Homeschooling Choice

I have to say I disagree with this author Homeschool is a how-to-live decision not a how-to-learn decision.

I do think children should be given some say in the decision to homeschool. My third and fifth grader (at the time) wanted to be homeschooled, and were very happy when we made the switch from public school to homeschool. I really can't see it working otherwise.

Certainly parents should be the ones making the final decision on where to live, what house to purchase etc., but certainly children should be given some say and their opinions should be taken into consideration when possible when making a decision that affects them.

One of the most enjoyable things about homeschooling was how the kids interest could be taken into account when making lesson plans and choosing additional subjects. I allowed the children to choose which foreign language to learn and they choose Japanese. It gave us all a chance to learn something new and turned out to be very helpful when my husband wound up going to Japan on a business trip.

Listening to your children and showing an interest in their activities is part of good parenting.  Allowing them to make age appropriate decisions and suffer the consequences of those decisions is how they learn to be mature responsible adults capable of making their own decisions.

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Summertime Carnival of Homeschooling

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Book Review

When the Eagle Hunts by Simon Scarrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is unbelievable and I am totally disgusted by the number of horses/mules killed.

General Plautius' wife and children are shipwrecked behind enemy lines and taken prisoner by a fanatical set of Druids of the Dark Moon. The Druids have issued an ultimatum free the Druid prisoners captured by the Romans are the General's family will be sacrificed to Cruach at the First Budding. Cato and Macro are sent behind enemy lines with Iceni guides Prasutagus and Boudica to rescue them.

After barely escaping from an ambush, the group finally get on the trail of the Druids and their hostages. They arrive at the sacred grove not long after the Druids left to discover Diomedes (Greek trader trying to avenge his family) impaled on a stake through the anus. Before he dies he tells them the General's family is being taken to Mai Dun - The Great Fortress.

Desperate to reach them before they reach The Great Fortress and a rescue becomes impossible they push on and barely get there in time. When the wagon carrying the prisoners is temporarily separated from it's warrior escort they make their move. Macro is grievously injured in the rescue attempt, unable to free the General's wife who is chained they leave with the two children but the young boy escapes from them and runs back to his Mother. Boudica takes the unconscious Macro and the General's daughter back to Vespasian, while Cato and Prasutagus try to find a way to rescue the General's wife and son. The Druid's angered by the rescue attempt send the boy's finger to Vespasian with the threat that if another rescue attempt is make the prisoners will be sacrificed early. Cato sneaks into The Great Fortress, but is unable to free the hostages.

Vespasian leads an attack on The Great Fortress and Cato with a small band of men sneak in and rescue the General's wife and son. Cato is seriously wounded during the escape and winds up in the same hospital room as Macro. The General's gratitude extends to making Cato a Centurion. Boudica and Prasutagus return to their tribe and are married.

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What About Jerry Webster?

Webster apparently read a piece about a homeschool graduation ceremony and felt compelled to write a post  (What About Me? ) about it.

When I graduated, I graduated with a group of people I knew.  Not well, mind you, as I transferred to Williamsport, Pennsylvania from a high school in the western suburbs of Chicago in November of my junior year.  It was still enough time to bond over chemistry, choir performances and SAT scores.   When we left high school, we did it with a shared understanding of our community, of our future and of who we were as citizens of a country.  That was in 1969.

I would have been 3 years old when Mr. Webster graduated, I daresay public schools have changed a lot since then. I graduated from a public high school in 1984 with 365 other students, I didn't even know the majority of them, thanks to busing we came from vastly different communities  and we certainly didn't share an understanding of anything.

To be honest I am not sure what point Mr. Webster is trying to make here. He stated

It also pondered the meaning of a celebration for students who only meet for the first time at the graduation rehearsal.

I am not sure how he knew they had "all meet for the first time". I find it doubtful this was the case as in most instances graduation ceremonies are arranged by homeschool groups. More then likely at least some of the kids knew each other. And as I stated above going to a public school doesn't guarantee your "knowing" the students you graduate with. 315 of the students I graduated with never crossed my path during my school years. Because I was in Honors Classes (which tended to be comprised of the same students) I knew around 50 of my classmates well enough to call them friends. Although after graduation I lost touch with the majority of the 50 classmates I knew well. In fact if it wasn't for Facebook, I would only be in touch with one of my high school classmates. The truth is after graduation most students go on to college, make new friends, move off for jobs and make new friends, etc. Very few of us stay stuck in our high school years.

