The ABCs Of Home Schooling

Today's Model Of Personal Education Is Not Your Grandmother's Home Schooling

(CBS)  For a growing number of American students, "homework" is two words, not one, and a classroom is the one place they're not likely to be, because when it comes to education, for these students and their parents, there's no place like home. Tracy Smith spells it out for us:

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On a late summer morning in Brooklyn, New York, a mother walks her son to school. It's a common routine, but this one has an uncommon twist. The classroom is a coffee shop. There's only one student. And the instructor? Mom herself.

And what kind of teacher is she?

"She's really a cool teacher," says 14-year-old Tau. "And kind of a cool parent, too."

P. Aurora Robinson began home-schooling her son Tau two years ago. She wanted to teach him herself because, she says, she knows him best. So together they hit the books, and then they hit the road.

It's called "home schooling," but how much time did they spend at home?

"Very little," Robinson laughed, "'cause I don't like staying in one spot. I took him out of the country to Zimbabwe. We went to Canada. I mean, we've gone as many places as I possibly can take him so that he can see that learning doesn't have to relegated to one little spot in one little room at one little time."

"It sounds like a wonderful ideal," Smith said, "but you did have to sacrifice?"

"Of course," Robinson said.

Robinson's career was as a tenure-track professor at Drury University in Missouri. She gave it up, started living off her savings, and moved the family back to her hometown in New York. She says she did it to save her son from teachers and classmates who did not see in him the young man that she saw.

"Here's a child who takes cello, who play soccer, who's a boy scout," she said. "And they wanted him to be a thug and wear his pants under his behind, because of the color of his skin."

Smith asked Tau what public school in Missouri like for him.

"It wasn't that good," he said. "Everybody was really mean. There was lots of stereotypes put on me."

Thomas Morrow, like Robinson, was wary of bullying when he chose to home-school his kids.

"As a child, you're bullied because you haven't learned yet how to behave properly to one another."

But Morrow (left) says his main reason was something far more fundamental: academics.

"It's very difficult for me to see how an institutional education can compete with home education, it's not a fair competition," he said. "[An] institutional-educated child is one of 30 kids facing one teacher. Home-educated child is typically one of one, two, or three kids facing one teacher.

"The publicly-schooled child, that teacher probably didn't know them before they showed up one day in late August. The home-schooled child, their teacher knows them intimately."

For Morrow, home education is not just a lifestyle, it's also a livelihood. He's a former Fortune 500 executive who launched his own company about three years ago: Home School Inc.. Located outside Chicago, it supplies educational materials and teaching assistance to 47,000 families around the world.

That number, he says, will soon skyrocket.

Morrow says home schooling is a multi-billion dollar industry. "About a $1.5 billion for materials and about $3.5 billion for services - mostly tutoring, instructors, that kind of thing. So it's a big market."

And Morrow says Home School Inc.'s multi-million dollar business is expected to grow "quite a bit."

He has reason to be optimistic: An estimated two million children are now home-schooled in the U.S. And there's an average annual increase of seven percent, according to the Department of Education's most recent survey.

Calvert Education Services in Baltimore, Md., the granddaddy of home-school mail order - it's where Aurora Robinson got her materials - sends its wares to every continent except Antarctica.

Calvert began more than a century ago sending out curricula to homebound students during a flu epidemic.

Calvert CEO Jean Halle (left, with Smith), says it's like "Christmas in August" when Calvert's so-called "school-in-a-box" - complete with pencils and supplies - arrives at the start of home school years. It costs about $700 dollars. For a couple thousand more, kids can enroll in a "virtual classroom" on the Internet, where they communicate with teachers and other students.

There's also a home school blog. This is not your grandmother's home-schooling.

Not Benjamin Franklin's home-schooling either. Long before "virtual classrooms," Franklin and many others who signed the Declaration of Independence were, in fact, home-schooled.

"You can trace it all the way to before there was an America, before there was a United States," Morrow said. "Home education was the rule, until the 1850s, when we began to see the public schooling movement began.

"Shortly thereafter, the states began to pass what are called truancy and mandatory attendance laws. When those laws were passed, it became illegal to home school.

But by the 1960s, anti-establishment groups were routinely breaking those laws. And thirty years later, after the laws were overturned, fundamentalist Christians began home-schooling in droves.

But these days, Aurora Robinson paints a different picture of the movement.

"I mean, the average person, when you say you're going to home school your child, thinks you're a Bible-thumping fanatic. And that's not true."

The truth, said Robinson, is that home-schooling has a new face. It's on the rise among non-white minorities - an estimated twenty percent of home educators, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. And she says they do it not for religion, but because they're unhappy with public schools.

