First off, congratulations to Chelsea Link on her acceptance to college(s).  It is rewarding to have your passions and joys lead to further success.

7 of the nation’s top universities want her, 17 April 2008, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois

In what has been called the most competitive year ever for college admissions, Chelsea Link defied the odds to get accepted into Yale. Then Harvard.

Then came the fat envelopes from Princeton, Columbia, University of Chicago, Stanford and Northwestern University.

Despite that accomplishment, what caught my eye was an observation by Chelsea’s mother.

Despite all this excellence, Link’s mother shared her daughter’s angst.

“I’d wake up in the middle of the night and wonder: ‘Whatever made me think that [home schooling] would be looked upon favorably?’ ” said Cindi Link, who prepared detailed course descriptions for the applications.

I called that waking up, the ‘two a.m. willies.’  They struck more than once.

Again, congratulations to both Chelsea, and her mom.

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.

In two recent news pieces, the writers question parental talents.  The years mothers and fathers spend with their children, the parents’ educations, and their life experience, are presumed to be inadequate for continuing to raise their children once those kids are old enough to be affected by compulsory school attendance laws.  Or, that’s how it comes across.

Five ideas: What are your thoughts on these items in the news this week?, 11 April 2008, Columbia Missourian, Columbia, Missouri

Home-schooled and college-bound

…

Missouri neither requires parents to have a teaching certificate to educate their child nor has standards for home-schooled students to meet or required tests for them to pass. MU, which brings in around 10 home-schooled students a year, according to an admissions representative, requires a score of 24 or better on the ACT to accept home-schooled students.

What credentials should parents be required to have in order to educate their child at home?

[emphases in original]

Essay: Homeschooling, 22 April 2008, Jack Lessenberry’s Essays and Interviews, Michigan Radio

There’s a romantic tradition about home schooling. Those who support it like to rhapsodize that George Washington was home schooled, for example. Well, yes, he was.

However, he also didn’t need to be computer-literate, owned slaves to do his heavy lifting for him, and died from a throat abscess that one shot of simple antibiotics probably could have cured today.

…

Actually, this bill doesn’t go far enough. We need a strong package of bills firmly regulating home schooling. They should prescribe a curriculum and require home schoolers to prove they are qualified to teach. We owe it to our kids and ourselves.

In both these pieces, the writers raise the question of making parents qualify to teach their own children.  The writers give no evidence of wholesale homeschool failures, of chronic unemployment by homeschooled grads, or of homeschool gangs terrorizing neighborhoods, when the same cannot be said of schooled populations.  The comeback by public school advocates about the general lack of homeschooler-unsociability is that public schools are required to take ‘everyone’ … as if homeschooling parents handpick their children.

I assume the idea that parents must ‘qualify’ to ‘teach’ comes from the general requirement that people who want to teach other peoples’ children at public expense are to be ‘qualified’ in some way.   The points usually left out of discussions about requiring qualification of homeschooling parents are that the qualifications required of public school teachers are because they:

• teach other peoples’ children
• do so at public expense

In other occupations, if someone wants to do certain work for ‘other people,’ perhaps cutting hair, filing fingernails, or serving food, that person or facility must have some kind of certificate such as a beautician’s license or a food handler certificate.  For a family member to do the same thing for other family members does not require certification.  Parents (and sometimes siblings) routinely cut family members’ hair.  Manicuring children’s hands (whether it’s just a quick clip of the nails or a full-blown beauty treatment) is often a parental job.  Food service, from the choosing of the food through the preparing and to the serving, is a common occurrence in most households.  The cleanliness of a child and the feeding of children are as important as educating them.

My other point, public expense, is (to my mind) the reason for ‘accountability.’  When other peoples’ money is used to fund a venture, then those people deserve an accounting of how the money has been spent, and if the method of the spending worked or not, and if not, what to do about it. 

This accounting for the spending is not straightforward in a (small r) republican form of government because the money is distributed through channels to an arm of the government.  The people who made the money that was given (the taxpayers) do not have a direct say in how it is spent.  Their representatives, and the representatives’ appointees, make the daily nuts and bolts decisions such as whether to buy this style of desk or that style of desk, or whether the classroom will be fitted with chalkboards or dry-erase boards, etc.  Each and every little decision is not put up for a vote because that would paralyze the organization.

Homeschooling families do not use public money (for the most part) (and whether or not they do is one of the ‘big commotions’ in homeschooling), and therefore are not ‘accountable’ to taxpayers.  As for homeschooling ‘accountability,’ because the families are not using public money, they are no more accountable to their neighbors (which is what society is made of) for how they are schooling their children than they are for what brand of shampoo they are using, or whether they are having baked potatoes or cottage fries for supper.

