IN MY SHOES: What It’s Like To Be Home-Schooled
Based on his own experiences being home schooled in Plano, TX, Stefan Merrill Block, the author of “The Story of Forgetting,” busts the myths he believes are behind the 2nd District Court of Appeal’s ruling that kids in CA must be instructed by state-certified teachers:
If left to stand, this ruling would render home schooling illegal as it is practiced by the families of an estimated 166,000 children in the state. …
To the belief that home schoolers miss out on core knowledge or skills: Statistical inquiry repeatedly reveals that home schoolers are working above their expected grade level … surveys of college-entrance exams, such as the ACT and the SAT, also show home schoolers get above-average scores.
To the concern that home schoolers won't be prepared for college: By sampling several undergraduate student populations, the Wall Street Journal in 2000 found that former home schoolers achieve normal to above-average GPAs.
To the fear that home schoolers don't learn to socialize: A 2003 study by the National Home Education Research Institute suggests that former home schoolers are happier and more engaged in their communities than are their traditionally educated peers. …
My parents understood that curiosity is the sacred heart of learning, and they gave me the time and space to put my hand on it and learn its rhythms. Each school day began whenever we woke and ended whenever we went to sleep, with the hours in between generally filled only with what interested us.
For two years, medieval European history fascinated me, and I studied it meticulously. … It baffles me that a culture that must medicate a huge number of its kids into sitting still in order to learn is not more open to alternatives.
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