Homeschooling: Back to the Future

This is an old piece from The Cato Institute that I may have even had in my files once upon a time, but I thought it was one of the more interesting pieces on homeschooling and I really appreciated the historical look beginning with Raymond Moore and John Holt. I am of the Holt persuassion, and I have often encouraged people to look to work by Raymond Moore, especially when anxieties about reading and writing come up in regards to young children.

The constituencies Raymond Moore and Holt individually attracted reflected the backgrounds and lifestyles of the two researchers. Moore, a former Christian missionary, earned a sizable (but hardly an exclusive) following among parents who chose homeschooling primarily to impart traditional religious mores to their children--the Christian right. Holt, a humanist, became a cult figure of sorts to the wing of the homeschooling movement that drew together New Age devotees, ex-hippies, and homesteaders--the countercultural left.

The two men earned national reputations as educational pioneers, working independently of one another, eloquently addressing the angst that a diverse body of Americans felt about the modern-day educational system--a system that seemed to exist to further the careers of educational elites instead of one that served the developmental needs of impressionable children. In the 1970s the countercultural left, who responded more strongly to Holt's cri de coeur, comprised the bulk of homeschooling families. By the mid-1980s, however, the religious right would be the most dominant group to choose homeschooling and would change the nature of homeschooling from a crusade against "the establishment" to a crusade against the secular forces of modern-day society.

Buttressed by their national media appearances, legislative and courtroom testimony, and speeches to sympathetic communities, Holt and Moore worked tirelessly to deliver to an often-skeptical public the message that homeschooling is a good, if not a superior, way to educate American children; that it is, in a sense, a homecoming, a return to a preindustrial era, when American families worked and learned together instead of apart.

Please take the time to read the entire article here:
Policy Anaylysis
Homeschooling: Back to the Future

Thanks, Rebecca, for the link.

Home Schooling Continues to Grow

An article on homeschooling from 4Marks, a Catholic website.

The statistics in this article are mildly interesting.

A 2007 survey of home-schooling parents showed that a majority educated their own offspring for moral or religious reasons. But those who home school because they want a more untraditional approach are growing, now up to a possible 32 percent of all home schoolers.

But the article, for the most part, seems to be written as a response to criticism of homeschooling in general, and criticism from teachers (or at least one specific teacher) in particular. In fact, it is probably more accurate to say that the article was written with the point of embarrassing teachers, in general.

I have to ask if this "us vs. them" mentality is really what we want to be living as an example for our children. On the one hand, I read this article and find myself empathizing with the author. I've probably been party to countless conversations myself, blasting the public school system and those who participate in it.

Yet, some of my best friends are public schoolers (I count more than a few teachers among those I know and love) and it doesn't seem to get in the way of my friendship with them, nor my children's friendships with their children. Sure, there are questions and even occasional misunderstandings that come up. My kids, for instance, don't always fully understand school lingo and they aren't always pleased with some of the divisions the whole grade division seems to create among those they would like to spent time with. I may step up on a soapbox a bit too passionately at times for the comfort of my friends who have chosen different lifestyles for their own families. But similar gaps of understanding exist between my preference to give birth at home and my sister-in-law's comfort with the hospital, for instance. It doesn't --and shouldn't-- stop us from communicating and finding that common ground where we both can be passionate and enjoy each other's company.

Of course, the author and I are probably as far apart philisophically as the author and this teacher she is responding to. I am of that 32% she cites early in her article, and while it's easy for us to be on the "same side" when the statistics are convenient, the "us vs. them" between traditional homeschoolers and radical unschoolers (as only one example) can be easily as viscious and ugly on any given day.

I'll be the first to admit that I get bit of a thrill when I run into a school teacher (past or present) who tells me that they'd be homeschooling themselves in this day and age if they had young children. But I've also bit my tongue through countless insensitive remarks, and there is nothing that annoys me more than when people assume that because my children don't attend school, I am every homeschool stereotype.

I appreciate the author's point, and I share that feeling of anger and injustice when reading comments such as these... sometimes it just feels better to spout back, to throw a rebuttal out there and point out the justification for the path you are taking.

I know also that this teacher is not representative of the entire population of teachers, just as neither the author nor myself are representative of all who homeschool. I guess what I want to remind myself of is that I shouldn't carry a grudge for an entire population of teachers just because a few wish to speak out in ignorance or because they feel threatened by my choices. There's really no need for us to think of each other as enemies.

