Homeschooling - Beyond the ABC's and 123's
Homeschooling is on the rise in Oregon and across the U.S., with rates being calculated at over 2.3 million registered homeschoolers in 2016 alone. In Grants Pass, the homeschooling increase is further showcased by local Facebook groups, dedicated to growing a wealth of resources for schooling in the home environment.
Homeschooling is said to be one of the earliest forms of education and has been used to educate some of the world’s most influential people, from composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to the modern football hero Tim Tebow.
There are numerous ways to homeschool students and customize the teaching for each individual learning style. According to Homeschool.com, named the number one homeschooling community resource, there are eight main methods for education at home. These methods include: School-At-Home, Relaxed/Eclectic, Unschooling, Classical, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Montessori, and Multiple Intelligences.
Different states have their own regulations and laws regarding homeschool education that range from lenient, to strict and regulated. Oregon has more moderate regulation, including four exams for each homeschooled student at the end of third, fifth, eighth, and tenth grade.
For licensed teacher and homeschool mother of four, Laurie Claffey, the choice to homeschool her children became clear after working in a structured classroom setting and then having her first child.
“I’m discouraged that even the districts, or the teachers, or the parents want more - society is becoming so needy” she said, when referring to the strict regulations of what has to be taught and when and how the educating must take place.
“It’s shocking how little instruction is happening,” she said, “but with 20 to 30 to 40 students in a class, your instructional time is very limited.”
Laurie’s feelings come from a place that is a blend of her love for education and her deep passion for making sure each child is getting enough personalized time and customization for their unique educational needs.
“Logistically there is not time to maintain standards academically,” she states. “The loads for teachers are really, really heavy today.”
Laurie is not alone in this regard as many people have expressed serious concerns as class sizes increase yet testing standards fall. Teachers are often expected to teach classrooms with upwards of forty students for five to six hours a day. In a study by Diane Whitemore Schazenbach with North Western University, it was found that when class sizes are increased not only are academic outcomes hindered, but also will increase socioeconomic costs for the public in the future.
The concern for class sizes and the lack of individual approach is very concerning for many parents. There are countless other reasons that bring many parents to the resolution of homeschooling.
Nicholas Kemper, an English teacher at Fleming Middle school and proponent of public school education agrees with this statement, believing that if he could change one thing about modern public school it would be the increased class sizes. Nicholas believes that the ideal class size would be twenty students or under, however his reality is much different.
“My average class size is 33 students, but I have had a couple classes that were over 40.”
For Nicholas, this leads to logistical struggles that make it exceedingly difficult to pin point which students may be falling behind or struggling with challenges, or even students that may not be challenged enough. Bridging the knowledge gap, he finds, is one of the most difficult things about his career.
“I have one student, she is reading at college level and writing at a high school level, while at the same time I have a student who is still reading at a third grade level and writing between a first and second grade level,” he says, “building that bridge, to bridge that gap is very difficult now.”
On top of the increased class sizes Nicholas, much like Laurie, feels that a problem with the modern public school education system is the political regulations of it all, often feeling as though the concerns of the teachers, the ones living and breathing education are often speaking to deaf ears.
“Teachers see it, report it, say what we need, but unfortunately education is something that is governmentalized., it’s political,” he said. “Education gets put right in the middle and nothing seems to happen.”
Often he feels as though teachers are forced to work with a system that is “ancient” and feels more like a conveyor belt than an environment suitable for assisting young minds to flourish.
Despite all of this, Nicholas still is a proponent of the public school system and feels though there are many flaws, the benefits of public school often outweigh the cons. The biggest benefit of which is the wonderful opportunity that students get when it comes to socialization.
“Different perspectives and different home-lives, different friendships are able to develop” Nicholas states, “not that they can’t develop that at homeschool, per se, but it is more diverse in the public school setting.”
This diversity and range of social dynamics can often create struggle between the students, often with things like socio-economic and cultural backgrounds creating tension. However, more often than not friendships and bonds can be formed, especially in the middle school years, that if nurtured can bridge gaps between things like gender, race, and social status. For teachers like Nicholas, these potential bonds and relationships can be incredibly exciting and inspirational.
Nicholas does believe that with this diversity there can be the occasional clash. For example students seeing films or being exposed to things that may be above their current developmental age, and then exposing more sheltered children to those concepts. This can cause issues between parents depending on the current family dynamic of each child. Ultimately this risk, in Nicholas’ mind, is worth it when compared to the benefits of diversity in the social situations of developing young minds.
Laurie states that when her children were old enough, she let them make the decision to attend public school for high school grades. Her children had been participating in sports through the local public school and wanted to examine education outside of the home to gain further understanding on other schooling styles. Three out of Laurie’s four children decided to attend.
