MorningStar’s Home Education News

By Mimi Rothschild

There are some questions that homeschoolers can never seem to get away from. The main reason is that people have the temptation to devolve into an hour-long debate rather than offering simple answers that cut to the quick. I’d like to share with you my personal fail-proof answers that will not only prevent drawn-out arguments of epic sociological import, but will help your detractors understand why you have chosen to homeschool. Here are the Big 3 questions I receive the most. I hope that you find the following information helpful.

Q. What about socialization?

A. Any readers of this blog should recognize this as a no-brainer. I think the best way to handle this one is to call attention to the fact that you don’t want your kids to be socialized to disobedience, rebellion, vulgarity, secular knowledge, and moral relativism. If that doesn’t work, try explaining that your kids get all the socialization they need in church groups, athletic organizations, and whatever activities in which your homeschoolers participate.

Q. What makes you think you can teach?

A. This question is somewhat understandable. After all, you don’t have a teaching degree. I’ve found that a good way to approach this question is by explaining that no one loves or cares for your child like you do. Sure, teachers are committed to their students, but they can’t meet every unique need of every child in the classroom. All kids have different learning styles and learning levels, how can we expect a mass-produced textbook education to triumph over a specialized home education? You can also point out the declining test scores of public school students, illustrating the widespread failure of well-educated teachers.

Q. Can a homeschooled child get into college?

A. Of course they can! Colleges are more accepting of homeschooled children than ever before. In fact, according to recent studies, colleges are actually beginning to seek out homeschoolers given their high performance on standardized tests and ability to learn autonomously. It’s just a different process.

By Mimi Rothschild
Although homeschooling has managed to garner accolades among sociologists and psychologists, it still has trouble gaining support from media personalities. You may remember that back in February, Oprah Winfrey banned homeschoolers from participating in an essay contest based on a popular novel. The HSLDA was all over it, eventually persuading Oprah to allow homeschoolers access to the contest.

Now, TV therapist and Oprah pal Dr. Phil is getting in on the homeschool bashing. Although he acknowledged that homeschooling won’t spoil kids, he did declare that high schoolers should not be homeschooled because they need to become comfortable relating to peers. You can find out more about how Dr. Phil handled the subject here.

I personally feel that high school is a crucial time for homeschooling. This is where there is the most pressure to fit in, peers are most cruel, and self-esteem is most fragile.

“But then Dr. Phil committed two outrageous acts of fallacious reasoning. First he said that public school teachers are highly trained experts at teaching children. Then he cited “research” that said teens need the socialization of a public school environment. He offered as his only proof a self described “socially retarded” twenty-something girl that regretted being homeschooled — hardly scientific.”

I could point to plenty of “socially retarded” public school students. Ridiculous.

This Express-Times article does a great job of debunking the myth that homeschoolers are sheltered or not socialized.

Not content to illustrate how wrong this widely-held misconception is, Jill Drake, co-founder of the Kids Homeschool Network questions how sheltered and socialized public school students really are. She brings up a great argument that I have often used myself:

“How does spending your entire day with age-grouped peers prepare you to socialize in the diverse real world? Other than 13 years in public school, when do you spend the majority of your day with people within two years of your age?”

Can we not argue that public school students rather than homeschooled students are the ones who are indeed sheltered from the “real world”? Parents have often remarked to me how articulate and confident my children are when speaking with adults. They don’t shy away from adult conversation, shuffle their feet, stare at the ground, or show any signs of shyness. Rather, they look adults straight in the eye and have very mature conversations. Compare this to the average young child or even teenager. They stare at the ground when spoken to and mumble one-word answers because they are not used to socializing with a variety of people from different age groups. They are intimidated.

Imagine what these kids go through when entering the workplace. For the last twenty years they have been surrounded by people their own age. People who look like them, talk like them, and behave like them. Then, suddenly, it’s over, and time to enter the “real world.” This storied land is full of a variety of people from all different walks of life. How can we expect these kids to cope any better than homeschoolers who have been surrounded by variety throughout their young lives?

“I’m not trying to hide my daughter from the world. I’m trying to give her a bigger picture than the four walls of a schoolroom.”

Imagine that! The kids who live in the “real world” are the ones accused of being unprepared to enter the “real world.” How backward!

Sure, it’s important for kids to be around peers. They can get that at church, co-op programs, clubs, sports, and the neighborhood. But it doesn’t have to make up the majority of the child’s day, every day. Thanks to brave parents (and open-minded reporters), the stereotype of the socially maladjusted homeschooler is gradually being exposed for the tripe that it is.

