Now that change has come to America, our voices may just change the way things are done.  President Obama’s education plan, outlined on the whitehouse.gov website, sounds pretty good — reform No Child Left Behind, beef up science and math in k-12, make college affordable, and fund aftercare and summer learning opportunities.  The one problem I have with this plan is that the president wants to get more children into preschools (0-5).  Now, don’t get me wrong, if the family situation is such that day care is an improvement over the home, then day care is great.  As homeschoolers know, though, teaching kids who they are, their family heritage, and how to treat others with respect are simply things that families should do.  It is my belief that this early ‘foundation’ develops a child that is comfortable in their own skin and able to stand up to peer pressure and bullies.  Putting kids that young in day care all day robs them of this strong family foundation.  I think Americans ought to find a way for  mom or dad to work from home, have flexible work hours, make enough money to survive on one income, etc.  Maybe that’s where the president should start.

President Obama has continually stated that he values the voices of Americans and want to hear our ideas.  Homeschoolers do a lot right when it comes to education.  From customized learning plans to hands-on field trips and service to the community, we sound an awful lot like the kind of people he wants to hear from.  If you have an idea, you can fill out the form on whitehouse.gov to make your voice heard.