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Home school sports.many questions?
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Question:
Does anybody know whether a homeschooled child in the state of
Wisconsin can or can't participate in public school sports?
Someone is going to ask whether I've already looked. Yes, I've
googled for the answer. I've looked on the website for HSLDA, as well
as the website for our state's Dept of Public Instruction, and the
website for our school district.
Answer:
- I don't know how much this applies to your situation, but something
similar is becoming an issue - and to some of us, a big one - here.
But from the opposite side of the fence.
I don't know how many of you follow the "family updates" Dalene sends,
but if you do, you'll note that 2 of our daughters are on the local
homeschool basketball teams. Getting this association to be functional
has been a struggle (what, getting 50 homeschool families to agree on
something a struggle?). But we seemed to have turned the corner and now
have 4 teams that not only are surviving, but are succeeding in being
competitive. For example, last year our boys Jr High (14 & under) team
won 1st place at the nationals tournament held in Oklahoma City.
But we have a problem. Seems that one of the local private Christian
schools likes to recruit their players from the cream of the homeschool
crop. Full fledged recruiting - giving scholarships so that the kids do
not have to pay the rather pricey tution rates charged by this private
school. What's worse, they let these kids play even if they don't
attend classes at the school (ie. the kids still homeschool).
Now I am the first to admit that I am biased. I don't like to see the
cream of our players going somewhere else and playing against us. And
this on 2 fronts:
1) I would rather that the parents choose to homeschool these kids and
help our program become a dominate (sports) force. After all, the lack
of sports has for too long been one of the excuses parents would use in
choosing to not-homeschool their kids. It would be nice to have
something to point to in answer.
2) We've worked our butts off trying to get quality coaches and an
organization that supports the players, coaches, & parents. I don't
like to have my work go for naught.
The logical side of me recognizes that if a parent wants to choose to
put their kid in a private (or public) school - for whatever reason -
that is their right to do so. So if a private school wants to give a
scholarship for the kid to play, I don't mind SO LONG as the kid attends
school there.
Side note: If I were a parent who was paying full tuition at
that private school, I would be looking for someone's head on a
platter if I found out they were letting other kids in for free.
They are using MY MONEY to pay for that other kid.
But if there are homeschool extra-cirricular activites that are a viable
option, then I firmly, Staunchly, EMPHATICALLY believe that schools
(public or private) need to keep their hands off. If a player is found
on that team that is homeschooled (where a homeschooling alternative
existis), the school should face the same repurcussions as if they had a
player who was in their 3rd senior year (or anyother illegal player) -
that is, they forfiet all games played in which that player was on the
team and give up any and all awards earned during that time.
- That is so unethical of the school. Have you called the school about it? I
would want to have a meeting with someone over it. Doesn't seem the
Christian thing to do, especially if it harms your team or angers the
private school parents.
It's pretty bad when you have to get your homeschooled highschool basketball
players to sign a contract(?)
- I'm not sure exactly what
I think of this whole issue. But I do
think it's an asymetrical one. That is,
Public schools do take my money, so I might
have some claim to their services, sometimes.
They, on the other hand, ought never to
feel such freedom to insist upon partaking
of my children's participation in their
programs.
If a ps kid wanted to play on a hs team, I
think I'd have no problem with that, if my
team's league didn't specify.
The recruiting thing I don't like, but not because
of turf concerns. Especially at the rec. level, I
think that the prime focus for the sport (any) is
*not* in domination or even in winning, but in
excelling at the play. Excellence and winning
are very different, for one reason because it is
irrelevant (not "Irreverant") to playing excellently
whether one's team has *more* good players than
the opponent team.
Beyond rec., in select, I think that energy *can*
be wasted in the pursuit of the Holy Grail of Winning
and that the benefits of select *can* thus be perverted
into something horrible, ugly, but I also understand
that very highest levels the game encompasses more
than just the time on the field/court/whatever.
"Stealing" players, recruiting, is a fact of life
in not just the rest of life but in sports above
the casual level. I don't see anything intrinsically
evil about it. I understand that it's frustrating
creating something as awesome as a local hs league
that goes to nationals (wow!) but from the way
removed perspective that I'm happy to hold, it seems
like the scope of the game is larger than just the
game field and the practice field, that it extends to,
for example, off-season training, psychological
advantages, extended schooling on the game's tactics
and strategies, nutritional tuning (heh--I *don't* mean
the euphemitical "nutritional supplements" like growth
hormones and naturally, roster boosting.
If there's a way of checking their league's rules
(perhaps with one of that school's rivals?) you could
see if they are behaving improperly according to
their own standards, which I think is likely--I know
that at rec level recruiting is either verboten or
highly frowned upon or strictly limitted. *Especially*
recruiting of select players, which I think your
league must be.
I agree that the immediate effect is not good.
However, if it don't kill you, it may make
you stronger, like Ralph Nadar having to struggle
to get on the ballot in VA.
I empathize with you, but am not sure I agree
with you. When I put my team on the field and
find that the opposing team practices 5 days
a week, funds hired coaches, etc., I am torqued
when we get steamrolled. Then again, these
things are not against the rules.
Further, it's not necessarily unfair if your
hs league forbids non-hsed players, yet the
local Christian school doesn't forbid non-Christian
school players, and they grab a kid from one of
your teams. A huge drag, sure, but not necessarily
"unChristian".
They might see it as money well spent on providing
their little Johnny with a "winning" environment,
the same way that University teams starve their
academics of $$ in order to finance the football team.
I think that's almost certainly horrendously stupid
folly, but apparently lots of people out there don't.
I don't understand why. Again, if *they* (the ps)
themselves hadn't said NO already, and if I thought
my kids would benefit from some offerings of my local
ps, I would *expect* that my tax dollars would buy
us a space in the activity. After all, the whole
concept of *public* education is that it is funded
by all and *available* to all. (Which brings up a
whole nuther thing--Public schools ought to be forced
to make available basic literacy courses to *any*one,
including adults who the pss failed the first time
around and adults who have (legally) immigrated.
They don't fall outside the rationale of the state
providing for an educated citizenry. But that's
mostly another, unrelated, issue.)
Ok, let me refine my stance. I disagree that pss
ought to need to keep their hands off of hsers
because that means that hsers would need to be
forbidden to be on psed teams and I think that's
wrong.
As to private schools, I don't see a reason why
they ought to be forbidden, or ought to forbid
themselves, access to hsers, as long as their
league functions by consistent rules that allow
it.
If *their* rules say no 8th year seniors and
no hsers, then sure.
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