Happy Fourth of July from homeschooler land

When it comes to celebrating Independence Day, all I think of is how the rich colonists funded the war to stop paying taxes to England and then founded a national government so they could tax the poor people to pay back the money the rich people paid to fund the revolution.

This country was founded by people trying to milk the system and I’m afraid it’s still governed by a lot of people still doing that.

But, also I want to say that I’m incredibly grateful to live in a state that leaves me alone as a homeschooler. I fill out a single form to say I’m not sending my kids to school, and that’s it. No one makes us take tests or prove that we are learning something related to school. Nothing. I like that. I’m no good at paperwork, I’m not good at following rules, so I like that the state of Wisconsin has one form and no rules for homeschoolers.

I’m not saying my state is perfect. It’s too bad that Wisconsin rulemakers spend all their time trying to make rules to make abortions impossible. But I am saying that I appreciate that I get the benefits of governemnet and I still get to raise my kids the way I want to raise them.

This is not just a post about the Fourth of July, though. It’s a post about how much I like posting. I am so happy to be homeschooling. So grateful to have accidentally discovered this life. It’s completely unexpected and a complete joy and at this point, I can’t imagine sending my kids away all day. Even days when I’m on the phone all day working, I’m happy that I’m working with them next to me. I’d rather have them screaming at me to get off the phone than me screaming at them to do their stupid homework.

So I’m posting because each post is, in a way, a celebration. And a chance to make a record of that with a photo. Or two.

 

7 replies
  1. Heather Sanders
    Heather Sanders says:

    I am happy for the freedom to homeschool as well. I am thankful for those who lobby for homeschooling rights on a state and national level.

    I didn’t even have to sign a form to say I was homeschooling, Texas just LEAVES ME ALONE about it. I like that.

    Also love the photos – kids know how to find joy in their daily lives.

  2. mh
    mh says:

    I love being free to homeschool.

    I love living in a country that understands that the people primarily responsible for making decisions about children’s welfare are those children’s parents — not the state. Did you read about those poor German immigrants in Tennessee?

    I love being able to watch my children learn something completely new, I love watching them interact with the other “teachers” in their lives, and I love how natural they are at learning.

    Homeschool is freedom. What a blessing.

  3. MichaelG
    MichaelG says:

    Let’s hope all that freedom can survive the attention of educated people who think the founding of the country was some kind of scam.

  4. Francesco
    Francesco says:

    On the founding of America, David Bercot made a must-listen 14-CD series of what went down. I bet you never heard it presented like this in school. You’ll never look at the 4th of July the same way again.

    As for homeschooling, Google News yesterday showed an article about President Obama urging Americans on the Fourth of July to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence by securing liberty for their children, and right below there was another one about his government denying a family the liberty to homeschool.

  5. Tim
    Tim says:

    “founded a national government so they could tax the poor people to pay back the money the rich people paid to fund the revolution.”

    I’m afraid you’re incredibly ignorant of the ability of the government to collect taxes following the American Revolution.

    The Articles of Confederation gave the National Government very little power to collect taxes, as it was pretty much optional for the states to pay and there were no repercussions if they withheld.

    After the ratification of the Constitution the Federal Government was mainly funded by tariffs from international trade (there was no personal or corporate income tax prior to the ratification of the 16th Amendment in 1913).

    Early on import duties accounted for 80%+ of Federal Revenues (with the remainder being excise taxes). Are you suggesting that the wealthy didn’t partake of imports and alcohol?

Comments are closed.