Has homeschooling changed for the better?

[sdobis]

If so, how? If not, why? All opinions welcome.

[HomeAgain]

I think so.  It has become more accepted, there is a wider range of materials made for small classrooms, and communities have become more welcoming - schools offer part time education (and some even have waiting rooms/study halls dedicated to homeschoolers who are there for spread out classes), museums and attractions offer homeschool days, which is great if you want a field trip without dealing with the headache of organizing a group.

 

On the downside, we're not quite where we could be, but I see that changing over time, too.  I see a day when HSLDA stops trying to represent homeschoolers while lobbying for unrelated causes.  I see more people looking askance at Statement Of Faith requirements.  And I see more of a hybrid being available to more students.  Already my oldest (public schooled) takes one of his classes online and has a relaxed schedule at his school.  I think the university model will grow more.  I also would like to see education conferences be more inclusive to homeschoolers since their own conventions are failing them on that front.

[regentrude]

Compared to what?

[Crimson Wife]

I started HSing in mid-2006. Some aspects have improved (much greater variety of secular materials) but others aspects are worse (most HSers these days are obsessed with following PS standards and the first question I get when recommending a material is often "Is it Common Core compliant?" :thumbdown: ). HSing used to be about wanting a better education for one's child than PS but now it seems all people care about is replicating PS at home. :sad:

[Crimson Wife]

Now there are plenty of good programs that do have that CCSS label (Singapore, Beast Academy, Right Start, etc.) but HSers should not worry about following some "one size fits all" set of standards developed thousands of miles away in D.C. by educrats who have never met our children.

 

When I started researching HSing, I read a bunch of books like TWTM, Mortimer J. Adler's Paideia Program, Laura Barquist's Designing Your Own Classical Catholic Curriculum, the Bluedorns' Teaching the Trivium, and several others. I didn't follow any of them 100% but instead I took what I liked from each and incorporated it into a self-designed program that was tailored to fit my children's individual needs.

 

Back then it seemed to be the norm to research a bunch of different methods and pick the one that appealed the most (or an eclectic one that drew from several) while completely ignoring state standards. Today it seems like PS-at-home obsessed with following Common Core is the norm and that just makes me feel so sorry for their kids. :(

[...................]

Agreeing with Crimson!

 

What is better is our many options and that it is more accepted :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

It seems like homeschooling has become more "canned" in recent years.  One can still choose to do dinosaur style homeschooling like I do, but people look askance at me that I'm not choosing all the nice neat programs out there for homeschoolers. 

 

Lots of options are fine though.  It's just that a lot of those options are not what attracted me to homeschooling in the first place. 

[8filltheheart]

I started homeschooling in 1994.  I graduated my oldest in 2007,  but I am still at the "beginning" grades, too,  b/c my youngest is a 1st grader.  Things have absolutely changed.  From my perspective some things are absolutely better, but others I things I think not so much.

 

I didn't have a home computer when I started.  I had to take books to Kinkos if I wanted anything copied.  Locating resources was far more difficult, and we only knew a handful of people across a large area  who homeschooled.  But, I also learned how to teach from what I had.  I spent long hours in conversation with my kids as we studied subjects together.  We created our own way of doing things that really worked for them.  They thrived and blossomed intellectually and grew into wonderful young people.

 

Fast forward to today.  I love the availability of resources.  We have the ability to access materials in order to provide an excellent education across just about any subject imaginable.  Ironically, today I witness more insecurity about being able to homeschool successfully than I did years ago when there were far fewer resources available. I also agree with CW that more homeschoolers today focus on what ps's are doing.  Most of the homeschoolers I know believe that they will be destroying their kids' futures if they do not replicate ps at home.  Even more say they are incapable of teaching high school courses at all and outsource to co-ops or put their kids in high school.

 

I love homeschooling.  For our family, embracing the freedom of homeschooling is what brings joy to our homeschool.  I am incredibly thankful I started homeschooling when I did, though. I am glad that I know I can successfully provide my kids with an education at a high level and that universities are accepting of our own unique educational path.  I think homeschooling when so few did it and being used to more derision and confusion than acceptance made me more willing to ignore outside opinions.  I didn't put my kids in school for a reason-- bc I loved what we were doing at home and knew it was offering my kids more than a classroom.  Thankfully, I have been able to not just maintain my original vision of our homeschool, but I have been able to improve upon it and offer them more b/c so many more resources are available.  

[MeaganS]

It seems like homeschooling has become more "canned" in recent years. One can still choose to do dinosaur style homeschooling like I do, but people look askance at me that I'm not choosing all the nice neat programs out there for homeschoolers.

 

Lots of options are fine though. It's just that a lot of those options are not what attracted me to homeschooling in the first place.

Yeah, I'm not sure this is a problem, though. Back in the day you had to be more hard-core because that was the only option. Now it is more accessible, so more people are choosing easier options. I think these people wouldn't have homeschoolers 15 years ago. I think the best thing is that people can choose to homeschool for lots of reasons and resources generally exist for them, usually several to choose from.

[8filltheheart]

Yeah, I'm not sure this is a problem, though. Back in the day you had to be more hard-core because that was the only option. Now it is more accessible, so more people are choosing easier options. I think these people wouldn't have homeschoolers 15 years ago. I think the best thing is that people can choose to homeschool for lots of reasons and resources generally exist for them, usually several to choose from.