I think instead, if we just dedicated ourselves to being open-minded and available for dialogue -- to respond as we would want to be responded to -- then maybe the teachers could begin to understand and appreciate our choices more, and that we might learn to understand and appreciate the passions and ideals that led them to be teachers in the first place.



Thanks for the link, Rebecca.

Homeschooled students rock robotics competitions

Article in The Shawnee Dispatch, March 25, 2009.

Oklahoma Basketball Star, Blake Griffin

An Oklahoma homeschooler stars in NCAA basketball...

Oklahoma star Blake Griffin gets strength from his family
from The Kansas City Star - March 21, 2009

So this basketball story is a story about faith, about love, about devotion — about, really, just another American family trying to do right for its kids. It just turns out the kid in question grew up to be one of college basketball’s best players, a quiet little boy who blossomed into a 6-foot-10 behemoth with a million-dollar contract waiting for him after college.

Error on state test slips past everyone -- except East High student

From The Wichita Eagle

So while taking his state writing test last week, the East High junior saw something that didn't make sense: The word "emission" -- as in "the emission of greenhouse gases" -- was spelled "omission."

"I thought, 'Surely they're not talking about leaving out carbon dioxide altogether.' It just didn't make sense," said Stanford, 17. "It had to be a mistake."

Thanks, Shelley, for the link.

Real Life Guitar Hero

A Colorado school district does away with grade levels

It's not about homeschooling, but a public school endeavor I thought worthy of note.

The change that's getting by far the most attention is the decision to do away with traditional grade levels – for kids younger than eighth grade, this first year, though the district plans to phase in the reform through high school a year at a time. Ultimately, there will be 10 multiage levels, rather than 12 grades, and students might be in different levels depending on the subject. They'll move up only as they demonstrate mastery of the material.

from The Christian Science Monitor
by Amanda Paulson
read the entire article here

Home is Where the School Is

Home Is Where the School Is
By Gregory J. Millman
Washington Post
Sunday, March 23, 2008

But "home-schooling" is a misnomer, really. Most of it doesn't even take place at home, and the schooling has little in common with what goes on in school. The legal definition varies from state to state, as do registration and other requirements. In New Jersey, the law only requires parents to see that their children get an education "equivalent" to public instruction.

What home-schoolers most readily reflect are the virtues of the old American frontier settlement or the Amish barn-raising -- we co-operate in self-reliance. My wife and I have been teaching our children ourselves for more than 15 years, and we've found that home-schooling opens doors that schools leave closed.

Expanding the horizon for home-school students

Expanding the horizon for home-school students
The Boston Globe
December 6, 2007

The home is no longer where all the action is in this new wave of home schooling. Although some instruction takes place at home, parents now choose from an increasing number of options that allow their children to interact with and learn alongside other home-schooled peers. The opportunities for socialization are numerous - swim lessons at the YMCA, staging a play with like-minded friends found over the Internet, or any of myriad academic courses offered at cooperative schools in the area.

Thanks, Shelley, for the link.

Un-School Days

Un-school Days, by Cindy Webb was in the October 2007 issue of Tulsa Kids.

...unlike other traditionally home-schooled children, Matt had no formal schooling at all until he was 16 years old and requested it. He then attended TCC taking algebra and calculus through a concurrent enrollment program offered to high school age students. But just because Matt wasn’t formally schooled doesn’t mean he wasn’t educated. Matt’s parents chose a different educational approach known as “unschooling.” Matt’s mother Leslie, a child development major in college, hadn’t planned on such a non-traditional approach to education for her children. “The first homeschooler I met happened to be an unschooler,” says Leslie. “Her children had such a fire for learning. I wanted my kids to always have a passion for learning.”

In Defense of Constant Learning

An essay in the Chicago Beacon-News, September 30, 2007

To us, school is about the love of learning. We rarely define any moment of the day as "doing school." Equal importance is given to "formal" teaching and teachable moments. One day, we invited homeschool friends over to just dig in the yard. Our younger kids transplanted bulbs and found worms. Our older children built a "bug house" by laying down rocks, putting up a canopy of twigs, laying out leaves as decorations to entice the creatures, and putting out some spiky-looking branches to deter the birds.

