You earned another subscriber. If you're interested, in my new blog I recommend the best films of all of cinematic history that align with your family-first values, far better than letting kids accidentally watch stuff that not only fails to contribute to their education but sometimes actively contradicts and undermines it. Would appreciate your advice!
Hello Fran! Kelly here, I followed a link to your substack from an article I just read on Burnt Toast, "The Outdoorsy Mama Movement that Helped Trump Win." This post was quite thought-provoking and I'm looking forward to reading more on here. I particularly resonated with:
"Parental rights make me very, very uncomfortable. I feel discomfort on a philosophical level, because we are using the language of rights to allow one set of people to have rights over another set of people. This feels very similar to ownership, and a lot less like actual human rights." As a new resident of NE Florida, I have seen more instances of disturbing parental interactions in the last 2 years since we arrived than I had in the previous 4 states we've lived. I can only describe those interactions as bullying and visceral examples of "parental rights," which was entirely disheartening to say the least. And in regards to the $10k award for each homeschooled child--we essentially have that option in FL with the SUFS homeschool scholarship program. Depending on the county you live in, you can get somewhere between $7k-$10k (in my understanding, I haven't looked at the numbers recently) of support to be used for homeschooling purposes. There are different programs, and one of my children qualifies for the Unique Abilities scholarship, which we use for his therapies, materials, and extracurriculars. At first I thought $10k would be a lot (and it is indeed a great support that makes this sustainable for us to continue), but it does go fast if your child needs therapies that might have otherwise been offered at school (e.g. speech) or should just be covered by insurance (e.g. OT). Our requirements with the FES-UA is a year-end evaluation by a FL-certified teacher, which has been a smooth process for us. And, the oversight with the use of funds is pretty rigorous in my opinion, with receipts/documentation/explanation of educational benefits required for reimbursable items, or having to order through a vendor marketplace that is state pre-approved. I have so far decided against applying for support for my other kids, as they would qualify for a scholarship that requires a different end of year evaluation, a lengthy standardized test. (Going to acknowledge my immense privilege in being able to choose this.) I'm still weighing the pros and cons to this decision, but for now, I don't want the weight of a standardized test bearing down on me, or the kids. And yes, this choice by the state to financially support homeschooled kids comes at a direct cost to the public school system, which in FL is the entire point. The legislature is actively trying to dismantle the public school system, including universities.
Anyway, I've been to Maine once and would love to return. It's a beautiful state! Thanks for writing...off to read your HuffPost article.
“Best for capitalism” - wah wah. So do you work for pay instead of as you people say “bring up” your child? Either way, your family is a capitalist one if they care about the amount coming in versus out. Cool off, wild child.
Wow thanks for commenting! But also, what was the point? Were you hoping to have a constructive discussion? Or just trolling people you don't know on the internet? Either way, I'm so grateful you took the time to read my writing and form 3 whole opinions about it, AND share them with me.
If you don’t like public schools, then you aren’t even able to comment, privileged home schooler dem with 30 properties that gives no less than 1% to charity. You know it’s true.
Sadly, no one has 10k for anything thanks to the Biden/Harris social project. Still unsure if you are on or off the boat regarding any of your views and if I had 1B to spend I would give you maybe 10$…in-succinct writing and constant political waffling is a fail.
You earned another subscriber. If you're interested, in my new blog I recommend the best films of all of cinematic history that align with your family-first values, far better than letting kids accidentally watch stuff that not only fails to contribute to their education but sometimes actively contradicts and undermines it. Would appreciate your advice!
This is so great. Keep it up!!! We need more of this
Hello Fran! Kelly here, I followed a link to your substack from an article I just read on Burnt Toast, "The Outdoorsy Mama Movement that Helped Trump Win." This post was quite thought-provoking and I'm looking forward to reading more on here. I particularly resonated with:
"Parental rights make me very, very uncomfortable. I feel discomfort on a philosophical level, because we are using the language of rights to allow one set of people to have rights over another set of people. This feels very similar to ownership, and a lot less like actual human rights." As a new resident of NE Florida, I have seen more instances of disturbing parental interactions in the last 2 years since we arrived than I had in the previous 4 states we've lived. I can only describe those interactions as bullying and visceral examples of "parental rights," which was entirely disheartening to say the least. And in regards to the $10k award for each homeschooled child--we essentially have that option in FL with the SUFS homeschool scholarship program. Depending on the county you live in, you can get somewhere between $7k-$10k (in my understanding, I haven't looked at the numbers recently) of support to be used for homeschooling purposes. There are different programs, and one of my children qualifies for the Unique Abilities scholarship, which we use for his therapies, materials, and extracurriculars. At first I thought $10k would be a lot (and it is indeed a great support that makes this sustainable for us to continue), but it does go fast if your child needs therapies that might have otherwise been offered at school (e.g. speech) or should just be covered by insurance (e.g. OT). Our requirements with the FES-UA is a year-end evaluation by a FL-certified teacher, which has been a smooth process for us. And, the oversight with the use of funds is pretty rigorous in my opinion, with receipts/documentation/explanation of educational benefits required for reimbursable items, or having to order through a vendor marketplace that is state pre-approved. I have so far decided against applying for support for my other kids, as they would qualify for a scholarship that requires a different end of year evaluation, a lengthy standardized test. (Going to acknowledge my immense privilege in being able to choose this.) I'm still weighing the pros and cons to this decision, but for now, I don't want the weight of a standardized test bearing down on me, or the kids. And yes, this choice by the state to financially support homeschooled kids comes at a direct cost to the public school system, which in FL is the entire point. The legislature is actively trying to dismantle the public school system, including universities.
Anyway, I've been to Maine once and would love to return. It's a beautiful state! Thanks for writing...off to read your HuffPost article.
“Best for capitalism” - wah wah. So do you work for pay instead of as you people say “bring up” your child? Either way, your family is a capitalist one if they care about the amount coming in versus out. Cool off, wild child.
Wow thanks for commenting! But also, what was the point? Were you hoping to have a constructive discussion? Or just trolling people you don't know on the internet? Either way, I'm so grateful you took the time to read my writing and form 3 whole opinions about it, AND share them with me.
If you don’t like public schools, then you aren’t even able to comment, privileged home schooler dem with 30 properties that gives no less than 1% to charity. You know it’s true.
Sadly, no one has 10k for anything thanks to the Biden/Harris social project. Still unsure if you are on or off the boat regarding any of your views and if I had 1B to spend I would give you maybe 10$…in-succinct writing and constant political waffling is a fail.