Home-made education, 24 April 2008, The Charlotte Post, Charlotte, North Carolina

Angela Fulton’s children don’t have to leave their Weddington home for an education.

Fulton’s children – fifth-grader Aris, fourth-grader Christian and 4-year-old Carlyle – are homeschooled, part of a growing trend among black families.

“It’s not for everyone, but I know where my children are academically,” she said.

Although numbers vary nationally, more black parents are opting out of public education for homeschool. A Charlotte group, Families of Color Uniting Scholars, counts 75 families among its membership.

This article points up the broadening appeal of home education. More families outside the classic stereotypes of homeschooling families are seeing that they can make this style their own. Although “homeschooling isn’t for everyone,” homeschooling can be for anyone, and has been all along: Freedom Challenge — African American Homeschoolers (published 1996).

The article’s writer almost mentions the s-word and the myth that homeschooling has been “long criticized for its lack of socialization opportunities.” Many of these writers need to get out more because many homeschooling families overcompensate for the perceived lack of face time with their children’s peers. After the social whirl’s sparkle tarnishes, many of the same families cut back on social activities because the families are always on the go. Other families turn their car time into productive time.

Another criticism is that, “School systems look at [homeschooling] as pulling money from them in terms of enrollment, …” School systems may look at homeschooling that way, but they fail to factor in that –

• schools receive tax money from homeschooling families, but do not spend anything on the kids in those families
• schools are a service to families, not a requirement

Compulsory attendance laws say that children must attend some kind of school, not that children must attend public schools. Children are not fodder for schools.

I am glad to see that awareness is growing about the availability of homeschooling to anyone who wants to travel the wild path of adventure. Homeschooling is not about being ‘this’ way or ‘that’ way. Homeschooling is about families — all families.

Tags: home education, homeschooling, North Carolina homeschooling

This entry was posted on April 25, 2008 at 11:11 am and is filed under Articles About Homeschooling, Compulsory Attendance, Encouraging Words, History of Homeschooling, Reasons to Homeschool, Socialization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.