| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp. All rights reserved. |
| about the book |
| The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Homeschooling Basics Why Homeschooling? Why do it? by Julie Shepherd Knapp, copyright 2006 Homeschoolers are a very diverse crowd. They come from all walks of life, all faiths, and all political affiliations... but they are united by several common beliefs. Most importantly, homeschoolers believe that parents have the right to choose what is the best educational situation for each of their children -- that institutional learning should not be the only option available to families. They also believe (and have proven over the years) that concerned, dedicated parents are quite capable of providing their children with a decent education based out of their homes. Some homeschooling families would put their children back in school if the school systems would make changes to their liking. Others would choose to homeschool, no matter what changes were made in the school system... because they feel that the family learning environment provides the best possible option for their particular children. Ask 10 families why they homeschool, and you will get 10 different replies, but the article below, "55 Reasons to Homeschool", probably includes most of them. The other articles express diverse opinions as to the benefits of homeschooling. Maybe one of them will echo your sentiments, address the concerns that have lead you to consider homeschooling, and help you decide if homeschooling makes sense for your family. 55 Reasons to Homeschool by the National Home Education Network "Is Homeschooling for You?" by Marty Layne from Conscious Choice e-magazine The Decision to Homeschool from the Color Me Pink blog Why We Continue to Homeschool - By Mrs. G. Why We Chose To Homeschool by Jennifer, Toad Haven Homeschool Why Do You Homeschool? by Blythe Pelham for HomeschoolZone "Home Room: Debunking the Myths of Homeschooling" by Lisa Rivero, author of "Creative Homeschooling for Smart Families" Homeschooling Comes of Age by Isabel Lyman for the Ludwig von Mises Institute Why Homeschool? advantages of homeschooling from the Washington Homeschool Organization "Is Homeschooling Right for You?" by Krystal Cochran from Veg Family e-magazine The Main Reasons People Choose to Home School in the UK from AHomeEducation website Learning at Home by Terry and Rachael MacCabe for The Lookout online Christian e-magazine Understanding Christian Homeschoolers by Jim Muncy Lisa's Homeschool Page -- cites scripture to support homeschooling Homeschooling for Black Families by Jennifer James How At-Risk Youth can Develop a Career and be Productive a motivational brochure by Captain Bob Web, discusses how kids labeled failures in the school system can still find motivation and develop successful careers (discusses homeschooling on page 18) Accidental Homeschoolers by Mary Arnold -- a mom who's child was having trouble learning to read in school I Am What I Am by Anne Ohman -- discusses the joys of homeschooling a twice exceptional child (gifted with a learning disability) Let The Children Play: An Essay on Homeschooling by Jim Muncy Beyond Pudding: How Expectations Make the Education by Lisa Tiffin for Eclectic Homeschool Online, discusses academic reasons Confessions of a home-schooler: Call us crackpots, but our kids spend their days at beaches and museums, not in school by homeschool dad, Andrew O'Hehir "Top 10 Gems: What I Wish Someone had Told me During My First Year of Homeschooling" by Linda Dobson, author Motivations for Homeschooling by Susan at Imperfect Genius Why We Homeschool from Amy Bell's Natural Learning page Things I Didn't Learn by Rebekah Baglini -- a college admission essay For Professors' Children, the Case for Home Schooling -- an article by W.A. Pannapacker, Professor of Engish TEN GOOD REASONS TO HOMESCHOOL by homeschool dad Greg Sherman, Ph.D., Technology Integration Coordinator - Center for Excellence in Education/Arizona K-12 Center, Northern Arizona University Living the Outlaw Life: An Education in Freedom by Claire Wolfe for Backwoods Home Magazine Homeschooling as the Practice of a Liberal Democratic Faith: Homeschooling Unitarian Universalists by Theresa Willingham for HUUmans on the Web, how homeschooling fits with UU ideals Homeschooling is Not for the Feint of Heart by Sarah McUmber- House , she gives her three basic reasons for homeschooling Are Homeschoolers Selfish? by Tammy Takahashi Why Schools Don't Educate -- a speech by John Taylor Gatto, accepting the New York City Teacher of the Year Award on Jan 31, 1990 "School's Out" by Daniel H. Pink, "...Home schooling has become perhaps the largest and most successful education reform movement of the last two decades..." from