General Articles: Home School Helpful For Hurricane Survivors, But Being Ignored
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left, among the many other problems in their collective wake, a crisis in education. With resources and facilities in short supply, finding the means to keep education going for those affected by the storms is proving to be a persistent problem. The fact that this problem exists is somewhat curious, for it is indicative of the fact that home school is, for some reason, not being seriously engaged as a solution to the problem. There are, a number of reasons why home school is being sidelined at a time when its worth would be greater than ever before. However, lack of parent interest in home school does not appear to be one of them.
A recent article on home school and the hurricane aftermath put out by Agape Press journalists Jim Brown and Jenni Parker identifies certain factors playing into the neglect of home school as a viable option at a time when demand and interest for home school is in many ways at a peak. According to the article, many hurricane survivors are unaware that home school is an option for their children. Yet, when informed about home school options, many parents demonstrate strong interest.
In addition to a general lack of awareness of a home school solution, there seem to be a number of social and political roadblocks getting in the way of parents who may wish to adopt the home school model of education. The first of these roadblocks, according to the article, is a lack of enthusiasm for the home school project on the part of church leaders. Many African-American pastors in and around the hurricane strike zone have chosen not to open their facilities for home school teacher training for parents. This roadblock is only exacerbated by government officials and charity groups who inform parents that their children must be enrolled in public school, but without informing them that home school is an equally legal and valid option.
There is a further institutional bias thwarting the use of home school at this vital time, which involves the distribution of education aid money for students affected by Katrina. According to the same article cited above, the current legislation in Congress maintains a heavy public education bias. This is itself unfortunate since both private schools and the home school model hold so much potential to help so many living through post-Katrina reconstruction and adjustment.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.