 

I think this is a valid point.  Many people who now homeschool only to outsource everything or almost everything probably would not have homeschooled yrs ago.  School in a box did exist yrs ago, though.  People who wanted to do school at home even 20+ yrs ago could.  Calvert, Seton, Abeka....all of those were available.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Options are great.  But sometimes those more accessible school-like options make people (including lawmakers) lobby for those being the rule for homeschooling.  That is not great, in my opinion.  (So far, the push for that has not been successful but I have seen it.) 

[sdobis]

Compared to what?

Just compared to years past. I began homeschooling in 2003, so I've experienced a pretty big shift. Reading the post thanking oldschoolers has me thinking about the mindset of homeschooling. There are those that blazed the trail. Since then, we have worked to fill in gaps, strengthen weaknesses, attempted to make it mainstream, etc. I'm just curious if people see the benefits of old-time homeschooling, where improvements really have been made, and maybe where we've put lipstick on a pig.

[MeaganS]

I think this is a valid point. Many people who now homeschool only to outsource everything or almost everything probably would not have homeschooled yrs ago. School in a box did exist yrs ago, though. People who wanted to do school at home even 20+ yrs ago could. Calvert, Seton, Abeka....all of those were available.

Were there secular options though? And I think homeschooling was scarier to a newbie back then. Now it's so mainstream that I almost never even hear the "what about socialization?!?" question.

 

I think there's more available in general whether it is homeschool in a box, online, a la carte, create your own, and outsourcing. If anything, the huge number of options might be daunting. But I think variety is a good thing.

 

I'm not really involved in the homeschool world much except this forum, so I can't really say much about the current trends of newbies. I know that my sil who just started homeschooling chose a la carte. It's what I do too.

 

Im not too worried about homeschooling laws being changed any time soon. I haven't heard of any issues with that and it seems like mostly the government doesn't really have us on their radar. Have there been any homeschool law changes for the worst lately?

[Another Lynn]

I started homeschooling in 1994.  I graduated my oldest in 2007,  but I am still at the "beginning" grades, too,  b/c my youngest is a 1st grader.  Things have absolutely changed.  From my perspective some things are absolutely better, but others I things I think not so much.

 

I didn't have a home computer when I started.  I had to take books to Kinkos if I wanted anything copied.  Locating resources was far more difficult, and we only knew a handful of people across a large area  who homeschooled.  But, I also learned how to teach from what I had.  I spent long hours in conversation with my kids as we studied subjects together.  We created our own way of doing things that really worked for them.  They thrived and blossomed intellectually and grew into wonderful young people.

 

Fast forward to today.  I love the availability of resources.  We have the ability to access materials in order to provide an excellent education across just about any subject imaginable.  Ironically, today I witness more insecurity about being able to homeschool successfully than I did years ago when there were far fewer resources available. I also agree with CW that more homeschoolers today focus on what ps's are doing.  Most of the homeschoolers I know believe that they will be destroying their kids' futures if they do not replicate ps at home.  Even more say they are incapable of teaching high school courses at all and outsource to co-ops or put their kids in high school.

 

I love homeschooling.  For our family, embracing the freedom of homeschooling is what brings joy to our homeschool.  I am incredibly thankful I started homeschooling when I did, though. I am glad that I know I can successfully provide my kids with an education at a high level and that universities are accepting of our own unique educational path.  I think homeschooling when so few did it and being used to more derision and confusion than acceptance made me more willing to ignore outside opinions.  I didn't put my kids in school for a reason-- bc I loved what we were doing at home and knew it was offering my kids more than a classroom.  Thankfully, I have been able to not just maintain my original vision of our homeschool, but I have been able to improve upon it and offer them more b/c so many more resources are available.  

 

Yes!  The bolded is what we have lost / are losing as a movement.  

[8filltheheart]

Were there secular options though? And I think homeschooling was scarier to a newbie back then. Now it's so mainstream that I almost never even hear the "what about socialization?!?" question.

 

 

I don't think it was "scarier" back then.  I think most were more committed philosophically.  Homeschooling was not even a word most people knew. I was NEVER asked about socialization when I started.  The reaction was more along the lines of "what is that?" or "you CAN do that???"   Socialization as an objection seemed to crop up when homeschooling started to become more mainstream.

 

No idea about secular vs. Christian.  I have always created my own thing for the most part and I am Christian, so I don't pick up on some Christian comments.  I am not YE or Protestant, though.  So, I have never used Christian materials in general.  And I pretty much dislike most textbooks, so there is that.  ;)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I miss the philosophical commitment.  It's just what I relate to. I don't think that homeschooling is the best for every person in every family but for our family it is a commitment that starts at the philosophical level and not one of convenience. 

 

Making a blanket statement about government not caring about homeschooling is silly in a very big world with lots of governments who care very much about schooling.  Even in the US, it depends on the state, since education laws are made at a state level.  Homeschoolers were just lobbying this past week about potential changes in  homeschool laws in Texas.  (I'm not there and don't know a lot about it but of course it is on their radar if they are trying to change laws.) 

[Farrar]

Echoing a lot of the above thoughts.

 

Better:

* more options

* more secular options in particular

* the internet and online classes

* more acceptance

* more social opportunities in most places

 

And I'll add one... I feel like in the homeschooling world there's a more lively discussion of education in a meaty way than ever before. More so than in a lot of public school quarters and more so than just a decade ago when I was first reading groups and starting to meet homeschoolers in preparation to do this myself.

 

I don't think anything is worse. But I do agree with CW that because there are more options, it's easier, there's online options, etc. there are a *lot* of people - certainly a higher percentage of people - homeschooling now who are interested in recreating school at home, copying Common Core, keeping up with public school or who are just generally really constrained in their thinking about education. That's their business. If someone wants that, then fine for them. But it's hard for me not to feel some sadness about that. But that doesn't mean that it's "worse" - I think there are also just as many of us if not more who are thinking outside the box - unschoolers, classical schoolers, eclectic schoolers, unit studies devotees, etc. etc. - people marching to the beat of their own drummer. So I can't call that worse. I mean, it is what it is.

[MeaganS]

I don't think it was "scarier" back then. I think most were more committed philosophically. Homeschooling was not even a word most people knew. I was NEVER asked about socialization when I started. The reaction was more along the lines of "what is that?" or "you CAN do that???" Socialization as an objection seemed to crop up when homeschooling started to become more mainstream.

 

No idea about secular vs. Christian. I have always created my own thing for the most part and I am Christian, so I don't pick up on some Christian comments. I am not YE or Protestant, though. So, I have never used Christian materials in general. And I pretty much dislike most textbooks, so there is that. ;)

By scarier I mean for an outsider to consider the option. I read Jessie Wise's story and think that there is no way I would have been able to do what she did, for example. I guess I'm thinking about 20-15 years ago. Not the true homeschooling pioneers. You guys had guts! Guts that I'm not sure I would have had without the paradigm shift that has happened as a society towards homeschooling. Not all of us would consider completely bucking the norms, and I think that's even more true today. You get more "weaksauce" homeschoolers because it doesn't take as much...pluck? mettle?... to choose to homeschool any more.

[Farrar]

I agree it was much more daunting back in the day. My mother considered homeschooling me and then she got daunted. Alas.

 

I was thinking about this more though... While we all feel like we're being overrun by people who are freaking out that they didn't do a Common Core math program or that they didn't cover the same material as the public schools and can you get the same textbooks?... Philosophical didn't used to be entirely about education. I mean, back in the day, there were many families who handed kids a box of workbooks or something like the Robinson Curriculum. And were like, okay, that's it. Which is hardly a philosophical commitment to thinking through a child's education. The philosophical commitment was about the religious piece and the keep away from the wrong kids piece. And those are elements that are less around in many quarters today... and which I find hard to be too upset about.

[8filltheheart]

 Philosophical didn't used to be entirely about education. I mean, back in the day, there were many families who handed kids a box of workbooks or something like the Robinson Curriculum. And were like, okay, that's it. Which is hardly a philosophical commitment to thinking through a child's education. The philosophical commitment was about the religious piece and the keep away from the wrong kids piece. And those are elements that are less around in many quarters today... and which I find hard to be too upset about.

 

I honestly never encountered people who just handed their kids a box of workbooks or books b/c the only thing they were concerned about was religion (as if that somehow precludes high academic objectives.  I include religion amg the reasons we homeschool and it absolutely does not define our homeschool academics as less than.).  Before 2001, I homeschooled in WV, VA, and TN (and Brazil....but there we were absolutely 100% alone). I definitely met families who homeschooled for religious reasons, but all of them were more far academically inclined that the vast majority of homeschoolers I know today.  Many of today's  homeschoolers whom I have met are more along the lines of "what can they do without my help?" or "what can I give my 1st grader to do independently?" or "do you know where they can take this b/c I don't want to teach it?" 

 

The families I met back when we first started homeschooling were more along the lines of homeschooling is a way of life.  It was just how they lived, breathed, and functioned.  It was not about this subject completed here, this subject there, this one online, and this one from this provider. With the exception of the Seton-ers that I knew (definitely the exception to this scenario), more families were about integrating learning across subjects with fewer defined lines.  (Seton-ers were absolutely school at home-ers, though. But, equally, they homeschooled for religious reasons and were absolutely focused on academic achievement.)

[JudoMom]

I'm glad I'm not just starting out.  I find all the options to be overwhelming.  

I think because curriculum options were more limited back when I started, I was forced the think through and own this experiment.  I've been convinced from the beginning that we could do this, all on our own.

Where I live, there are too many outsourcing options.  Co-ops, cottage schools, study centers, university model schools, part time programs or taking single classes at the public or private school, DE...really I think I have just about every option available here.  And these options are great and we have taken advantage of several, but only because they enhance our goals, not because I needed them, if that makes sense.  I love living where I live, but I'm not sure I would've built up the confidence to really own my sons' educations if I started with all these options.  

So I think all the options are great, but I think they have the potential to be intimidating.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Many of today's  homeschoolers whom I have met are more along the lines of "what can they do without my help?" or "what can I give my 1st grader to do independently?" or "do you know where they can take this b/c I don't want to teach it?" 

 

 

 

Yes!  This is what I don't understand.  It makes me think "if you don't want to teach, why are you homeschooling"?  I don't say that to them because it isn't any of my business but I do wonder.  A lot of the bigger co-ops I hear about are defacto small private schools.  Which is fine if that is what you want, but it doesn't seem like homeschooling to me because the lines have blurred a lot since I started even thinking about homeschooling.  Back then, all the people I knew were all about actually teaching things themselves in the best way possible even if the method might vary somewhat. 

[MistyMountain]

I am glad to do it when there are lots of resources available and it is common and acceptable.

 

I actually have found the opposite to be true that I run into more people who are extremely relaxed or unschoolish who think the common core is the government trying to create robots who are not educated then people trying to make sure everything is common core. I have heard some people ask about common core if they knew that they were only going to be homeschooling a short time and were going back to public schools. I here a lot more requests for things not to be common core then the other way around.

 

I also met local parents contemplating homeschooling who do not really want to teach and want a way to outsource or do a computer program for everything. They want the kid to be mostly independent.

 

I am also joined to an online hs group with thousands of members many who share what they are doing. Some are more relaxed, there are some unschoolers and some who are very academic and everything in between and most have really thoughtful plans with kids getting a good education. I think the ones wanting to do school at home may be new at it and nervous. I think doing box curriculums was probably very common in the past.

 

I think when more people are doing it then more people consider it that would not in the past but it is really hard to compare if homeschoolers in the past or now are better. I do appreciate all the resources out there now and the community events, hybrid, charter, oversight options available to many people now.

Edited March 25, 2017 by MistyMountain

[J-rap]

At least in our town, public schools have become much more open-minded about homeschooling as an option, and are very welcoming to the homeschoolers (like our children) who might just want to be on an athletic team or in a school play, or even do a combination of public school/homeschool classes.  They have the attitude of "We all have the same goal of educating our children -- we just have different paths of doing it, and that's okay."  I'm quite sure that attitude didn't exist for the first generation of homeschoolers in our town.

[Farrar]

I honestly never encountered people who just handed their kids a box of workbooks or books b/c the only thing they were concerned about was religion (as if that somehow precludes high academic objectives.  I include religion amg the reasons we homeschool and it absolutely does not define our homeschool academics as less than.).  Before 2001, I homeschooled in WV, VA, and TN (and Brazil....but there we were absolutely 100% alone). I definitely met families who homeschooled for religious reasons, but all of them were more far academically inclined that the vast majority of homeschoolers I know today.  Many of today's  homeschoolers whom I have met are more along the lines of "what can they do without my help?" or "what can I give my 1st grader to do independently?" or "do you know where they can take this b/c I don't want to teach it?" 

 

The families I met back when we first started homeschooling were more along the lines of homeschooling is a way of life.  It was just how they lived, breathed, and functioned.  It was not about this subject completed here, this subject there, this one online, and this one from this provider. With the exception of the Seton-ers that I knew (definitely the exception to this scenario), more families were about integrating learning across subjects with fewer defined lines.  (Seton-ers were absolutely school at home-ers, though. But, equally, they homeschooled for religious reasons and were absolutely focused on academic achievement.)

 

I agree that there's been this shift. Homeschooling as a way of life/identity to homeschooling as a side thing/stage of life. And that more people are more "eclectic" now and more interested in checking boxes and less holistic. But I definitely meet people who are on both ends of the spectrum in that sense.

 

And I believe that you didn't know the do this box of random workbooks families back in the day, but they definitely have existed throughout homeschooling. The people I've met who are homeschool grads not much younger than myself often have stories like that and they certainly fill up the H.A. blog. I think that people just thought about it and talked about it very differently, for one thing. Now people actively outsource. Then, I think you couldn't, so if you didn't want to do something, you skipped it. I always have a kneejerk feeling that we should be careful not to idealize the past. And the truth is that there have always been homeschoolers who did not treat education as a serious mission. I think it's different now for sure... and there may be ways in which I might prefer the past... but also, I'm not sure if it's actually worse... or better.

[8filltheheart]

I agree that there's been this shift. Homeschooling as a way of life/identity to homeschooling as a side thing/stage of life. And that more people are more "eclectic" now and more interested in checking boxes and less holistic. But I definitely meet people who are on both ends of the spectrum in that sense.

 

And I believe that you didn't know the do this box of random workbooks families back in the day, but they definitely have existed throughout homeschooling. The people I've met who are homeschool grads not much younger than myself often have stories like that and they certainly fill up the H.A. blog. I think that people just thought about it and talked about it very differently, for one thing. Now people actively outsource. Then, I think you couldn't, so if you didn't want to do something, you skipped it. I always have a kneejerk feeling that we should be careful not to idealize the past. And the truth is that there have always been homeschoolers who did not treat education as a serious mission. I think it's different now for sure... and there may be ways in which I might prefer the past... but also, I'm not sure if it's actually worse... or better.

I don't idealize the past. It is much easier for me to homeschool now. I definitely prefer being able to search journal articles online to hauling of all the kids to the library so that an older kid can do research!!

 

However, I do believe that the perception that you need to replicate ps outcomes at home is so pervasive today that it makes even the staunchest homeschoolers doubt everything when their kids are high school age. I do see that as worse.

 

So, while I agree there is no "glory" in the homeschooling past, I do see pitfalls in the attitudes that are accepted almost as de fide amg homeschoolers. Homeschooling at home is still acceptable. :)

Edited March 26, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[8filltheheart]

I was on the cusp of going from pioneers to settlers. I was part of the wave of new hsers in the 80's--just as we were starting conventions, Park Days, etc. 

