Homeschooling in the news as more families choose to school at home

Number of homeschoolers growing nationwide

As the dissatisfaction with the U.S. education system among parents grows, so does the appeal of homeschooling. Since 1999, the number of children who are being homeschooled has increased by 75%. Although currently only 4% of all school children nationwide are educated at home, the number of primary school kids whose parents choose to forgo traditional education is growing seven times faster than the number of kids enrolling in K-12 every year

.More Arkansas parents choosing to homeschool children

The number of homeschooled students increased by 3,000 this year compared to last.

Why urban, educated parents are turning to DIY education

There are an estimated 300,000 homeschooled children in America’s cities, many of them children of secular, highly educated professionals who always figured they’d send their kids to school—until they came to think, Hey, maybe we could do better.

D.C. parents choosing to home-school their children

Faced with the choice of the neighborhood school, a private or parochial school or a move to the suburbs, some of these parents are choosing to educate their children themselves…

Until about 10 years ago, home schooling was still largely a rural and suburban phenomenon, said Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute. In the past decade, urban dwellers have turned to it as an educational option.

Parents choose to home-school kids due to gifted program cuts, No Child Left Behind

… in light of budget constraints and federal guidelines for schools, some parents who had never before considered home-schooling their children are now choosing that option.

Home-schooling demographics change, expand

Secular organizations across the country report their numbers are growing. Though government records indicate religion is still the driving force in home schooling, members of these organizations say the face of home schooling is changing, not because of faith, but because of what parents see as shortcomings in public and private schools.

NC home school numbers continue to grow

83,609. That’s the estimated number of home school students according to North Carolina’s Office of Non-Public Education. The number represents almost 6 percent of all students enrolled in K-12 education…
Several factors help to explain the dramatic growth. First, overall population growth obviously creates a larger pool of students. Second, a favorable home school law allows parents and families the flexibility to be successful. And third, home schooling works. Academic performance by home school students consistently rivals that of the best students in traditional public and private schools.

All the Available State Homeschooling Data, 2011

If you take the longer view, though, for the 15 states for which we have consistent data for every year from 2000 to 2009, twelve of them show increases over the decade, and four of them (FL, GA, NC, and VA) show profound, amazing growth. Only three states (CO, PA, and WA) show declines over the same 10 year period, declines that don’t come anywhere close to matching the gains in the other states. Bottom line is that to the degree that this data is reliable, it does basically corroborate the NCES data that shows continued growth in homeschooling.

These are only a few of the articles I found by Googling a few combinations of search terms, and limiting my search to articles published within the last year. The obvious point is that home education is losing, myth by myth, stereotype by stereotype, the hackneyed reputation of being mostly for isolationists, religious fanatics, or wheat-germ-crunching hippies. More parents are facing a lack of quality school options in their area, and with the availability of information and resources, they are seriously considering  homeschooling as a possibility. As they do more research, their preconceived notions are altered. As they meet other homeschoolers in their communities and online, they see the evidence of normal, happy, families and well-adjusted, bright children.

No group and no government can properly prescribe precisely what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

Qualified to critique homeschooling?

Occasionally I run across a blog by a public school teacher or professional academic that is skeptical or critical of homeschooling. They feel comfortable expressing their opinion because they believe that their status as a professional educator qualifies them to assess home education as a viable option.

There are a couple of problems that we run into any time we try to assess a large group  or system:

• even with federal standards, one cannot measure every school in America by one classroom, one teacher, one school, or even an entire district
• home education is an educational option for individual families, not a national system with federal standards, nor can the homeschool environment be compared with the dynamics of a traditional classroom

So let’s talk about how the traditional classroom differs from the average homeschool.

Public/traditional schools have their own particular methods appropriate to the task of educating anywhere from 15 to 30 students per class, and therefore must teach to a group. They begin the school year as complete strangers, and by the end of the year they may know them fairly well, but certainly not on the same personal level as family. Teachers are to maintain an appropriate distance, which not only keeps them out of legal trouble, but is essential for teaching to the group.

A homeschool parent teaches their own child or children. In most homes this results in a very low student/teacher ratio. A parent need not keep their distance and attempt to transmit information in an impartial manner. They can create an educational environment that is loving, relaxed, comforting, nurturing, and specific to the child.

A significant amount of time in school is spent standing in lines, taking attendance and counting heads, taking kids to the bathroom or to get a drink, distributing or turning in papers, maintaining discipline, safety and fire drills, and other administrative and organizational duties. Teachers must keep the lines of communication open with 20-30 sets of parents, the principal, administrators, and school board. They must submit lesson plans that meet federal and local standards, and are focused on test results that help the school qualify for funding. There is a constant struggle within every dedicated teacher to adhere to the demands of their job while also providing instruction and a stimulating learning environment for a classroom of students with a variety of needs.