Despite the built-in accountability for the spending of public funds, the organizations that use public money to educate the children of the people who want to use schools’ services are not 100% successful in doing what they’re using the money to do.  (there are lots of dropouts) This is not to blame them as I don’t know that they could ever be 100% successful in ensuring that all students master the common-denominator education provided to the conscripted clientele.   I find many of the practices to be a poor use of my money, such as fad-teaching, huge schools, and sports teams, but I’m outnumbered by my neighbors in regards to changing any of this.  The whole public school/accountability drama seems to be a case of figuring out what I can and can’t change, and knowing the difference between the two.

Should homeschooling parents ever have qualify to teach their children, I would like to see similar legislation requiring the same kind of qualifying requirement applied to everyone for:

• cooking at home  (everyone must make good dietary decisions, and I’ve sure seen some school lunches in dire need of help)
• home care of ill children (parents in general are not medically trained — and Mr. Lessenberry is already concerned about this)
• haircutting at home (a bad haircut can emotionally scar a child, or a grownup)
• backyard gardening and lawn maintenance (irresponsible use of potentially toxic chemicals and powered tools is dangerous; importing pest plants that must be eradicated increases the cost of public works)
• home repair (ditto on the irresponsible use of chemicals and tools, not to mention the damage to marriages when He does something completely loony in the kitchen)
• pet ownership (reduce animal abuse; promote understanding of spaying and neutering; reduce neighbor abuse from barking dogs)
• home decoration (have you seen some of those holiday decorations?! — they’re flippin’ ground safety hazards)
• home car maintenance (poor maintenance could result in an accident that harms other people; washing cars at home causes oil and gasoline residue to flow into storm sewers)
• stocking home libraries (if homeschoolers must be controlled by a “strong package of bills firmly regulating home schooling” that “prescribe a curriculum,” then it is equally important that all home libraries are properly stocked with quality materials — ‘ordinary people’ outnumber homeschoolers by a whole bunch!)

After all, once the government enters the homeschool, precedent has been set for entering the home.  It’s already being done for guns.

Other comments on Mr. Lessenberry’s piece are at:

• Mom is Teaching (hat tip to Tammy)
• Doc’s Sunrise Rants (hat tip to Chris)
• Elisheva’s Ragamuffin Studies has a post on a similar topic (hat tip to Dawn)

The kids must be doing OK.  Colleges want them.

Colleges in Missouri are recruiting home-schooled students, 6 April 2008, Columbia Missourian, Columbia, Missouri

Home schooling in the U.S. has begun to catch the eye of universities nationwide. In the past 10 years, the number of children home schooled has increased from an estimated 850,000 to nearly 2 million.

Many are bright, well educated and well socialized, and universities are courting them more rigorously every year.

…

Columbia College hosts seminars to encourage home-schooled students to consider a university education and get a feel for what college life is like.

“I think the trend is growing to recruit this demographic,” said Kathy Monnig, admissions counselor and home-school liaison at Columbia College.

…

MU also actively recruits home-schooled students.

“Mizzou averages 10 home-schooled students a year,” said Adam Barklage, an admissions representative at MU. …

Home-schooled students typically come to college with the ability to be independent in their studies, and they’re motivated to learn, Monnig said. “They generally test above the national average on the ACT.”

…

“There are no home-schooled students at Columbia College that haven’t excelled,” Monnig said. “They are all really involved, and most are on the dean’s list.”

The article includes the Usual Sly Digs At Homeschoolers In The Name of Objectivity, but they don’t outweigh the positive comments from the ‘objective evaluators.’

As the mother of an MU alumna, I must add MizzouRah!

I read this article from the Washington Post hoping for a comment from the parent that she was waiting to homeschool because, perhaps, that in later life a dedicated musician’s life can be lonely on the road, that practice hours are long, or maybe that the child was in a specialized music school and the benefits were not worth whatever trade-off would be made.  But no, the ‘homeschool comment’ was about the importance of school socialization, an importance belied by the lack of understanding by classmates.

A String of Triumphs For Violinist, 13, 6 April 2008, Washington Post, Washington, D.C.

Every other day, her school orchestra holds practice, but Jessica says those sessions are not as serious as the ones she attends elsewhere. She tries to tell her classmates about her adventures as an aspiring violinist, or at least explain to them why she listens to so much classical music in the car, rather than top 40 on the radio.

“They don’t get it,” she said.

Her mom adds, “They don’t understand why she doesn’t go to the mall or watch ‘American Idol.’ ”

Jessica loves school, especially the modern history she is studying in social studies. She keeps her grades high, but teachers become frustrated with her schedule and frequent absences. Her mother is getting frustrated, too, and plans to home-school Jessica when she starts high school.

“I’ve held off for as long as I can, because I know how important the social aspects of school are for kids,” her mother said. “But she’s so dedicated to this. She needs to be practicing four hours a day and have a more flexible schedule.”

 It is not surprising that ‘average citizens’ do not have an in-depth understanding about homeschooling, but newshounds are supposed to be nosy information-miners.  With all the information available online, surely reporters would pick up enough understanding to select different quotes than are usually chosen for articles.

Learning away from home:  Home-schoolers adjust to UT, 14 April 2008, UT The Daily Texan, Austin, Texas

As a home-schooled student, Thomas enjoyed the flexibility that came with learning. Early on, school was more like a field trip with visits to museums. As Thomas progressed in her studies, reading, writing and math assignments came from workbooks that could be adjusted if the material was too easy or too difficult. Vacations to destinations like Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia complemented conventional curriculum as well. …

“The main problem [with being home-schooled] introduced for me is because my background is more open and flexible, I’m not desensitized to having to deal with bureaucratic aspects of a school like this,” she said.

Large science classes for non-majors are not made to entice students to learn, but rather taught as a requirement, Halpin said.

“High school students think of teachers as the enemy, and they carry that over,” Thomas said. “They were never forced upon me.”

Thomas said she has learned from students that they are bored with the typical high school experience, and that is something she notices now during her classes as well.

“I’m looking down the sea of computers at people playing games on MySpace while the teacher is talking, and I can’t fathom that. High school sets people up wrong,” she said. …

Dana has the link.

Videotaped victim to be homeschooled, 11 April 2008, Principled Discovery

Homeschooling will condemn her to a life of victimhood? This situation is a little beyond merely “uncomfortable.” And I cannot help but think that the best way to help her through the trauma and “develop some resiliency” is to shelter her for a time. Returning too soon before she is emotionally ready would likely do more to cause lifetime ‘victimhood’ issues than would bringing her home to heal physically and emotionally.

Terry Willingham of Progressive Homeschoolers of Florida talks back to the American Chronicle.

Setting the Homeschool Record Straight, 9 April 2008, Progressive Homeschoolers of Florida

In the American Chronicle article, Homeschoolers Who Don´t Learn Science Shouldn´t Receive a Diploma , author Steve Shives takes some initially ill-informed pot shots at homeschooling as part of a critical evaluation of Mason Dixon Homeschoolers Association (MDHSA) of PA, a diploma mill that counts Apologia Biology, a creation science based curriculum.

…

To my pleasant surprise, Mr. Shives wrote back thanking me“ and shortly after that, wrote to let me know he’d posted a follow up on his site (Steve Likes to Curse “ where the article originally appeared, and where apparently he does!) and said he was submitting the follow up to American Chronicle for “wider public consumption” later today.

…

Mr. Shives references Evolved Homeschooler as well. The long and the short of it, though, is that I think this brings home really well that we can and must speak out when we see generalized misrepresentation of homeschooling anywhere.

We won’t necessarily change the mindset of individuals like Steve Shives, but we can certainly broaden it  and maybe make a few new allies along the way.

The original article is: Homeschoolers Who Don´t Learn Science Shouldn´t Receive a Diploma, 9 April 2008, The American Chronicle, Beverly Hills, California

There are many, many things I find dubious about the practice of parents homeschooling their children. I wonder how a mother or father who has not been educated as a teacher, who in many cases has not even been to college her/himself, can possibly provide their child with as good an education as students receive in our much-maligned public schools. And I can´t help but think that these homeschool students, of whom there are several million in the United States, are being robbed of a crucial formative experience by not attending school with other people their age and being forced to interact with a diverse group of peers.

I believe this article is meant to be ‘about’ homeschooling, but instead, it is a recitation of legal constraints on home education in Virginia. The single comment on the piece is about an addition to the constraints that doesn’t appear in law.

Parents Say Home Schooling ‘Rewarding,’ 29 March 2008, Rocktown Weekly, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Student Requirements By Law

Necessary Parent Qualifications

Making The Choice

Homeschooling: A senior’s perspective, 25 March 2008, Cary News, Cary, North Carolina

Ten years ago I joined the ranks of those who are educated at home. Rather than walking to the bus stop each morning my commute involves taking a few steps from one room in my house to the room designated the “school room.” I am now a senior in my last few months of homeschooling.

Homeschooling has allowed me to be taught by teachers from all over the country.

…

The flexibility of homeschooling provides students to pursue opportunities for unconventional learning. Take, for example, the way in which I studied business. When Mountain Aires, a traditional music band of which I am a member, decided to produce an album, I diverged from my usual schooling to research what we needed to legally sell our product.

Through research we learned that to sell our product we had to form a business. After this discovery I met with a business consultant, a copyright lawyer and an accountant. When we had learned the pros and cons of each type of business, the band finally voted to form a limited liability corporation.

…

Many people have asked me what it will be like graduating from a homeschool. My graduation experience will not differ much from that of other seniors. In a cap-and-gown ceremony hosted by a local homeschool group, I will graduate with about 20 other students from our area who have also been educated at home.