View Full Version : Home schooling not regulated



TheTravellers
01-08-2015, 03:13 PM
Did not know this stuff, kind of disheartening....

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/education/home-schooling-more-pupils-less-regulation.html

"Eleven states do not require families to register with any school district or state agency that they are teaching their children at home, according to the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, a nonprofit group that is pushing for more accountability in home schooling. Fourteen states do not specify any subjects that families must teach, and only nine states require that parents have at least a high school diploma or equivalent in order to teach their children. In half the states, children who are taught at home never have to take a standardized test or be subject to any sort of formal outside assessment."

Regarding the new law in PA that relaxed some standards there:

'“We believe that because parents who make this commitment to teach their children at home are dedicated and self-motivated, there’s just not a real need for the state to be involved in overseeing education,” said Dewitt T. Black III, senior counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association, which has close ties to local Christian home-school associations. Mr. Black wrote an early version of the bill that eventually passed here.'

Bolded emphasis mine, quite a WTH statement...

Apparently there are about 1.8 million kids being homeschooled, spooks me a bit that there is so little oversight of it...

jerrywall
01-08-2015, 03:33 PM
Meh, helps make my kids more competitive in the future job market.

JIMBO
01-08-2015, 04:17 PM
I believe all kids whether; home schooled, public schooled or private schooled; should be tested This will show both their weak points and their strengths.

PennyQuilts
01-08-2015, 08:33 PM
Before you get too distressed, do some research comparing achievements of home schooled vs public schooled kids.

Celebrator
01-08-2015, 10:57 PM
I used to teach in the public schools in Central Florida and had a lot of kids who would enroll at odd times during the year and were said to have been coming from being "home schooled". My experience showed me that those kids were usually discipline problems and their parents had pulled them out of school simply because they were tired of dealing with their kid's discipline problems. But when they got to be a pain at home after a while, they would re-enroll them in the public schools...and so the cycle went on. That's a problem.

However, I think only if this type of cycle seems to be occurring should the state get involved. Gotta give parents the benefit of the doubt that they are educating their children the best way they see fit, unless it becomes evident that there is no consistency or structure as seen with the revolving door example above. I do not think homeschoolers should be subject to the same standardized tests as all other students unless parents opt in. When I taught I often had these random homeschool kids assigned to my classroom during the state standardized testing so I could administer the tests to them along with all of my own students. Not sure if Florida required that or not. I am planning on homeschooling my own children and am glad I don't live somewhere I have to "prove" that I am capable to do so through a portfolio, exam, or some other evaluative tool. I appreciate Oklahoma's hands-off approach.

Chadanth
01-09-2015, 06:10 AM
Before you get too distressed, do some research comparing achievements of home schooled vs public schooled kids.

How do you compare the two without some degree of testing?

Just the facts
01-09-2015, 06:27 AM
As a home school parent myself, there seems to be a whole host of mis-information out there. I can't help but think a lot of it is done on purpose to try and 'kill' the homeschool movement. All I can ask is that if this subject interest you look at the requirements for yourself before taking the word of someone writing a op-ed article disguised as a news story. Also, keep in mind that every state is different so try not to lump everyone together. Here in Florida we have a lot of requirements around homeschooling to ensure that the children are actually receiving an education. As mentioned above by Celebrator, some parents do try to resolve discipline problems by 'home schooling' but they soon find out they themselves can't live up to the demands of doing it so they put their kids back in public school. Here in Duval County there are almost 5,000 children being homeschooled. If we had to build schools to house all those children our local school district would go broke. To wrap up, I agree with Sid that to protect the integrity of homeschooling I welcome state over-sight, but not to the point that the state regulation becomes so burdensome as to regulate it out of existence (which I think is the real intention of some of these non-profits). Good homeschool parents can out-perform the local public schools every single time. Those that can't live up to the demand shouldn't homeschool.

bchris02
01-09-2015, 06:39 AM
People have different reasons to homeschool some being legitimate reasons and others bordering on child abuse. I am not against the practice in and of itself. I do think there should be some kind of standard in place to make sure homeschooled kids are actually getting a proper education. There should also be requirements that the kids participate in certain social activities.

Unfortunately in states like Florida and Oklahoma where the Independent Fundamental Baptist denomination is a huge force, any attempt to regulate it is likely to be met with stiff opposition.