A homeschool family simply does not have to contend with any of these issues. Kids eat, drink, and go to the bathroom all day long- without once raising their hand to ask permission. A higher percentage of learning time is spent focused and engaged in the process because very little time is required for the kinds of administrative issues that are an inextricable part of the classroom.

For teachers, the confinement of the classroom is essential. But this can place a near-sighted student or struggling learner at the back of the class. A child who wishes to focus can end up distracted next to a disruptive influence. A teacher is limited in their ability to provide for the individual needs of students.

The average home, or even small apartment, can provide a variety of creative ways to meet the needs of the child- whether they enjoy learning in isolated quiet, in the sunshine or under a shade tree, comfy on the couch with mom or dad, or at the kitchen table while mom makes dinner.

The state chooses the curriculum that schools will use, but each school has some liberty as to they implement it. A class may take one or two field trips per year. School happens during fixed hours of the day according to a mandated yearly schedule.

The homeschool parent has complete freedom to choose textbooks and workbooks, instructional videos, educational websites and online courses, tutors, and any resources available from their local bookstore, library, or any online source. The entire day is at their disposal, the entire year is theirs to plan, and the opportunities for field trips to museums, historic landmarks, zoos, arboretums, concerts, and plays are unlimited.

However, the public school teacher has a built-in support system and accountability. They have been formally trained for their vocation. Where does that leave the homeschool parent?

In the position to either take up the challenge to provide your children with a quality education, or acknowledge that homeschooling is not right for your family. Directing a child’s education requires strength of character and some serious effort. The parent must learn and grow and adjust to the ever-changing demands of their ever-changing child. They must assess their own strengths and weaknesses as well as their child’s, and find ways to fill in gaps and meet specific needs. They are accountable only to themselves, and as such, bear the full weight of responsibility for educating their child.

But don’t forget, dear parent, that the deck is stacked in your favor. You are already deeply invested in the health and well-being of your child. You will, by nature, go the extra mile to help them explore their abilities and interests, and address their specific needs. And you do not have to bear the burden alone- there are local support groups in every state, as well as online help and encouragement in the form of message boards, magazines, Facebook groups, and blogs.

So- are professional educators qualified to critique homeschooling? Unless they themselves have chosen to homeschool their children, and therefore know firsthand what it entails, then the answer is “No”. I do not believe they have the ability to offer an informed opinion. They tend to measure education by what is essential to the public school classroom for which they are trained. There is simply no viable comparison between a traditional education and a home education. They are distinctively different in every conceivable way. The specialization and certification that a public school teacher must possess is simply not applicable or useful to a homeschool environment.

It is comparing apples and oranges? Try apples and elephants.

 

Common Core Standards- What’s the problem?

This is not funny- totally NOT funny- but I had to laugh when I read this article in Education Week, Concern Abounds Over Teachers’ Preparedness for Standards:

“I predict the common-core standards will fail, unless we can do massive professional development for teachers,” said Hung-Hsi Wu, a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, who has written extensively about the common-core math standards. “There’s no fast track to this.”

It’s a Herculean task, given the size of the public school teaching force and the difficulty educators face in creating the sustained, intensive training that research indicates is necessary to change teachers’ practices.

I’m thinking… Common Core Standards… I’ve read many scope and sequence charts, and never saw anything that sounded like a “Herculean task” or recipe for failure- so I looked up the Common Core Standards to see what on earth was so difficult about teaching the children of this country “readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic.”

English Language Arts Standards, Grade 1

Print Concepts

RF.1.1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

• Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).

Phonological Awareness

RF.1.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

• Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.
• Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
• Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.
• Segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual sounds (phonemes).

Phonics and Word Recognition

RF.1.3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

• Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs (two letters that represent one sound).
• Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
• Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
• Use knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the number of syllables in a printed word.
• Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.
• Read words with inflectional endings.
• Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Fluency

RF.1.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

• Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
• Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression.
• Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

I’m sorry, but this does not sound like a gargantuan undertaking. So I’m still thinking- there must be more to this story. It doesn’t make sense. Further down the page I read:

By any accounting, the challenge of getting the nation’s 3.2 million K-12 public school teachers ready to teach to the standards is enormous.

With new assessments aligned to the standards rapidly coming online by 2014-15, the implementation timeline is compressed. Teachers are wrestling with an absence of truly aligned curricula and lessons. Added to those factors are concerns that the standards are pitched at a level that may require teachers themselves to function on a higher cognitive plane.