To me, homeschooling seems to reflect a "me first" kind of mentality.  It's also a reason I look at homeschooling with at least distrust, if not outright hostility.   Why do parents choose to remove their children from public school?

I don't know Mr. Webster, why did you choose to send your son to an elite boarding school in New England? Just like parents who choose to send their children to elite boarding schools, homeschool parents have various reasons for making the choice to homeschool. Mainly we just want to ensure that our children get the best education possible.

Personally I think public school parents are the ones with the "me first" mentality. As they educate their children at tax payer expense. While those of us who homeschool or send our children to private schools pay for our own child's education as well as subsidize the public schools. Your distrust and hostility seem a tad misplace Mr. Webster.

I have no doubt that in many places public education has failed some children.   But that's not a reason to abandon public education.  It's a reason to invest time and energy into seeing that public education works.  After all, those young people will be paying your social security, if there is still social security.

Really makes you curious why he abandoned public education for his son and sent him to an elite boarding school. Apparently Mr. Webster believes his family is entitled to "the best schools", while the rest of us should just stay put in the public schools that pay his salary.

A parent no matter how much they care can not change the public school system in time to benefit their child. Ensuring your child gets the best education possible so they can be productive members of society should be every parents priority. See Rebel Homeschool's post Why We Chose Homeschool over Public School Parent Involvement

What kind of graduation address would you give to children who were homeschooled?  

Pretty much the same address I would give a public school or private school student. Congratulations on graduating, thanks to your hard work you have a bright future ahead of you. Enjoy your time in college while you prepare for the career of your choice.

  

Rebuttal - Home School Myths and Myth Makers by Jerry Webster

My rebuttal of Webster's hatchet piece Home School Myths and Myth Makers.

First I would like to clarify what homeschooling is as a number of public school parents have started referring to themselves as homeschoolers. Homeschoolers are self funded, they do not receive tax/tuition money and the State does not assist them with textbooks, materials or supplies. Homeschool parents are responsible for all record keeping, curriculum choices and choose what textbooks to use. Those who attend Virtual Public Schools are not Homeschoolers.

Homeschoolers are readily admitted to colleges, usually based on the parent kept transcripts and ACT or SAT scores, and have no problem earning the bachelor degrees or professional certificates needed for employment. I really hope Mr. Webster wasn't trying to imply otherwise.

With those pesky clarifications out of the way, I will now address Mr. Webster's "myths".

Myth #1 Homeschooling is Selfish: Kathy ignores the fact that most states support local schools by providing a per pupil amount for each child enrolled. In that way by withdrawing their children from the local school district, they withdraw that portion of income from their local school. They do not support their local schools.

Mr. Webster's assertion that homeschoolers are selfish is rather hypocritical considering the fact he sends his son to an elite boarding school, thus withdrawing him from his local school district. Also if the criteria for being selfish is merely a couple/home owner who doesn't have children enrolled in the local school district then childless couples and singles would also have to be viewed as "selfish". Homeschoolers just like childless couples, singles and parents of privately schooled students pay property taxes that do indeed support the local schools.   

Myth #2: Homeschooling is Elitist - I think most people just think they are misfits. It doesn't sound like an elite. It sounds like the Tea Party.

I am sure the elite boarding school Mr. Webster sends his son to is the embodiment of racial and economic diversity. Homeschoolers are neither misfits or elitist, we are just normal everyday people who choose to educate our children at home. Each homeschooling family is different, therefore each family has different reasons for choosing to homeschool. I know a Pagan Mother who chose to pull her daughter out of the public schools because not only were the other public school students bullying the child one of the public school teachers was telling the child that "her family was going to hell because of their pagan beliefs". BTW the Mother checked homeschooling for religious reasons on a survey of homeschoolers. Which just goes to show statistics can be misleading.

