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Tim Guyse with son Zach after the Senate public hearing.
Marcia Guyse, one of our moms wrote this letter to Dr. Yvonne Kennedy:
Dear Dr. Kennedy:
Recently, I was privileged to attend your Education
Committee's public hearing on House Bill 20, the Equal Access Bill.
My husband was one of the three home school fathers who spoke in
support of the bill. I did not speak because I become too emotional
when speaking about something so close to my heart. You see, from
the time I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher. I
believe that teaching is a calling from God, and that has always
been my calling. I graduated summa cum laude in 1983 from the
University of North Alabama with a degree in Secondary Education,
English and Social Sciences. I later went on to earn my M.A. at the
University of Alabama in Huntsville where I taught as a graduate
teaching assistant. When I graduated from UNA, I was filled with a
passion to teach, to see the "light bulb" appear over my students'
heads as they understood what I was teaching. My first full-time
job was at West Morgan High School in Trinity, Alabama. My first
year there, my fellow teachers had to remind me to check my mailbox
in the office on payday so I wouldn't forget my paycheck. I was
amazed that I could be doing something I loved so much and be
getting paid for it at the same time! After five years of teaching
there, I was burned out – not with the students, but with the
system. I found out that education has become a political
institution, caught up in regulations and red tape that take so much
of a teacher's time that very little time is left for creative
lesson planning or individualizing instruction. My focus as a
teacher had become meeting the requirements of the state and
pleasing my administration more than teaching my students. To
finish my M.A., I took a year's leave of absence from West Morgan
and began a teaching assistantship at UAH. There I taught small
classes of remedial composition, and, as I was able to work with
these students one on one, I started to see the "light bulb" again.
After moving to Texas and Georgia and giving birth to two sons,
my husband and I returned home to Decatur, Alabama. My oldest was
in first grade when we met a wonderful home school family and saw
first hand what a difference one-on-one instruction could make in a
child's life. Not only were the two teen-aged sons in this family
confident, intelligent and articulate, but they shared the values of
their parents and shared a relationship with them that is rare in
today's society. My husband and I decided that we wanted this for
our sons as well. As a trained teacher, I had no fears about being
able to teach my boys, but I had reservations about what others in
my profession would think. Then I remembered what teaching is all
about: it's about the students and how they can best learn.
That passion I had for teaching returned, and now my boys and
I have enjoyed ten years of successful home schooling. All of
society's objections about socialization have been met through co-
ops, group field trips, science clubs, debate clubs, scouting,
church activities and especially community sports. Both of my boys
have played baseball, soccer and basketball since they were five
years old. My oldest son chose soccer as his sport of choice, but
was forced to stop playing last year when he turned sixteen because
many of the players his age began playing on their high school teams
and there were not enough players to field the recreational teams.
He was relegated to refereeing the younger players. My youngest son
is 14 and in the 8th grade this year. He is a star athlete in both
baseball and soccer with both of his teams winning state
championships last year, but this spring will be his last year in
Dixie Boys Baseball. His teammates are begging him to come and play
with them at the local school, but the Alabama High School Athletic
Association says he cannot. The rules that keep him from playing
were not designed at the time they were written to exclude home
schoolers, but to keep the recruiting and pooling of players to a
minimum. I realize that home schooling was relatively unknown two
decades ago, but now there are over 25,000 home schoolers in the
state of Alabama, and our numbers are increasing every year. It's
time for educators to step back from the politics and remember why
we became teachers in the first place. If we as educators truly
want what is best for the student, then we will include all
students, including home schooled students. A new day is dawning
for education. In states like Minnesota, whose educational program
is ranked number one in the nation, parents can choose the best path
for the education of their children, whether it be public schools,
private schools, charter schools, or home schools. The state does
not penalize them for this choice by excluding them for any
services, but state funds actually follow the child to the school
that is chosen. Presently, those 25,000 home schoolers in Alabama
are saving the state the $6000 per student expenditure. Dr. Paul
Hubbert was so worried about the "cost" of passing this
legislation. Couldn't just a little of that money follow those
students to a school's sports or music program? It's time for
educators to quit worrying about economic and political costs of
education and start thinking of the cost of not offering the best
educational opportunities to all students in Alabama.
During my years of home schooling, I have taught as a private
tutor, maintained my fifty hours of continuing education and kept my
teaching certificate current. When my youngest graduates, I plan to
continue pursuing my calling in education in some way. I hope that
it is in a new and better system of education in the state of
Alabama that once again focuses on what is best for each and every
student. House Bill 20 could be the first step toward that system.
Please lend your support to this bill so that it can reach the
legislative floor this session. Thank you for taking time to read
this lengthy letter. Please know that it is from my heart.
Sincerely,
Marcia Guyse
Click here to read homeschool
student Jeremy Guyse's letter.
Click here to read Zach Guyse's speech to the
Senate Education Committee.
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