By Mimi Rothschild
The Southern Baptists are at it again. One has to admire their tenacity. This time it’s not a company or a product, but the public school system. Calling for the most socially disriptive boycott of all time, Pastor Wiley Drake called for an “Exit Strategy.”

The Southern Baptists, and Christians in general, have long bemoaned the state of our public school system, but no one has called for this kind of mass exodus. If Southern Baptists alone were to heed Drake’s call, it could easily double or triple the already burgeoning homeschool community.

Wiley is calling for existing churches to provide resources so that needy families can homeschool as well. This will help to soften the economic blow that this will inevitably be taken by schools in low-income areas. The Southern Baptist Church, the largest Protestant Christian community in America, may just be the only group to pull something like this off. With their existing resources, they could develop athletic networks, international study programs, and enough extra-curricular programs to put the ritziest public schools to shame.

A move of this scale will undoubtedly cripple the public school system.
I will be diligently praying for this movement. It’s about time that God’s people stood up for themselves, realizing that we don’t have to take it anymore. There is an alternative. Some of these leaders are even calling out the parents who send their kids to public school, going so far as to call it “child abuse.” It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

By Mimi Rothschild

Lately it seems like logging online to check my daily news feeds incites a daily, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Here comes another one, courtesy of the Utah News. It appears that safe gun-handling classes will be offered to not security guards, but school administrators and even teachers. In Utah.

I can’t say that I blame the teachers for wanting to protect themselves in what seems more like a warzone than a classroom these days. I’d probably feel a little safer myself If I was packing heat in a room full of disaffected youth.

And yet, that this precaution is even being considered says something about the state of our public schools. That we need to arm ourselves in order to protect us from our own children. It all seems awfully Orwellian.

The teachers union is (surprise) protesting the classes, and for once I see where they are coming from. Armed teachers could incite even more violence from students who feed off of that kind of confrontation. Also, teachers have too many other distractions to worry about keeping their firearm away from troubled teens looking for a chance to carry out terrorism.

I’m sure many of you readers will be able to guess my solution to these safety concerns. Teachers carrying guns on campus will not necessarily make school grounds safer. You won’t have to worry about the wellbeing of your child if they are safe at home.

It’s time that parents take a hard look at the big picture. The school shootings that we see on the news are only the surface result of years existing within a prison of tedium, peer pressure, bullying, moral confusion, and spiritual vacancy. We wonder why these horrific events occurr, and yet we send our kids off to the same buildings every day, waving and smiling. Mothers and fathers, your kids are worth more than that.

By Mimi Rothschild

Many parents turn to homeschooling due to the special needs of a disabled child. Homeschooling possesses many attributes that are attractive to parents of disabled children.

Learning disabled children are given a place to work at their own pace. The pressure to keep up with the rest of the class is removed and the child is free to pursue knowledge in his or her own unique way. The one-on-one help from mom or dad also facilitates education for children with learning disabilities.

Physically disabled children are given the attention and care they need as well. Whether the child is in a wheel chair or needs help using writing utensils, these precious children are given extra parental care that only homeschooling can afford. Physical therapists can also come into the home to provide care. Best of all, children are free from taunting or exclusion that unfortunately fills public schools.

The mentally disabled are similarly given extra attention in the homeschool. Autistic kids who are uncomfortable in close quarters with their peers are afforded a quiet and comfortable place to learn. Those with Down’s Syndrome and other mental conditions are able to learn at a lower grade level without feeling out of place in the classroom.

Even children with ADD or ADHD can benefit from homeschooling. It gives children a place to focus their attention apart from distractions.

Here are some helpful links for parents who are facing the daunting task of home educating a disabled child. May the Lord bless you for your brave and unselfish desire to see your child grow in the Lord, unhindered by the shackles that modern society would enforce with the public school.

LD Online: This website alone has fourteen insightful articles on various topics from how fathers can play a role in the disabled homeschooler’s education to dealing with the siblings of a disabled homeschool child.

Bay Shore School: This homeschooling mother started a website to provide a resource for other mothers who have learning disabled children of all kinds.

Athens Oracle: This woman’s homepage is full of resources and links for homeschool parents who are dealing with raising a disabled child.

Positively ADD: Jan has compiled resources and heartfelt personal writings about raising children with ADD.