Myth #3: Homeschoolers have an Advantage.

OK, this one might be true. Certainly homeschoolers benefit from  a better teacher to student ratio than kids in public schools, no argument there. Also numerous studies have been done that show that kids from higher social economic backgrounds do better in school no matter what the educational choice their parents make for them private, home or public school. Studies have also shown that having a full time parent in the home is advantageous to children again no mater what the school choice is for them.

Myth #4: Homeschooled children don't know what the real world is like. Research (Bauman) does, however, show that 33 percent of homeschooling parent name religion as a primary reason for homeschooling, and 9 percent name "morality" as a primary reason. That's 42 percent. Statistically, that is significant. So maybe this isn't a myth.

Balderdash, many children including homeschooled children work part time after school. They also interact  with other children in their neighborhoods, community organizations etc. And remember how I said statistics could be misleading. My Pagan friend cited religion as her primary reason for homeschooling on a survey, what the statistics couldn't tell you was it was religious bullying by Christian Fundamentalist that motivated her homeschooling.

Myth #5: Homeschooled children don't know how to get along with others. The word of the day in education is not socialization, it is "collaboration" as this is considered one of the most important skills for the next generation of jobs, especially in technological jobs. There is no research, however, showing that homeschooled children are better or more poorly adjusted in social situations than "schooled" children.

I have to agree there are no studies that show homeschooled/privately schooled children are better are more poorly adjusted in social situations then publicly schooled children. And as I said to #4 many homeschoolers have after school jobs just like their public school counterparts.

Myth #6: Homeschooling parents are not qualified to teach their children. If it's true that anyone can be a teacher, why didn't you (homeschoolers) keep your kids in public schools?

Not sure what the point of his question is. There are many excellent public school teachers, there are also some awful public school teachers. In 5th grade my eldest son's wonderful teacher got the chance to be the guidance counselor for the school during the middle of the year, which was a better paid position. Being a young man with a family to think of he of course took the better paid position and as you can imagine most qualified teachers already had jobs. My son wound up with a young lady fresh out of college who didn't have a clue how to control a classroom or teach algebra. I am not kidding, I had to go up to the school and teach the kids Math Class on the days I didn't make it up there (I wasn't being paid to teach the class) they simply skipped Math, which meant his class was falling behind the rest of the 5th graders. That was the last year my children ever attended public school. My eldest son was homeschooled 6th grade to college and my youngest was homeschooled 4th grade to college.We never regretted our decision to remove them from the public school system.

Myth #7: Homeschool parents want complete control over their children's lives. Beats me. No research here. In my own experience, homeschool parents that I have met lack good social skills themselves and what may seem like control may actually be fear of the unknown. Since we seem to be using anecdotal evidence, mine is as good as Ms. Cereci's.

I know some public school parents that wanted complete control over their children's lives. Just like public school parents are different so are homeschool parents. Some parents will be controlling others will not be. And as Webster himself stated there is no research to back up his claims.

Myth #8: Homeschooling doesn't provide children with a good education. Neither Dr. Ray nor Kathy tells us what standardized tests students perform well on, and what groups (national? State?) homeschooled students were compared to. Since most homeschooled children do not participate in their states' high stakes tests, (Bauman) we don't know how they perform alongside their general education peers. That could be made up, too?

One could say the same thing about public and private schools it doesn't make it true. Just like each public and private school is different so are individual homeschools. In the majority of homeschools the students receive an excellent education.

The majority of homeschoolers take the ACT or SAT. I really find it hard to believe Webster was ignorant of the fact that homeschoolers would be taking these test in order to get into college. For those who do not know these are national test. And homeschoolers were indeed compared to public and privately schooled students.  In fact a  new study  suggest that homeschoolers may indeed be receiving a better education then their public or privately schooled counterparts.

A new study published in The Journal of College Admission suggests that homeschool students enjoy higher ACT scores, grade point averages and graduation rates compared with other college students. The finding are especially interesting because there has been a paucity of research focused on how homeschooled students fare in college.

The research, which was conducted by Michael Cogan, the director of institutional research and analysis at the University of St. Thomas, focused on the experiences of homeschooled students at an unnamed medium-sized university in the upper Midwest.