"More parents see it as a mainstream option," Halle said. "If you go to a college orientation, they're going to talk to you about home-school students and how they're welcomed and encouraged to be part of the program."

The proof is at Princeton University, where the 2002 valedictorian was a home-schooler, and where the college Web site has a special section for home school applicants.

But at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, associate admissions director John Birney says fielding those applications can be tricky.

"When it comes to home schooling students versus traditional, I think the eye becomes a bit more critical because some of the required pieces, like the transcript, which is most important, isn't always in that file," Birney said.

So how stringent are standard? What is, Smith asked, some parent decides he wants his kid to just learn Rolling Stone lyrics?

"The states have some oversight," Halle said. "And it varies by state. But they are going to look for you to give your student a certain education and for you to provide proof that you're doing that."

States do regulate home-schooling, some more stringently than others. And no state requires parents to be certified. But John Birney wonders if that should change.

"When you're looking at that applicant file and you know there's been a certification behind it, almost like an accredited school, you're a bit more comfortable with the curriculum because you know it's past an accreditation stage," he said.

Thomas Morrow is less skeptical: "The statistics demonstrate that even uncertified parents still do a better job educating, as measured by standardized tests. Typically, a home-educated child is testing two grades ahead, once they're in middle school."

But even if, statistically, home-schoolers are better test-takers, critics say they sometimes lag behind on a lesson not in any textbook: how to interact with other kids.

"Well, I think the piece that they're missing is the socialization that a traditional high school absolutely provides to all students who attend that school," Birney said.

Robinson took issue with the worry some parents have that home-schooled kids don't socialize with other kids.

"Oh, they must be insane," she said. "We have home school associations, similar to the PTA. The difference is it's like having the exploded version of a play date!"

And Tau is about to get even more chances to socialize. He's headed back to a traditional school. He was recently admitted to a competitive New York City high school for the arts, and starts this year.

"You're willing to let him go back into conventional school now?" Smith asked Robinson.

"You know, I've gotta also let him grow," she said. "I've gotta let him make choices. He's making a choice."

[gschow-2009]

My wife and I homeschooled both our children through Junior High School. My oldest son is a senior in college with a 3.95 GPA. Here''s a view on the "socialization" argument that I''ve never heard before. Homeschooled students get a socialization that public schooled kids don''t get that, once again, puts them way ahead on the path to adulthood. Homeschooled kids, again and again, day after day, see their adult parents deal with other adults on adult type issues. For example, salespeople, auto and appliance repairman, insurance and finance professionals and adult friendships just to name a few. Don''t even get me started about what the public school socialization process manifests.

[freedml]

Very accurate story for the most part, unlike those of most of your colleagues.

But, you, as most of your colleagues, fell into the ''socialization'' trap, assuming that homeschoolers somehow don''t get socialization. When you asked the college admissions director, he gave the ''pat'' answer given by people who know nothing about homeschooling. "How can kids be properly ''socialized'' if they didn''t go to high school?" He knows most of them only from their college application file. I wish you had asked him a pointed follow-up question, like "Considering homeschoolers whom you have interviewed in person, have you found them in general to be as articulate and well-socialized as the general incoming Freshman class?" No question in my mind what his answer would be.

[freedml]

And, here''s a thought question in reply: What gives better ''socialization'' -- sitting in a classroom with 30 kids the same age all day for 10 months a year, or interacting with people of all ages all the time (the usual homeschool environment in my experience)?

We all know the difficulties of peer pressure, cliques, and drugs that are rampant in high school. These problems are non-existant in homeschoolers because parents are almost always there.

I have been almost without exception impressed with the social skills, intelligence and self-confidence of homeschooled children. Even with the children of ''unschoolers'' who intentionally do not follow a curriculum.

I homeschooled my children, one from 3rd-8th grade when she decided she wanted to go to high school and the other from age 6. The younger child is now 14 and is starting to take classes at the local community college (intermediate Algebra, having passed the placement test for Algebra I which he studied at home). The older child has been accepted to a very competitive college program (2000 applicants, 200 admitted) and starts this fall.

[freedml]

Parents who want to homeschool in California but who don''t have teaching credentials as required by the state education code found a giant loophole -- Private School teachers do not need teaching credentials. So, parents created their own private schools and appointed themselves to teach. Some schools only have the children of the ''owners'' while others have formed loose associations of dozens or hundreds of students.

