education, you have, no doubt, thought about or had someone ask you the question, “What about socialization?” This question comes up today as often as it did three decades ago when our family began to teach our children at home.
It always amazes me that this question is most often directed to parents with young elementary age children. The presupposition of the question is twofold. First, it is assumed that homeschool students are isolated and spend all of their time at home with no exposure to other children. This is, of course, untrue.
In fact, both experience and research indicate that homeschoolers have a great deal of opportunities for what educators call enrichment activities.
The second assumption is that young children must be exposed to other young children to “learn how to get along in the world” or to be well socialized. The reality is quite the opposite. Talk to any parent of young children and they will tell you that when their five-year-old spends time with several other five-year-olds, the kind of socialization they attain is of the negative kind.
In spite of all the research and data on homeschooling that has developed over the last few decades, some still say that “claims ‘that homeschooling ‘works’ and ‘leads to’ desirable outcomes’ might be true but cannot be supported by analyses of extant empirical evidence.”
Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) has once again addressed this issue in the peer-reviewed Journal of School Choice, which published a manuscript entitled “A Systematic Review of the Empirical Research on Selected Aspects of Homeschooling as a School Choice.”
Ray summarizes the research that shows what the vast majority of homeschoolers know by experience in response to the socialization question:
“In 13 of the 15 peer-reviewed studies on social development, there was a definite positive effect on (or correlation with) social, emotional, and psychological development for the homeschooled students as compared to students in other educational settings. That is, 87% of peer-reviewed studies in existence at the time of the article’s writing showed a statistically significant positive connection with home education.”
Yep. Homeschooling works both academically and socially, but then we already knew that.
THSC believes that parents should be empowered to raise the next generation of leaders. It exists to promote homeschooling and to defend the right of families to raise their children.
Sign up for our blog updates to stay informed about what you can do to help preserve homeschooling for the next generation!
Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets
