An exemplary piece of writing appeared in the Daily Titan, a paper run by students of California State University at Fullerton. I say exemplary because it would have been posted as an example of how not to write by my high school journalism teacher whose infamous red pen often doubled the weight of pages she chose to post on the back of her door. That was not the place you wanted your writing to end up. Just look at this lead:
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by Christian zealots, are calling for Gov. Schwarzenegger’s protection of their fundamental right to teach their children to be bigots and idiots. dailytitan.com
So there you have it. Spoken like a true, well, the definition of a bigot is “one who is strongly partial to one’s own group…and intolerant of those who differ.” But I’m not into name-calling on my blog.
As if these Christian zealots weren’t bad enough, they aren’t really the source of concern. At least the editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle does pass as such, i.e, an editorial as opposed to, say, a simple rant. But again we find someone using something they do not understand as evidence that we all need stricter regulation.
Then again, the students we worry about are those whose parents isolate them from a full curriculum of basic subjects - especially those who follow the philosophy of “unschooling.”
The state must balance parents’ rights with its obligation to make sure all young people have access to an education. SF Gate
I started to write a more cogent response, but then…well, I thought this would be more fun. My own meme. Think of it more like a writing prompt. And you don’t even have to play on your own blog, although you certainly may. My comment box is fine. Just finish this lead with the stereotype of your choice:
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by [insert stereotype], are calling for [use your imagination].
You can even make up your own lead all by yourself if you prefer. I just thought a little help might get you started. Unfortunately, the Daily Titan stole mine, so I’m going to have to think of a new one.
[tags]homeschool, homeschooling, home school, humor, stereotypes[/tags]
Principled Discovery is a place to stop and discuss news and information related to faith, family and particularly education. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join the conversation! 
That opinion piece seems to have been replaced by “Reaching out to home-schoolers.” The opinion piece you found, Dana, has disappeared.
My mistake. I had them both opened and grabbed the wrong link. All fixed now.
It’s still there. Try this.
You know, i was taught that before you opened your mouth on a subject you first needed to research it and know what you’re talking about. Guess they didn’t learn that in school did they? So, um, why again would I want to send kids there?
I’m betting the only thing they know about unschooling comes form a clip of that horrible Dr. Phil episode. Blah.
Thanks, Shauna. You must have been responding the same time as me. : ) But it is in the entry now.
Summer, I agree.
Yup! I didn’t see your comment until after I posted mine.
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by socially retarded spelling champions who will never attend the prom, denim jumper-wearing fundies, and granola-making hippies, are calling for protection of their right to keep their children in a bubble and prevent them from learning about the real world.
Not very original, but then, neither are any of those stereotypes.
Ooh, I like it. Here is what I was working on since my first choice was taken by a college editorial board:
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by mothers with six or more children, are petitioning the US Department of Transportation to redefine Class C Commercial Driver’s Licenses so that large families do not have to apply for a CDL to go to McDonald’s.
Oohh… This is fun!
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by intelligent, free-thinking citizens, are calling for Americans to wake up and resist the dumbing down of our country via incompetent public schools.
Also very nice. We can go for a complete reversal of the Titan article…
I read the editorial in the Daily Titan, I almost blogged about it… but then the California DOE responded and I decided to move on to the next topic that had found its way into my brain.
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by intelligent, capable, devoted and involved parents, are calling upon mainstream media (and daily college newspapers) to cease trying to demonstrate that a causitive relationship exists between home educating and family dyfunction. Stop. Just Stop!
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by the Homeschool-a-nator, are calling on The SF Gate to practice responsible journalism, and to find out what the heck they are writing about before they pick up a pen. (Is that redundant?)
Or this one…
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by a bunch of irate, sarcastic, homeschooling, blogger moms, are calling for the courts to declare public schooling unconstitutional, based on the daily abuses perpetrated on students by agents of the system, and due to the fact that it infringes upon a child’s right to the pursuit of happiness. So there. (insert raspberry)
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by freedom-loving, truth-seeking families are calling for the abolition of the government’s and specialized groups’ stranglehold on education.
Not very grammatically correct, I’m afraid, but it is early.
Did you see this article from Chuck Norris? LOVE the last paragraph.
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58452
I heard about the ruling in California, but I haven’t really been following it. I hope it doesn’t catch on.
Ha! I love reading what people have posted so far! Hilarious!
Homeschooling advocates, led by a group of bold, blog-happy mothers, are calling for the Govenator to terminate preconceived notions about homeschooling and, instead, encourage others to “give it a try” before they pass judgement on something they know nothing about.