There are also state-funded charter schools which delegate the teaching to the parents. In this case, a credentialed teacher meets with the parent and student once a month or so to review progress. The school provides materials, sometimes even a computer, and the student follows a curriculum which meets state standards. We did this for several years until the amount of funding and wide choice of materials and curricula dwindled.

Under all systems, the students are encouraged to take but may opt out of standardized tests (the same as public school students).

[freedml]

For parents considering homeschooling, my theory before beginning was that homeschooling was most important in the early years, and I now think my instinct was correct based on my childrens'' example. If they decide to go to a traditional high school, as my daughter did, I think they are infintely better equipped to make good decisions and thrive in a morally dangerous environment than their peers who went through traditional elementary and junior high school.

So many parents say "I could never do that." And if you believe that, then you never will make a great decision for your kids. You taught them from age 0-5, right? Instead of putting them in Kindergarten or 1st grade, keep teaching them at home and find a group of homeschooling parents near you. Or start one!

[freedml]

We know two people ''our age'' (around 50) who were homeschooled. Talk about pioneering parents! They are two of the nicest, most intelligent and talented people we know.

[drake2525]

Homeschoolers continue to excel at the college level. There is even a website where homeschoolers can find colleges who are looking for them... www.hsnation.com

I think pretty soon you can also create a profile and meet other homeschoolers across the country.

[hsandhsmom]

As a mom to a public HS student and a homeschooled student w. special needs I have seen both sides. My child that I homeschool has greatly improved since we began homeschooling in the areas of social skills. My child in public high school he does get bullied, he is limited on what he can do because of people''s perception of special needs. People think because he is different he can not do things other students can. WRONG! I end up teaching my son that is in public school more of the necessary social and independent life needs than the school does. Without my added teaching to his public school curriculum, he would not be as far along as he is in working through he different needs. With me they learn how to budget, shop for good deals, use their manners, help others, speak for themselves, and be proud of who they are with or without their different needs.

[teacher282]

As a public school teacher who also stayed home with my small children for 8 years, I understand the benefits that are associated with homeschooling. However, it is important that we understand that not everyone in our society is able to homeschool even if they wanted to. I have many students whose parents are trying to pay the mortgage each month in order to keep their homes, whose parents are off at war, and whose parents are in prison. Those of us in public education like myself have a desire not only for our own children to succeed, but also the children of our neighbors who work hard every day to make a good life for their families in America. Public education needs public support. I''m tired of hearing the same complaints about public school and how it negatively socializes students and forces them to sit in a classroom all day for 10 months with the same students. Visit my school and you will see students working in collaborative groups with others, blogging about fantastic books they''ve read, using technology in innovative ways to carve out a place for themselves in careers of the future, and learning to get along with others who are not "just like them." If my administrators saw students just sitting in my room each day, I''d be out of a job. Is it perfect? No. But what is?

[teacher282]

As a public school teacher who also stayed home with my small children for 8 years, I understand the benefits that are associated with homeschooling. However, it is important that we understand that not everyone in our society is able to homeschool even if they wanted to. I have many students whose parents are trying to pay the mortgage each month in order to keep their homes, whose parents are off at war, and whose parents are in prison. Those of us in public education like myself have a desire not only for our own children to succeed, but also the children of our neighbors who work hard every day to make a good life for their families in America. Public education needs public support. I''m tired of hearing the same complaints about public school and how it negatively socializes students and forces them to sit in a classroom all day for 10 months with the same students. Visit my school and you will see students working in collaborative groups with others, blogging about fantastic books they''ve read, using technology in innovative ways to carve out a place for themselves in careers of the future, and learning to get along with others who are not "just like them." If my administrators saw students just sitting in my room each day, I''d be out of a job. Is it perfect? No. But what is?

[teacher282]

As a public school teacher who also stayed home with my small children for 8 years, I understand the benefits that are associated with homeschooling. However, it is important that we understand that not everyone in our society is able to homeschool even if they wanted to. I have many students whose parents are trying to pay the mortgage each month in order to keep their homes, whose parents are off at war, and whose parents are in prison. Those of us in public education like myself have a desire not only for our own children to succeed, but also the children of our neighbors who work hard every day to make a good life for their families in America. Public education needs public support. I''m tired of hearing the same complaints about public school and how it negatively socializes students and forces them to sit in a classroom all day for 10 months with the same students. Visit my school and you will see students working in collaborative groups with others, blogging about fantastic books they''ve read, using technology in innovative ways to carve out a place for themselves in careers of the future, and learning to get along with others who are not "just like them." If my administrators saw students just sitting in my room each day, I''d be out of a job. Is it perfect? No. But what is?