Just the facts
01-09-2015, 06:49 AM
bchris02 - you are way off on your assessment about Florida. Whatever your beef is with the Independent Fundamental Baptist denominations this subject has nothing to do with them. The State of Florida and local districts actually have their own homeschool programs here.

Online High School | Online Middle School | Grades K-12 | Florida Virtual School (http://flvs.net/Pages/default.aspx)

Duval County Homeschooling FL (http://www.homeschoolingflorida.com/resources/duval.html)

Keep in mind, this trend isn't just about K thru 12 education either. Watch the documentary Ivory Tower to see how this trend is reaching the college level.

Fj5wivD8M

PennyQuilts
01-09-2015, 07:00 AM
How do you compare the two without some degree of testing?

Google for a number of university studies. Also take into account ACT and SAT scores and college graduation levels. Moreover, plenty of states DO standardized testing and the HSA kids tend to blow public schooled kids out of the water - the trends are consistent regardless of whether the state has a hands off approach to imposing qualifications on parents and regardless of parent's educational or income level. There are always losers but check out the stunning failures of so many public school kids before you get excited and assume absent close government monitoring the kids are doomed. Kids dropped back into the public schools mid semester who do poorly are more akin to any student failing than the type of school they came from. You see exactly the same thing from kids kicked out of private schools for discipline issues.

bchris02
01-09-2015, 07:14 AM
JTF - I do agree that if you are going to homeschool, online/virtual school is a great way to go. I believe that if done right, homeschool kids can significantly outperform their public school counterparts.

I disagree though that the IFB movement, also known as "Quiverfull," doesn't have anything to do with this subject. They are a driving force behind keeping homeschooling unregulated.

kelroy55
01-09-2015, 07:18 AM
I don't believe the OP was arguing against home schooling but the fact it's poorly regulated. I don't really see anything wrong with the PA law before it was changed. People insist that teachers be qualified, educated and certified so why not the same standards for home schooled kids, minus the teaching degree. A parent could decide math or English wasn't important and that kid would start out life behind others.

The old PA law.....
Families keeping their children out of traditional classrooms were required to register each year with their local school district, outlining study plans and certifying that adults in the home did not have a criminal record. At the end of the year, they submitted portfolios of student work to private evaluators for review. The portfolio and evaluator’s report then went to a school district superintendent to approve.

PennyQuilts
01-09-2015, 07:22 AM
There is so much hurry up and wait for kids in the public school and that leads to discipline problems. A few kids either by natural ability or emotional maturity can fly through a few math worksheets while a number of their peers poke and prod either from lack of understanding or often lack of interest. That's a stew bound to make the whole thing an ordeal for many children and letting the children who finish early read or engage in quiet play only goes so far - especially for rowdy boys needing to work off energy. There are good reasons so many more females than males continue on successfully to higher Ed. Home schooling allows kids with the ability to fly through lessons and still have time to be children, learn about chores, not be distracted by kids with behavioral problems, etc.

If I had access to a good public school I'd send my kids there if I were a young mother but wouldn't hesitate to home school if it wasn't a good fit for my child. Most home schooled kids I've dealt with are just lovely people and far less likely to be little self absorbed shots or bullies than so many we see. There are lots of reasons for that.

As a guardian ad litem, I saw some crappy parents who kept kids out of school, did their homework for them (Virginia monitors the kids much closer than Oklahoma) and it just made me wild - especially when they did it to have a baby sitter or because the child couldn't cope in public schools primarily due to a dysfunctional family situation. It happens but the public school is also full of children from crappy homes and it is a rare situation where schools "saves" a child, regardless of what you hear, constantly. Yes, teachers can be role models (and are) and public schools often serve as surrogate caregivers but they're more akin to orphanages than parents. And most of the kids alleged to have been "saved" by a school also had close relatives stepping in and shielding the child during holidays, evenings and weekends.

Chadanth
01-09-2015, 07:46 AM
Google for a number of university studies. Also take into account ACT and SAT scores and college graduation levels. Moreover, plenty of states DO standardized testing and the HSA kids tend to blow public schooled kids out of the water - the trends are consistent regardless of whether the state has a hands off approach to imposing qualifications on parents and regardless of parent's educational or income level. There are always losers but check out the stunning failures of so many public school kids before you get excited and assume absent close government monitoring the kids are doomed. Kids dropped back into the public schools mid semester who do poorly are more akin to any student failing than the type of school they came from. You see exactly the same thing from kids kicked out of private schools for discipline issues.

