We are home schoolers again...I am so blessed

written Feb 27, 2007

As of 10 am this morning the children are now legally withdrawn from the school. After much debate and having only 3 months left of the school year and then even more prayer and conviction we contemplated it heavily over the weekend. They missed school Fri to go to Abilene on a field trip with the homeschoolers here and then we kept them out yesterday due to Grayson and Garrett now being sick. Grayson was diagnosed with allergy induced asthma. They've been gone so much that the school called yesterday while we were in town to see where they are. So, we knew it was time to make up our minds for good. We drew up the withdrawal letter yesterday after returning home and doing some major research on the TX Home School Coalition's website about our legal rights and what is required to take them out. Following their legal advice we sent the letter via certified mail. But get this! HA! This is small town mail for you. I told the post master it was imperative that the letter get there today and I asked if there was any way that he could do same day service since it was from our home to the school 2 doors down. He said slowly, "Well, I'm just going to take this from you and walk over there to the school's PO box and stick it in there. They come and get their mail at 10." That was at 9 am. HA!

Anyway, I was able to talk to Grayson's teacher tonight since we fell in love with her. We knew better than to tell anyone what we were doing until after it was said and done so not even she knew before it all took place today. But, I was able to get feedback from her and, to put it mildly, the school is in an uproar about us taking them out. They're up there saying that this is the worst thing all year that could've happened to the school. We've seen kids come and go every month since we've had them in so I'm honestly not sure why our family made such a huge difference.....other then the fact they put Grayson in sooooo many special ed classes so it'd help their cause with the state. The school decided not to pursue the dyslexia stuff since the more stuff they could get away with like speech, handwriting, phonics, etc, made them look like a mighty school to the state that had a whole bunch of special ed classes going. If they'd gone through with the dyslexia stuff like they planned on it would've taken out all of those except the one specific class since the dyslexia class covers all of those things. Anyway, they're pitching quite a fit about it. Kind of funny.

But I get to go have a potential show down with them tomorrow if they dare attempt it since I have to go up there and return books that Grayson had as homework and they both have stuff in their desk they want to bring home. I'm hoping to avoid the office but I'm not afraid of them either. Anyway, seems we've turned this little tiny town upside down! Grayson's teacher said just to expect no less then the cold shoulder. I just said I expected as much. There's nothing quite like telling an entire town that you've been convicted about teaching your children Godly principles and telling them they cannot be expected to build their lives on a strong Biblical foundation based in truth and God when the only knowledge they have been given for 12 years came out of state regulated textbooks that do not allow even the slightest mention of God or anything remotely from the Bible........And that they've spent more then 3/4 of their lives in an environment that has forbidden prayer within its walls. Yep, there's nothing quite like telling that to a bunch of people who have never known what it is to hear God speak! We have learned that in this tiny town God is something you do on Sun and leave at the door until you reappear the following week.........except when praying for rain. Everybody here prays for rain every day of the week.

So, we shall see what happens. Hopefully they don't get too irritated and start calling in truancy officers. They can still do that. It doesn't hold water anymore in the state of TX as long as we have sufficient evidence that we supplied them with a letter of withdrawal that they will be schooled at home. The worst it could get is that we would have to call in lawyers from the coalition to defend what is already state law and perfectly within our rights as parents to do. Anyway, we'll see.

But......as of today they are homeschooled!