[republic1776]

These home school parents should get the tax dollars spent per student in a public school.
The Govenment should not be teaching our children anyway. Thomas Jefferson thought that public school was boderline socialism, I agree.
Look inside any urban area in America.
It''s socialism at work, when the government raises the children the by product is gangs, drugs, murder.
sam

[arrestbush1]

This is supposed to be a comment section, not a post your entire story section. People with actual lives are not going to sit here and read all this ***. LOL

[republic1776]

donnie7992,
That%u2019s not a valid point.
I moved once during the summer , by the time school started I already befriended a mijority of my classmates.

It%u2019s all about Government Socialist indoctoration.

[republic1776]

The first public schools were in NYC.
The rich and elite wanted public education.
Why..to "dumb down" the common folk.

[puzzler125]

The parents I meet in Ohio are home-schooling for religious reasons and don''t want their children taught evolution. How many parents are skilled enough to teach algebra, geometry, trigonometry much less calculus? What about earth science, biology and how can a home-schooled child possibly learn chemistry and physics beyond absolute basics when there is no laboratory for experimentation? The regimentation in the average school day is a precursor to working a five day a week job which most people will do after college. Some of the students I tutored in college were grossly inadequate in basic writing, reading, and arithmetic skills and I''m very curious to see how the majority of home-schooled children do on standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT, and how well they do in college in general.

[michaelrsi]

I was home schooled 1960 after second grade in a church school starting in 1960 to 1968. For eight years I didn''t have a close peer relationship. When I went back to the classroom my junior year I discovered I had no social skills. I''m, 56 today. I have read text books on Peer Relationships, and Peer socializing designed for people who have PhDs in behavioral science. I''ve read 23 HS books and about 50 books on children. HS is child abuse. The isolating HS is inhumane. There are no benefits from home schooling. Every home school book assumes the negatives don''t exist and are free to make up false advantages. They never experienced it so can''t see the severe harm. I lobbied the Oregon legislators in 1991 but legislators and governors are as blind as HS parents. See my 200 page book against HS:

www.homeschoolisolatinginvisibletorture.com, Michael R. Shearer, Tualatin, OR 97062, 503-692-1606

[republic1776]

Puzzler125,
Why can''t they teach it if the Parents went to public school?
Because it dumb them down.
Then it was a pure waste of tax dollars huh?

[republic1776]

michaelrsi,
So everybody should pay for your parents poor skills or abuse!
Americans right to choice should revolve around your "feelings"
Get a life

[yongamerica]

For the large population of home school students the children really being indoctrinated to radical fundamental christian beliefs. Think of fundamentalist later day saints. Think of Scientology.

The most damaging aspect of this phenomenon is these religious fanatics are isolating their children which will inhibit or even prevent them from accepting the outside world, thus preventing them from developing into contributing citizens able to cope with mainstream America. In essence, these people are reverting to tribalism.

[republic1776]

Why should I have to pay for your children to go to school?


That''s Socialism /Communism.

[bogatiriov]

Home schooling is great fro liberal and decent parents which most parents are, but increasingly i fear that a lot of us humans are becoming more fundamentalist and will tend to be home indoctrinating instead of home schooling.

[mimid615]

As a certified teacher who homeschools and has written a book answering questions about homeschooling (So - WHY Do You Homeschool?), I am amused by the firm but unsupported opinions expressed by those who don''t homeschool. I have worked in public and private schools, and have talked to thousands of homeschoolers at conventions and tutorials. After an in-depth comparison across more than 15 years, I have concluded that the vast majority of home educated students are at least as well-socialized as publicly-schooled students. Statistics indicate that formerly home educated adults vote at nearly three times the rate of their publicly-educated peers, report rates of happiness that are double the national standard, and attend college level classes at more than 1 1/2 times the rate of other high school graduates. While not perfect, homeschools have a great record in general in producing well-educated, socially-responsible adults who participate positively in society. As a rule, I prefer to interact with the confident, well-socialized children who have learned their social skills from responsible adults than those who have been isolated with their socially-inexperienced peers in high schools. While I sympathize with the man who was not satisfied with the education he received from his family, I would request that those who received an inferior and socially-irresponsible public education speak up. There are many more people in that situation than in his.

[hsmomto1-2009]

I went to public school, and even graduated! Here is what I learned as far as socialization goes: get kicked, get hit, get called names, and how to have bad relationships. I was a quiet shy person, and still am. The public education I got did not teach me to work hard, but rather how to get by. I learned all the good morals and how to behave and have friends from my family, not the school or the hundreds of children I went to school with every day. Parents are to have the major influence (and protectors) in their childrens lives. why? Experience! I''ve been there, done that, and am not going to force that on my equally quiet and shy daughter. She is a joy and yes Mom makes sure she has friends her own age and those older and younger. Why? Because as adults we need to know how to get along with people of all ages, not just our peers! Hopefully we all get to grow up and be adults one day.

[mimid615]

As a certified teacher who homeschools and has written a book answering questions about homeschooling (So - WHY Do You Homeschool?), I am amused by the firm but unsupported opinions expressed by those who don''t homeschool. I have worked in public and private schools, and have talked to thousands of homeschoolers at conventions and tutorials. After an in-depth comparison across more than 15 years, I have concluded that the vast majority of home educated students are at least as well-socialized as publicly-schooled students. Statistics indicate that formerly home educated adults vote at nearly three times the rate of their publicly-educated peers, report rates of happiness that are double the national standard, and attend college level classes at more than 1 1/2 times the rate of other high school graduates. While not perfect, homeschools have a great record in general in producing well-educated, socially-responsible adults who participate positively in society. As a rule, I prefer to interact with the confident, well-socialized children who have learned their social skills from responsible adults than those who have been isolated with their socially-inexperienced peers in high schools. While I sympathize with the man who was not satisfied with the education he received from his family, I would request that those who received an inferior and socially-irresponsible public education speak up. There are many more people in that situation than in his.

[j_m_c_p_k]

donnie7992,
You are absoulutly correct that the socialization of the children is very important, and those parents who know that this is a very important thing will find a way to work that in with the home schooling environment.

[j_m_c_p_k]

donnie7992,
You are absoulutly correct that the socialization of the children is very important, and those parents who know that this is a very important thing will find a way to work that in with the home schooling environment.

[j_m_c_p_k]

republic1776,
Look around there are things that you can do where you do not have to pay. Our current financial situation puts us in lower middle class. So we can not afford to pay for anything. So we have found a great program for our children that classifies them in a public school (later on it will benefit them to have that classification) but all the work is done at home. K12 is the school we go through, we receive books and everything just like what was shown in the video/article and we do not have to pay a cent. We do not have to go through all the hassle of having to report our attendance, and turning in huge portfolios to the local school board. They have an actual teacher that they meet with; they even plan outings in our area about once a month sometimes more. If you are at a loss like I was at the end of the school year last year thinking, what do I teach them, how do I find out, what are all the laws, where do I start to learn anything about any of this....aaaaaahhhhhh! I simply typed in to the google search something to the effect of home schooling your children. Thousands of things came up and the one that stood out is the program that we are working with and anyone thinking of home schooling I earge you to look into it, it takes out all the head aches, k12.com.

[ericdrexil]

My girl was homeschooled K-12. We took private( home school association),classes for things we couldn''t provide. I am speaking of things like drama,public speaking,sports etc. My daughter made a high enough ACT to qualify for 4 years, full ride at a university. She now has gone on to full ride at graduate school. Socialize that.

[donnie8333]

Look, the most important thing I learned going to school wasn''t math, or english, or history, or even physed. It was ''getting along with strangers''. That was the most important thing I ever learned going to school. In fact, thats why I begged my parents to let me go to a public school instead of their.. ''intheknow'' private catholic schools. And I was right.. The most down-to-earth people I''d ever met before.

Now, you folks wanna be afraid of everything.. and raise a buncha demented kids. Have at her.

[jsilver2th]

I don''t know about your states but in Oregon the Home School laws are a joke- there is so little quality control a child can be failing for years before anyone steps in and by then it is too late for the poor child - it is their life not an experiment.

Too many parents use it because it is just easier for them or they want to avoid contact with school authority as their is increase pressure for the school system to intervene in child physical and sexual abuse at home and they maybe hiding their methamphetamine abuse in the home.

[stephymomma]

I think many people who have posted on here don''t understand what homeschooling really is. Classes,groups,field trips and hands-on activities with plenty of other kids for our daily "socialization". All at our expense while we are paying taxes for public schools. We purchase our own curriculum. This could literally cost thousands of dollars a year. The socialization issue is ridiculous. I would much rather my kids interact with all ages of people. To see real world experiences. Not be shut into a room all day where if you can''t keep up, too bad. Or if you''re too smart, you''de better dumb yourself down so you''re not different than the other kids. If you don''t wear the right clothes, no one will talk to you. Kids are individuals. Why do people want to put them in a "box" where they can''t be unique people. You have to think outside the box. I went to public and private school so I know how it is. If you think socialization is being kicked around and called names, well my kids don''t need your kind of socialization. Before you comment on homeschoolers, you should do your research. It''s not abusive to love your children and want them to grow to be socially responsible individuals with a mind of their own and a broad range of knowledge. Homeschool kids far outrank publicly schooled children. Look it up. And for the person that posted one of the first comments about the african american lady on the CBS show...if you want to know why people homeschool look in the mirror.

[kristenbaby1]

to the person taht said their homeschooled daughter gota four year full ride, i just want to let you know, i went to public school for twelve years. i had class with the low of the low, drug deals went on in the hall ways. it was not unusual for the ambulance to come to my school once a week to pick up serious injuries from fights or someone who OD''d.

but i have a full ride to an ivy league school. i have so many scholarships, that i''m getting cash back at the end of the semesters. close to two thousand dollars cash back.

just because someone got homeschooled, does not mean that they''re going to get into a better college with more scholarships than someone else. thats an absolute ridiculous argument.

[kristenbaby1]

to the person taht said their homeschooled daughter gota four year full ride, i just want to let you know, i went to public school for twelve years. i had class with the low of the low, drug deals went on in the hall ways. it was not unusual for the ambulance to come to my school once a week to pick up serious injuries from fights or someone who OD''d.

but i have a full ride to an ivy league school. i have so many scholarships, that i''m getting cash back at the end of the semesters. close to two thousand dollars cash back.

just because someone got homeschooled, does not mean that they''re going to get into a better college with more scholarships than someone else. thats an absolute ridiculous argument.

[kfreeman67]

I homeschool our ten year-old daughter because the public schools in my area are UNACCEPTABLE. For us, the issues are QUALITY and safety. I would like to address some of the concerns people have: 1)How can a parent teach algebra, chemistry, etc. with no labs, etc.? I teach her in the subjects in which I am proficient and arrange tutors for the other subjects. Group Classes, private tutors, schools that allow attendance for just a subject or two, grad students from our local university--all just a phone-book away. Do you have ANY IDEA of the resources available to home-schoolers? It''s a BILLION $ industry. 2)What about socialization? Our daughter has taken ballet for 7 years with 15 other girls (now THAT''s socialization!). She is surrounded on weekends by multiple cousins, which ensures she knows how to get along with others. She has long-term relationships with adult instructors and tutors, and long-term friendships with children who have taken these classes with her the entire time. She converses intelligently and thoughtfully with adults and people of ALL ages on a myriad of subjects, volunteers for causes that interest HER, plays hard with family and friends, and can focus on a project and see it through to completion. Socialization happens easily; it happens when a child pays at the local store, interacts with the drycleaner, talks to a veteran for a history paper, travels, etc. EVERYDAY and EVERYWHERE WE GO we are socializing.

[logicnothuff]

CBS is determined to rewrite history as a liberal fantasy instead of facts. The home schooling movement was built into what it is today by Bible-believing Christians, and all CBS can do in their story on home schooling is make one reference to Christians, which they intended as an insult. CBS these days stands for "Can''t Believe the Story". CBS doesn''t get it that the biggest reasons people have to home school is because their pet liberal policies of the past 50-60 years have damaged America''s families and therefore the schools.

[truewords-2009]

How many of you actually personally know two or more home schooling families? Have you ever been to a home school support group meeting? HINT: you can Google for home school support groups in your state to find one near you. Have you ever been to a home schooler''s home and looked at their curriculum or their child''s portfolio of work? How about a state Home Schooling convention? You may surprised at the diversity of ethnic/socioeconomical/religious/atheistic groups,curriculum, and learning styles represented there. The Home School catalogs can have 1,314 pages or more.
Have you ever been to a: soccer game; Community production or Children''s Choir; Museum; Civil War Re-enactment/Battlefield; Swim meet; Ballet; grocery store; movie; restaurant; or a Church? Yes? Then chances are you''ve met some home schoolers.
Contrary to popular belief, we do not keep our children "locked in the house" and we don''t "live in our living room". In general: we take more field trips; interact with more age groups of people; spend more time in focused learning because discipline problems are swiftly corrected; and spend extra time on subjects our children need help with or pursue any extra subjects they express an interest in. We know immediately whether or not our children are "getting it". We''re also not interested in being "better than you". We''re too busy teaching our children, going to work, doing the housework, and living our lives.

