#homeschooling in Ohio

[cyber-soul-smartz]

Empower Your Child's Education: A Comprehensive Homeschooling Guide

Unlock your child's educational potential with our ultimate homeschooling guide! Perfect for beginners and seasoned homeschoolers, this article covers choosing the right curriculum, understanding legal requirements, and creating a flexible schedule.

Homeschooling 101: A Complete Guide to Getting Started Homeschooling has emerged as a powerful alternative education option, empowering parents with the ability to craft unique and personalized learning experiences for their children. This flexibility to tailor curriculum and schedules to individual needs has resonated with many parents, leading to a significant rise in homeschooling in recent…

[brantheblessed]

There's an alleged "Nazi" homeschool group in Ohio. Watch as all homeschoolers get called Nazis now.

[pen-and-camera]

This is a huge honor. Forever grateful. Halfway done with my online spring cleaning. Pardon my dust as my website is up next.

[immaculatasknight]

Remember: 4 dead in Ohio

[auroraluciferi]

On Sunday, VICE News and the Huffington Post reported that Logan and Katja Lawrence were the operators of the neo-Nazi Dissident Homeschool group which now boasts over 2,500 members on its Telegram channel, based on the research from anti-fascist researchers at the Anonymous Comrades Collective. 

The group openly advocates white supremacist ideologies with the aim to make sure the children they teach “become wonderful Nazis.”

The Lawrences share their classroom schedules, homework assignments, and lesson plans with other parents in the group, the vast majority of which are infused with Nazi ideology or open praise for Adolf Hitler.

Katja Lawrence, 37, also shares examples of how her family embraces Nazi ideology, including baking a Fuhrer cake for Hitler’s birthday and sharing a recording of her children shouting “sieg heil.”

“I am outraged and saddened,” Stephanie Siddens, the interim superintendent of public instruction at the Department of Education told VICE News. “There is absolutely no place for hate-filled, divisive and hurtful instruction in Ohio’s schools, including our state’s home-schooling community. I emphatically and categorically denounce the racist, antisemitic and fascist ideology and materials being circulated.”

Under Ohio state laws, the Lawrences simply have to inform the local superintendent that they want to homeschool their children and agree to abide by certain broad conditions in order to legally keep their children out of public schools.

The Ohio Department of Education is now actively reviewing compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements as a result of the media reports, a spokesperson for the department told VICE News.

“If requirements are met, the district superintendent releases the student from required compulsory school attendance,” The Ohio Department of Education states on its website. “This excuses the student and family from school attendance requirements in state law.”

[feminist-space]

Article by Fortesa Latifi:

"Being the child of an influencer, Vanessa tells me, was the equivalent of having a full-time job—and then some. She remembers late nights in which the family recorded and rerecorded videos until her mother considered them perfect and days when creating content for the blog stretched into her homeschooling time. If she expressed her unease, she was told the family needed her. “It was like after this next campaign, maybe we could have more time to relax. And then it would never happen,” she says. She was around 10 years old when she realized her life was different from that of other children. When she went to other kids’ houses, she was surprised by how they lived. “I felt strange that they didn’t have to work on social media or blog posts, or constantly pose for pictures or videos,” she says. “I realized they didn’t have to worry about their family's financial situation or contribute to it.”

Vanessa, who requested anonymity to speak freely about her family dynamics, says she helped create content for huge companies like Huggies and Hasbro when her mom landed endorsement deals. When she reached puberty and began menstruating, her mother had her do sponsored posts for sanitary pads. “It was so mortifying,” she says. “I just felt like I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.”

Being part of an influencer family changed everything about her life, Vanessa says. “Sometimes I didn’t know where the separation was between what was real and what was curated for social media.” And her mother’s online presence indelibly warped their relationship. “Being an influencer kid turned my relationship with my mom into more of an employer-employee relationship than a parent-child one,” she says. “Once you cross the line from being family to being coworkers, you can’t really go back.”

...

Khanbalinov has had zero new offers since he took his kids offline. “When we were showing our kids, brands were rolling in left and right—clothing companies, apps, paper towel companies, food brands. They all wanted us to work with them,” he says. “Once we stopped, we reached out to the brands we had lined up and 99 percent of them dropped out because they wanted kids to showcase their products. And I fought back, like, you guys are a paper towel company—why do you need a kid selling your stuff?”

