HEM Resources Editor Mary Nix has gathered a delightful collection of links to Independence Day-related resources, including a terrific “History of the Fourth” from PBS (”When in the course of human events…”), and a “create your own fireworks” feature complete with music!
Tags: homeschooling resources, Independence Day, July 4th, Mary Nix, PBS
I have been homeschooling for eight years now. Lately I have been looking for an umbrella school/distance learning for my soon to be 8th grader. We are looking for one that allows you to chose your own curriculum. Any information you want to share would be great. -Betsy
HEM’s Questions & Answers is a readers’ forum for sharing questions, concerns, experiences and insights about homeschooling. Many of the answers from the comments section below will be published in the September/October issue, and archived for anyone researching these questions in the future.
Aaron (12) is the only student in our homeschool. We are not acquainted with many other families teaching at home. Aaron likes to memorize parts in plays and act out the roles. He is also interested in behind-the-scenes work like set design and costuming. I would like him to be acquainted with other talented young people with similar interests, however our little community theater doesn’t permit young people to try out. What do you suggest? -unsigned
HEM’s Questions & Answers is a readers’ forum for sharing questions, concerns, experiences and insights about homeschooling. Many of the answers from the comments section below will be published in the September/October issue, and archived for anyone researching these questions in the future.
Tags: community theater, costuming, homeschooling, set design
There’s a good discussion about homeschooling - which is illegal in Germany - taking place on the HEM Networking discussion forum:
“Like homeschooling in America in the seventies, change is starting small in Germany. However, in the US homeschooling was never forbidden by law, whereas our German friends have quite a legal hurdle to overcome.” ~Pat Farenga, President, Holt Associates
As concern heats up over education reform here and abroad this article from the Brisbane Times tackles the myths surrounding homeschooling and offers a larger view of the homeschooling community than generally seen.
It is often derided as a ‘hippie’ alternative, but for many the decision to home school a child is the right one.
What is it that bothers us as a society when someone chooses to educate their child at home? There is a stigma surrounding home schooling and, at the very least, a tendency to judge and stereotype: hippie; religious fundamentalist; just plain weird. But is this really justified?
There is so much to say it is hard to find a place to start. So I will start with a confession. I did a search for the title of this post and found close to two million references to the words and phrases within the headline. But not one reference for the whole phrase, Homeschooling in the Age of Obama. So I used it here for three reasons - inane, less inane, and my point.
Inane: The irony of the title made me grin.
Less inane: The headline is now used.
And my point: It is not about Obama.
In fact it is a mistake to think so narrowly as to consider it is about any one administration. Readers of HEM will not be surprised by my point. Our position has always been to work for a broad base of support for homeschooling - a position which has never aligned well with partisan politics. To frame the discussions of homeschooling and educational reform in partisan terms serves the constituent herders and political power brokers but forgets kids and families.
We should look beyond partisan world views towards a thorough understanding of the forces of educational reform. Simple civics tells us that for the Federal Government to have an impact on homeschooling it has to have willing state level partners. For a start, check out this Nation Governors Associations news release, Forty-Nine States and Territories Join Common Core Standards Initiative
In the twenty-six years since the release of A Nation at Risk, states have made great strides in increasing the academic rigor of education standards. Yet, America’s children still remain behind other nations in terms of academic achievement and preparedness to succeed.
By signing on to the common core state standards initiative, governors and state commissioners of education across the country are committing to joining a state-led process to develop a common core of state standards in English language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. These standards will be research and evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, aligned with college and work expectations and include rigorous content and skills.
Tags: Common Core Standards Initiative, Federal Reform, homeschooling, homeschooling in the age of obama, Nation Governors Associations
Sometimes the distinction between schooling and homeschooling are not always as jaw droppingly stark:
“Mommy, can I have this clock?” said the younger girl, who was around age 6. She was holding a children’s book with a built in analog clock for learning to tell time.
“No, that’s too old for you,” answered her mother.
I don’t know if the woman noticed my jaw drop and my brow furrow in confusion as I glanced at the little girl, but she may have.
“You don’t learn time-telling until the end of first grade,” the older girl informed her sister.
“Do I have to have a workbook?” asked the little girl.
“Yes!” answered her sister, obviously well-indoctrinated in school learning theory. “Otherwise you’ll forget everything over the summer.”
The perspective you gain by just being with kids can’t help but shows itself. The banner image to Crunchy Christian Mom’s blog says ‘being with kids’.
Homeschooling continues to make sense for many looking to raise independent, self-reliant kids.
Homesteading and homeschooling go hand in hand. After all, you want to be self reliant in every other aspect of your life. So why hand your children over to someone else to educate?
Homesteading and Homeschooling
http://www.organic-gardening-and-homesteading.com/homesteading-and-homeschooling.html
Tags: homeschooling, homesteading
In my daily reading of articles about homeschooling the big lessons of how children learn are doing pretty well in the public opinion square.
This piece in the The Philadelphia Inquirer confirms. (It is also nice to see familiar names.)
Now, the children educated in the late-’80s homeschool swell are themselves the parents of preschool and school-age kids. And many are opting to carry on the family tradition; after all, they say, they are living proof that homeschoolers can not only function in society, but thrive.
While the lessons of learning are doing well, we have yet to win the argument on testing and assessment. This helps:
And when Bergson-Shilcock enrolled in college at Arcadia - with a portfolio instead of a traditional transcript and no SAT scores because she refused to take the test - “I felt like I had such an advantage over traditionally schooled people because I was used to owning my own education and managing my time.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Homeschool: The next generation
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20090610_Homeschool__The_next_generation.html
Tags: homeschooling, how children learn
