Deciding to homeschool is not an easy decision for parents to make.  I often find myself at a loss for words, specifics, and examples of why I homeschool when I’m in the middle of a discussion (or as sometimes it feels with family members, and intervention).  Of course every day I hear about more stories about what’s happening in our public schools that make me go “THATS another reason I homeschool!”  Here are a few of those such articles!

From the NBC news Channel 3 in Kentucky – A Jefferson Middle School student is suspended for a week because she “TOUCHED” a pill another girl handed her.  This poor little girl was approached in the gym by a girl with some ADHD pills and was handed one.  Immediately the good little girl handed the pill back saying she didn’t want it.  Later that afternoon she was taken out of her class and told she was suspended just for handling the pill.  Exactly how does this teach kids not to do drugs?  OH!  And she would have gotten the exact same punishment if she had gone to the teacher immediately.  Nice “Zero Tolerance” rule there… zero tolerance = zero sense!

From The New York Daily News – A little boy was suspended from school on another “zero tolerance” type of ruling.  This little 9 year old boy brought a toy gun (similar to the one shown in the picture) to school.  When the teacher found it she not only took it away but he was suspended as well.  Of course his friend who he was playing with also had a “weapon”, but the school deemed it fine because it was only a knife.  Again Zero Tolerance = Zero Sense!

From CNN & CBS Channel 2 in Los Angeles (video on youtube) – An 11 year old girl was suspended from school for a week because of doing Cartwheels and other gymnastic moves on the playground.  Because after all you could get hurt or hurt someone else in the process!  WOW!  Ok, so did they also remove the swings?  Cuz I seem to remember falling off swings and accidentally knocking other kids down because they didn’t watch where they were walking and walked right in front of me swinging.  What about removing the sidewalks from around the grassy areas because kids have tripped over the edge of the sidewalk?  What about balls?? I remember being hit by balls plenty of times and getting hurt!  Ya know really, it’s ok for kids to get hurt occainsionally!  And they call us homeschooling parents “over protective”!

These are just a few of the crazy rulings and suspensions that have happened over the last few years.  The “Zero Tolerance” type rules and regulations that most schools have in place are just another way of allowing common sense to be thrown out the window.  There was no reason any of these kids should have been even reprimanded by the school, let alone suspended for their “crimes”.  Even if you argue that they did actually break some rule, the punishment does not fit the crime at all (and I use the word crime loosely!).

At most the little boy with the toy gun should have been told not to bring toys to school and had the toy taken away.  The little girl saying no to drugs should have been commended for standing up to peer pressure and maybe told she should have talked to a teacher right away.  The little gymnast should have been kept an eye on to make sure no one got hurt, but she should have been allowed to do her little stunts in a safe area.  All of these things could have been handled in such a much better way if only the teachers and administrators had just used their heads and a little common sense!  Instead they blindly follow the “nanny state” type regulations and hide behind them so as not to be questioned on their lack of intelligence and ability to THINK FOR THEMSELVES.

This is what they are teaching our children!  Well… not my children!  THAT is another reason I homeschool.  So I can teach my kids that they need to use their heads and use common sense in all situations.  Not to just blindly follow rules but to take personal responsibility for your actions.