This could spell trouble.

You can read it here, or you can get the RD (Readers Digest) version from me. In the 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles it has been ruled that you can't home educate your children without teaching credentials.

As most of you know we homeschool in Oklahoma. Whether you agree with that or not doesn't matter to me. I have my reasons, just as others have their reason for sending their kids to public or private school. I don't have credentials (I was working toward my BS in Aerospace Engineering), but I do have the help and support of both of my in-laws who are credentialed and a friend who is a retired school teacher for support. My curriculum is sound and and developed by credentialed individuals. My children are also VERY socialized (I honestly think I run around more homeschooling then if I didn't).

Most people who are against homeschooling have little understanding of it. My usual gripe that I get deals with them being involved with other kids. We belong to a group called BCHEF (B'ville Christian Home Educators Fellowship-you don't even have to be Christian to join-one family was Hindi). My children have church, 4-H, P.E., swimming lessons, holiday parties, field trips, sports and V even attends an enrichment program one day a week with other kids (for music, P.E, science, art-things that are more fun in a group). We also have the only trampoline in the neighborhood and we have a handful of kids in our backyard whenever the weather is good.

If testing is the issue people have, a private school here in town will allow us to let our children sit for standardized testing for $20. Some think hoemschooling isn't regulated enough, but why is that an issue when in Oklahoma homeschooled children are winning the robots competitions, spelling bees, geography bees and they are begin heavily courted by universities.

Credentials mean very little to me in the realm of education. I've had my fair share of credentialed "teachers" who were narrow minded, poor educators who had a pitiful grasp of the subject matter, and should never be allowed to be around children or teens.

My husband and I are both smart people who were never challenged in school. We received good grades for minimal effort. We want our children to have a challenge. Educators will tell you that 1 on 1 education is the most effective. I love that she can accelerate at what she is good at and that we can pull back and work longer on the things she struggles with. My daughter is like me, independent and she is just as content to be alone as she is in a group. I want her to remain her own person, not turn in to societies Lindsey Lohan/Paris Hilton knock offs (I'm giving Brit a break here).

I can site friends who were homeschool, that are well rounded, "normal" individuals. The best example I can site here is my friend Jeremy, who's blog is listed in my links. I understand the reasons people don't homeschool, I respect their decisions. I just wish more people would respect ours.