Reason Online Related Issues Why Homeschool? To give your kids more free time! Doctors Urge More Playtime for Children Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills by Alix Spiegel Walled Gardens by Bruce Van Patter -- striving to preserve childhood Raise Children with a Wild Streak by Mark Pruett The Wild Child a "deep thought" by Scott Noelle Do Schools Today Kill Creativity? -- a talk by Ken Robinson, author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative and Epiphany, which explores how highly creative individuals first discovered their unique talents, and how all of us can unlock our own. How the Public School System Crushes Souls by Steve Olson Teens and Sleep from the National Sleep Foundation -- most US teens suffer from sleep deprivation from rising too early Snooze or Lose by By Po Bronson -- Overstimulated, overscheduled kids are getting at least an hour’s less sleep than they need, a deficiency that, new research reveals, has the power to set their cognitive abilities back years... Bullying -- "Dealing with bullies toughens you up" ... "Bullying is part of life in the real world"... and other myths about bullying from Bully Online My Kid Needs A Wedgie? from the Imperfect Genius blog No Breathing in the Aisles -- study finds that excess exhaust levels on school buses were 23 to 46 times higher than levels considered to be a significant cancer risk, kids at greater risk for asthma and lung cancer Captive Kids: Report on Commercial Pressures on Kids at School. The Next Niche: BusRadio advertises to Students Billboard Advertising INSIDE school buses, lovely Home-schoolers Threaten our Cultural Comfort by Sonny Scott -- a look at homeschooling from "the other side" "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling" by John Taylor Gatto, a collecton of writings from a man who was an award-winning public school teacher for 26 years, An excerpt of one essay, "The Six Lesson School Teacher" is available. High-Achieveing Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind by The Thomas B. Fordham Institute Parts Is Parts - Intelligence Revisited by David H. Albert Pinky's Scarey School Nightmare -- a quirky YouTube video that refers to the book "Deschooling Society" by Iavn Illich A Vision of Students Today -- put together as a class project by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University School Daze -- an excerpt from "Chalkbored: What's Wrong with School and How to Fix It" by Jeremy Schneider, a former high school teacher "Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers" a book by Gordon Neufeld, PhD, a developmental and clinical psychologist, here is an interview with Dr. Gordon and a discussion of his book Boy Trouble? We're cheating all students. Girls may just put up with it better. by Nick Smith Taking Charge: Hanging On To What Makes Homeschooling Distinctive by Larry and Susan Kaseman -- The Kasemans address a common question, "We pay taxes to support schools! Why shouldn't we homeschoolers be fighting for the right to take classes and use school facilities and services?" -- understanding what is distinctive about homeschooling can help us prevent homeschooling from being reduced to nothing more than alternative type of "school" Other Resources "Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery" a book by David Albert, author and homeschool parent "Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense" a book by David Guterson, high school English teacher and homeschool parent "A Patchwork of Days" and the follow-up book "Homeschool Open House" a book by Nancy Lande -- share a typical homeschool day with 30 US homeschool families "Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves" a book by Alison McKee, explains how "natural learning" works Deschooling Gently by Tammy Takahashi -- great suggestions and advice for helping parents get out of a school mindset "Creative Home Schooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families" a book by Lisa Rivero, a great resource guide OK, but will homeschoolers survive in "The Real World"? or... Check out The Homeschoolers Guide to the Galaxy for "getting started" information and advice |
| "There is no harm in doubt and skepticism; for it is through these that new discoveries are made." -- Richard Feynman (1918-1988) "All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary." ~~ Sally Ride, American astronaut "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." -- Dr. Seuss |
| "...every expression of love towards children heals society and moves it in unexpected, wondrous new directions..." - Lloyd deMause "Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular-- but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right." --Martin Luther King, Jr. |