Sometimes, I learn more from the blog commentators than I do from the actual post.
A tempest in a teapot has been brewing over at Teacher, Revised. I must admit, I’d never heard of this blog before, but that changed when Jesse Scaccia, a young (former) public school teacher, decided to hurl a grenade at homeschoolers everywhere with The Case Against Homeschooling:
Homeschooling: great for self-aggrandizing, society-phobic mother…… but not quite so good for the kid.
So starts a Top 10, David Letterman style, assault on homeschooling.
Not so surprisingly, considering the many networked, well-informed, and vocal homeschoolers online, this drew immediate fire. Homeschoolers were insulted, indignant, and not shy about fighting back.
Responding to all the comments, Jesse wrote another article that just stoked the fire, Homeschoolers: Do They Care Too Much.
It was an ugly scene, with commentators posting before thinking, and saying things that were unlikely to win supporters.
There were also bright spots as some homeschoolers crafted well-reasoned, and enlightening responses. I certainly learned a lot from comments such as this General Response to Homeschoolers: Do They Care Too Much?
I’m afraid; however, that my comments weren’t as high-minded as I responded defensively, and in a less than stellar manner:
Jesse,
You speak with all the conviction and world experience of a young man. You make assumptions about all homeschoolers based on the comments that you have received from a small fraction of a large, and growing population.
Some of us have kids in private, public, and homeschool. We make these choices based on what our children need in any given year. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.
For example, my children have been schooled in a variety of settings. My daughter attends a private middle school, but she attended public school K-5. My son also attended that public school K-1, but is now homeschooled because our school district does not have adequate resources for gifted students. However, we are in and out of our public school for various events. And, most of his friends, and mine, are from that school.
Over the past eight years, I’ve compared our school experience in Upstate NY to that of friends whose children attend schools in NYC, southern CA, Florida, and Bethesda, MD. Personally, I’ve attended schools in MD, Buenos Aires, VA, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. I’ve gone on to College of the Virgin Islands, University of Delaware, and Columbia University.
Even that small sampling reveals huge differences in academic and cultural experience. I wouldn’t presume to make judgments about public schools based on this tiny crack into the window of public education.
Why do you think you’re qualified to make sweeping judgments about homeschool education?
teacherrevised
May 31, 2009 at 10:57 pmSandra,
Thank you for writing.
I don’t think I’m qualified to make sweeping judgments about homeschool education. Homeschool situations are too diverse for that. The crux of today’s argument focused on a learning environment with limited perspectives.
Sandra Foyt
May 31, 2009 at 11:41 pmJesse,
When I posted earlier, I hadn’t read your previous article, The Case Against Homeschooling. I’m going to assume, and we all know what happens when you assume, that your previous article was written as a a joke. Perhaps you wrote it while watching David Letterman.
Perhaps, you never meant any of what you wrote in that article.
Just so we’re clear, are you or are you not stating that you believe that all homeschool learning environments provide a limited perspective?
May 31, 2009 at 11:46 pmNo, not all homeschooling environments. I was generalizing… which was and is tricky, given how varied homeschooling environments can be.
Today, Jesse’s blog partner, Alistair Bomphray, returned to this furor, and attempted to dampen the fire with Homeschool teacher meet public school teacher. Now hug. He summed up the conflict as:
The Geeks vs. The Idiot. Homeschools vs. public schools. Yawn.
In a refreshing change from the previous posts, he sought a genuine exchange of information, asking:
As a public school teacher who knows very little about homechooling, I would love to know what it takes to be a good homeschool teacher. I have questions like, How do you balance being both parent and teacher to your child? How do you incorporate technology into your lessons? How do you go about teaching a subject you know very little about? How much homework do you give? Is it even called ‘homework’ when it’s assigned at home? Do your students have to take the same standardized tests as mine? If so, how much test prep do you do each week? In short, I want to know your best (and worst) practices.
And as homeschool teachers, aren’t you just as curious about the life of a public school teacher? If for nothing else, to rethink and reshape your own teaching philosophies?
THIS is where I was blown away by the commentators. Wowee! These homeschoolers have so much experience and knowledge! It’s a privilege to read their comments. I highly recommend reading the responses for a diverse sampling of homeschool experience from a group of very smart, and interesting homeschoolers.