I'm actually in favor of home schooling, so long as it's tested and meets some standards. Of course, if you're waiting until ACT/SAT time to see if the parents are meeting the standard, you're too late. I know several families in different states who homeschool for a variety of reasons, and they all seem to be doing quite well.

PennyQuilts
01-09-2015, 08:06 AM
I'm actually in favor of home schooling, so long as it's tested and meets some standards. Of course, if you're waiting until ACT/SAT time to see if the parents are meeting the standard, you're too late. I know several families in different states who homeschool for a variety of reasons, and they all seem to be doing quite well.

ACT and SAT scores too late? What do you think is going to happen to change the clear trend? It sounds like you are suggesting that early testing will somehow result in some sort of intervention to "save" individuals. That sort of testing certainly hasn't caused the public schools to out perform home schoolers so why do you think it is going to do any better - or be needed - for home schoolers? If public schools were performing at the level of home schoolers, the powers that be would be utterly ecstatic.

We need to be looking at what actually works and applying those lessons instead of mindlessly flailing about. I say that but the truth is, the public schools fail because their basic underpinnings are weak - too many kids, too much classroom downtime, not enough exercize/play, not enough art, not enough connection between real achievement and rewards, not enough focus on long term goals and projects, not enough parental involvement/accountability, WAY too much standardized testing (compared to how we were tested, these poor kids are pin cushions), field trips of hordes of kids to a museum and the like are pretty much a circus, and all this goes on without even touching on the breakdown of the families of so many of these kuddos who bring that with them to the classroom and impact the rest.

jerrywall
01-09-2015, 08:10 AM
Just to clarify, I as well, have absolutely no problem with home schooling. There's plenty of reasons it makes sense, and we considered it ourselves (my wife is a certified teacher). But I do think there have to be solid standards/expectations of the parents and the children, and it needs to be done right. I have to say, the folks I know locally that do it, do it very well. They're involved in home school organizations, have their kids involved in group activities, and collaborate on curriculum and materials.

Chadanth
01-09-2015, 08:10 AM
ACT and SAT scores too late? What do you think is going to happen to change the clear trend? It sounds like you are suggesting that early testing will somehow result in some sort of intervention to "save" individuals. That sort of testing certainly hasn't caused the public schools to out perform home schoolers so why do you think it is going to do any better - or be needed - for home schoolers? If public schools were performing at the level of home schoolers, the powers that be would be utterly ecstatic.

We need to be looking at what actually works and applying those lessons instead of mindlessly flailing about. I say that but the truth is, the public schools fail because their basic underpinnings are weak - too many kids, too much classroom downtime, not enough exercize/play, not enough art, not enough connection between real achievement and rewards, not enough focus on long term goals and projects, not enough parental involvement/accountability, WAY too much standardized testing (compared to how we were tested, these poor kids are pin cushions), field trips of hordes of kids to a museum and the like are pretty much a circus, and all this goes on without even touching on the breakdown of the families of so many of these kuddos who bring that with them to the classroom and impact the rest.

My point is that there are homeschoolers who fail, and if you wait until the kid is 16, there's no chance for intervention. I'm not in any way arguing that public schools are doing better than INDIVIDUAL homeschoolers, but in the aggregate, they might be doing better than if EVERYONE homeschooled. You're conflating individual experiences with large numbers.

If you want to debate the failings of public education, that's a whole other thread, and I'm guessing we would find a great deal of our criticisms are similar.

TheTravellers
01-09-2015, 11:23 AM
Since I'm the OP, I'll jump in and say that yeah, it's pretty much about the regulation and testing and subjects taught. For every anecdote about a home-schooled kid doing excellent on the SAT/ACT/whatever, there's one that finds out they need remedial math or science or history when they get to college. Just baffles me that in some states, there is no testing, no requirement for the parents to be certified or even have a high school diploma, and no requirement about subjects to be taught, OK filling at least 2 out of 3 of that criteria (not sure about the testing in OK, though).

Pete
01-09-2015, 11:29 AM
Lots of states require all students to pass a proficiency test before awarding a high school diploma. That is the case here in California.

