“Memoir Offers Insight into Short-Term Homeschooling” plus 2 more |
- Memoir Offers Insight into Short-Term Homeschooling
- Dear Teacher: Homeschool children while on long trip
- Hoekstra makes stop in Port Huron
| Memoir Offers Insight into Short-Term Homeschooling Posted: 13 Apr 2010 11:10 AM PDT | For Laura Brodie, the defining moment came when she realized her ten-year-old daughter Julia had hidden in a closet for an hour just to avoid doing ten minutes of homework. "The thought of that warped equation broke my heart," said Brodie. It confirmed what she had been thinking for the past year—that her daughter was miserable and needed a break from elementary school. As a professor of English at Washington and Lee University, Brodie understood the benefits of sabbaticals and decided that Julia should be homeschooled for one year. Brodie's new book "Love in a Time of Homeschooling: A Mother and Daughter's Uncommon Year," published this month by HarperCollins, tells the story of her year teaching Julia and how it affected them both. Mary Pipher, author of "Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls" called Brodie's story "funny, heart cracking, and ultimately profoundly educational. I recommend this book to all parents and educators who have ever thought, 'I wish things could be different.'" Brodie cites the Standards of Learning (SOLs) as a factor in her decision to homeschool Julia. "Teachers at Julia's school say over 80 percent of their curriculum is test driven, with a lot of memorization of facts provided by the state of Virginia. I'm not against all standardized testing—it makes sense for English and math in the elementary grades. But what they've done by adding SOLs to the teaching of history and science in Virginia is sad," she said. "We're producing a generation of children who are good at multiple choice but aren't really learning critical thinking." Brodie saw homeschooling as an opportunity to explore her daughter's interests in history and science, as well as covering the fifth grade essentials. So she immersed herself in a crash course on homeschooling. She found that in spite of the stereotypes about the nearly two million homeschoolers in the United States—that they are mostly Christian conservatives or the far left—there is a new trend of public school parents opting for short-term homeschooling. "It can help with a child who is being bullied or dislikes school. I think parents need to be in control of their children's education as much as they want to be. There are options, whether that means a private school or a year of homeschooling," she said. But Brodie cautions in her book that, although homeschooling can help a child become more enthusiastic about learning, it can be hard work. "You have to devote an enormous amount of time and attention to the process because most children are not independent learners. They won't carry out a project without a lot of supervision. Julia needed me there as a cheer leader and a drill sergeant every day," she said. The memoir chronicles both the ups and downs of Brodie's homeschooling her daughter. "There was a huge buildup of tension that really hit its peak in the winter when we were stuck at home and couldn't be outside and going on field trips," she said. "If you asked us both what we thought of homeschooling in February of that year we'd say 'It's terrible. Nobody should do it.'" But Brodie said she lightened up and learned to become more patient. "Happier times came with the arrival of spring," she said. The book's prologue is available at Brodie's Web site http://laurabrodieauthor.com. She is also the author of "Breaking Out: VMI and the Coming of Women," the novel "The Widow's Season" and is currently writing a second novel "Aftermath" to be published in 2012. Advance Praise for "Love in a Time of Homeschooling" "The publication of an intelligent book on education outside of institutions is rare indeed, so I welcome this one. In a world where homeschooling is so often misunderstood, discounted, and even ridiculed, Laura Brodie offers a clear-eyed view and makes a valuable contribution to the literature on the subject." —David Guterson, author of Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense
"After decades of immersion in the modern homeschooling movement, I am convinced that love is vital to its successful practice, an ingredient ignored by homeschooling's critics and sometimes lost by practitioners in a search for the perfect curriculum, text-book, or field trip. Laura Brodie shines a spotlight on love as an essential ingredient, creating a well-earned space on all homeschoolers' bookshelves and, optimistically, on the bookshelves of all parents." —Linda Dobson, author of The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas
"This touching glimpse into a mother-daughter relationship will inspire you to foster a love of learning no matter what your schooling choice may be." —Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
"The only thing worse than sending your child off on a bus each morning might be keeping that child at home. But Laura Brodie manages the feat with wit, wisdom, and love, and some hard knocks along the way. Her story gives hope that there is more to life than long division." —Cameron Stracher, author of Dinner with Dad Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Dear Teacher: Homeschool children while on long trip Posted: 14 Apr 2010 04:14 AM PDT
