For Your Consideration:

 Here’s a little piece on homeschooling that appeared in one of our local papers back in August.  My “remarks” to a local online homeschool list (Valleyhomeschoolers) follow. 

Call it a bad day…I was pretty snarky.  But this piece just riled me.  I’m ever so tired of “homeschooling pieces” written with a majority of quotes from local school board members, or from super-well-known “homeschooling pioneers”, like the Colfaxes.  Nothing against the Colfaxes, mind you…I’d just like to read about more local people, who are living it (homeschooling).  I guess if you’re going to interview ONE local person about homeschooling, though, Brenda Rose would be the ”go-to gal”.  She’s a wonderful home/unschooling advocate. 

Parents, students turning to home

By BOB STUART

The News Virginian

Brenda Rose, of Staunton, has homeschooled all six of her children, and swears by the experience.

“It’s not just schooling, it becomes your whole way of life,’’ said Rose, who is starting an alternative school in Staunton this fall called Arch Academy. “We take vacations in May and September.”

Area public school educators say the homeschooling movement in the Shenandoah Valley has been a steady one.

Nationally, research estimates now place the number of U.S. children being homeschooled at between 1.9 million and 2.4 million.

And those families using homeschools are more diverse, according to Fordham University education professor Bruce Cooper, who has written a book on the subject and researched it worldwide.

“It’s not just Christian families, families from all backgrounds and religions are doing it and for all kinds of personal and religious reasons,’’ he said.

More than 20,000 Virginia children were homeschooled last year, compared to about 16,000 four years earlier, according to the state Education Department.

Fifty-two children were homeschooled in Waynesboro a year ago, compared to 242 in Augusta County.

Those numbers reflect a slightly upward trend from earlier in the decade. During the 2002-03 school year, 34 children were homeschooled in Waynesboro and 219 in Augusta County.

Rose, who is studying for a doctorate in education at the University of Virginia, said homeschooling provides the flexibility to pursue courses  at length, and to study innovatively, without bureaucracy swooping down.

The area homeschooling network has become stronger, Waynesboro Schools Superintendent Robin Crowder said.

He supports parents who want to homeschool their children.

“We’re going to try to support those parents and we will embrace those children when they come back in our schools,’’ Crowder said.

The progress of Virginia homeschooled students is monitored each year through standardized test results submitted by parents to school districts.

Sometimes, homeschoolers decide to go to public school during their high school years, Augusta County Superintendent Gary McQuain said.

“They come back to our schools because of the opportunities in art and music,’’ he said.

Fordham’s Cooper said most parents can’t teach subjects such as calculus, and the high school offerings of math and science spur some to turn to public schools as students during those years.

Homeschoolers “do well,” in public schools, McQuain said. “If they are motivated to work at home, they will be motivated to work in our schools.”

Supporters of homeschooling say it may not be for every child, but under the right circumstances, the education alternative works.

Micki Colfax and her husband David homeschooled their four children in northern California and wrote two books about the experience “Homeschooling For Excellence” and  “Hard Times In Paradise.”

Three of the Colfax kids went on to attend Harvard. Two became doctors and two lawyers.

“I don’t think every child is cut out for it or every family,’’ Micki Colfax said. “Homeschooling takes an enormous amount of patience and money. At least one parent is a non-income parent.”

Colfax said the key is not to isolate the children.

“We found it very easy to expose our kids to different types of people,’’ she said.

The Colfax children played music, participated in 4-H, computer classes and ran marathons.

The kids also spent entire years on one subject. “They had an enormous sense of responsibility,’’ she said.

Cooper said he expects homeschools will continue to meet a need.

“I think they will become more diverse,” he said, “but they are very much a part of American life and part of your brirthright.”

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Here’s where I start with my bitching:  

After reading the article, here are a few of my rants  (bear with me, I’m low on caffeine today): 

Dumb quote #1:  Robin Crowder, Superintendent of Waynesboro Schools said, “We’re going to try to support those parents and we will embrace those children when they come back in our schools”.