More choose to educate children at home

An article in the Kansas City Star. September 9, 2007

Food for Thought

Trashing Teens, Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 2007

Psychologist Robert Epstein argues in a provocative book, "The Case Against Adolescence," that teens are far more competent than we assume, and most of their problems stem from restrictions placed on them.

The factory system doesn't work in the modern world, because two years after graduation, whatever you learned is out of date. We need education spread over a lifetime, not jammed into the early years—except for such basics as reading, writing, and perhaps citizenship. Past puberty, education needs to be combined in interesting and creative ways with work. The factory school system no longer makes sense.

A brief item in the Kansas City Star

Academically, nothing competes’ with homeschooling, says Grandview family

Arithmetic is child's play

I found this link at Wendy Priesnitz ~ Challenging Assumptions Weblog.

Press Release from the University of Nottingham.

Children are able to solve approximate addition or subtraction problems involving large numbers even before they have been taught arithmetic, according to a study conducted by researchers from The University of Nottingham and Harvard University.

The study, published in the journal Nature and undertaken at Harvard University, suggests that children do not need to master either the logic of place value or the addition table in order to perform approximate addition and subtraction.

Children's difficulty with learning school arithmetic may stem from the need to produce an exact number when solving problems.

I remember John Holt talking about this in one of his books (one of the early books I read on unschooling). It was timely, for me, as I remember witnessing this kind of innate skill in my oldest. She was probably around three at the time.

I am still impressed with the way my children trust themselves with numbers while I'm still counting on my fingers to "check" what I think I know.

Science and Computer Camp for homeschool students

From Hesston College

I believe they have this camp every year. Article about the camp in case you have kids interested in attending next year.

The latest trend in education: Unschooling

from Minnesota Public Radio

Unschooling isn't a new idea. Thinkers from Socrates to Jean Jacques Rousseau have touted the benefits of letting a child's interests lead their education.

Learning Outside the Lines: Homeschooling in Kansas

...from the Lawrence Journal-World

More Kansas parents are choosing to home school, convinced they can provide their children a better education than public or private schools. Whether motivated by religion, scheduling flexibility or an aversion to bureaucracy; these families say home education thrives in a state where few regulations govern what and how they teach.

The above link will take you to the list of articles. I like the variety of opinions being expressed here. I will go ahead and point out a few specific pieces.

Rain Quinlan deals with home school stereotypes

Sarah Sobonya says unschooling led to creativity

Homeschoolers say socialization not a problem

Former home schoolers transition to college, work

I had not heard this before (and I'm curious, is it accurate?):

Starting in 2008, home-schoolers at state universities also will be required to pass the GED for admission.

Also want to point out this article by HSLDA.
Scott Woodruff explains Kansas home school laws

Hot pockets of stubborn opposition to home schooling occasionally arise in Kansas, but the forecast for the future is excellent. There is nothing like individual ownership to improve the way something is cared for, and home school families take full ownership of their children’s education.

Oversight lacking in Kansas for virtual schools

Legislative audit finds reports missing and required on-site visits aren’t made by state.

The Kansas City Star
April 25, 2007

I have no direct experience with any of the virtual schools in Kansas, but this article highlights, for me, the need to maintain separate identities for virtual school attendees and home schoolers. I find it unfortunate that many virtual schools seem to market themselves as "homeschool alternatives" rather than the public school alternatives that they truly are.

I am entirely supportive of more options and choice within the public school system, but I also want it to remain clear that those of us who are homeschooling are accepting/taking full responsibility for our children's education while those enrolled in virtual school programs are accountable to the public school system. I am making no judgements here, just clarifying that virtual schools and homeschools are not one and the same.

Unschooling Revisited

From The Story ~ America Public Media
A second interview with Valerie Fitzenreiter.

In February, Dick talked with Valerie Fitzenreiter about educating her daughter, Laurie Chancey, at home. Valerie allowed Laurie to study whatever and whenever she wanted. Laurie is now pursuing a PhD in sociology.

That program generated a lot of response from listeners, one of whom was Kate Walsh.

Kate is a retired teacher, who was less than enthusiastic about the idea of unschooling: "How charming, for people who don't need, or dismiss the aspect of, general education."

I find this interview interesting because Kate's arguments really mirror my initial concerns when my husband started talking about wanting to homeschool before our first child was even born.

I'm sure I will write more on this, but I wanted to share the link with everyone.