They had to implement this standard because many school districts were just pushing students along and letting them graduate, even though they weren't learning much of anything. The system has been flawed because the schools are funded by Average Daily Attendance so there is an incentive to keep moving kids along, lest they drop out.

It's a shockingly basic test, yet the first time it was given, about half the HS seniors in the state couldn't pass it.

PennyQuilts
01-09-2015, 12:01 PM
,
Since I'm the OP, I'll jump in and say that yeah, it's pretty much about the regulation and testing and subjects taught. For every anecdote about a home-schooled kid doing excellent on the SAT/ACT/whatever, there's one that finds out they need remedial math or science or history when they get to college. Just baffles me that in some states, there is no testing, no requirement for the parents to be certified or even have a high school diploma, and no requirement about subjects to be taught, OK filling at least 2 out of 3 of that criteria (not sure about the testing in OK, though).
Actually, that's simply not accurate. The hs'ers consistently surpass public schoolers by a wide margin and the studies take into account education level of the parents. If you are saying you can come up with anecdotal things on all sides, you can do that for anything. Still, saying that means the state needs to send in some of the same old swat team "I know best" approach raises the question of why do many students already in their control fail - and their successes still generally come up short in comparison. That's falling back on a statist ideology that believes the answer to anything is best handled by the government.

I don't agree with this and in large part it is because I believe that, systemically and fundamentally, our current publuc education system is so broken it is no wonder that there is such a gap between the ones who succeed and those who do not - and overwhelmingly, even in the public schools it comes down to parental/family support and involvement. Our current public education system is not only incredibly inefficient, it robs our children of the childhood they should have in order to develop their intellect, body and emotional maturity. When a child is stuck in a desk for the better part of six hours in order to get the sort of instruction he could receive in an hour and a half via home schooling, that's wrong. Like crating a puppy for hours, day in, day out. No one does that for the good of the puppy. They do it as a last resort and imo, it borders on cruelty and results in a substandard education on top of that. Some of us loved school and excelled. Many of us felt it was a complete ordeal and with the reality that so many of our high school graduates need years of remedial education just to prepare for community college - what is the point? And I saw a report, yesterday, that the AVERAGE college freshman reads at a seventh grade level.

We all want our young people to succeed academically but seems to me, being concerned about home schoolers (who overwhelmingly and consistently are higher achievers than public svhoolers) is more about a discomfort with lack of government control than actual concern for the students. If someone wants to stress over a bad educational experience, I say help those poor kiddos stuck in crappy public schools who lose their childhood as well as miss out on a decent education.

kelroy55
01-09-2015, 12:35 PM
,
Actually, that's simply not accurate. The hs'ers consistently surpass public schoolers by a wide margin and the studies take into account education level of the parents. If you are saying you can come up with anecdotal things on all sides, you can do that for anything. Still, saying that means the state needs to send in some of the same old swat team "I know best" approach raises the question of why do many students already in their control fail - and their successes still generally come up short in comparison. That's falling back on a statist ideology that believes the answer to anything is best handled by the government.

I don't agree with this and in large part it is because I believe that, systemically and fundamentally, our current publuc education system is so broken it is no wonder that there is such a gap between the ones who succeed and those who do not - and overwhelmingly, even in the public schools it comes down to parental/family support and involvement. Our current public education system is not only incredibly inefficient, it robs our children of the childhood they should have in order to develop their intellect, body and emotional maturity. When a child is stuck in a desk for the better part of six hours in order to get the sort of instruction he could receive in an hour and a half via home schooling, that's wrong. Like crating a puppy for hours, day in, day out. No one does that for the good of the puppy. They do it as a last resort and imo, it borders on cruelty and results in a substandard education on top of that. Some of us loved school and excelled. Many of us felt it was a complete ordeal and with the reality that so many of our high school graduates need years of remedial education just to prepare for community college - what is the point? And I saw a report, yesterday, that the AVERAGE college freshman reads at a seventh grade level.

We all want our young people to succeed academically but seems to me, being concerned about home schoolers (who overwhelmingly and consistently are higher achievers than public svhoolers) is more about a discomfort with lack of government control than actual concern for the students. If someone wants to stress over a bad educational experience, I say help those poor kiddos stuck in crappy public schools who lose their childhood as well as miss out on a decent education.