The law has woefully lagged behind the culture here, but there’s signs that policymakers might finally be catching up. In 2023, in addition to Illinois, three other states—New York, Washington State, and New Jersey—proposed bills to protect influencer kids. Contrast that with the flurry of legislative activity in just the first two months of 2024. Seven more states—Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, California, Arizona, Minnesota—have introduced similar legislation. Some of the bills are going one step further to protect the privacy of the kids featured in this content. In some states, proposed legislation would include a clause that borrows from a European legal doctrine known as the “right to be forgotten”—it would allow someone who was featured in content when they were a child to request that platforms permanently delete those posts. None of the current legislation introduced, however, would outright bar the practice of featuring minors in monetized content.

...

The movement on this issue was glacial for years, but it finally feels like the ice has thawed. Much of that progress is thanks to activists like Cam Barrett (she/they), a 25-year-old creator (@softscorpio) who uses TikTok to talk about her experience of being overshared in their childhood and adolescence. Barrett doesn’t go by her legal name anymore because of the online history it’s tied to. “I love my legal name,” Barrett tells me. “I just don’t love the digital footprint attached to it.” Last year, Barrett testified in front of the Washington State legislature as a proponent of a bill to protect influencer kids. This year, they testified again���this time, in front of the Maryland legislature.

“As a former content kid myself, I know what it’s like to grow up with a digital footprint I never asked for,” Barrett told the Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee in February. “As my mom posted to the world my first-ever menstrual cycle, as she posted to the world the intimate details about me being adopted, her platform grew and I had no say in what was posted.” And yet, Cam says her activism has been healing.

For Cam and other influencer children, getting a paycheck won’t give them back what they lost—a normal childhood unobstructed by the cameras pushed into their faces. But it could be the beginning of some version of restitution. “My friends say I’m fighting for little Cam,” she tells me. “It feels very healing because I didn’t have anyone to fight for me as a kid.”"

Read the full article here: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a60125272/sharenting-parenting-influencer-cost-children/

[brightideathepunny]

Your sister introduced me to your YouTube channel and I love your puns. I used to be a brony and your MLP videos brought me down memory lane. (Even though I only saw the thumbnails lol)

You may remember me from asking your sister what it's like to be a twin, and now I want to hear your opinion on the matter. (Even if it's similar to hers) Consider it research for my upcoming novel.

Thank you for your question! Sorry it's taken me a long time to respond to your ask, I'm not nearly as active on Tumblr as my twin ^^;

I do remember @bettinalevyisdetermined responding to this question before, but not exactly what she said on her blog, so here are my own thoughts on

What it's like being a twin:

Growing up together, I knew we had something special that went beyond the typical sibling bond (we have a younger brother who we love dearly, but that love is so different). We were constant companions from baby-hood, what else can compare? Having someone to DO life with from the start feels like it made life easier for me to handle. If you saw one of us, the other one was never far behind. I always had someone close by who knew exactly what I was dealing with in life, because she was living it too. We explored, played pretend, lost baby teeth, learned to ride bikes, navigated family stuff, read the same books, watched the same movies and shows, solved the same puzzles, laughed at the same jokes. Not all the time, but definitely most of the time, whatever we did, it was together. We were separated in school from kindergarten-2nd grade, so we had different teachers and classmates and projects to do, but our parents started homeschooling us after our 2nd grade was over, so we spent even more time together and loved it.

Sharing is something that feels like we've always done instinctively, from sharing a birthday to bedroom space, toys, clothes, food, time, tastes...so much of what we had was ours rather than mine/hers. Even when people gave us individual gifts, we'd still often find ways to use them or enjoy them together. When we were old enough to dress ourselves, for awhile we would keep wearing the same things, as we would when we were little, or wear the same type of clothes but different colors, though starting somewhere around adolescence, we did find our own unique, preferred styles, eventually.

I remember my identity used to be so wrapped up in twin-ness, I had a hard time imagining any life without Bettina by my side. Around the time we were learning to drive and getting our learner's permits, that's when I got my first set of glasses, and I remember being quite upset because I would look different from my sister. Looking back on it, it's kinda silly, because we'd already been different for a long time, with our emerging personalities and slight but noticeable physical distinctions, such as a couple inches difference in height. As we grew up and sought independence from our family and cultivated our own relationships with other people (platonic and romantic), we learned that our twin-ness was still very special, but not the end-all be-all I used to believe it was.

The past couple of years we've gotten to attend the amazing Twin's Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. Getting to know other people who are twins who've either lost their twin or aren't on good terms with their twin makes me appreciate the relationship I have with my twin even more. We stay in touch with each other as much as we can, but of course life gets busy sometimes, on both our ends.

