Prediction is dangerous, but I see three signs there may be an
increase in the number of families homeschooling during the current
economic downturn.
Prediction is dangerous, but I see three signs there may be an increase in the number of families homeschooling during the current economic downturn.
First, the state is in a severe deficit. The local districts, including Gilroy Unified, are seeing decreased funds available. They are talking about increasing class sizes. The state is talking about issuing IOU’s instead of paychecks. In short, public schools are probably going to become more crowded and less well-funded, and the quality of education may well suffer as a result.
Secondly, many parents are facing lowered wages, decreased hours, and layoffs, so they will be less able to afford private school tuition. In fact, GUSD is already reporting a 4 percent increase in enrollment, roughly double what they expected this year. Likely some of that increase is from families switching from private to public schools.
Thirdly, homeschoolers are told over and over again, “I wish I could homeschool, but we both have to work.” If one parent is laid off, that parent will be free to homeschool. Call it a silver lining.
If it comes to pass, I certainly hope that the only people who begin to homeschool are the ones who really want to. Homeschooling, like child rearing, is such a fabulous adventure.
When I think back on our 18 years of homeschooling, my only regret is that we did not have more kids. From the first fall, when 6-year-old Nick, 3-year-old Oliver and I, with baby Anne on my arm, constructed our backyard, two-story play house, through all the years of Park Days and field trips and nature co-ops and endless games of Risk, homeschooling was a gift of time my husband and I gave to our kids: the time and space to grow into themselves.
Homeschooling is so rewarding in every sense (except monetarily). It would be a shame to waste it on anyone who did not want to have the pleasure and joy of raising their own children at home in their spare time.
The first time I scanned Ben Anderson’s column of 1/20/09, I thought he was sadly lacking in critical reading skills. I reread his column carefully, and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I now assume that he totally missed my first column about the proposed strip club, published 1/9/09, wherein I stated, and I quote, “This is a moral issue.” If he missed my first column and was only responding to my follow-up column of 1/16/09, then his comments are based on incomplete information.
I am not going to rehash either column here; life is short and 700 words are precious. The interested reader may find my previous columns online at www.gilroydispatch.com. But there is exactly one sound reason to approve a lap dancing club.
That reason would be if one is, philosophically, a private property rights absolutist. The argument would be that the property owner has a right to do whatever he wants with his property, so long as it does no harm to any one else. He could build a nuclear power plant at Fourth and Monterey, so long as his containment was good enough.
I can respect the private property rights absolutist (PPRA) for the integrity of his position. I can even feel a little ashamed of not being a PPRA myself. But there are no PPRAs in the Planning Department nor on the Planning Commission.
The Planning Department and Commission exist to infringe on the rights of the private property owner. They tell him where and what he can build. If zoning ordinances exist and the city government is going to use those ordinances to tell people how high the windows in their remodeled bedrooms have to be, those government employees and commissioners cannot pretend to be PPRAs.
I would be fine with either of these options: we can rescind all zoning ordinances and have a free country. Or we can use the existing zoning ordinances to better our community. But a Planning Department employee or a Planning Commissioner or a police chief or a councilmember who quibbles about windows or tot lots is an immoral, hypocritical coward if he approves a strip club.