[truewords-2009]

How many of you actually personally know two or more home schooling families? Have you ever been to a home school support group meeting? HINT: you can Google for home school support groups in your state to find one near you. Have you ever been to a home schooler''s home and looked at their curriculum or their child''s portfolio of work? How about a state Home Schooling convention? You may surprised at the diversity of ethnic/socioeconomical/religious/atheistic groups,curriculum, and learning styles represented there. The Home School catalogs can have 1,314 pages or more.
Have you ever been to a: soccer game; Community production or Children''s Choir; Museum; Civil War Re-enactment/Battlefield; Swim meet; Ballet; grocery store; movie; restaurant; or a Church? Yes? Then chances are you''ve met some home schoolers.
Contrary to popular belief, we do not keep our children "locked in the house" and we don''t "live in our living room". In general: we take more field trips; interact with more age groups of people; spend more time in focused learning because discipline problems are swiftly corrected; and spend extra time on subjects our children need help with or pursue any extra subjects they express an interest in. We know immediately whether or not our children are "getting it". We''re also not interested in being "better than you". We''re too busy teaching our children, going to work, doing the housework, and just living our lives.

[jsilver2th]

truewords: "How many of you actually personally know two or more home schooling families?"

Me! Me! I represented a lot of them in delinquency cases in juvenile court!

[yoye777]

I have just left my coperate job to homeschool my 6 year old. Up to now he has been attending one of the best private schools in Atlanta. Unfortunately as a colored kid the teachers wanted to lynch him alive. I have chosen home schooling in order to save my son from teachers. It took a trip to a neurologist to realize how mean these teachers were. My son, I was told, was perfectly fine and the doctor pleaded with me to change his school environement. I have not experienced the public school system yet. I am thinking if the experience was that bad with a low ratio environment (private school) it must be worst in public schools. Now my son attends a virtual school. we get to travel. I give him the patience that he deserves. I meet via webinar every week with his teacher to discuss his progress. It is wonderful. He is happier less stressed and calmer. I am so grateful for being insightful because those teachers could have destroyed my child. I understand anyone who thinks of homeschool parents as weird because we are trained to be afraid of the unknown. It was not until I attended a home school fair that I became very comfortable with the idea. In terms of socialization my son is very active with extra curricular activities: soccer, piano, chess club, boy scout, swim team, karate. I don''t see any issue with him being isolated at all. So I encourage you guys to be more open minded toward this concept.

[j_m_c_p_k]

For those of you who are not getting the picture about what a lot of people are saying in here, let us simplify it for you....

Home schooling is a choice; it is not right for everyone.
Home schooling is a choice; it is not right for every family.
Home schooling is a choice; it is not right for every child.

Parents can only do one thing in life for their child; do the best they can for their child and that child%u2019s individual needs.

Home schooling a child has nothing to do with isolation.
Home schooling is a choice, which the parent makes to be involved with their child%u2019s learning from the time that they wake to the time they go to sleep. Home schooling is not just sitting at the kitchen table and learning out of books, it is taking those books and putting the lessons into real use. Home schooling is teaching all day long, even if you don%u2019t realize you are doing it. It is teaching responsibility. It is teaching good work ethics. It is teaching action and reaction with all aspects of life. And it is more than what I am even writing about.

Home schooling is a choice and it is not right for everyone, every child is different and every family is different.

[bob_robertso]

Ah, the socialization myth. The coercive schoolers have lost every other battle, the only thing left to justify their vast budgets is to assert that locking 30 kids all the same age in a room regardless of ability or temperament, with a tyrant, to sit quietly and obey orders, risk being bullied at every turn, beg permission even to use the toilet, is somehow "normal".

It''s normal, sure, if you''re in prison.

The media assists, by portraying homeschoolers the way they were at the beginning of the movie _Mean Girls_: "My textbook is the bible!"

But even then, the protagonist has to protest that they were homeschooled, and "But not the way you think". Exactly.

Rather than being cooped up all day against their will, learning the same dull facts year after year, homeschoolers are engaged with other people. They socialize with people of different ages, doing business, taking classes, going places.

So who is being taught the kind of "socialization" you want a kid to actually have?

And most of all, is the kind of person produced by a coercive prison factory the kind of person you want to have around?

[firewire6]

Quality of Education: Times have changed, you can''t compare today''s educational opportunities to 1960''s homeschooling styles. The internet, curriculum companies, and higher number of homeschoolers have changed all of that. Also, you can''t compare all homeschoolers to a few examples any more than you can compare all private school or public school kids to a few examples. People homeschool for many reasons and have found success in many ways. It''s not for everyone though, and parents should weigh their decision to homeschool carefully.

One Person Can''t Teach Everything: Usually one person doesn''t. Homeschool parents are typically facilitators of their children''s education. They use software, curriculum packages, tutors, co-ops, community college, community programs, AND their own skills to build their children''s education.