Ahem… “I’ll be back.”
Hehe.
Homeschool advocates, headed mainly by arogant, self-reliant isolationists, are calling for a dismantling of the Federal Department of Education and the IRS.
More great ones!
Homeschool advocates, headed mainly by well-meaning amateurs, are fighting for their right to provide their children an education driven by love rather than money.
Homeschooling advocates headed by literate, unbullied, geeky nonconformist are calling for the state to butt the heck out. Viva la geek!
Wow. I mean, didn’t anyone edit that? You would at least think that the representative for the “superior” education would know how to articulate thoughts and facts before rushing off to the printer.
Maybe they don’t teach that in public schools. hmm?
Amy, I thought the same thing when I read the Daily Titan. I wondered, “Don’t people learn to write 5-paragraph essays at universities anymore?” I hope the “editorial board” isn’t a journalist student.” Who wants to read news bullets?
Then I wondered, “Isn’t there any faculty oversight of what is printed in a college paper?” Really, I think the writing reflects poorly on CSUF.
I wonder if it is because the editorial board gets to remain completely anonymous:
http://www.dailytitan.com/aboutus/
Not a single name associated with the positions.
[Not a single name associated with the positions] I noticed that too. I wonder why someone with such stellar research and writing skills would want to maintain anonymity?
Did I miss the post where you called for the dismantling of the DOE and IRS?
Believe it or not, there is a subject or two I haven’t talked about. And dismantling the DOE and IRS would fit in there.
The paper seems typical of a bunch of kids who are tasting freedom for the first time and testing limits. The writing in their other articles tends to be stretched, as if they are trying too hard.
It is fine for a bunch of college kids amusing themselves and their friends. But I can’t imagine sending that with my resume to the San Francisco Chronicle or whatever paper they may want to some day work for. : )
What I find fascinating is knowing what a wide range of beliefs there are among thousands of homeschooling families - many not even proclaiming to be Christian, but would instead be classified as secular - and yet this media article has used the stereotype of “Christian zealots”. That seems to be a very outdated classification for homeschooling. Obviously this writer is not too in tune to today’s world of homeschooling, eh?
Blessings,
Tammy ~@~
The “Titan” editorial can be passed off as just the ignorant rant of some college kid, but today’s L.A. Times has a similar stereotyping-cum-opinion piece by a couple of professors from Cal Poly Pomona.
A snippet:
“It’s evident that the vast majority who teach their offspring in front of the television do so because they don’t want their children to be subjected to such dangerous doctrines as evolution, abortion, global warming, equal rights and other ideas abhorrent to the evangelical mantra….
There has always been something decidedly elitist and anti-democratic in home schooling. It smacks of a belief that privileged children should not have to associate with the other kids in the neighborhood and that by staying home, they would not be subjected to the leavening effect of democracy.”
Makes me just want to scream…
Homeschoolers, headed mainly by elitist, overly involved “Type A” moms who feel a compulsion to have our kids “step over others, be the envy of others, and rise above the mass of others”, are calling for the repeal of democracy.
With a couple of nods to Professors Douglas & Michaels of “The Mommy Myth” and Coombs & Shaffer of the LAT op-ed
Yikes, Crimson Wife. Thanks for the link…I think.
I’m just giggling at all of this. It is so wonderful to know that there are still people in the world that share my thoughts and views- Contrary to what the media would have us to believe.
I like Mandy Mom’s rendition especially
“I’ll be back” hehehe!
Homeschool advocates, headed mainly by snarky mommybloggers, are overwhelming the servers over at the Daily Titan with twenty five times its normal traffic.
Homeschool advocates, headed by those can also use multisyllabic words and but actually manage to say something sensible, are positively thrilled when generously degreed nimrods prove their points about the quality of public and higher education and the lack of healthy socialization in federally controlled educational institutions.
Homeschooling advocates, headed mainly by people who like to point out the obvious, are calling for others to realize that pointing to isolated cases of abuse/educational neglect as a reason to pass stronger regulation of homeschooling, or doing away with it all together, works both ways.
I’m sure those districts that have graduated a barely literate student or had a teacher convicted of sex abuse will understand that the above means the entire system needs oversight or possibly dismantling right away. Since the government has failed, it will have to be left to the parents.
Homeschoolers, headed mainly by elitist country bumpkins, are calling for an end to all television programming besides Fox so that they no longer have to monitor television viewing.