HSLDA has an article about a feature CBS news ran last night. Can I just say "ick"? I have more to say on this, but it will have to wait until later...
In the meantime, this is the info from the HSLDA email (which I am sure many of you have received):
October 14, 2003Dear HSLDA Members and friends:
CBS National News ran a negative homeschooling report last night
titled "The Dark Side of Homeschooling" and will run a further report
this evening. The reports focus on a handful of child abuse cases
during the past 5 to 10 years involving families claiming to be
homeschoolers.Last night's segment discussed the murder of Kyle, 13, and Marnie
Warren, 19, by their brother Brandon, 14, and his subsequent suicide.
The Warren family is from Johnston County North Carolina.To view the CBS story go to:
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=1139Missing from the CBS story was that: Social Services had contacted
the family eleven times, were well aware of the condition of the home
and had been working with the family.However, to any fair-minded reader the story leaves the impression
that homeschooling equals child abuse.We are outraged that CBS would ignore the obvious facts and draw the
erroneous conclusion that homeschoolers need to be strictly
regulated. The story is a shameless attempt to smear an entire
community of committed, dedicated parents.The real story is CBS's bias against homeschooling and it is using
this distorted story to encourage the regulation of homeschoolers.Please call Viacom (parent company of CBS) and CBS to express your
opposition to the biased reporting and smear campaign against
homeschooling. Highlight the fact that homeschooling was not the
cause of the childrens' deaths and that you expect CBS to have higher
journalistic standards.
Viacom President and CEO - Mel Karmazin
P - 212-258-6000
CBS Evening News - LA Bureau
P - (323) 575-2202
Sincerely,J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President
We seem to be forgetting that the ends don't justify the means, if there is some implication that children should go to school just so we can keep an eye on them in case they have bad parents. I know no one is saying that explicitly, but I'm really getting tired of "but it might prevent something bad from happening, why not?" as a reason for forcing or coercing people to do things a certain way.