By Margie Eberts and Peggy Gisler King Features Syndicate We want to take a sailing trip around Europe for a year. Will this hurt our 10- and 12-year-olds? Academically, how do we help them keep up? — Travelers What a great experience for your children. Just as you are preparing for the sail, you will need to prepare in advance for your children's education during next year's adventure. First, begin by talking to the school your children are currently attending. Ask to see the curriculum for each child's next grade in school. You may wish to take the textbooks they'd be using in this school next year with you. Essentially, you will be homeschooling your children next year. Learn all you can about homeschooling. Be sure to talk with parents in your area who homeschool their children about selecting a curriculum. You have the choice of making your own curriculum or using one of the many available homeschooling or correspondence-school curriculums. Depending on whether you will have Internet access on your boat, you may wish to supplement your curriculum with Internet courses or even use an Internet homeschooling program. Consistency is important. Your children should work most days on their schooling. It doesn't always have to be textbook assignments aboard the boat. Tie what they are doing and seeing abroad to the experience. It will make their learning far more meaningful. They can learn geography by studying the route you will be traveling and the places you visit. Museums present valuable history lessons. Keeping track of the weather, winds and distances traveled easily can be turned into math problems. Journal writing and reading travel brochures can be part of their language arts work. Remember this, one of the true advantages of homeschooling is that children do not have to spend near as much time on learning as they would in school. ** * Students across the street from our house go to an excellent Blue Ribbon School in another district. Our children's assigned school, in a different district, is not nearly as good. I looked up all the students' scores. I really want my kids to go to the neighbor's school. What should I do? Just fudge our address? — Help If you are considering transferring your children to the neighbor's school, you should do it legally or totally forget about the move. Lying about your address is definitely a terrible example for your children. Plus, you will be constantly worried about being caught. Begin by calling your children's school district and the other school district to find out about transfer possibilities. There possibly could be a more appealing school in your own district that your children might be able to attend. Look into your district's charter schools, as they may enroll children from less-defined boundaries. Plus, if either a husband or wife works in a business in a school district, it is sometimes possible for children to attend a school in that district. Look into all these possibilities. If you are adamant about having your children attend a different school, you may need to move or consider a private school.
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Hoekstra makes stop in Port Huron Posted: 14 Apr 2010 03:46 AM PDT U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, was in Port Huron on Tuesday, laying out his plan for fixing the state's economy and fielding questions from about 25 community leaders. Hoekstra, who's running for governor, said keys to reviving Michigan will be revising policies that make it difficult to do business, eliminating the business tax and, eventually, revising the tax code to create one that is "much more transparent" and changes the "dynamics." "The day you put the shovel in the ground isn't the day we have a ribbon cutting; it's the day we shut you down," Hoekstra said, criticizing what he considers policies that make it hard to do business in Michigan. The state must, Hoekstra said, "create an environment that embraces economic growth." He also stressed that government must get back to basics to be successful. "We create the right environment, and Michigan can come back," he said. Hoekstra was the first of what Port Huron City Manager Bruce Brown expects will be a cavalcade of gubernatorial hopefuls making a stop in the city. Brown has taken off his city manager hat for a personal endeavor to woo candidates for meet-and-greets with Port Huron leaders. Between 50 and 60 people were invited to Tuesday's lunch-hour meeting in a fourth floor conference room at city hall. Brown still is lining up visits from other gubernatorial candidates but said Hoekstra's was a prime example of how the gatherings will work. The idea, Brown said, is to give local leaders a chance to make a more informed decision at the polls and an opportunity to make Port Huron more than just a name on a map. "I suspect most of the governors we've had have never been to the city," Brown said. Hoekstra opened Tuesday with a brief overview of his career. He has a master's degree in business administration and is a former marketing executive who in 1992 made a successful bid for the 2nd Congressional District. Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands and his parents immigrated to Michigan when he was 3. While many of Hoekstra's comments could be tied back to the state's sour economy, local leaders asked for his stance on a variety of issues including the state's monetary commitment to the Pure Michigan tourism campaign; a proposal to expand the sales tax; revenue sharing; privatization of state services; and education funding. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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