 

The biggest change I've seen is the commitment. Used to be, there was a commitment to education; now there is a commitment to curriculum and programs. Only there ISN'T a commitment! There is so much stuff out there (and so many programs) that folks bounce from thing to thing, and when THAT isn't the end-all or be-all, they throw in the towel. It's no longer a way of life, just a bit of the sampling here and there. We WERE homeschoolers, now, often homeschool is something that people DO.

 

Exactly.  This is what I was attempting to express.  And I started ages after Margaret.  I didn't even have my first child until 89. 

[Guest]

What I think has been nice to see growing is within the Christian Classical community, the circles around CiRCE type organizations rather than Doug Wilson, or Vision Forum, or ATI etc. (not that those are all classical, but they largely dominated the Christian homeschooling circuit.)  I haven't been doing this long, but looking at the history from say John Holt/Raymond Moore times to now, there are distinct trends. I realize that secular homeschoolers have increased, but I think religious homeschoolers have too- there are more of both. They are simply now in different circles, and the "big" and/or growing circles are now less patriarchal and more about thoughtful education within light of the Christian tradition, and there is overlap between the secular/Christian. An awful lot of atheists or alternate religions find things to embrace when it comes to discussing the true, good, and beautiful, eventhough most of the organizations pushing these discussions ARE inherently Christian. Something there is ringing true for a large number of people.

 

With more support, more options, and more availability to access those type of discussions now it's opening doors, and most of these places aren't handing out formulas on how to achieve anything. Those groups seem to be dying out. Instead now more are asking you to think about what you're doing and why. I think that's a massive difference from 20 years ago, post Holt/Moore (who did ask WHY)  when I think of the "religious homeschooling," perhaps Farrar is referring to. I do think those mentalities have shifted. Not disappeared- I'm sure there are still adherents, but now I see Christian parents reaching for more than, "I want a prescribed method to ensure Child A turns out to be a swell person." If that makes sense. If the failures of the 80's and 90's taught anything to newcomers, I think it was beware the formulaic guarantee. 

 

Just watching the shift in the conference circuit has been interesting over the last five years......things have definitely shifted. While I agree whole-heartedly with the comment above on some parent's wanting an easy option and having no-stick-to-it-ness, I do think there is a quickly growing group who is digging in deeper than ever and committed to the long haul. They just run in completely different circles. Someone who wants a CC aligned online box, probably isn't going to have much to talk about on the Ella Frances Lynch thread, ifywim. 

[Guest]

I think one big shift has been instead of hsing for positive reasons (religion, academics) to hsing for negative reasons. So many folks don't WANT to hs, but feel like they have to, because their kids are drowning. If you get up every morning hating what you do, but feeling you have no choice, you don't tend to stick with it very long. If we can help the negative folks into the positive camp, we will have done a good thing.

 

That's one of the reasons I like the pioneer, settler, refugee monikers. They make sense. 

 

That's an excellent point. The fear factor doesn't help anyone maintain something like this for long. 

[fralala]

My family member who homeschooled her kids back in the eighties told me she was so insecure about it-- just because there were so few other homeschoolers at the time-- that she did spend many, many years trying to recreate "school at home". Her story reminded me of Jessie Wise's story (in TWTM) of sitting her kids down for their first day of homeschool and quaking in her boots as she set out to Teach Them, fearful that she'd go wrong.

 

Years into it, and she had the courage to begin doing things very differently...I think at the beginning many of us tend to be more "school at home" and as we grow more confident in ourselves, we can move away from that, and so I am optimistic that maybe we only perceive homeschoolers being more "school at home"-y nowadays is because we encounter many people who are only at the beginning of their journeys, or who are only taking a year or two to homeschool because of a tough but temporary-seeming situation.

 

So I don't think this is entirely a new phenomenon, based purely on anecdote.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

That's hard to notice.  I'm in my 11th year.  Long enough to have something to say about homeschooling in general, but not long enough to know if anything has changed with homeschooling in the broader sense.  And except for this board, I no longer have regular contact with other homeschoolers.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think the LACK of curr way back when was a blessing. We couldn't just bounce to something--we had to work with what we had. That stripped the idea off of the perfect curr, to the good education of THIS child, THIS day. 

 

I don't think I'd like to go back to no options, but I definitely think in part more options can be problematic!

[Farrar]

However, I do believe that the perception that you need to replicate ps at home is so pervasive today that it makes even the staunchest homeschoolers doubt everything when their kids are high school age.  I do see that as worse.  I even started to question myself this year after the insistence that students wouldn't be accepted at competitive schools without numerous APs, DE, outside classes to affirm what had been done at home. It wouldn't have changed what we did, but I did start to wonder if she was going to have limited options at the end of this application cycle b/c my dd loves the freedom of homeschooling and definitely did not want to do school at home. So, she didn't.  Her transcript was entirely at home with the exception of Ms. Denne for Russian, her French tutor last year and this yr, and stats this semester.

 

This is interesting because to me these are very different trends. On the one hand, there's the desire to replicate public school goals, methods, and ideals at home. On the other hand, there's the desire to outsource and utilize a variety of resources that aren't homegrown. While obviously the two can dovetail with parents choosing courses that teach in a public school style and picking materials based on that Common Core sticker on the front, I mostly think they're very different. Public schools tend to be one size fits all. Outsourcing tends to be about picking and choosing the options that work best for the individual kid and family. While I would agree with you that there's more pressure to "prove" your homeschool with outside classes and name brand programs and online credits and so forth and that there's less homegrown school of mom curricula happening - and I don't know that it's a good thing - I also don't think that choosing from a smorgasbord of options is anything like public school. 

