Found this interesting, thought I would share... http://www.aikenstandard.com Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A mother who backs conservative education policies and home-schools her four daughters on Wednesday was elected head of the board that oversees South Carolina's public schools. Kristin Maguire, 39, of Clemson, was voted chairwoman-elect of the State Board of Education, which means she is slated to become chairwoman in 2009. It is a long article, if you want to read it.....
Yea, I wasn't sure what to make of it. I didn't even know a homeschooling parent, with no children currently in the public school system could be a board member. But my information about school boards is practically non-existant. Oh, well. Just thought it was a neat news story.
We live in a small town and my dh was interested in running 2 yrs back. I might ask him again if something he's interested in. My dh is very active in our community so he might be a tad too busy for the school board right now. Anyways....I think its great to have a homeschool parent on the board.
I think it depends on the board. I mean, most of our board sends their kids to a private school, our mayor sends his kids to Catholic schools, people without kids can run, so why not?
Being a homeschool mom, perhaps she will bring some new ideas to the table and shed a new light on homeschooling to those who do not understand it. Patty
I guess I have mixed feelings about this. I mean, on one hand, I think it's awesome and agree with the idea that maybe she'll bring new ideas to the table. On the other hand, I think school boards should only be populated by people who are directly affected by their own decisions: parents who have children in public school. It's easy to dole out edicts and bylaws to the schools when your own child is unaffected. Like I said... mixed feelings. I'm not really for it, and I'm not really against it.
Do homeschoolers care about their community at large? I think all of us would answer that YES. We don't live isolated from the rest of the world. The conditions of our schools influences our world. (BTW, welcome Mark!)
That's why I love this place because someone will always bring up points that I never would have thought of.