Of course Webster will probably find fault with Cogan's credentials, which seems to be his preferred method of negating studies that show homeschooling in a favorable light.

Myth #9: Homeschooling is un-American

That seems to be a popular insult thrown out by Conservative Nutcases these days. If they don't like something you do it is UN-American,  Socialist/Communist and Liberal. Homeschooling is as American as Apple Pie, the majority of the Founding Fathers were homeschooled.

Myth #10: Homeschooling is a threat to public schooling. The biggest threat is the number of children that our permissive public policy on home schooling may actually fall through the cracks. As many as half of all children not enrolled in public schools are also not enrolled either in private (parochial)schools or registered with the state boards of education. ( That these children may show up at our unemployment offices or in our prisons later may create a cost we all will have to bear. Does it undermine the public's commitment to public education? Perhaps. Do people who choose to send their children to public school resent homeschoolers? Probably.

I fail to see why parents who choose to send their children to public school should resent homeschoolers. Do they also resent parents who send their children to private schools?  We all know a large majority of public school students fall through the cracks each year. In fact I would hazard a guess that the majority of the prison population attended public school. I would also guess that a large number of those on unemployment also attended public school. The fact that a large number of those on unemployment or in jail attended public school, doesn't make public schooling bad or give us reason to do away with public schooling.   Webster also fails to note that EVERY STATE has laws on the books to deal with educational neglect. As to undermining the public's commitment to public education the same could be said for private schools. The majority of citizens including those who do not have children and those who have selected homeschooling or private schools for their children recognize the need for public schools and fully support them.

I will address Webster's criticism of homeschooling in What About ME? in a future post. 

Rebel Homeschool has a post I encourage you to read Why We Chose Homeschool over Public School Parent Involvement

Carnival of Homeschooling #392: The "Enjoy Reinvention" Edition

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College Info for Homeschoolers

My local Community College held a College Information Day for Homeschoolers. They seem to be eager to help homeschoolers transition to college and had lots of valuable information to provide.

We of course discussed scholarships, grants and loans.

But they also revealed they would take homeschool transcripts notarized by the parent, as long as you had the required Carnegie Units for graduation.

Here is a sample transcript modeled on the one I used to get my eldest son into college. This is not his actual transcript.

To find the students Grade Point Average (GPA) you add up the Credits (Carnegie Units), add up the Points then divide the Points Total by the Credits Total.

Points
For 1 Credit (Carnegie Unit)
A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0

For 1/2 Credit (Carnegie Unit)
A = 2
B = 1.5
C = 1
D = 0.5
F = 0

Carnegie Units required to graduate vary from State to State, so check the requirements for your state, and be sure to check the requirements for the year your child will be graduating as the info can change from year to year. It is also a good idea to check the requirements for admission to any universities your child may be interested in attending

Over Credentialed Jerry Webster Loaths Homeschooling

Apparently Jerry Webster, the over-credentialed buffoon, is afraid of losing his job to homeschooling. What a nasty piece of tripe  The Scent of Blood he wrote at  About.Com is.

if experience and anecdote are sufficient to support an argument in this debate then I say, what you site as myths are not myths. They are true! In my experience, homeschooling parents believe themselves to be entitled, they are religious (Ironically, like Dr. Ray, they gravitate to the PCA, the refuge of disgruntled reactionary white people) and would not be qualified to teach in public schools. Their children are as likely to be indulged and rude as they are to be polite. I have known some lovely people who homeschooled their children (my son did 8 years of Suzuki) and some obnoxious, socially maladroit people who homeschooled their children. Oh, and my personal experience also confirms something that didn't make your list: homeschoolers' homes are filthy and chaotic.

I doubt homeschooling parents feel anymore "entitled" then public school or private school parents do. After all, all parents are entitled to make the best educational choice for their child even Webster who choose to send his child to an elite boarding school. And while some homeschooling parents are religious others are not, in fact there are actually atheist homeschoolers. And maybe Webster should get out more all homeschoolers are not white, there are African-American, Hispanic, American Indian and many other races represented in the homeschooling community. And while some homeschoolers may have filthy chaotic homes many others have clean well organized homes, it all depends on the individual family just like it does with privately schooled and publicly schooled children's homes.