[8filltheheart]

This is interesting because to me these are very different trends. On the one hand, there's the desire to replicate public school goals, methods, and ideals at home. On the other hand, there's the desire to outsource and utilize a variety of resources that aren't homegrown. While obviously the two can dovetail with parents choosing courses that teach in a public school style and picking materials based on that Common Core sticker on the front, I mostly think they're very different. Public schools tend to be one size fits all. Outsourcing tends to be about picking and choosing the options that work best for the individual kid and family. While I would agree with you that there's more pressure to "prove" your homeschool with outside classes and name brand programs and online credits and so forth and that there's less homegrown school of mom curricula happening - and I don't know that it's a good thing - I also don't think that choosing from a smorgasbord of options is anything like public school.

Perhaps classifying it as replicating ps at home is not quite accurate. What I mean by that descriptor is "verified" through qualifications that are equivalent to ps top student courses. The goal is to have the application mimic the course load taken by top public school students.

Edited March 26, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[Liza Q]

I see a few things. The Internet has made everything so much easier!! Searching for books. Comparing curriculum. Online classes. This message board :hurray:

 

The parents I know who are trying to replicate PS at home are keeping their options open. Many of them have had their kids in and out of school enough that they want smooth transitions. And they seem to....it's odd. For all the talk about homeschooling being better, they seem to mean the family time and not having to follow the school schedule. They are not really interested in curriculum.

 

ETA: Another thing. I don't know if this is just our local homeschool group but...hardly anyone homeschools eclectically. We have ABeka families. A few unschoolers. Monarch. All online classes. Classical Conversations. Public-school style curriculum. A few old-school Sonlighters and Calverters. At least one My Father's World family. But choosing something specific for each subject for each child seems more and more rare.

 

Edited March 25, 2017 by Liza Q

[ScoutTN]

I think one big shift has been instead of hsing for positive reasons (religion, academics) to hsing for negative reasons. So many folks don't WANT to hs, but feel like they have to, because their kids are drowning. If you get up every morning hating what you do, but feeling you have no choice, you don't tend to stick with it very long. If we can help the negative folks into the positive camp, we will have done a good thing.

 

That's one of the reasons I like the pioneer, settler, refugee monikers. They make sense. 

 

 

Yes, I see many, many homeschoolers who are refugees.

 

I love the Elijah Co. and the Davis' essays. I give their book, I Saw the Angel in the Marble  to new homeschooling friends. 

[Rebel Yell]

I started homeschooling Diamond in K, 1999. Nine weeks left for SweetChild, and BabyBaby will graduate in 2019.

 

My early days were very fear-based. I still have a room full of boxes of every single paper and workbook- somehow I got the idea that I'd have to "prove" everything we'd ever done. Still hard to shake, even though we're fairly relaxed and eclectic. I got a lot of my early "homeschool" training on a very fear-based model. Perhaps not fully Gothard/IBLP or whatever but definitely influenced. I was more afraid of people knowing that my pre-pubescent daughters were female-shaped than I ever was about how well they could spell or do math. I got more information about how to get my family in a strict schedule than I ever did about how to schedule Language Arts over a 12 year span.

 

Maybe I just avoid those types of people now, but many of the local homeschoolers I am currently familiar with do not subscribe to that philosophy.

 

What I see as worse is that there are so many young (below grade 6-8) homeschoolers that high school kids lose out. Any event or activity advertised for high school might have 20% actual high schoolers on a good day. So high school aged kids stop going to "high school" events, organizers stop planning them, and many get so discouraged they just end up in public school. And it spirals down from there.

 

Purely a social thing, but I remember not quite 10 years ago the homeschool Prom had so many people in attendance that the minimum was 10th grade to attend. Now it's open to a lower age group and some of the photos look like a 6th grade dance. SweetChild and BabyBaby refuse to go. Similar for most academic classes. Makes it much harder to make connections with other homeschooled high schoolers.

[Crimson Wife]

 

My early days were very fear-based. I still have a room full of boxes of every single paper and workbook- somehow I got the idea that I'd have to "prove" everything we'd ever done.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

I just recycled a whole bunch of stuff I'd saved from my oldest's elementary years because I needed the filing drawer space. Now that she's taking her 2nd semester of math at the CC, I don't think anybody is going to care about her old Singapore Primary Math books. :tongue_smilie: 

[Crimson Wife]

 

However, I do believe that the perception that you need to replicate ps at home is so pervasive today that it makes even the staunchest homeschoolers doubt everything when their kids are high school age.  I do see that as worse.  I even started to question myself this year after the insistence that students wouldn't be accepted at competitive schools without numerous APs, DE, outside classes to affirm what had been done at home. It wouldn't have changed what we did, but I did start to wonder if she was going to have limited options at the end of this application cycle b/c my dd loves the freedom of homeschooling and definitely did not want to do school at home. So, she didn't. 

