March 10, 2008
What's that smell?
You know me as Marta "La Cocinera" here on Babalú, but what you may not know about me is that I'm also a homeschooling parent in California.
My sister, Alina, my mom and Me. Miami, Florida. 1963
Havana, Cuba. Late 1960. Word was getting around that the new self-appointed governors of the island, those bearded rebels led by (f)idel (c)astro and (c)he (g)uevarra were now planning to take away parents' authority over their own children. The parents would no longer have any say as to where or when their children would be educated. There was the possibility that they could be sent to work camps to be used as slave labor or at the age of 15 young men would be conscripted into the armed forces. The point was that those decisions were no longer in the realm of parental authority. They would now be made by the Masters of the Revolution. Shocking, isn't it? What an impossible position to be put in. Cuban parents were in turmoil.
My dad came to a swift and furious conclusion: "I. DON'T. THINK. SO. This stinks of communism."
This disturbing turn of events in our island home and the fact that my brother had just turned 15 was the final straw that caused my parents to come to the cataclysmic decision to leave Cuba. ". . . until this madness blows over."
Obviously, my parents were right. Our beloved homeland still reeks of communism.
My kids, Lucy and Jonathan. California. 2008.
Last week Justice H. Walter Croskey in a Feb. 28 opinion signed by the two other members of the district court ruled that here in California, ". . . parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children.”
"I. DON'T. THINK. SO. This stinks of communism."
We, along with other homeschooling and Christian families have signed this petition requesting that the Supreme Court of California "depublish" that opinion in order to keep our homeschooling freedom in California and urge any of you that stand with us to do the same.
My parents sacrificed so much for us to be able to be raised in a FREE country. This opinion is a slap in the face to them and to freedom loving individuals everywhere. To our great sadness, this beautiful state is starting to reek more and more each day. It's already starting to smell like The People's Republic of California. (heavy sigh)
cross-posted at MBFCFPosted by Marta at March 10, 2008 07:03 AM
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Comments
Amen.
Posted by: Ms. Calabaza ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.babalublog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 10, 2008 07:43 AM
Marta,
Keep up the good fight for homeschoolers! These kids are our future.
I'm hungry!
Posted by: rrrod at March 10, 2008 08:14 AM
Marta, this is frightening.
Posted by: Ziva at March 10, 2008 09:07 AM
Marta, that was also one of the main reasons why my parents left Cuba. My parents were told that they had to send my sister to work teaching the Campesinos to read and write and that I had to join "los pioneros", a new government sponsored group for children of the revolution. My parents resisted and immediatedly started making arrangements to get us both out "de este comunismo". We were leaving on the Pedro Pan flights, but two days before my parents also received visas to leave and the rest is history. It was also supposed to be for a short while until things got back to normal. That was 1961.... Good luck with your fight. I signed the petition already.
Posted by: ORGULLOSADESERCUBANA at March 10, 2008 09:32 AM
I read the opinion. It appears the judge's hands are tied due to the language of the California statute. The way to go is to petition the legislature to amend the law to allow an exception for home schooling.
Posted by: Cigar Mike Pancier at March 10, 2008 09:36 AM
Marta,
We also home-school and have heard of the decision. Although we do not live in California we will do what we can to support your rights as we all must support the rights of the parents to educate their own children as they see fit. We plan on contacting the Home Schoo Legal Defense Group. It seems that government seems to want to take control of our children one way or the other and the decision had more to do with alleged abuse than home education yet they will use any excuse to attack home-schoolers.
Posted by: pototo at March 10, 2008 09:43 AM
I have no kids but I signed.
Posted by: Zhangliqun at March 10, 2008 12:42 PM
Marta you were the FIRST person I thought of when I read that report, and was surprised to find that CA is one of the states with the most homeschoolers (if not the most).
Glad to see you all are fighting this!
Posted by: La Ventanita at March 10, 2008 03:46 PM
Marta,
Great post!! What has happened to the basic right of freedom of choice? All Californians need to stand up and fight this, regardless if you are a homeschooling parent or not. Today is homeschooling, what will it be tomorrow?
This is all about "CONTROL"!! It's a direct result of FEAR from the "Left", which has controlled the school system, from kinder through college. They have used it as their "medium" to indoctrinate and further liberal and socialist views in our country, without being challenged. It's basically a struggle against individual thinking versus the ideal socialist principle of "collective" thinking.
Homeschooling is "generating" citizens, who thrive in their individuality and to an extent, who are inmune to the ongoing "programming" and indoctrination prevalent in our schools.
It's up to you all in California, with our support to challenge this opinion ... the facts and success of homeschool educated children back you up 100%. We just need to look around and point out successful individuals in our society, who are the product of homeschooling!
I wish you well :) Melek
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ~ MLK
Posted by: Melek at March 11, 2008 08:55 AM
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