Posted on 03/02/2006 11:45:53 AM PST by LouAvul
Elizabeth and Teddy Dean are learning about the Italian scientist Galileo, so they troop into the kitchen, where their mother Lisa starts by reviewing some facts about the Renaissance.
Elizabeth, 11, and Teddy, 8, have never gone to school.
Their teachers are primarily their parents, which puts them into what is believed to be the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. education system -- the homeschool movement.
For their science lesson, Teddy and Elizabeth are joined by three other homeschooled children and their mother, who live down the street in their suburb midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Before the lesson starts, all five kids change into Renaissance costumes -- long dresses and bonnets for the girls, tunics and swords for the boys.
"We definitely have a lot more fun than kids who go to school," Elizabeth said.
.................
But there is no disagreement about the explosive growth of the movement -- 29 percent from 1999 to 2003 according to the NCES study, or 7 to 15 percent a year according to HSLDA.
This growth has spawned an estimated $750 million a year market supplying parents with teaching aids and lesson plans to fit every religious and political philosophy. Homeschooled children regularly show up in the finals of national spelling competitions, generating publicity for the movement.
Parents cite many reasons for deciding to opt out of formal education and teach their children at home. In the NCES study, 31 percent said they were concerned about drugs, safety or negative peer pressure in schools; 30 percent wanted to provide religious or moral instruction while 16 percent said they were dissatisfied with academic standards in their local schools.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I resent that sentence. Ugh!
YOU ARE RIGHT!!
Different rules in different states. Go to Google and type in "homeschool laws" and her state and you'll see what her requirements are. If you just want to see a plethora of what's out there, type "Homeschool" into google and have a look-see.
"Just because most homeschoolers are "amateurs" (no teaching degree) doesn't make homeschooling somehow a shady option."
I wholeheartedly agree!
Ponder this: Up until the age of 5, most kids were raised by "amateurs". Should we try to turn them over to the pros from 0-5 now, too?
My kids' teachers were amazed at how well they could read before entering school. They were totally puzzled by this. Some thought the kids were "spontaneous readers", as if they somehow just intuited how to read.
My big regret is that I didn't homeschool all the way. I was blessed with mostly excellent teachers when I was a kid and I have a few teachers (very good ones) in my family. I am shocked to see how public education has deteriorated since I was in school.
I hear what you are saying, and there is a law in the works to do just that. However, the law only allows a tax break for those with "approved curriculum." That's how the gov't will get their little fingers into your everyday homeschool. Someone has to decide what's approved and what isn't. I'd just as soon have the Dept of Education abolished, and have the money spent there knocked out of our taxes. Then let me choose how I want to spend it. Public schools would actually have to be good and compete for our money. I know -- there are holes in my idea -- but it would be a place to start.
Uh, yeah, probably there are a lot of liberal educrat types out there who think so. It takes a village, after all.
Good luck, I know you'll make the right choice based upon your experience!
The voucher program is really hot in Wisconsin. Our gov, gov veto, is in the back pocket of the wi teacher's union. He might win this one, but, it's not going away and the kids will ultimately win.
Aquinasfan,
I don't know if it's too late for your kids, but there are many different kinds of Montessori schools. In some schools, the only part of Montessori they use is the name. My kids were in a Montessori preschool program which was nearly perfect for them at that age. They got to choose what they wanted to do and there were plenty of fun choices. I especially liked the math tools, and I'm a tough customer there because I have a degree in math. My only complaint was that the teacher seemed to think that my kid who was reading at a 4th grade level should work in a reading workbook that was trying to teach her the alphabet. We had a little friction when I (nicely) tried to explain that it was stupid for a kid reading the Narnia stories to have to circle "R" when she sees a picture of a ring.
Anyway, my point is that no school is perfect, but if you have more than one choice in your area, it's worth looking into another school. Second piece of advice is that a school can be great for your kid for some number of years, but schools, teachers and kids all change and you should re-evaluate your choices every year. Best of luck to you.
congrats on the marriage, Jen.
I believe we will see the end of government schools before the middle of the century. As home schooling continues to grow, it will become more and more difficult for anyone to justify pouring hundreds of billions of tax dollars into a failed dinosaur system of the past. This is why liberals are so threatened by this phenomenon.
Thanks!
Did I see on some other thread I was lurking on that you'd got a girlfriend? We good homeschooler Christian types have to get working on the next generation sooner or later...
I haven't heard of any axe-murdering homeschool moms up here, but I understand that that kid-drowning homeschool mom in Texas is getting a new trial.
How much did you have in mind?
That is a very good sign that it is catching on.
I've spend some time talking to home schooled kids who play in my neighborhood. I've found them to be polite, as well as bright. It makes me feel that things just might come out all right.
I want to homeschool any future kids, which is ironic since I am a secondary education major (though may go into journalism or public relations instead).
Homeschooling is the best way for kids to grow up with your values and a vigorous curriculum you created.
I may have to send them off during high school math to get taught elsewhere since I am not that great with math, however.
Yes, I do. She is a great, godly girl who is really fun to be around...slightly nerdy like me as well. lol
We will see how things go, but we are getting along very well so far.
I definitely do want to homeschool my kids (I was not myself though).
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