Januarys always make me feel self-reflective, so this was an excellent question to mull over. Thinking about "what has being a twin meant to me" makes me feel all the things, happy that I can still reach out to my sister whenever I like, sad that we don't physically hang out as often as we used to, proud of all she and I have done in our respective lives, and excited to make more memories with her. No matter how much time passes, she and I can always pick up where we left off; even though we're long distance these days, we remain incredibly close. She's my twin sister, apart from me, and yet no less a part of me.

[artsy-the-little-pink-pencil]

Ragatha (Rosalyn) Anne Miller

Age when she joined: 20

Height: 5’9

Age Now: 32

Fave Color: Pale Blue

Sexuality and Gender: DemiGirl, Lesbian

Pronouns: She/They

Personality Type: ISFJ

Zodiac: Taurus

Home State/Country: Ohio (Scottish, English, American)

Birthday: May 5, 1993

Year she joined: 2013

Headcanons

She is Dane Miller's (The founder and owner of C&A) daughter. She had been a people pleaser for as long as she lived, her father was emotionally abusive and immature, causing Ragatha to grow up quicker than she should’ve.

Being able to summon her sewing needles and sew herself back up instantly, her butcher’s knives, and to go limp just like a ragdoll. She is also very resilient to attacks, being a ragdoll has its perks. If the gash is too big to sew on her own, she’ll either get someone else to sew her or Caine. She won’t die tho, but will definitely be traumatised.

Her father taught her how to sew.

She was raised by her father alone.

She was extremely rich, having a mansion, horses, a pool, yatch, ect. She was basically a modern princess.

She was very popular in school but didn’t want all the attention. She was soon bullied by the same kids for being, “Ungrateful”.

She went to private schools before being homeschooled.

Dane made sure Ragatha was completely under his influence and when she did finally figure out what was going on with him trapping people in his game, he did the same to his own daughter.

Ragatha's mother wasn't very present in her children’s lives. That was because she was working 2 jobs for her family which meant Ragatha had to be her replacement.

Is a firm Christian and went to church every Sunday, prayed every night, and said grace before every meal and still does. But she does respect other religions of course.

Had a wonderful relationship with her grandparents but only knew them for the first few years of her life.

She was born with blindness in her eye (the eye that has the button) and was bullied by her siblings for it.

Ragatha crochets in her free time. She loves making little coasters, sweaters, ect.

Is very oblivious to compliments/flirts.

After leaving the circus, she would have horrible nightmares of her father as Caine.

Ragatha still needs a nightlight to sleep.

Get to know the ragdoll!

Chinese Horoscope: Rooster

Spirit Animal: Rabbit

IQ: 92

Nicknames: Ragsy (Artsy), Raggy Anne (Jax), Mom (Gangle), Honey (Pomni)

Allergies: Wheat and Eggs

Disabilities: Blind in one eye

Right or Left Handed: Right

Quirks/Habits: Pulls on hair when angry or upset and constantly bounces leg

Siblings: 3 younger brothers and 2 younger sisters

Who is the most important person in her life: Pomni

Person she looks up to the most: Kinger

Best Friend: Kinger

Lover: Pomni

Rival: Jax

If he could have a superpower it would be: Flight

Dream Job: Professional Horse Rider

Biggest Fear: People not liking her

Biggest Flaw: Being a people pleaser

Favorite Animal: Horse

Favorite Hobby: Making clothes

Favorite Food: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Favorite Drink: Fruit Punch Gatorade

Least Favorite Food: Basalmic Vinegar Brussel Sprouts

Favorite Season: Spring

Favorite Movie: Breakfast Club

Favorite Book: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Favorite Singer/Artist: Brittany Spears

Very skilled at: Sewing and fixing clothes

Least skilled at: Putting her foot down

Greatest Achievement: Won 1st place in her state's horse riding competition

Pet Peeves: Jax, people who are mean to others for no reason, messy sinks/houses.

Introvert or Extrovert: Both

Organized or Messy: Organized

Is she good at singing: Yes

Can she bake: Yes

Can she cook: Yes

Does she play any sports: Horse Riding

Instrument: Violin

Motto: “Treat others how you want to be treated.”