I understand that nothing I say or do will change the minds of those who homeschool. I know for About.com it is a valuable audience, since homeschooling parents spend a lot of time online and About.com is paid by advertisers by the page view. But it is evident that homeschoolers are much like Tea Party right wingers: they live in a self reinforcing loop of like minded people who reinforce their own prejudices. They have little regard for hard evidence. But the UNLV research librarians and I had a lovely time sussing out Dr. Ray's self-aggrandizing hype.  But the only place where believing in something makes it true is in Peter Pan.  So  clap, clap, clap for the homeschooling fairies!

Actually if Webster is honest there isn't much "hard evidence" regarding homeschoolers. Each state has it's own homeschooling rules and regulations, so homeschooling experiences vary from state to state. There are also various homeschooling methods so homeschooling also varies from family to family. Homeschooling is not a one size fits all endeavor and can be tailored to meet your individual child's needs. 

Webster's other hatchet pieces are  What About Me and Home School Myths and Myth Makers Separating Wishful Thinking From Evidence Based Reality. Ironically Jerry's son went to an elite boarding school in New England, (a fact Jerry seems to belabor in his post) so apparently the guy who thinks public schools are good enough for homeschoolers does not think the public schools are good enough for his own son.

I will address Webster's other mendacious claims in future post.

Carnival of Homeschooling: Amazing Superpowers edition!

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The Carnival of Homeschooling: Floods and Picnics

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The Carnival of Homeschooling: Floods and Picnics

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Well said

Why U.S. Should Not Grant German Homeschooling Family Asylum

Carnival of Homeschooling, getting down to business

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The Romeike's Should be Deported

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because my cat likes to sit on the keyboard when I am typing. It's hard enough to keep British English and American English sorted out, but when you add the helpful paws of Socks to the mix you come up with some really interesting words, not to mention misplaced commas.

I know my post is probably going to be unpopular amongst the Christian Homeschooling segment, but honestly H$LDA had no business bringing them here in the first place. They are not being PERSECUTED, they are being told they need to follow the same laws as all other German Citizens. If they do not like their countries laws regarding education they need to work with like minded people to get the laws changed, not flee to America, Germany is a Democracy by the way.  Also they were FREE to move to any other country in the European Union and homeschool but instead they were paid by Mike Donnelly (attorney HSLDA) to come here and stir up controversy for HSLDA.  And I can't help wonder if HSLDA would be as interested in championing this German family if they were Muslims who wished to Homeschool. I think not because as most Homeschoolers know HSLDA only supports married, Christian Homeschoolers from traditional families.Also if they are deported they are still FREE to go to any country in the European Union that allows homeschooling.


Why HSLDA is Wrong about Romeike v. Holder explains it much better then I can.

On May 4, 2012, the Board of Immigration Appeals overruled the immigration judge and denied the Romeikes asylum. The Board of Immigration Appeals needed to answer these questions: (1) Have the Romeikes suffered persecution? (2) If they did suffer persecution, was it because of their religion? (3) Alternatively, if they did suffer persecution, was it because of their membership in a particular social group? The Board of Immigration Appeals answered no to all these questions. First, it wasn’t persecution because the anti-homeschooling law was one of general application (not meant to target a specific group, but rather something that applied evenly across the board). Next, because there were secular reasons for the compulsory attendance law, even if it had been deemed persecution it wouldn’t have been persecution suffered because of their religion. Finally, the Board of Immigration Appeals found that German homeschoolers are not a particular social group within the meaning of the act. To be a social group, there must be “social visibility” and “particularity.” Homeschoolers are simply too “amorphous” to constitute a social group eligible for protection under the asylum law.  

I also encourage you to read
Germany and homeschooling: fact-checking the Romeike situation and Why German homeschoolers get asylum and torture survivors don’t

Carnival Of Homeschooling May Mashup

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Carnival of Homeschooling

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The 385th Carnival of Homeschooling

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Carnival Of Homeschooling – “First Teacher” Appreciation Edition

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