User talk:Mia Zagora/homeschooling

Homeschooling is just what it sounds like - children are schooled at home, usually by their parents. There are also large and small homeschool co-ops that meet on a regular basis where children can learn various subjects taught by "certified" teachers, parents with higher degrees who teach Biology and Chemistry labs, or business men and women. Sometimes parents from two or more families will share the duties of schooling their children.

For example: Andrew Schlafly Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was on the Harvard Law Review. He clerked for a federal appellate judge in D.C. He also has an engineering degree ftom Princeton University. He has personally taught 120 homeschool teenagers in a series of eight courses, and also taught at a law school.

Homeschooling and Government Regulation

Homeschooling is legal in all fifty states in the U.S., but the level of government regulation varies from state to state. Many homeschooling families belong to "umbrella" schools, which are classified as private schools and are, therefore, not subject to government regulation. Some homeschooling families choose to use the "virtual charter school" option (such as K12), which is essentially government-sanctioned homeschooling. The student is provided with computer, software, curricula and access to a certified teacher via computer free of charge. This type of schooling is fully government funded and government regulated. The student and parent must go to school for regular meetings with a teacher as well as standardized testing. This is a good option for some parents and children. (For more information on K12 go to: http://www.k12.com/)

For detailed information on state regulation of homeschooling, go to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association's web site at:

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

Click on the state map to view the homeschooling regulations in your state.

The Teachers

Homeschooling households are as varied as public or private schools. Just as there are public and private schools that teach using the philosophies of Maria Montessori, or the classical education model, or even the "one-room schoolhouse" model (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-old-new-one-room-schoolhouse.html), there are different philosophies of education in homeschooling families. Some homeschoolers use textbooks and are given regular quizzes and tests by their parent/teacher. Some do schoolwork entirely online as with a private or charter cyber-school. Some are classified as "eclectic" and use a mixture of methods.

Even though a homeschooling parent may not be a "certified" teacher or have a degree in every subject studied by the student, most have means of support through homeschool co-ops, as mentioned above, tutors and online classes. Depending on the curricula, if a student (or parent) gets stuck, there are phone numbers you can call - or at least email addresses given - which will put the student/parent in touch with a professional in that area of academic study.

Homeschooling parent/teachers are not held to the same restrictions as public school teachers. Data has shown that more homeschooling parents have degrees in higher education than do parents of private or public-schooled children. Many studies have also shown that homeschooled students tend to do much better on the state's own achievement tests than do public-schooled students. In fact, a study from 1998 showed that the average homeschooled student is about four grade levels ahead of their public-schooled counterparts by eighth grade. (See: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/)

History

When some people think of homeschooling, they may think it originated during the settling of the West in the United States. However, the fact is homeschooling in America has been around since the settlement of our country - or even before then, if you count the Native Americans who taught their children how to hunt, plant, build homes, cook, and other tasks of daily living. Academically, though, the children of the early settlers were taught to read and write by their parents. Compulsory education was not required until Massachusetts, 1852. Many peopl who were crucial in the founding of our country were homeschooled, including: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin.

(See: http://www.eadshome.com/Famoushomeschooled.htm

It is unclear when the "modern" homeschooling movement began. Some believe it started in the sixties with people such as John Holt, who was an author that wrote many books about education reform, who eventually gave up on reform and suggested children shouldn't be sent to school at all. (See: http://www.holtgws.com/johnholtpage.html). Ivan Illich (Deschooling Society, Harper & Row, 1971), made the statement,

"I believe that a desirable future depends on our deliberately choosing a life of action over a life of consumption, on our engendering a lifestyle which will enable us to be spontaneous, independent, yet related to each other, rather than maintaining a lifestyle which only allows to make and unmake, produce and consume - a style of life which is merely a way station on the road to the depletion and pollution of the environment. The future depends more upon our choice of institutions which support a life of action than on our developing new ideologies and technologies. (Illich 1973a: 57)" (See: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-illic.htm)

In the 1980's, there was a change in the tax law and some of the smaller Christian schools were forced to close. Many of the parents of the students affected by these school closings chose to homeschool. Homeschooling has grown in popularity in recent years not only with the upsurge in reports of violence in the public schools, but also because some parents feel their child could receive a better education at home.

Today, homeschooled children and teenagers have many varied options for learning opportunities as local businesses such as zoos, museums and aquariums offer classes specifically geared to homeschoolers. For older students, some businesses and organizations offer internships or opportunities for volunteering their time. Homeschooling is also attractive to some because there is no time wasted waiting for roll call, going through a metal detector, standing in line at the water fountain, or going to a locker to retrieve books.

WHAT ABOUT "SOCIALIZATION?"

No study that has been done on this subject has come to the conclusion that homeschooled children lack in socialization skills. For more information, see: http://www.ericdigests.org/1995-1/home.htm

WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION DO HOMESCHOOLERS RECEIVE?

As with public or private school, there has to be student initiative to want to do well, and it takes commitment on the part of the parent/ teacher as well. However, it is generally assumed that if parents are willing to take on the formidable task of homeschooling, they are also committed to giving their child a first-class education.

For a list of colleges that accept homeschoolers, see: http://learninfreedom.org/colleges_4_hmsc.html

Among the great universities that accept homeschoolers are: California State University - LA, California Polytechnic, Baylor University - TX, Boston University - MA, Clemson University - SC, Dartmouth College - NH, Duke University - NC, Emory University - GA, Harvard University - MA, Wesleyan University - CT, and many more.

LINKS OF INTEREST

http://www.psu.edu/ur/2005/homeschool.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_7571_college-homeschool.html

http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=6974

http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2000/summer_education_hill02.aspx