Now I’m not laughing, I’m confused. What kind of curriculum has been used in the schools all these years that does NOT address what we consider to be core academic skills? And why would teaching core skills require a teacher to function on a higher cognitive plane?

Furthermore-

…trained observers scored lessons taught by some 3,000 teachers against a variety of teaching frameworks. No matter which framework was used, teachers received relatively low scores on their ability to engage students in “analysis and problem-solving,” to use “investigation/problem-based approaches,” to create “relevance to history, current events,” or to foster “student participation in making meaning and reasoning,” according to a report from the foundation.

Flummoxed. Completely flummoxed. Today’s teachers that have not only spent 12 years in the school system, but have gone on to study the educational process itself, as well as administrative duties and classroom management, but are unable to “create relevance to history and current events”?

Far too many teachers and administrators are sucked into the black hole of meeting arbitrary and ever-changing federal standards, implementing new-fangled programs, and are unable to do the job they were trained to do- inspire children to learn, and communicate information in a clear and effective manner. And far too many school districts are manacled by teacher’s unions, unable to remove from the classroom those who are NOT possessed of the ability to teach effectively. So children will continue to pay the price with a substandard education.

No, it’s not funny at all.

 

Homeschooling children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Last week, Milton Gaither reviewed a report by Karen S. Hurlbutt called “Experiences of Parents Who Homeschool Their Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders” from the publication Developmental Disabilities 26, no. 4 (December 2011): 239-249.

The results of Ms. Hurlbutt’s research are encouraging for parents with children who have ASD. These parents are nurturing, involved, knowledgeable, flexible, courageous, and willing to sacrifice career and financial success
to minister to the needs of their children.

Mr. Gaither gives a great synopsis of the article, but then ends with this comment:

As it stands, this article to me reads like   a variation on the theme of helicopter parents, intensive mothering, invasive parenting, or whatever other trendy term one might select.

Let  me help you out with something, Mr. Gaither. Helicopter parent is a pejorative term for parents who are paranoid, suffocating, and often forbid normal healthy activities for their children. Invasive parenting is also an abnormal parental response, resulting in a parent going to ridiculous, unethical lengths to ensure their child’s well-being and success. These are also frequently referred as PFHs, or “parents from hell”.

What you really meant to say was that Ms. Hurlbutt’s research seems to indicate that most traditional schools are ill-equipped to deal with the special needs of special needs children, but that parents- naturally and deeply invested in the well-being of their own children- are often absolutely up to the task.

No problem, Mr. Gaither- you can thank me later with chocolate chip cookies, or maybe some fudge. Just glad we were able to straighten that out.

 

Trust works both ways

School district officials often scratch their heads as to why some parents choose homeschooling over the local public schools. Research indicates that the most common reasons are concerns about the environment of the local schools.

The next two reasons for homeschooling most frequently cited as applicable were to provide religious or moral instruction (72 percent) and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools (68 percent).

But there is another reason that lies beneath, and that is a lack of trust. Teachers and school administrations often do not take into consideration the desires of parents and the needs of children, because they are focused on their own accountability to government regulations and the standards they must meet to qualify for funding. They pile on homework without regard for family time, social interaction, and much needed rest. There is already an adversarial relationship between students and teachers, and now parents feel that they must fight against their school instead of being able to partner with it.

This mistrust is also felt deeply by homeschoolers, who have obviously opted out of the system, but in some states must still comply with certain procedures. When things go wrong, as can happen in any system, the manner in which the situation is handled can make or break any goodwill that a home educating parent may have toward the school district.

Case in point:

The Constants submitted their notice of intent last August when they began homeschooling their young son. As required by Georgia law, they filed their monthly attendance records with the school district, using an online service for convenience.

I love computers and doing business online, but technology is not foolproof. The school district’s firewall prevented them from receiving these records via their online system.

Did they contact the family by phone, email, or snail mail, and request the information? Did they discover the error and acknowledge it?

… the school district had filed an application for Linda Constant’s arrest and scheduled a court hearing to consider issuing the warrant.

Overreacting much? But then the school district was contacted by HSLDA and the problem discovered. Did the disctrict then drop the charges?

Despite explaining the error to the school district—an error caused by the school district’s own computer system—the district refused to stop the legal proceedings.

If school officials are truly interested in serving their communities, and wish home educators in their districts to cooperate with their procedures, they need to have a more cooperative attitude themselves. The only thing these kinds of incidents prove is the pig-headed hostility of many school officials toward the homeschooling community. And as long as that is a factor, parents will not be trusting their children to the hands of adults who appear to be incapable of responding to situations like this in a reasonable manner.