"Home Education"?
Home education. Homeschooling. Unschooling. Deschooling,
What is it?
Let’s start with what is isn’t.
It isn’t truancy. Truancy is defined as "non-attendance", as "absenteeism". Truancy is when kids don’t show up for classes at a school in which they are enrolled.
It isn’t "home-bound education". That’s when a school-enrolled child cannot attend school (usually due to illness or injury), and so is given lessons at home by a school-assigned teacher, who give assignments to be done between visits. The school oversees the child’s education, issues grades, and, if the student never returns to school, issues a diploma.
It isn’t enrolling in a "virtual charter" or other type of distance education that’s run by a public school district. That’s just "public school at home". (This doesn’t exist in NJ. Home educators in other states are gnashing their teeth over the hijacking of the term "homeschool" by these public school programs.)
It isn’t hiring a tutor to run a one-family school in your home. Tutoring is a valid option, one with an old and respectable history, but it’s not much different than enrolling in a private or parochial school; parental control ends with the writing of the checks.
So… what is it?
Home education is a family-centered way of learning, in which a child’s education is overseen by the parents. Simple, no?
Oh. You wanted details.
The truth is that home education is a generic term for the myriad types of learning available to children whose parents have chosen to take charge of their education, rather than leaving it to "the professionals". It’s as easy and as difficult to define as "home cooking". It’s a lot easier to point out what it isn’t!
Many families learn together, especially with younger children. Despite the dire warnings of "the experts", parents certainly are capable of overseeing their child’s learning. More importantly, parents have a vested interest in seeing that the lessons fit the child, rather than the other way around, as in institutional education centers ("schools"), where education is "one-size-fits-all".
Myth #4 "You Need Teacher Training, Dearie" by Linda Dobson
Dear New Homeschooler by Mary McCarthy, co-founder of NJHA
By the time they reach their teens, kids who’ve been educated at home are capable of fending for themselves. They may spend a few hours on the academics they need for college or career choices, and spend the rest of their day pursuing their hearts interests. Some take on internships or apprenticeships, some take college courses either via distance learning or at their local county college. Most are involved in some form of community service.
Older Kids - Decompression - FAQ by Cafi Cohen
Teens and Older Kids articles from A to Z Home's Cool
Colleges that Accept Homeschoolers the ever-growing list compiled by Karl Bunday
Parents aren‘t required to "learn it all, then teach it all:, as some critics charge. As more and more families choose home education, more options open up. These include:
Tutoring: Yes, we know, we said that tutoring isn’t homeschooling. But there’s a wide gulf between giving over responsibility to a tutor, and hiring a tutor to fill in a specific need. When your child groans, "I need to learn this calculus to get into that college program, and I finished the book and I just don’t get it!" the math-phobic parent is taking, not giving up, responsibility by hiring a calculus tutor.
Learning Centers: resource & support centers, sometimes adjuncts to child care centers. Classes, materials, equipment, and space are offered on a "pick and choose" basis comparable to libraries.
Co-op classes: Parents take turns teaching classes of various length, breadth, and depth. These are usually run by support groups.
Next page: Home Education Styles and Philosophies
Comments and suggestions welcomed!
Write to:
NJ Homeschool Association
P.O.Box 1386
Medford, NJ 08055
njha@geocities.com
Or call (609)346-2060
Ads appearing on this page are the responsibility of Yahoo!,
and do not necessarily represent the views
of the members of this organization.