Posted on 08/14/2014 11:52:12 AM PDT by upchuck
North Carolina officials say there has been a huge increase over the past two years in the number of Tar Heel families who have pulled their kids out of public schools and begun educating them at home.
The number of homeschools has jumped 27 percent since the 2011-12 school year, NewsObserver.com reports.
As of last year, 98,172 North Carolinian children were homeschooled; that’s 2,400 students more than the number who attended a private school.
While the sputtering economy is the reason families are choosing homeschooling over private schooling, the nationalized learning experiment (Common Core) is the main reason families are leaving the public schools in the first place.
“Common Core is a big factor that I hear people talk about,” Beth Herbert, founder of Lighthouse Christian Homeschool Association, told NewsObserver.com. “They’re not happy with the work their kids are coming home with. They’ve decided to take their children home.”
In-the-know parents understand that Common Core’s plodding approach to math instruction leaves students unprepared for college study in STEM courses – science, technology, engineering and math.
These same parents also realize that the nationalized learning standards’ emphasis of nonfiction, “informational” texts over classic literature is intended to mold students into drone-like workers, not out-of-the-box thinkers.
For some homeschool parents, it’s the Common Core-related standardized testing that they’re trying to protect their kids from.
Whatever the particular reason, it all adds up to a significant exodus from the public schools.
Homeschooling doesn’t mean kids have to miss all the social and sports-related aspects of traditional schools. Communities with a significant number of homeschoolers offer extracurricular activities for families.
Homeschooling was legalized by the state Supreme Court in 1985. In the days before Common Core, most homeschool families chose to leave the government-run schools because they were too secular, violent and crowded, the news site notes.
It’ll be interesting to see if the homeschool surge levels off once state education leaders revise and replace the worst parts of Common Core, as state lawmakers recently directed them to do.
But North Carolinians shouldn’t be surprised if it continues to grow, as homeschool parents share their success stories with others.
“It was scary at first,” homeschool parent Melissa Lopez told the news site, adding that her New York friends were skeptical when they heard her plan.
“Up North it’s not as common as it is down here so I always thought it was a crazy idea. But once I said, ‘I’m not asking for opinions – I’m doing it,’ they see it’s worked out for us,” Lopez said.
Homeschool them or enroll them in a conservative Christian school.
Related: Common Core's Growing Unpopularity from 8/12/14.
NC ping.
The liberals hate this almost as much as they love abortion and the bearded jihadis.
Ooh, the teachers’ unions won’t stand for this! NC homeschoolers, prepare for the unions to attempt to push through some anti-homeschool legislation soon.
What they are going to find, in my estimation, is that, as more and more families withdraw their children for homeschooling or other private schools, the ones who remain will be the lowest achievers. This will end up driving down their results on standardized tests, etc., which will not play well at some point.
They might be okay with it... the home schooler departures free up slots for the illegals.
True, and when the illegals don’t do well in school, it will be an excuse to squeeze more out of taxpayers to make things all better. The solution to all government failures is always more money.
Not only get your kids away from Common Core, this home school movement is going to turn into a small stampede when the illegal kids start arriving at the schools with lice, scabies, TB, chicken pox, polio, bacterial pneumonia, etc. I don’t trust the government to properly screen them medically before inflicting them on the public schools.
We got notice from our school district yesterday that all of the schools fall below the Common Core standards in both Math and Reading. We have the option to switch schools now, according to the law, but the notice also informed us no school within 50 miles meets the standards.
They’re bring in all the illegal children to replace those that’re escaping the public schools. /semi-sarcasm
Get your children out of the government schools - NOW!
Bump.
LOL! Thanks,
The private school where my sister-in-law teaches has a surge of parents looking to send their kids there, all due to Common Core.
Have been homeschooling since mid 90’s...haven’t looked back. Out of six children, two are college grads, third is halfway done with college, fourth starting as dual enrolled high school/college, next two still at home. All are excellent students of economics, politics and history, understand our Constitution, the freedoms and liberties thereby guaranteed, and have gone much further in math and science than I ever did in my public school education. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been well worth it. They all say they will do the same for their children. I pray they do.
Good points brought up here, though. What happens when there is increased “flight” from public school, which I understand, but what is left? Will there continue to be the call for MORE funding as if we haven’t spent in excess as it is? When will the taxpayers take the stand that the ROI in public schooling is no longer worth it, that major structural changes are needed?
To answer your question, when the School Board says, “Our enrollment is down 20% over the last two school years. But here’s why we need a one cent increase in the sales tax (or whatever).”
School Boards are usually self perpetuating and pretty much rubber stamp what ever the school administration wants because, “It’s for the children.”
They are masters at creative accounting.
It won't get far. Homeschooling is big in NC, and we're a politically active bunch.
"Hey kids... we're going to do a field trip in Civics today. Grab your backpacks and get in the van, we're headed to the Capitol!"
Homeschoolers Ping.
Tagging for later distribution to the skeptical (”but public school is _free_!”).
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