My response was not nearly as insightful, but I’ll include it here nevertheless. You never know when someone will want to learn more about homeschoolers in general, by looking at us specifically.
Alistair,
I appreciate your open minded approach, and invite you to visit my blog, On Living By Learning at http://spedr.com/bobo
To address your questions:
I’m homeschooling a bright 3rd Grader who loves to read and learn. Frankly, I don’t have to do much to “teach” him. I just provide the materials, a little direction, and help when he needs it. It’s 3rd Grade, not rocket science.
Somehow, between my graduate degree in International Affairs from Columbia, and my husband’s medical doctorate, we manage to answer his questions. When I don’t know the answers, I ask qualified friends, or I do the research.
Of course, it helps that my daughter attended K-5 at the public school. I volunteered, observed, and kept much of the material that she used so I have that as a point of reference. My son also attended that school K-1, so I have the inputs from those amazing PS teachers.
I also read, a lot, about education theory, and was very impressed by Lucy Calkins and the writer’s workshop model. Also, I was impressed by the Renzulli Schoolwide Enrichment Model. Both are attempted at our public school, but not well.
I don’t know if I’m a good homeschool teacher, but my son is a curious, avid learner. You can see how he is doing on his own blog: http://spedr.com/4y597
How do I balance being a parent and teacher?
Well, I’ve always been a teacher to my children, since long before they entered formal schooling. Even when they were in PS, the kids did much of their learning at home, through reading, enrichment, and supplemental education. Most of that was under my guidance.
Incorporating technology into our lessons is another reason that I homeschool. I’ve written quite a bit on this topic:
See Is Your Child Computer Literate? http://spedr.com/2av2t for a description of our public school technology experience, and also:
Home Schooling The Networked Student Series -
- Home Schooling The Networked Student
- How To Set Up Your Child’s New Computer
- Selecting A Browser For Your Child’s Computer
Or, you can look at my son’s blog, especially recent posts in which he used YouTube, Powerpoint, and Slideshare to share poetry lessons.
Homework is fairly unnecessary in our situation, except in those cases where it helps with cognitive retention to have reinforcement of material at various timed intervals. Sometimes, we use homework for spelling or math facts. And, yes, it’s called homework.
We’re in NY, so we’re required to administer the assessment tests. I think we could postpone it until 5th Grade, but I’m having my son take them for various reasons. He took the SCAT to qualify for Gifted Programs from Johns Hopkins. Earlier in the year, we downloaded last year’s NY State Tests, and he took that so I could determine if he was on track. This week, he’s taking the CAT and the PASS. Two tests is overkill, but I wanted to check out the differences between them so we can make informed decisions for the future. Next time, he’ll just take whichever one we determine fulfills NY requirements, and also gives us worthwhile feedback.
Test Prep – My son completed a workbook on analogies as part of his vocabulary curriculum. This had the added benefit of preparing him for the SCAT. He spent 10 minutes daily for a few weeks.
Last week, he worked through some of the material in the CAT prep book on a couple of days.
Nothing prepares a student for taking a standardized test except to actually take a test. Of course, this only works when they’re reading and learning steadily.
My 7th Grade daughter (who attends private school now) did quite well on the SAT this year. She prepped by taking a few practice tests (a couple of Saturday mornings,) but again this reflects a lot of reading and learning in her daily life.
Yes, I’m very curious about public school teachers. I follow several who write blogs and/or twitter. See this list of 100 Influential Blogs for Educators http://spedr.com/5p18a
Some of my faves: education.com, ReadWriteWeb, Joanne Jacobs, and Cool Cat.
I hope I’ve answered your questions, but I’d welcome any more on or offline. It’s quite interesting, and possibly enlightening, to have this exchange.
Definitely, there was a lot of unnecessary negativity in these exchanges but I’m hoping that this leads to opening communication between educators. There is much that public school and homeschool teachers can learn from each other.
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And another thing…
(Alistair Bomphray) On that note, if I could add another question to my previous batch, it would be, How do you determine if homeschooling is the best choice for your child? What are the determining factors?
