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The Homeschool Alternative
Dateline: 4/17/06
By Kris Bordessa
In the last one hundred years the public school system has
become the expected form of education for our children. But is
there a viable alternative? Families who have chosen to buck
the system, say yes, there is. Home based education legal
in all 50 states -- is a growing movement that offers parents
and children alike the opportunity to grow and learn in a loving
and supportive environment.
Chasing Butterflies
"Hey, Mom, look what I
found!" shouted my oldest son Brad, 9, from outside.
"I think it's a Swallowtail caterpillar," he said.
I asked, "What makes you think
that?" knowing that he would have a response, and he did.
"Well, look at the head,"
he said, opening the butterfly identification book. "It's
shaped like the ones in here, but I don't see any that are the
same color".
As our conversation progressed and his
search for the appropriate photo continued, we learned about
the larval food of choice for Swallowtail butterflies and noted
that Swallowtails of one variety or another live throughout the
United States and even into Canada. This prompted a discussion
about the difference between the Tiger Swallowtail and the Western
Tiger Swallowtail. He wondered: if they look so similar and are
best distinguished by geographic distribution, as our book says,
how does a person tell them apart where the geographic boundaries
overlap? Common sense seems to come easily to young people!
Science comes Home
Just another Saturday afternoon? Actually,
no. For us, it was Science 101. You see, my family is one of
the many who have chosen to educate our children at home.
Those having no personal experience
with homeschooling may have a tendency to view home education
as a fringe movement practiced by religious fundamentalists and
radical hippies. In truth, the cross-section of homeschooling
families is becoming more mainstream as each school year passes.
While many parents are homeschooling for religious reasons, parents
choosing home education for their children cite a variety of
other reasons as well. Safety, discontent with the public school
system, family values and the freedom to choose the manner in
which our children learn are all common reasons for taking the
homeschool route.
As some families become dissatisfied
with the public school system, many are choosing to keep their
children at home, joining the growing homeschool movement. And
growing, it is. The U.S. Department of Education's National Center
for Educational Statistics estimates that there were 850,000
children being educated at home in 1999 (up from 300,000 in 1988).
The National Home Education Research Institute placed the number
of children being homeschooled during the 1999-2000 school year
between 1.3 and 1.7 million students.
What does home-based learning look
like?
It's different for each family. Some
families prefer to structure their day, doing "school at
home" with a specific time for each subject. One mother,
homeschooling eight children, begins her kids' school day at
nine a.m. working until their lunch break. Following lunch, the
younger children nap and the older children finish their schoolwork
and read until their school day is done, at around two o'clock.
Other families -- like my own -- focus on child-led learning.
This method allows the students to follow their interest in a
topic as long as they find it intriguing. With parental guidance,
their current interest can encompass all of the skills they should
master.
For instance, when my oldest son was
in first grade, his passion was ancient Egypt. He couldn't get
enough of the pyramids and the Kings. We read every book about
Egypt in the children's section at the library, as well as some
of those for adults. We made Egyptian costumes and crafts. We
learned about the history and size of the pyramids, debated how
the ancient Egyptian moved each block, and used a sledge to move
some heavy objects (including me!). To this day, he can tell
anyone the definition of a sarcophagus, a cartouche and a hieroglyph.
Kids are naturally curious beings. By
allowing them the opportunity to explore topics that are interesting
to them, we can instill a lifelong love of learning. Says Shelly,
who educates her son at home in California, "This approach
works simply because it honors development, feelings, curiosity
... and this honor leads to further and deeper exploration and
learning."
How do they compare?
Do our kids know the same facts that
children in the public school system know, and at the same time?
Most likely, not. The public school system has, out of necessity,
instituted a specific order in which subjects must be learned.
While this order makes sense for teaching large numbers of children,
it is not necessary when working with a small family group. Should
I have told my son that he couldn't study Ancient Egypt in first
grade, because it's not what he is "supposed" to learn?
I'm thankful that I didn't have to.
And, in spite of the sometimes unordered
days of homeschooled children, they fare well academically. In
the book, The Homeschooling Revolution, author Isabel Lyman's
research reveals that regardless of race or family income, homeschooled
children consistently score higher on standardized tests than
their public school counterparts.