 

Some of this is going to really vary by location. California is horrendous about micromanaging high school coursework for students who want to attend the state's 4 year colleges. The stupid a-g requirements do not just apply to public schools but also private schools including independent HSers who file the Private School Affidavit. It really limits the freedom of CA HSers who cannot afford to write off the UC's and Cal States to go private or out-of-state. Maybe my child will qualify for National Merit or admission to UC by SAT (she is a strong test-taker) but I can't count on that happening.

 

I would LOVE to see the a-g requirements limited to just students enrolled in the state's PS.

[8filltheheart]

Some of this is going to really vary by location. California is horrendous about micromanaging high school coursework for students who want to attend the state's 4 year colleges. The stupid a-g requirements do not just apply to public schools but also private schools including independent HSers who file the Private School Affidavit. It really limits the freedom of CA HSers who cannot afford to write off the UC's and Cal States to go private or out-of-state. Maybe my child will qualify for National Merit or admission to UC by SAT (she is a strong test-taker) but I can't count on that happening.

 

I would LOVE to see the a-g requirements limited to just students enrolled in the state's PS.

I have been shocked by the number ot kids shut out of UCs this yr. There has been an explosion of emotion on CC amg parents of top students who were not accepted into UCs or if accepted, not accepted to their first choice major. CS majors appear to be amg the most impacted.

 

I don't understand the UC system, but Merced(???) and CSUs appear to be schools no one wants to attend and the ones they do want are shut outs.

 

I think CA is its own little bubble where as an outsider it is really hard to fathom.

Edited March 26, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[Arcadia]

We are after schoolers who became homeschoolers not by choice. What is nice is that there are more secular books available compared to 2007 when my oldest quit preschool because he was bored. We actually had my parents mail some curriculum and my BILs bring some over during business trips here at that time. It used to be talk of classical conversations and which church but now people accept that there are secular and agnostic homeschoolers so the starting question is no longer which church or if we are in CC. Providers that used to provide only after school classes are providing morning classes to home schoolers as well for anything from academics to PE to music and arts. More choices to us is good even if we may not make use of them.

 

I have been shocked by the number ot kids shut out of UCs this yr. There has been an explosion of emotion on CC amg parents of top students who were not accepted into UCs or if accepted, not accepted to their first choice major. CS majors appear to be amg the most impacted .

People who are hoping for the Ivy League schools in my area are going to apply to the UCs as well. UCB, UCLA are very popular. CS and engineering are also very popular choices locally. Last year 20% of California applicants made it in into UC taking up 69% of cohort. California is a populous state though so competition is there.

 

San Jose State University is within commuter distance to me and many neighbors would be aiming for that university as a safety in terms of cost and in terms of their kids SAT/ACT/GPA scores. The same kids would likely apply to Stanford (commuter distance), as well as MIT, Harvard and other Ivy League schools as their reach.

[LMD]

I'm glad I'm not just starting out. I find all the options to be overwhelming.

 

I think because curriculum options were more limited back when I started, I was forced the think through and own this experiment. I've been convinced from the beginning that we could do this, all on our own.

 

This is how I feel too. I started with a phonics book from the supermarket and just made it up as I went. I didn't know any other home schoolers. And I really did have to know my own 'why' and own it. I had to learn to trust my own instincts and be creative.

When your why is just 'the book/blog/box' says so, you're missing out on the richness that homeschooling can have.

 

Imo.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I am not as old as the pioneer homeschoolers. I'm not even as old as the older settlers. But I read them. And I was inspired by them. And I created my own curricula and systems.

 

I don't think that people have to do it my way. But doing it that way was deeply personal for me and my family. And satisfying.

 

The homeschoolers I have known from way back when , approached homeschooling the same way. Most of them are no longer homeschooling. I don't know whether they found it as satisfying as I did. For the most part when they stopped homeschooling we stopped getting together because homeschooling was still my life but wasn't for them. Those friends I have who never homeschooled remain friends because our friendship never revolved around homeschooling.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shinyhappypeople]

The good: more curriculum choices, more online options, more outsourcing options.

 

The bad (in California): the vast majority of homeschooling families in my area use public charter programs.  These programs suck the vibrancy out of the local homeschool community.  When, as a homeschooler, you look to a school to satisfy your social and academic enrichment needs, it becomes really difficult to build community outside of that.  There just aren't enough independent homeschoolers to sustain it.  This is definitely true in my area and, I would bet, other less urban parts of the state.

[SoCal_Bear]

I agree with shinyhappypeople's comment. I'm in SD. Sometimes, it boggles my mind when people so frequently ask which charter you are with when you say that you homeschool as if people have never heard that you can actually homeschool privately. Then again, in SD, this area has more charter options that I could ever possibly keep track.

I am actually part of the leadership of a homeschool co-op (170 families) that is majority private homeschoolers, so we work had to build that community especially for our upper graders. If I were still in the living in NorCal, I would have to be working a lot harder to find and create that for my kiddo. Our leadership has noticed a change in the type of homeschooling family. The sense of "mission" as a homeschooler seems to be missing. We've been shifting our focus in the last couple of years to emphasize community and mutual support rather than being perceived as a supplier of classes and events. It's definitely pretty hard work and like pushing a rock uphill...

[tdbates78]

I'm new at this but I too am an accidental homeschooler. I didn't have dreams of visions of being a homeschool family. But when my HF ASD daughter started struggling in school and I realized the school could not properly accommodate her I decided that homeschool was the best solution. I am infinitely grateful to this forum, blogs, a d the wealth of online information and the ability to research all of my options. I would like to say I would have had the confidence to do this 20 years ago, but probably not. It made me confident enough to think I could actually do this.

