LIFE LESSONS: Shelly Pond of Plantation home-schools her three children - Ally, 5; Kathy, 8; and Kyle 10 - at their dining-room table. They are among about 3,000 home-schooled youngsters in Broward. CANDACE WEST/HERALD STAFF
Posted on 08/09/2003 2:24:02 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Shelly Pond expects her children at the breakfast table at 8 a.m. for Berry Burst Cheerios and a Bible lesson, followed by servings of geography, language arts and multiplication.
The Ponds' wooden dining room table doubles as a desk for research, an art table for collages and a workbench where science experiments sometimes go wrong.
LIFE LESSONS: Shelly Pond of Plantation home-schools her three children - Ally, 5; Kathy, 8; and Kyle 10 - at their dining-room table. They are among about 3,000 home-schooled youngsters in Broward. CANDACE WEST/HERALD STAFF
The Pond children are among an estimated 3,000 home-schooled children in Broward, which has more than any other Florida county. In Miami-Dade, the number is about 2,400. As families look to the start of the traditional school year this month, more are considering teaching their kids at home.
''The School Board would like children to attend public schools,'' said Rosemary Miranda, the liaison between home-schoolers and the Broward public school district. ``But if a parent chooses to home-school their children, the state allows them to do that.''
Plantation mom Shelly Pond has taught her children -- Kyle, 10; Kathy, 8; and Ally, 5 -- for six years.
''I like the fact that I can share my values with my children, work on their character and have a strong family unit,'' said Pond. ``But as their teacher, I also know my children's strengths and weaknesses, and I don't have to wonder how my child is performing in school.''
EXPENSES, RECORDS
Parents considering home-schooling have a lot to think about. There are expenses, such as books and curriculum kits that can cost from $100 to more than $1,000. And home-schooling often means the loss of outside income for the parent-teacher.
''Somebody has to be there to do it,'' said Vivian Astray-Caneda, who heads Parent Assisted Learners, a Miami-Dade support organization for home-schooling parents. ``Many people are trying to do it in their spare time between jobs, but their children are not making it.''
Some parents have cut costs by finding materials on the Internet and using free books from the school book depository or the library.
Home-schooling parents must be organized enough to keep detailed records and ensure their students are properly evaluated. The state requires parents to keep samples of their children's work sheets, essays and artistic projects every year. Home-schooled children must also be evaluated annually, either by a certified Florida teacher who would assess the portfolio, or through a standardized test such as the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills or the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Home-schooled students may also undergo a psychological evaluation to measure their progress.
Parents who take on the responsibility of teaching their children must be prepared to give up time -- a lot of time. ''Home-school takes commitment and sacrifice,'' said Christine Bucher of Davie, who has been home-schooling for 14 years. ``It's not an easy undertaking. It's like a job -- there are good days and bad days. But my benefits are great.''
Many parents fear they aren't qualified to teach certain subjects, especially in the higher grades.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Support groups like the Broward County Homeschool Parent Support Group and Home Educators Lending Parent Support organize cooperative teaching efforts that take advantage of parents' qualifications in a particular area to teach small groups of students. This year, at the end of their co-op unit study of the human body, the Pond children will get a dissection lesson from a dentist whose children are home-schooled.
If students still have trouble with a course, parents can hire a tutor.
Dr. Mary Lynn Collins, a professor at the Fischler Graduate School of Education at Nova Southeastern University, worries that home-schooled kids don't get all of the experiences they need.
''These kids miss out on an important human-socialization factor that is not there whether you are learning alone or with your siblings,'' she said. ``Home-school is teaching a child to be by one's self in a world where we need leaders.''
Home-schooling advocates dismiss such naysaying. Support groups sponsor field trips to museums, zoos and historical sites to give children social opportunities. And teens who are part of the Parent Support Group plan a prom, publish a yearbook and host mall outings and monthly teen meetings. Home-school students may also participate in sports and extracurricular activities at their neighborhood public school.
AVOIDING TEMPTATION
''Some people feel you have to go to school to be properly socialized,'' said John Kernohan of Hollywood, whose five children, ages 3 to 15, have always been home-schooled. ``If being exposed to drugs, premarital sex, violence against teachers and students is a definition of proper socialization, that is not mine. My children are not ignorant of what goes on in the world, but they don't have to be exposed to it on a day-by-day basis in order to be properly socialized.''
Even the most ardent public-school supporter would agree that many minutes of every day in school are spent in activities unrelated to learning. Still, students must spend the day at school. At home, students end their day once they complete the assigned work, which can allow more time for other interests.
OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES
Kernohan's daughters -- Brittany, 15; Grace, 11; and MacKenzie, 7 -- are involved in dance lessons and competitions. His 9-year-old son Johnny is a Cub Scout. And all of the children, including 3-year-old Dillion, are active in their church's youth group and attend physical education classes sponsored by the Christian Homeschool Athletic Association of Florida, which provides phys ed for home-school children.
''I don't feel I'm missing out on anything,'' said Brittany. ``If anything, I get more. I don't face peer pressure, drugs or the pressure of having a boyfriend. . . . I can get along well with adults, I have a close bond with my family, and I have more time to dance.''
Junior and senior home-schoolers may dual-enroll at Florida community colleges to complete a few of their core college courses at no cost. Home-schoolers are also eligible for the state's Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
Home-school graduate Mallika Bucher, 19, completed some of her core courses at Broward Community College and will enter Miami-Dade Community College this month to train as a nurse/midwife. She has positive memories of her home-school experience.
She was president of the 4-H Club, a camp counselor for her church's sleep-away camp, a member of the Parent Support Group's prom committee. She even had enough free time to work as a full-time supervisor in a Plantation health food store.
''Home-school helps children have self-discipline,'' she said. ``They're respectful to adults, and they get along with children of all ages. It certainly did not take me away from anything socially, and it was such a positive experience that I want to do this with my children.''
They are in all probability saying that parents may choose to have their children's progress measured with the Woodcock-Johnson achievement tests, which are administered by a trained psychiatrist/psychologist. At least once, while they are young, it is a good idea to also do an IQ test.
Personally, I believe these tests measure the kids progress better than any SAT's or OLSAT's. The problem is the cost: about $160 for the Woodcock-Johnson and another $160 if they need IQ testing.
Standing ovation!!!!!!!!!
Well said bump.
I have had doubts over the years, but my almost-15 year old daughter is now starting to show us that we did make the best choice.
I was recently told by a raving liberal democrat university education instructor that recent studies show that children who are kept out of "nursery school" and who stay at home during the tender toddler years grow up to show greater leadership traits than their state educated counterparts. She was a guest of my dinner host and I chose not to point out to her that 1) such data would never be publicly disclosed by the NEA and 2) she had just advocated homeschooling.
WOW!!!! God I love all of these homeschooled kids! I can't wait until these kids become our statesmen of tomorrow! They are what I'd call "a thousand points of light."
The selfish liberal agenda -- Gaea Forbid that someone actually RAISE their own children. Better to persue the almighty dollar and let the kids fall where they may. Ut takes a village, but no parents, to raise a kid to be a good little socialaist (or better yet, a victim-for-life).
Laughing all the way toward educated, well rounded children who love their familes BUMP!
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