On the HEM Networking discussion group, longtime advocate and Texas homeschooling mom Susan Smylie, who was interviewed for HEM in 2007, shared a reference to homeschooling from an unexpected source. On Monday, Susan wrote to others on the HEM Networking group:
Dean Koontz is apparently a fan of homeschooling (I don’t think he has kids–not mentioned on his bio):
From Relentless (his newest book). The story is told in the first person by Cubby, who is married to Penny. Penny’s parents are demolition experts, survivalists, quirky and interesting. Cubby and Penny are on the run from horror (a pattern in Dean Koontz stories) and have visited her parents to stock up on weapons. They have an uber-genius son–six years old and doing Einstein-type work. (working on time travel and the like). Here is the homeschool quote:
Eyes closed, I sad to Penny, “Sometimes I worry about Milo. At the stronghold, I realized you had a childhood like his. Homeschooled. No friends your age. Your world limited to family, a kind of isolation. What were the negatives of a childhood like that?”
“None,” she said without hesitation. “Growing up in a loving family, with parents who have a sense of humor and common sense and a sense of wonder–that’s not isolation, that’s a wonderful haven.” …. “More than a haven, It’s a sanctuary, where you can decide who you are are, what you think about the world, before the world tells you who you are are and what you ought to think of it.”
Obviously, most of us don’t isolate our kids the way he describes here–there were/are reasons she and her son have that isolation. But, look at how Koontz turns even that criticism of homeschooling into a good thing. The passage goes on a bit longer, with her talking about how she would not be the artist she is if she’d had earlier formal instruction. Was a nice little surprise to find in this book (that otherwise does not mention homeschooling at all–it is just obvious their son has to be homeschooled, he is smarter than pretty much everyone else on the planet.)
best wishes, Susan Smylie
Tags: Dean Koontz, homeschooling, homeschooling families, homeschooling reference, reasons to homeschool, Susan Smylie
10 Things I Miss re: Homeschooling
Posted by DFO at 2:23 p.m. on October 15 Comments (2)
1. teaching in my pajamas
2. reading together on the couch
3. being home with Julianna
4. having no evening homework
5. being able to clean/cook during the day
6. flexibility
7. not having to worry about the kid’s missing school because of illness
8. discussions with the boys about Julius Caesar and ecosystems and Van Gogh and Robinson Crusoe
9. spontaneous field trips/snow days/self declared holidays
10. spending all day with my three favorite kids
Tags: D.F. Oliveria, homeschooling, homeschooling dads, homeschooling families, reasons to homeschool, Spokesman-Review
The VaHomeschoolers all-day seminar on Homeschooling and College Entrance, scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, is offering “all the information you need to plan a successful high school experience and negotiate the college admissions process.”
Hear about the pros and cons to different high school approaches, and learn the ins and outs of preparing an effective transcript. Sessions include:
• Homeschooling the High School Years
• Transcripts without Tears
• College Admissions Q & A
• Investigating Opportunities for Financial Aid
• Community College Education for Homeschoolers
Join experienced homeschool parents and representatives from college such as Christopher Newport University, Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Shenandoah University, Old Dominion University, and Virginia Tech to discuss the college admissions process for homeschoolers. Focus on opportunities for financial aid with Mr. Lee Andes, the Assistant Director for Financial Aid for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Find out about the resources available to homeschoolers within Virginia’s community college system.
Advance registration online or via postal mail guarantees that we will have enough handouts at this special event. Walk-in registration requires a late fee, so don’t let the opportunity for advance registration slip away! Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by November 2, 2009; online registrations must be completed by November 6, 2009. After November 6, only walk-in registrations will be available. You can register at the seminar website.
Tags: Christopher Newport University, college admissions, college admissions process, college admissions process for homeschoolers, College Education for Homeschoolers, college for homeschoolers, community college, high school for homeschoolers, Homeschooling and College Entrance, Homeschooling the High School Years, Old Dominion University, Opportunities for Financial Aid, Randolph-Macon College, resources available to homeschoolers, SCHEV, Science Museum of Virginia, Shenandoah University, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, VaHomeschoolers, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech
It was Wednesday, mid-morning, when a friend called to shoot the breeze. During our conversation, I mentioned my thirteen-year-old daughter was still asleep.
“Oh, is she sick?”
“No, she’s recently become a real late bird. She was up reading most of the night.”
“Wow!” my friend marveled. “You’re very lenient. I have my kids up for school by six o’clock.”
It’s not as if I wasn’t used to such comments (though the note of condescension in her voice bugged me). My daughter’s late rising has brought about a great deal of eye rolling and gaping disbelief from those who cannot imagine life outside the pre-set hours of institutionalized education, even though they are aware our child is not a part of that institution.
Is it stubborn adherence to tradition that keeps people holding the early bird in such high regard, while the night owl is chastised for being lazy?
Read the rest of M.S. Beltran’s Homeschooled Teens Can Rest Easier from the March/April, 2004 issue of Home Education Magazine.
Tags: Home Education Magazine, homeschooled teens, homeschooling, homeschooling families, M. S. Beltran, reasons to homeschool, unschooling
Pamela Jorrick is a homeschooling mom and blogger who describes herself as “the mother of a couple of home grown, free ranging kids living in the foothills of Northern California.” On her weblog, Blah, Blah, Blog, she shares her perspective and her approach to homeschooling:
I am a firm believer that education should not be boring. Kids start off life wanting to learn, and in an effort to keep that spark alive rather than smothering it with formalities, I spend a lot of time researching (goofing off on the internet, browsing library shelves, crafty catalogs etc.) finding cool things to enhance our homeschooling journey. It keeps it fun and interesting for both my kids and me, which is, after all, why we are doing this.
In another post she explains a little more:
The idea of homeschooling really isn’t that strange, and neither are most of the people doing it. We’re a mixed bag of all kinds of people who chose this path for different reasons and go about it different ways. So, I try to be glad to answer the questions, and to show the side of homeschooling that is out having fun, learning and enjoying life. I certainly choose my moments to mention homeschooling. If my children are running through the store being exceptionally loud and crashing the shopping cart into each other, or worse, the wine shelf, I am not about to tout what a great educational alternative we have going on. I can’t convincingly pretend I don’t know who they belong with, since one of them looks like a miniature version of me.
Pamela’s a good writer, and she finds interesting things to write about. Check out her blog at the links above.
Tags: blogging about homeschooling, home education, homeschool, homeschool blog, homeschool bloggers, homeschool moms, homeschooling, homeschooling families, homeschooling resources, Pamela Jorrick, unschooling, writing about homeschooling