 

I'm fortunate to live in an area with a vast homeschooling community. Homeschoolers here aren't allowed to attend any public schools, for classes, sports, etc. However, as a secular homeschooling family I do find it difficult to find groups that are not completely Christian based so I haven't been able to do a lot with other HSing families yet.

 

I know there is controversy over homeschool being too much like school. I get it, and in a way maybe it seems to negate the point of homeschool. For our situation, given that this wasn't our first choice, it's important to us that my girls stay at, or near, grade level in the event that they eventually need to go back to public school. I deal with some chronic health problems so we need to keep that option open.

 

And, personally, for me as the teacher I feel more comfortable with a somewhat scripted curriculum. I get that it's not for everyone. But I'm just not the crafty, hands-on nature study type. I wish I was, and I'm envious of many of you that are. But my girls aren't either. So for us, and especially my ASD child, a structured school routine works best. She likes knowing exactly what she needs to do that day and she likes work with a definitive right/wrong answer. And our school is run efficiently so we are finished before lunch and have plenty of time for playgrounds, museums, libraries or just hanging out.

Edited March 26, 2017 by tdbates78

[Hunter]

I didn't start homeschooling till the mid 90's but attended a church where the vast majority of families started homeschooling in 1983/4(?) I'm a little fuzzy on the exact dates, but I know by 1986 my younger siblings very much stood out for still being in school.

 

Back in the 80s, Christians were often not using Christian books. The Christian textbook publishers would not sell to them, and very little homeschool curriculum had been written, yet, Christian or secular. It was easier to find secular books to use. One of the reasons Christian curriculum became popular LATER, was because it was NEW. Bookstores has secular adult-Ed and self-help books that are not available now. Homeschooling manuals taught us how to use REAL books.

 

It was easier back then to be a low-income homeschoolers. Wealthier families were not doing SCHOOL all that differently than lower-income families. Now to use cheap stuff is a different style of schooling that is shamed and doubted even more than it was then, especially by other homeschoolers.

 

There were definitely secular homeschoolers!

 

American School correspondence school was definitely more popular back then with both secular and Christian homeschoolers and was 100% secular. It costs more now and is just different.

 

Some great resources and support are gone.

 

Better or worse is measured by a worldview. Newbies mostly have a different worldview than oldschoolers. Sometimes a very different one.

 

And the earliest homeschooling was far more secular than homeschooling around Y2K.

[wintermom]

I think one big shift has been instead of hsing for positive reasons (religion, academics) to hsing for negative reasons. So many folks don't WANT to hs, but feel like they have to, because their kids are drowning. If you get up every morning hating what you do, but feeling you have no choice, you don't tend to stick with it very long. If we can help the negative folks into the positive camp, we will have done a good thing.

 

That's one of the reasons I like the pioneer, settler, refugee monikers. They make sense. 

 

I do not understand what you mean by settler or refugee at all. Isn't the whole point of being a pioneer to get away from the terrible conditions in one place, in search of something better? So many refugees don't want to move, but feel like they have to. It's life or death for some of them. 

 

For some homeschoolers, it is actually life or death for their child in public school. Their child isn't getting the physical care needed in order to be safe. I wouldn't expect every one of these families to be positive about their homeschool choice. I don't feel any compulsion to change their mindset. I'm sure that they were wishing their life was easier.

 

Who am I to tell them homeschooling is wonderful for me, so it should be wonderful for everyone? That because they have arrived in "my homeschool land" they need to be positive like me.

Edited March 26, 2017 by wintermom

[...................]

I know for me, I was dreading f homeschooling high school. I *knew* that once the fun non stop story time and colorful workbooks all ended, and the kids started to have so much I dependence that I would be pretty miserable just checking boxes for high school- I felt a huge sigh of relief that we have and are able to afford quality online classes! There's a sense in which we won't be even homeschooling Any more next year- they take a major class locally and all other classes online. But I love to be their cheerleader and talk with them, help them study, help them get organized, read aloud snippets of the stuff they enjoy and drive them around so they have a social life :)

 

This is a huge difference from 13 years ago when homeschooling high school pretty much meant textbooks at home and a co-op if you were lucky. And the co-op would NOT be experts hired to teach your kids but moms willing to teach each subject. Which may or may not have been awesome. :)

 

I am super happy I homeschool in the time and place I do. :)

[...................]

As much as I love and am happy for my charter school friends (here in our state there is a very good IEM charter school that fights very hard to keep their charter so parents can have full

Freedom and they get 2.5k per year per child) ...

 

They almost always give up and put the kids in public high school. For whatever reason this is not the case with private homeschoolers.

 

But what it does do is create a false sense of community that suddenly disappears when the kids reach 9th grade! So even those committed private school homeschoolers who plan to see it through lose 80% of their homeschool

Community. And even though it doesn't affect many kids whose social life is at church, sports etc. it still affects us because the pool of information sharing highway disappears.

 

I'm lucky to be part of a big private email loop locally as well as one that accepts charters. And I can tell you unequivocally there is way way more support and info sharing for the private group, which creates a cycle of people willing and ABLE to get through high school.

 

No real ultimate point here, just observations