Mimi Rothschild - Home School Support & Home Education News

By Mimi Rothschild

The MorningStar Academy is proud to announce that graduating senior Melissa Pettignano’s first book, entitled “Suzanne Lantana” is now available to the public. “Suzanne Lantana” “is about a young, full of life girl that has gone through many things a pre-teen would go through all the way up to being a teen. The biggest one is loosing her aunt Arlene T. Babakitis on Sept 11th 2001 in The World Trade Center. This book is a collection of short stories. Stories that have meanings and teachings for young girls who can relate. If not relate can understand.”

Melissa exemplifies the home school education to the fullest. Home schooling allows students to pursue their interests and encourages a love of learning. Melissa pursued her passion for writing and telling stories. Home schooling also allows parents to customize and tailor their children’s education to meet their learning styles. These are only two home schooling benefits, but they show why home schooling is statistically proven to provide a better education than public schooling.

Melissa is currently writing her second book and will be on a book tour this summer.

To find out more about Melissa Pettignano’s “Suzanne Lantana” or to buy it click here.

By Mimi Rothschild

Robert Jacobson, senior editor of eSchool News online, wrote an eye-opening article on virtual schools and discusses how virtual schools could dramatically transform America’s education system. Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education, a new report from Education Sector notes that “Virtual schooling is driving the same sorts of transforming changes in public education as Apple’s iTunes has been producing in the way people collect and listen to music.”

Will virtual schools and online learning save America from public schools current abysmal state? Absolutely! The MorningStar Academy, a private, accredited online academy for home schooling students, is leading America into the new world of online education and preparing students for the Digital Age. The 21st century is much different than the 20th century; therefore, a 20th century approach to education (i.e. America’s public school system, traditional private schools, traditional charter schools) won’t prepare 21st century students for the 21st century workplace.

Home schooling using online academies is considered to be the best of both worlds. Many believe it is the best approach to educating the next generation of lawyers, doctors, teachers, bankers, scientists, engineers, technologists, etc. Because technology is easily accessible, other countries can be more competitive in the global village and evolving workplace. Home schooling online academies will prepare students for the 21st century workplace because students learn within the realms of technology and receive quality educations. Most public schools do not prepare students for the 21st century workplace; they’ve barely prepared Americans for the 20th century workplace and if they continue to operate without significant reform it will be the reason why the American economy cannot compete on a global scale in the years ahead.

To read Robert Jacobson’s article click here.

By Mimi Rothschild

As if public schools weren’t dangerous and chaotic enough. Public schools now have to deal with dodgy teachers lurking in the classrooms waiting to pounce on vulnerable students. Of course, the majority of public school teachers are not a threat to students, but the number of crimes being committed by teachers against students seems to be increasing. There appear to be more and more stories these days which would suggest this notion:

• Seth Canata, 33, a former history and boys track coach in New Jersey, faces a maximum of five years in prison for official misconduct and criminal sexual contact with a former female student.

• Twenty-five year old Amber Marshall pled guilty “to reduced charges stemming from having sex with two male students” (nwi.com). Marshall was sentenced to almost six years of formal probation and day reporting.

• Sixty-one year old Ronald Sherman, a former Dixie High School teacher in Utah, is being charged with five counts of sexual battery for “allegedly touching four female students in his ceramics class during the past school year” (The Salt Lake Tribune)

• Cathy Heminghaus, 47, a former Ferguson Middle School special education teacher can only hope to receive probation after pleading no contest to 25 counts after being accused of performing sex acts with her students. At worst she will receive a sentence of life in jail plus 150 years.

I could write about other horrendous crimes public school teachers have committed, but I think my point has been made. An environment where students should feel safe to learn and pursue knowledge is now a jungle where students are just trying to survive. Public school students have to deal with violence, bullying, gangs, overcrowded classrooms, and one-size fits all curriculums, now they have to deal with abusive teachers? Who can public school students trust if they can no longer trust or feel safe around their teachers? I’m not saying this is the case with every teacher, but more and more teachers are taking advantage of their power, like in the cases mentioned above.

Home schooling students don’t have to deal with any of these issues. Why should students have to deal with the jungle that is public school? Home schooling offers students the chance to receive a world-class education and to be safe too. Home schooling students greatly benefit from their education which is why it is becoming more and more popular each school year.

By Mimi Rothschild

Hello all, this is a short post, but I thought I’d share this great article I read. Duane Sheppard, a retired educator with almost three decades of experience in the public school system, wrote a compelling article on home schooling and home schooling’s increasing popularity. I find Mr. Sheppard’s article to be extremely fascinating because he gives home schooling such high marks even though he worked for almost thirty years in public schools.

Mr. Sheppard recently watched his home schooling grandson graduate. He notes that home schooling is not a new trend. “Though it may seem like a recent trend, home schooling is nothing new. George Washington, Queen Elizabeth, Theodore Roosevelt and Sandra Day O’Connor were home schooled. However, a couple of decades ago, this option still seemed like a fringe choice.” He meticulously documents home school’s progress, home school’s tremendous success, reasons to home school, and home schooling benefits.

I urge everyone to read this article and also write a comment about your home schooling experience. Tell me why your family chose to home school and what it has been like so far. I’d also love to hear from people who are considering home schooling their children.

Read Duane Sheppard’s article here.

By Mimi Rothschild

Thirteen years ago, Jon Yarrington was on his way to way to work on the first day of school when his wife told him that she wouldn’t send her children to the local public school anymore. Yarrington was a skeptic of home schooling at the time, but 13 years later he is now the president of the Utah Home Education Association.

The Yarrington family is not alone in making the dramatic life-changing decision to home school. Parents all across the United States are choosing to home school their children. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that there are 1.1 million home schooling students in America while other studies, like that of Dr. Brian Ray, estimate there are between 1.7 and 2.1 home schooling students in America. The National Home Education Research Institute also says that home schooling is “growing at a rate of seven to fifteen percent each year.”

James Stoddard and Barbara Miller, both former public school teachers, chose to home school their children after being frustrated as teachers and seeing the negative affects public schools have on students. “The former junior high teacher [James Stoddard] noticed how things had changed from his own school days — students frequently talked back to teachers, and he was only managing to get 10 minutes of good instruction in for every hour of class.” Home schooling offers students the chance to learn in a distraction free environment that is focused on teaching students more than just concepts and facts, but giving students the tools to know how to learn for the rest of their lives.

Read more about Jon Yarrington, James Stoddard, and the Utah home schooling movement here.

Read more about Barbara Miller’s decision to homeschool here.