Today's shiny thing is testing

Does this post seem a little over the top to anybody else?

Yes, state mandated testing is bad, and no sane homeschooler wants to do it. However, is there a state anywhere in this country that requires homeschoolers to take the same tests they force on the school kids?

We have to submit a nationally normed test every year in VA, which is a royal pain-in-the-ass, but that requirements far predates the state standards of learning tests the school kids have to pass. It's not connected at all to the NCLB emphasis on testing.

In reading Spunky's post, one comes away with the distinct impression that government agents are hiding in our hedges, just waiting for the chance to force a test on us. Read the comments - the first comment is from a soon-to-be homeschooler asking about filing preemptive lawsuits to avoid filing a letter of intent. Other comments are from self-identified old time battle scarred veterans that think us young whippersnappers are a bunch of pussies because we haven't had faced off against the state in a courtroom over a homeschool issue.

Guess what? We don't have to. Thanks to the efforts of people like Helen, I get to homeschool without ever actually dealing with the state. We have never had personal, or even phone contact with anybody in the school system about a homeschool issue. Neither have 98% of the other homeschoolers not living in PA. Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, even PA, sort of. Why would I go looking for trouble where none exists now? If the state does something to advance state mandated testing on homeschoolers I'll fight them. But I'm not going to go around tilting at windmills just so I can feel like I'm doing something. The lack of a need to do something all of the time is exactly what the old timers fought for. A few of them probably enjoyed the fight, but I think most of them just wanted to raise their kids in peace. They fought because they had to, not because they wanted to.

Spunky references freedom several times, but how free are you really if you spend every day worried about government boogie men behind every door, and around every corner? Homeschoolers need to get a grip and enjoy and appreciate the freedom we have in this country. The vast majority of us can educate and raise our kids free from any material meddling from the government. Of course, we should always remain vigilant, and also take opportunities to expand freedoms when the political climate allow it. However, the war is over, we won.