Theme Songs

She's just a Ragdolly - Raggedy Anne and Andy movie

Old Doll - The Mad Father

[thoughtportal]

Homeschooling in Ohio

Contact senator Brenner 614-466-8086 Brenner@OhioSenate.gov Twitter @ BrennerForOhio

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34ane/neo-nazi-homeschool-ohio

[boimgfrog]

i need to express my bewilderment and amusement at this better and i cant so im just telling you like this. u r so crazy to me

I know it seems insane that I don't know where Boston is and that I thought it was in New York or maybe Ohio but. the thing is. I was homeschooled. the last time I took a geography class I was 12 years old gluing paper together and cheated on most of it. and I've never had 2 know where anything is if I have questions I look at a map or use my GPS?? honestly I didn't even realize Boston creme was named after Boston I realized that just now answering this ask bcos previously I had not thought of Boston maybe in years until I saw that poll

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Burning Butch is the courageous story of a trans / non-binary butch on a quest to survive conservative, religious, American culture while questioning if there is room in their heart for the traditional faith they were raised with, and what it means to come home again. When divorce moves young Rebecca Mertz away from rural Pennsylvania and their abusive father, Mertz and their mother find a new life in a conservative Catholic subculture outside of Washington, D.C. There, Mertz's adolescence is dominated by fundamentalist Catholicism. Life becomes God, saints, and babies – except, of course, for the showtunes they latch onto, voices that permeate their childhood boundaries, singing about different worlds. Mertz spends their childhood split between Pennsylvania, and Maryland – between mother and father, between Catholic homeschooling and secular Americana, between safety and violence, between their real life and the "world" they keep being warned against. It’s in homeschooling that Mertz learns what good, Catholic values are: anti-feminist, pro-life; anti-queer, pro-Jesus. The more babies, the better, so as to prove a stronger devotion to God. In an attempt to get away from their father, to interrogate their faith, and to repress the growing feelings Mertz has about a woman in their community, Mertz chooses the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a conservative Catholic school in Ohio. As Mertz comes of age at an oppressive, gender-dependent Catholic college in the early aughts, they grapple with attractions, sexual encounters, and relationships with friends and teachers – men and women whom they trust and admire, who romantically engage with them while in the same breath renounce the sacrilege of Mertz’s identity. Ever the outcast during their college years despite their affinity and aptitude for poetry, Mertz is forced to face their sexuality and what it might mean within the confines of their strict faith. As Mertz struggles to navigate this repressive environment, and questions what role they could play in this community, the vulnerable identity they create begins to threaten the life they know in potentially irreversible ways.

[dollysattictreasures]

A Life Of Faith Dolls

So recently I fell down this little rabbit hole and I want to share it. I don't have any of these dolls (and I don't really have any interest do) and there's little information about the company, so I got even more interested.

Background:

Created by homeschooling parents Lee and Bill Bereza in 1998, when they established Breezy Point Treasures. Together they based a custom doll on the Elsie Dinsmore book series by Martha Finley. Later they worked with Sandra Bilotto to design the dolls, and Lloyd Middleton to produce the dolls.The second character in the series was Mildred (shortened to Millie) Keith, Elsie's oldest cousin.

In 2003 Mission City Press purchased the company, and Elsie and Millie's appearances were changed. The dresses were more striking and stood out with lace and frills. Additionally their appearances were changed as Elsie was given pincurls and ribbons. Millie went from being a brunette to having blond hair and blue eyes (similar to Kirsten Larson) and the dolls got darker eye makeup and longer eyelashes.

Since the 2 original dolls were based off a book series, the original Elsie Dinsmore and Millie Keith series were re-released. One thing that seperated them from American Girl was that the story would follow their life- starting from childhood into their 20s and so on.

Additionally 3 new characters were introduced- Violet Travilla (Elsie's daughter in the series), Laylie Colbert and Kathleen Mckenzie. During this time the Elsie Dinsmore Collection was renamed to "A Life of Faith."

Once again the dolls were changed, this time with much more simpler outfits in contrast to their past look. After struggling to stay afloat, Mission City Press ceased production of the dolls in 2006.

Dolls:

Elsie Dinsmore- hazel eyes, brown hair with pincurls

Elsie is an 8 year old growing up in the mid 1800s in the South, on a plantation. They kinda gloss over the fact that she literally has slaves on her property and refers to them as just "servants." Anyways, Elsie is very wealthy but grows up without a mother, and for much of the story she waits for her father to return, as she's never met him. Her collection contained many dresses, coats, undergarments, a grand piano, some more furniture and accessories.

Millie Keith- blond hair, blue eyes

Aside from being a Kirsten Larson clone (I'm only half kidding) Millie Keith is a 12 year old girl living on the Indiana frontier in 1833. Her story follows as she is forced to move from an established town in Ohio to the unknown frontier. Her collection also features many outfits, coats, a horse, a table and chair set and many accessories. As far as looks are concerned, Millie does look very similar to Kirsten Larson, with one of her outfits even displaying her wearing loop braids.

