[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 52 (Friday, May 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN SUPPORT OF HOME EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased again to join along with the 
Missouri State Senate and the Missouri House of Representatives in 
support of home education. The Missouri General Assembly has designated 
the second week of May as Home Education Week. Missouri is looked to as 
a leader nationwide in the home education movement. That would not be 
possible without the dedication of our parents who are continually 
committed to the strong educational principles that have ensured the 
success of home education. Those principles are the commitments to 
teaching the fundamentals in reading, writing and arithmetic.
  Home education has provided parents the flexibility to tailor 
education lessons to their child's needs. It also provides an 
environment where parents can apply the lessons they teach in real-life 
settings. That may be taking a trip to a botanical garden or national 
forest to learn about plant science or visiting a local newspaper to 
learn about a possible career in journalism, photography, printing or 
advertising.
  Home education is successful and history proves it. Since the 
founding of America many famous Americans have been home educated. That 
list includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Booker T. 
Washington, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mark 
Twain, and Sandra Day O'Connor. A most recent example was last May when 
Rebecca Sealfon of Brooklyn, NY won the National Spelling Bee. So when 
I hear that over 3,500 families in Missouri alone are home educating, I 
am not surprised.
  Without hesitation, I thank each parent who is at home teaching their 
child the skills they will need to succeed in the competitive world we 
live in today. It takes countless hours of preparation and teaching 
time that may seemingly go unnoticed. Your efforts have not gone 
unnoticed and they did not go unnoticed when Thomas Jefferson wrote the 
Declaration of Independence and Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. 
I hope that my colleagues will join me today to let you know that those 
efforts are appreciated.

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