Learning 2.0 Homeschooling: Not Just for Hippies and Religious People Anymore

I have been thinking about different institutions of education for a while now, and why some are valued more than others. This topic is especially relevant to my family because in the past few years my high-school-age sister has switched from public school, to charter school, to private school and now online school. She never really enjoyed the dynamics of school and had a lot of trouble making friends with her peers. Now she loves online high school and is accelerating academically. I think learning from home really took the pressure off of her, she doesn't feel isolated or judged by her peers. She now can be honest and ask her teachers or parents meaningful questions without feeling embarrassed. This switch was the best option for our family, but there are a lot of options out there.

This has lead me to think are some forms of education better than others? Why did my fiance's parents pay $6,000 a year for his private education yet mine was essentially free? Is he better educated than me? What about homeschooled children do they have any hope of exceeded academically and socially when they are taught by one single person? While researching this topic, I found a podcast by "Stuff You Should Know" Click HERE if you would like to give it a listen. I highly recommend it.

Compulsory education has an interesting history in the United States. Through 1852-1918, the states slowly began mandating attendance by law --Mississipi was the last to require this in 1918. This made homeschooling illegal even as recent as the 70's. Free and public education meant free babysitting for some people, with the added bonus of creating indoctrinated unquestioning little drones. Eventually, a grass roots group decided to lobby to make homeschooling legal in the states. They attempted to take it to the supreme court to create a federal law all around protecting families who chose to homeschool. They failed on a federal level, however, each state now has its own homeschooling laws.

Parents choose homeschooling for different reasons. Most states require you to fill out paperwork with the intent to pull your child out of school. In these forms, researchers have found 30% of parents say it is because of the environment of the school, 30% say it is for religious or moral reasons, and 16% say they are dissatisfied with their students education.

This podcast pointed out some interesting bits about learning through classical education --the education that you and I probably received. There are three main components that public schools still use. 1. Grammar school age, which focuses on memorization and facts. 2. Middle school age, which focuses on critical thinking 3. High school age, which focuses on rhetoric. To me, these approaches seem very streamline, cut and dry. I have especially strong opinions when it comes to memorization, I have little memory of what I memorized in elementary school. I do remember how I learned to make friends, the stories my teachers would read us, and the tactile and creative learning that took place. These I feel are much more lasting and beneficial for a young child.

There are several other approaches that I learned about that can help cater education to children. Among these, my favorite tactic was called narration. You basically tell the child everything you can teach them about a subject...say whales. Once you, the educator, feel like you have explained everything to him you then ask him to teach you everything he knows about whales. I feel like this is ridiculously applicable to real life. In real conversations, whether they be social or job-related you can't look at your notes. You don't pull out your book report and cite your sources. Instead, you tell people what you know and understand and they tell you what they know and understand. This is one of the few ways we open up a dialog and is the basis of communication.

I could go into greater depth comparing the different approaches to eduaction. All in all, it is hard to say which approach is better, I think the best thing a parent can do for their child's education is to be honest about it. Ask real questions with real explicit answers. Is this working for my child? Do I have the time, energy and resources to change it? Does my child want to change? By opening up this dialog we can choose the education best suited for each child. Thankfully to the few who have fought for homeschooling, private school vouchers, and charter schools, parents now have viable and legal options.