(Me) Given that I’m available to homeschool both of my children, and both are bright, self-motivated learners, why am I only homeschooling one child?
Timing. Special Needs.
It never occurred to me to homeschool my older child. Instead, I spent many years working within the public school system, advocating for Gifted Ed programs. That was also when I started researching education, and comparing our schools to that of friends around the country.
By the time my son was in 1st Grade, I had a very good idea about what was available in our school district vs. that of other schools in Betheda, MD, southern, CA, and Westchester, NY. In our school, there is no Gifted Ed below 3rd Grade, and differentiation is not a panacea.
The timing was right to pull my son out of public school at the end of 1st Grade, before the frustrations set in. As bright as he is, and as articulate as he can be, his writing skills are relatively poor. He just can’t handwrite what he can say. This is where one-on-one assistance has been invaluable. He works on his writing skills, but we also use technology (including dictation) to let him express his thoughts.
With my daughter, we missed the window of opportunity to pull her out for homeschooling. She is enmeshed in the school culture. However, she is happy and thriving in her current school, a small alternative school that encourages creativity and project-based learning.
Both kids are in the right place for each right now. And, I’d say the determining factors are whether, or not, they are in a situation where they are engaged learners.
If there is one thing I’ve learned, it is that everything can change quickly. We can only make the right choice in the moment, and we’ll deal with the future when we get there.
Oh, and by the way, I do continue to learn from teachers in various settings. In addition to the teachers I follow online, I still visit school websites, and I question friends who are teachers. I learn from my daughter’s teachers. And, I still compare what my children’s friends are doing when we visit them in MD, FL, and CA.
Hey, what can I say, we’re a curious bunch!
Thanks, Sandra, for your post. I think it is so important for people, and homeschool parents in particular, to understand that homeschooling is not anything like school. The process and the situation is entirely different—-probably the schools, like your daughter’s, would be more effective if they were more like a good homeschool learning environment.
Here is my comment to Alistair’s post:
I’m glad you preface your post saying you don’t know much about homeschooling. This is shown very clearly by the questions you pose and the things incite your curiousity.
First off—no, most homeschooling parents are not too curious about what it’s like to be a public school teacher. Most people who are homeschooling their children attended school, and likely public school as children. Also, there is a significant portion of homeschooling parents who are public school teachers.
I am very carefully saying homeschooling parents rather than homeschool teachers. This is a very significant distinction. Most parents learn very quickly that “teaching” is not their role in a homeschooling family.
Once you and any parent understands that children are naturally curious and, like sponges, want to learn, want more information and will seek it out, then you are on your way to a successful homeschool experience.
Most of us who have homeschooled our children start out teaching but learn very soon that we are interfering with our children’s education by doing so. Children are not like little birds that require spoon feeding. Homeschool parents are at their best when we help our children find resources and assist them in the “how” of learning rather than the “what”.
If you can understand this one point, many of the other questions you ask are answered or become irrelevant.
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You’ve hit on the essential point. In our homeschool environment, like many, I’m sure, there’s lots of learning, but very little teaching. Or, perhaps, I could argue that there is nonstop teaching, but not in a traditional authoritarian sense. Instead, there is nearly ceaseless discussion of all kinds of things, from questioning the color of the robin’s egg to considering the relative merits of passageways while building a roblox hotel. Those are just two conversations, among many more, today.
As homeschool teacher for more than eight years now, majority of those I have handled are exceptionally bright. The teaching method I have have been using since then is aimed more in honing their inherent ability in relation to each subject I teach rather than follow a set curriculum similar to typical schooling. I think that the advantage of homeschooling is that the education focuses more on developing the child’s ability rather than force him to conform to a set of rules or standards that more often than not shrouds his uniqueness. The only downside is the lack of social interaction they get with other children, but I think that their parents are well aware of this, that is why they see to it that they balance homeschooling with other social activities that allow their kids to socially interact with others.
I’ve read somewhere that kids who got into the conventional school system didn’t do good as citizens later in life compared to kids who were home schooled during the same period. Is there a truth to this on a psychological level?
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Phil,
I don’t know the answer to your question. I haven’t read any studies on this, psychological or otherwise. So many factors go into promoting citizenship that I suspect it would be very difficult to test this hypothesis.
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