Well, thank Goddess for that, cuz ya’ll know I just can’t hack it on my own!!  (Didja catch the heavy sarcasm?)

Really…is that the best he could have done?  We will embrace those kids when they come back?  How about kids who’ve never been to “their” schools?  How about kids/parents who never, ever want to utilize the PS system?  

Besides, I thought “embracing” in schools was against school policy. 

Dumb quote #2:   Augusta County Super (NOT!) Gary McQuain, with this little nugget of crap:

“They come back to our schools because of the opportunities in art and music,” he said.

Umm…yeah.  Which opportunities are those, again?  After a thorough search of the Augusta County Schools website, I’m not rushing to send my kiddos to school for the art and music opportunities (and I have a couple of girls who are  way into Art and Music).  In fact, most of the info I found that related to Arts and/or Music is located on the Gifted Education or Governor’s School pages.  Let’s be honest:  neither of those programs are supporting the needs of a majority of students. 

Another rant:  I’m tired of reporters trotting out the Colfaxes, just like I’m tired of the articles that report  “homeschoolers do better on tests than schooled kids”.  Really, how important is it that the Colfax kids attended Harvard and became doctors and lawyers?  It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just another example of trying to show how homeschoolers “excel”.  And it’s one freaking family!  Is that to say that there aren’t other homeschoolers who have gone on and done remarkable things?  All we have are the Colfaxes?  Let’s have our local papers doing reports on LOCAL families, who are making it work, whose kids are engaged and interesting and intelligent.  A piece like THAT would be worth reading!

The sooner media outlets stop pitting “public-school students against home-schoolers”, the better off we’ll ALL be!

One more thing:  the old stereotype (and I was surprised it came from Micki Colfax) that you need an abundance of patience and MONEY ($ka-ching$) to homeschool.  Am I the only one who’s found homeschooling to be way cheaper than I ever thought?  And if you haven’t, seriously…check out those school supply lists that Wal-Mart prints out.  Multiply that list by however many school-aged kids you have…if you’re a large-ish family, those lists get pretty expensive…and quick!  And those lists are just to “start the year out”…we haven’t even begun to add up the cost of new clothes (ya gotta have ‘em, particularly if you have fashion-conscious kids), book rental fees, Gym fees, school fundraisers, field trips, yearbooks, class rings, art supplies, breakfast and lunch (how could I forget…ya gotta feed these kids!), etc., etc.  And that bit about “at least one parent is a non-income parent” got to me, too.  More and more, I meet Moms who are working and making money as well as good ‘ol Dad, whether from home or outside of the home.  And yes, I too will become a part-time worker pretty soon, and I’m pretty psyched about it.  I’m lucky in that I will be able to be home during the day and away from 5-9 in the evenings, 4 days a week.  I’m also lucky in that I’m going to be working about a mile and a half from home, LOL.  My part-time job won’t bring in enough for us to live off of, certainly, but it will help out with bills and fun things that the girls and I want to do.  And many, many families have a similar situation going on.  There are situations where Mom and Dad both work full-time, and the families are making it work.  There are Grandparents and other family members who are homeschooling kids that aren’t even their biological kids, and they’re making it work.  I know single parents who homeschool their child(ren), and they are making it work.  Any family can make it work, if they have the motivation to do so.

As far as the patience thing:  In my opinion, any parent needs patience.  I don’t find that I need more patience to have my kids at home with me.  We’re quite happy, together, most days…because homeschooling has become our way of life.  We actually LIKE each other, can you believe it?  And because we’re happy with our choice(s), and happy (again, most of the time) being together, I find that I do not need “an enormous amount of patience”, as Mrs. Colfax says.

But maybe I could use “an enormous amount of patience” for small-town newspaper reporters, hmmm? 

Filed under Homeschooling in the media, Blah-dee blah blah |