Laylie Colbert- black hair, brown eyes, different face mold from the other dolls

Laylie Colbert is a 7 year old who's story follows her escape from slavery. In the story her family escapes and meets Millie Keith (who is 15) and the two become friends. Her meet oufit is supposed to be one that Millie gave her. Her collection literally has nothing- it has one nightgown, a robin hood costume (????) and a few accessories. She has the smallest collection out of them all.

Violet Travilla- black hair, brown eyes (well really red but I'll get to that later)

Violet Travilla is a 14 year old in the 1870s, and is the daughter of Elsie Dinsmore. She loves art, school, her family and God. Violet is the oldest doll out of the whole collection, so her story is supposed to feel personal to teenagers, so she's also very anxious about her future, and feels misunderstood. Her collection has many outfits, accessories, a sofa and a cat.

Kathleen Mckenzie- hazel eyes, curly brown hair, freckles, different face mold

Kathleen Mckenzie, the last doll to be released, is an 11 year old (although her face mold makes her look a lot younger) growing up in 1929. She has a lot of similarities with Kit, as her story talks about economic struggles, and she enjoys writing. Her collection has a lot of outfits, accessories, but no furniture.

Current State:

the Violet Travilla dolls have a defect in which over time her brown eyes have changed to a BRIGHT red. (seriously, look it up)

as I talked about earlier, A Life Of Faith bore some similarites to AG. With Kathleen's story being similar to Kit, Millie, the frontier doll's redesign looking very similar to Kirsten.

They promoted themselves as a Christian alternative to AG, with each doll coming with a dol-sized Bible, and each story talks about how the dolls overcome their struggles through God.

I want to say I have no problem with Christianity, or religious dolls. What I am going to judge is how they painted AG to be bad in their eyes, with the Baptist Press stating that AG donates to "homosexual and abortion-rights causes."

I also have a problem with how Laylie Colbert literally had no collection. A Robin Hood cloak to put over her original dress and a little nightgown just feels wrong. Every other doll got such large collections with such beautiful outfits and she got basically nothing in comparison.

catalogue from 2007 -> https://prokukol.ru/wallpapers/images/katalogs/alof2007/alof2007.pdf

From right to left: Elsie Dinsmore, Millie Keith, Violet Travilla and Laylie Colbert

Not Pictured: Kathleen Mckenzie

I know this was a long post, if you read it- thank you so much! I found this fun to research and fun to share :)

[thehappysorceress]

Absolutely chilling and stomach-turning.

[immaculatasknight]

Sprouting little Nazis in Ohio

[fundieshaderoom]

Fundie Families and Adjacents I Follow: Stockdale

Timothy C Stockdale "Tim"- 1959ish

Kathryn Barbara Miller "Kathy"- November 19, 1962, died 2017

The couple shares 4 sons (3 living), 1 current daughter-in-law, and 5 grandchildren.

In 2008, the Stockdale family participated in the show Wife Swap. They displayed their conservative, homeschooling, farm lifestyle in rural Ohio. On June 15, 2017, Jacob Stockdale (age 25) shot and killed mother Kathy (age 54) and brother James (age 21). Jacob shot himself and survived.

1- Calvin John- July 31, 1988ish

2- Charles M "Chaz"- 1991ish

3- Jacob T- 1992ish

4- James William- March 4, 1996, died 2017

Calvin married Katie Trammell on May 21, 2011ish. They share 6 children.

1- Timmy- February 2012

2- Jeanie- 2013/2014

3- Lillian "Lily"- 2015

4- Mo- 2017

5- Ransom- 2019

6- Baby Girl- 2022ish

Charles married Giana in 2015ish. They got divorced before June 2017. They never had any children. He was in a relationship with another woman from 2021-2024.

Jacob pled guilty to two counts of murder in 2021. He was sentenced to 15 years to life and will not be eligible for parole until 2048. Tim, Calvin, and Charles have publicly stated that Jacob has their full forgiveness.

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

nazi parents in ohio started a homeschool nazi network "According to Vice, the couple ran a now-deleted Telegram channel with over 2,500 members that added Hitler quotes, antisemitic themes, and white supremacist ideologies into their math lessons and homework assignments" “It was mostly homeschooling moms that were lifting each other up when things got difficult," said the nazi woman "I want my kids to grow up to be straight, married, and Christian [...]the system is very anti-White" 🤢

💩💩💩

Honestly this is why the whole charter school/homeschooling white moms are a huge red flag to me.

mod ali