Laurie feels that her children relatively enjoyed the experience and had no problem adjusting socially, but agreed that the atmosphere overall was much more distracting and had less focus on education and career building.
“The social interaction is fun for a lot of teenagers, but it can be a lot of intense pressure and stress,” she says.
Throughout her years as both a teacher and homeschool mother, Laurie has been involved in the lives of many children and also heard stories of others, where attending public school or other brick and mortar institutions ultimately hindered them in terms of social situations. She agrees that not only is there a huge amount of pressure on the teachers there is also immense pressure put upon the students.
Laurie states that when her children attended public school their family life became ruled by the requirements of her children’s school life.
“They never went a weekend, holiday, or vacation without homework,” she says, and agreed that the intense scheduling and work load takes a serious toll on the family.
“You don’t realize how much the school system controls your family life until you are out of it.”
Though more and more families are finding peace and success in homeschooling and the rate of homeschoolers increases from 2% to 8% each year, there is still a great stigma and numerous myths associated with schooling at home. The most prevalent myth revolves around the concept that homeschoolers are not socialized.
“The stereotype that we are socially isolated is still prevalent” Laurie says. “The stereotype is really laughable. The biggest joke among the homeschool community is socialization.” she says with a chuckle. “There are so many opportunities that our biggest challenge is how not to socialize so much and stay home and get the work done.”
There are organizations and events, especially in the local community, that allow homeschoolers to attend weekly field trips, belong to various clubs, and even to attend local co-op classes. These co-op schools often teach electives or primary subjects in a classroom setting with instructors, each considered experts or experienced in various fields. On top of local organizations, clubs, and many more opportunities created for socialization, there are also numerous resources for local homeschool families to assist in the education process within the communities of Oregon.
These groups can often come as fascinating concepts to current public-school teachers as the most common concern with homeschooling is the various gaps that can occur within a home educated student.
Nicholas states that when he and other teachers discuss the subject of homeschool education the conversation tends to lean towards the concern of frequent gaps in specific subjects.
“Curriculum is a concern. To become a teacher you have to be certified,” Nicholas said. “We worry about gaps forming. Obviously this can fluctuate, and some families are totally on top of it and have a set curriculum that they follow, but [some] parents do not have the resources or the time or simply the knowledge of the content.”
This concern extends throughout the homeschool community as well, so often things like tutoring, educational co-ops, or even online education through programs like K12, are put into place by homeschooling parents to assist in making sure that all educational requirements are being met.
Another common myth associated with homeschool students is that they do not get the opportunity to attend college or further education.
This is often confirmed to be far from the truth, as ultimately homeschool students have a much higher rate of college attendance and graduation opposed to students sent to standard brick and mortar school.
Laurie’s own son was awarded a $40,000.00 college scholarship to a state university. More and more colleges are actually pursuing homeschooled children because they have higher tendencies of strong work ethic and dedication to their education.
Though there are numerous benefits of homeschooling, it does require time and dedication. The financial needs of the student for things like curriculum, supplies, and tools are also entirely up to the family to provide. Currently, it is estimated that the taxpayers on average spend $11,732.00 on each pupil in public school. Homeschoolers cost nothing in terms of taxes, however, each family spends an average of approximately $600 per student in their household.
Laurie does agree that though she believes the majority of children would thrive in a homeschool environment, there is a minority, for example, those with troubled home lives, that do benefit from having a space away from home.
Though both Nicholas and Laurie have differing opinions between the forms of education they both can agree that it is vital that each child is supported and that as much time and effort is put into place to ensure that their educational needs are being met. For both of these teachers, the education of a child is vitally important to the future of our nation.
For Nicholas when he looks towards the future he hopes that when he remembers his time spent teaching he can be proud of the relationships he has developed with his students. For him the most important goal revolves around filling the hearts of his students with a deep love of learning.
“When you talk to students rarely does the student recall that one project or that one test. Most students remember their teachers.”
“When I get to retirement that one thing that I would take pride in is that relationships that I fostered with my students. That is one of the most valuable and rewarding parts of education careers; having that relationship with them is outstanding,” he said.
“They’re not your kids, but you have a relationship with them.” He said with a soft laugh, “I just can’t explain it.”
“You support them. It’s amazing what some students survive.” Nicholas says referring to the home-lives of some of his pupils, “and I just want to support them, however I can.”
No matter the educational belief system, or family style, before choosing homeschooling we all can agree that each family needs to take significant time to research their options and take into account the individual needs and learning style of their child.
In the end that is what everyone wants, healthy, educated, and happy children that grow into well rounded and beautiful adults. That is what we all can hope for the future of our nation’s children.