What about socialization?
A frequently debated topic about
homeschooling is socialization. By keeping our children out of
school, aren't we doing them a disservice? I suppose the answer
would be yes, if homeschooling parents really did keep their
children at home all of the time, but I have yet to meet a home
educator who fits this bill. Field trips, classes, music
lessons, community events, 4-H and Scouts, sports teams, homeschool
co-ops and park days all mean that in reality, those of us that
homeschool aren't at home any more than our public school counterparts!
Homeschooled children do skip some kinds
of social interaction, though. When a new child appears at a
homeschool function, the group typically welcomes the newcomer
with an invitation to play. There isn't the tribal dance, the
shunning of the new kid that often happens in a traditional school
setting. There are no "cool" kids to determine whether
or not this child can join in the clique, there is no peer pressure
involved in inviting the child to play, or not.
And because there are no school mandated
age barriers, homeschooled children have the opportunity to interact
with children of all ages, as well as adults. The confidence
with which homeschooled children converse with adults sometimes
takes people aback, causing them to describe homeschooled children
as "different". I agree; homeschooled children are
growing up as a part of society, rather than a part of the school
system, which makes for a very different person in the end.
The Right Choice for Many
In spite of the many challenges,
most home educators will emphatically agree that the choice to
homeschool is the right one for them. "Homeschooling gives
us the freedom and flexibility to be who we are, on our own schedule,
with our own limits and expectations to fulfill," says Shelly.
"Having no (or very few) external societal needs to meet,
we are free to be creative, passionate about our lives and our
learning, and flexible enough to live the conscious, deliberately
low-stress life we choose for ourselves."
Regardless of the reasons, regardless
of the methods, it is clear that homeschooling in one form or
another is becoming an option that some parents can't ignore.
While making the final decision to "buck the system"
is quite difficult, I -- like the many other home educators I
know -- couldn't be more pleased with the results.
Bio
As a home educator, Kris Bordessa does her best to expose
her two boys (now 10 & 13) to many opportunities. Her family
has recently moved to the Big Island of Hawaii, where they are
exploring ocean life, geology and the cultural history of the
islands. She is the author of Team
Challenges : Group Activities to Build Cooperation, Communication,
and Creativity and Tools of the Ancient Greeks : A Kid's Guide to
the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece .
Visit her on the web at http://krisbordessa.com
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- Books To Help You Begin to Homeschool
-- from Amazon.com
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- Team Challenges : Group Activities to Build
Cooperation, Communication, and Creativity
by Kris Bordessa
- This book is full of fun stuff for kids of all ages. The
building and role playing activities work wonderfully as birthday
party games and the verbal challenges are excellent diversions
on long car trips. It's a very hands-on, exciting book to read--guaranteed
to give you lots of good ideas.
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- Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build
Yourself!
by Kris Bordessa
- From colonial fashions and trades to biographies on key historical
figures such as Captain John Smith and Thomas Jefferson, this
interactive guide blends engaging activities with facts and trivia
about early America.
-
- Tools of the Ancient Greeks : A Kid's Guide
to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece
- by Kris Bordessa
- Kids discover the origin of ancient Greek theories, such
as anatomy, geography, and democracy, and the ways they continue
to influence modern-day thinking with the absorbing time lines,
sidebars, and activities included in this guide.
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- Home Learning Year by Year : How to Design
a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School
- by Rebecca Rupp
- Rebecca Rupp presents a structured plan to ensure that your
children will learn what they need to know when they need to
know it, from preschool through high school.
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- Complete
Idiot's Guide to Homeschooling
- by Marsha Ransom
- If you find yourself teaching subjects you know little about,
undecided about what curriculum to choose, or concerned that
your children may miss out on band, drama, or sports, this guide
provides practical advice from an author who has homeschooled
four children.
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- The Complete Home Learning Source Book : The
Essential Resource Guide for Homeschoolers, Parents, and Educators
Covering Every Subject from Arithmetic to Zoology
- by Rebecca Rupp
- This ambitious reference guide lives up to its name. Practically
three inches thick--and we're not talking large print here--it's
packed with titles, ordering information, and Web site addresses.
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