Please post data that supports your posts.

Teo9969
01-09-2015, 01:40 PM
Please post data that supports your posts.

A quick online perusal by myself showed the first 3 hits all agreed with PQ's posts. To wit: I have not studied this matter, so I don't have any preconceived notions of who is correct or not, but sometimes you just gotta trust the internet :-P

Research Facts on Homeschooling | Research (http://www.nheri.org/research/research-facts-on-homeschooling.html)

Home-Schooled Teens Ripe for College - US News (http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/06/01/home-schooled-teens-ripe-for-college)

Homeschooling Statistics: What Research Reveals About Homeschooling (http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homeschool-methodologies/87123-what-do-the-statistics-say-about-homeschooling/)

I used the following search inquiry: "Comparing success rates of students in homeschool vs. public school"

The first link gives a bibliography of sources at the end to peruse.

kelroy55
01-09-2015, 01:50 PM
A quick online perusal by myself showed the first 3 hits all agreed with PQ's posts. To wit: I have not studied this matter, so I don't have any preconceived notions of who is correct or not, but sometimes you just gotta trust the internet :-P

Research Facts on Homeschooling | Research (http://www.nheri.org/research/research-facts-on-homeschooling.html)

Home-Schooled Teens Ripe for College - US News (http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/06/01/home-schooled-teens-ripe-for-college)

Homeschooling Statistics: What Research Reveals About Homeschooling (http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homeschool-methodologies/87123-what-do-the-statistics-say-about-homeschooling/)

I used the following search inquiry: "Comparing success rates of students in homeschool vs. public school"

The first link gives a bibliography of sources at the end to peruse.

Thanks much appreciated. The US News article was interesting, I put more stock into it rather than the one in a home schooled site. I don't think anybody said they were against home schooling, just surprised at the last of regulation for it. Both ways have pro's and con's.

Midtowner
01-12-2015, 08:35 AM
I can't tell you how infuriating it was to get to college and realize the gaps I had in some of the basics. And the only reason I had gaps was because, for some people, the truth and the facts were just too hard to explain away within the faith-based curriculum.

Religious people do themselves a huge disservice by insisting that their religious beliefs trump that which is knowable and provable. Insisting on that orthodoxy drives more people away from religion than towards. A lot of parents select home schooling precisely to avoid their children being exposed to facts which run contra to their religious dogma... and homeschoolers seem obsessed with that. We recently visited a Mardel's to pick up some supplies for my wife's classroom. There were creation myth/Noah's Ark materials everywhere. "Science" books were also prominently displayed.

Why is it so important to be anti-science? Is it so threatening that the Bible isn't literally 100% true?

PennyQuilts
01-12-2015, 09:41 AM
And let's go down the rabbit hole that implies the vast majority of home schoolers are a bunch of anti science religious fanatics. Because, after all, stereotypical bigotry is so attractive. And so accurate.

People willing to research it know better but many folk who are militantly convinced that Christians are bad for the world jump the shark. The whole premise of this thread was based on ZERO attempts to stand back and view the situation objectively. A public schooler engaged in handwringing and sorrow for those "poor" homeschoolers who are at the mercy of their awful, misguided and, omg, maybe even CHRISTIANS parents is cause for raised eyebrows given the fact that said homeschoolers are wiping the floor with them on academic achievement.

I, for one, am not a bit surprised that Sid was homeschooled np because although I frequently disagree with him, HE CAN THINK. He researches, he cares about being responsible in what he says and he doesn't shoot from the hip on something idiotic that he just repeats, thoughtlessly. That he frets over gaps in his science education is such a breath of fresh air because, fact is, gaps are common but so many public schoolers simply don't fret. Instead, we get a little giggle or shrug accompanied by a nonchalent, "I never was good at math, science, English, art, etc." So often, public education not only leaves academic gaps, it kills intellectual curiousity and so lowers the bar that someone who DOES worry about academic gaps is an oddball. Which leads us to the need for literally years of remedial classes just so kids can handle freshman english and math.

But let's Attack the homeschoolers.