Socialization: It''s the parent''s responsibility to put their kids in external programs including homeschool networks, sports, scouts, orchestra/music, team competitions, volunteering, book clubs, religious groups, etc. Most parents take advantage of these programs. Because the social programs are typically supervised, ANY kid participating gains a positive social experience.

College? Homeschoolers can and do prove their academic abilities through standardized tests, such as SAT Subject tests or CLEPs. Others prove their skills through attendance at community colleges. However, all homeschoolers are different, just as all kids are different.

[itgranny]

Last year my 14 year old failed algebra and we had to shuffle classes and he''s missing a computer elective course needed for graduation. I looked into home schooling to try to keep him in line with the rest of his class. Wow, I was in for an education! First, finding something that wasn''t christian-based curriculum was kind of a challenge. Nextly, trying to find a class that they would actually allow to have the credits transfered was another challenge. My small school was less than helpful in finding solutions either.

I did finally find a state accredited online program but had to definately go through some hoops first.

[bob_robertso]

One wonders, reading this article, if the writer did any back-story or research at all first.

Did they look at the materials available on www.johntaylorgatto.com for the goals and motivations of the people who designed the public schools?

How about www.barefootsworld.net/1895finalexam.html for comparison of what has happened to "education" after a century and a half of coercive "schooling"?

Worried about the fundamentalists teaching their kids creationism? Well, the public schools are a "target of opportunity", subject to "public opinion", and creationism is getting inserted into supposed "science" classes there too.

Atheists are just as motivated to remove their kids from the public schools as the fundamentalists are, with the kids forced to recite "One nation, under God, indivisible..." every morning (and that''s just the beginning).

[krystan2]

I am an atheist homeschooler in a blue state, and honestly there are plenty of us around. It takes a little doing, but there were several choices for good non-religious curriculum. I put together some curriculum myself too, and no I am not an certified teacher. Teachers are certified to teach a room full of students the state-approved curriculum. Totally different than facilitating the curiosity of a few kids you know really well. And socialization is not really an issue. We have co-ops and meet-ups with several groups per week, and they play with neighborhood schoolchildren on weekends. It''s too bad there are so many misconceptions out there about homeshooling.

[stephymomma]

You represented some homeschool families in juvenile court...how many public school families did you represent? Every family has problems no matter how they are schooled.

[segnenlea]

My husband and I started homeschooling our seven year old twin daughters in November of 2007. We pulled them out of first grade because they were constantly sick. They constantly cried not to go to school since the kids were mean to them ( bullies picking on smaller children) and the teachers did nothing. We tried everything from speaking with the teachers to speaking with the principal. We even spoke with the superintendant of our school system. We have just started our first "real year" of homeschooling and I wouldn''t change it for anything. Yes, we have bad days, but regardless, it is worth it. Our kids are happier, healthier and are working on 3rd grade material. They are reading at a 5th grade level. No, homeschooling is not for everyone. It takes work, it takes commitment to be there for your child, it requires sacrifice. For us, it was worth it. We are not christians and it was harder to find material that was not christian based, but we did it. We have pulled together a wonderful curriculum for our kids. To us, it is worth every penny, every sacrifice that we make to make their future the best it can be.

[chare92]

This is an EXCELLENT article - the thing I do NOT agree with is the SOCIALIZATION ignorance that people continue to have about homeschooling. The last time I checked you do NOT go to school to socialiaze. You go to get an education. You can get socialization after school, before school, at sports, music lessons, in your neighborhood, in your community, in your church, in your organizations - there are so many options.

We homeschool our children and it''s for 2 reasons. We homeschool because of religious convition/beliefs AND we homeschool because we do not want our children in the PS system.

I come from a long line of PS educators. They are fine with us homeschooling, because each family has to do what is best for their family. Remember, our founding fathers? MANY of them were homeschooled and MANY colleges are recruiting homeschoolers, today.

[twig221]

I Home schooled my sons for 9 years. They went to a Private high school in our town. I did all the teaching. We did not use co-ops or anything group taught. When they went to school every teacher commented on how confident they were and how social they were with the other students. They also were able to write better and more clearly with less instruction than any of the other students in their classes.
There are many reasons to teach at home. Ours was not to isolate or indoctrinate. Avoiding the middle school years seemed to serve them both very well. I also came to really know my children. We may be the lucky exception but it was a choice I would make again.
Our friends who are teachers in both private and public schools thought we were crazy at first. After a couple of years they were impressed and often told us our boys were a pleasure to talk to and be around.
It can be a great experience for some kids and for some parents.