The last thing children want to hear in the summer time is the word "school"! Unfortunately, those of us who homeschool and public school teachers need to think about it this month. If you homeschool, you need to send in a notice of intent at least two weeks before school starts. Public school teachers are getting ready to go back to work at the end of the month. All the newspapers have "back to school" ads running all month long. The shelves at WalMart and other stores are filled with school supplies by now. For some people, "the new year" starts on the first day of school, not January first!

One of my granddaughters is now old enough to be finished with high school. However, I told her that there are things she still needs to learn. She isn't sure what she wants to do with her life and certainly has plenty of time to decide. She can continue to pursue her academic interests without having to "go to school" to do so. Her sister has several more years of high school work ahead of her. By the time she is finished, their little brother will be five. It will be interesting to see which of us ends up homeschooling him!

With gas prices going out of sight, school districts are spending a horrendous amount of money on transportation. When the trend of consolidating schools began, transportation was cheap. There was no internet then, and telephone service was more expensive than it is now. You would think that people would be looking at their school tax bills and wondering if it isn't time to rethink this "bigger is better" idea!

I realize that the majority of people do not want to homeschool their children. However, don't you think the majority of people would prefer that their school tax dollars went to instruction and educational materials rather than diesel fuel, fuel oil, natural gas and electricity? The next time your local school district posts their yearly budget, read it. You'll discover that half or more of your tax dollars do not go towards educating anyone.

This nation could save billions of dollars and millions of gallons of oil annually with small, local schools. The resources available in the 21st century for a very reasonable cost are amazing. Conference calling between classrooms could be used for many classes, especially foreign language instruction. Inter-library loans could be utilized for materials not available locally. Children need to learn how to sort out the good from the bad on the internet. There is a wealth of fantastic information out there but there is about as much nonsense.

School should be about education and nurturing children. Another advantage to small, local schools is that children would have time to be children. Instead of spending hours on a bus, before and after school, the children would be mere minutes from home. Working parents who worry about the fact their children would need a sitter before and after school could get together and provide one at the local school. If the public schools want to learn how to do all of this, they should talk to homeschoolers!