PennyQuilts
01-13-2015, 07:44 AM
Sid, if you don't understand that public schoolers are being indoctrinated it has to be because you didn't have the experience. Difference is that homeschoolers tend to be indoctrinated by parents who genuinely love them and agree or disagree with the substance, their indoctrination is done for what they believe is in their child's best interests. Public school indoctrination is about controlling the minds of groups for political purposes. It may be benign purposes or purely ideological but don't believe for an instant the homeschoolers have a corner on that market. And I speak as a former public school teacher who taught back in the days when I was a liberal and believed it was our responsibility to overcome the damage done by ignorant or dysfunctional parents. I wasn't a crusader but there was a real lack of trust and respect for the ability of parents to actually raise their children competently. That's where we came in - to fix that.

PennyQuilts
01-13-2015, 07:49 AM
And this is a true story - the year I graduated with my education degree, one of my fellow classmates who always seemed bright and intended to teach junior high science was standing with me outside after our last final. She looked up at the bright blue sky and the pretty moon and - I am NOT joking - exclaimed she had never noticed that the moon came out in the daytime. I thought she was kidding but she wasn't.

TexanOkie
01-13-2015, 08:33 AM
I was homeschooled for a part of elementary school and middle school, mostly so I'd have a higher quality education. However, as I got older, my mother realized she wasn't proficient in the more advanced science and math topics. Luckily, there was a "university-model school" nearby that lets parents enroll kids for specific individual classes and operated on a college-like schedule (2-3 classes/week + heavy homework component). I started out taking just math and science classes, but by high school I had signed up for one of the school's diploma programs. Anyways, I really liked the school I went to and the way it was set up, and wish there were more like it.

TheTravellers
01-13-2015, 09:32 AM
Sid, if you don't understand that public schoolers are being indoctrinated it has to be because you didn't have the experience. Difference is that homeschoolers tend to be indoctrinated by parents who genuinely love them and agree or disagree with the substance, their indoctrination is done for what they believe is in their child's best interests. Public school indoctrination is about controlling the minds of groups for political purposes. It may be benign purposes or purely ideological but don't believe for an instant the homeschoolers have a corner on that market. And I speak as a former public school teacher who taught back in the days when I was a liberal and believed it was our responsibility to overcome the damage done by ignorant or dysfunctional parents. I wasn't a crusader but there was a real lack of trust and respect for the ability of parents to actually raise their children competently. That's where we came in - to fix that.

Wow, lots of things in this post I could go into, but I won't, it'd be useless. What years did you teach? Was it here in OKC?

Rover
01-13-2015, 01:35 PM
And I speak as a former public school teacher who taught back in the days when I was a liberal and believed it was our responsibility to overcome the damage done by ignorant or dysfunctional parents. I wasn't a crusader but there was a real lack of trust and respect for the ability of parents to actually raise their children competently. That's where we came in - to fix that.
You must have hung with a really pathetic group of teachers. I know lots and lots of educators and have NEVER heard one express anything remotely close to the arrogance you just claimed. Your stereotyping is what perpetuates the kind of paranoia that fuels home-schooling even when the parent isn't qualified or prepared to do so.

Just the facts
01-13-2015, 01:42 PM
I prefer to be believe in a distressed earth, created in a distressed universe - if carbon dating says some rock is 2 billion years old, I can live with that. So God made a rock 10,000 years ago that has the chemical and physical appearance of something being 2 billion years old. The guy that made my bedroom furniture 6 years ago also made it look 100 years old. If you guys want to come over a speculate which distress marks were made 90 years ago vs. the ones made 70 years ago knock yourself out. I can show you the one I just made two weeks ago when I dropped the lamp I was cleaning.

Just the facts
01-13-2015, 02:07 PM
That's totally fine. But a lesson involving that can't be passed off as a science lesson. It isn't scientific.

I was able to do it all through college. If God made a 10,000 year old rock look 2 billion years old then he did it for a reason. Clues from the past (even an artificial past) explains the phenomena we see around us today and help us predict future events. For me, science is just the bridge that connects the two.

Midtowner
01-13-2015, 04:31 PM
I was able to do it all through college. If God made a 10,000 year old rock look 2 billion years old then he did it for a reason. Clues from the past (even an artificial past) explains the phenomena we see around us today and help us predict future events. For me, science is just the bridge that connects the two.

Occam's Razor. God must be a real ahole then. He is the embodiment of all that is good and holy, but went through the trouble of trying to fool you by creating a fossil record.

Or maybe the fossil record is meant to solve a puzzle involving ancient aliens?

It's equally plausible.