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photo by Eric Johnson
Homeschooling parents Cindy Stevens and Lisa Jewett talk about the upcoming homeschool open house to be held at the Austin Public Library.
Home schooling provides an alternative
Published Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Cindy Stevens, mother of 3, and Lisa Jewett, mother of 5, have taught their children all that they know — well, not exactly everything. But, the two women aren’t just mothers. They are teachers. Stevens and Jewett teach their kids at home, taking on everything from choosing the curriculum, writing lesson plans and grading exams.
“It’s funny because I used to be anti-homeschool,” Jewett said. “I thought people like me were nuts.”
That is one reason why the two, who are members of the Austin Area Association of Christian Home Educators (AAACHE), would like to see other families learn more about home education options.
AAACHE hosts an open house this weekend at the Austin Public Library for families wishing to do just that.
The open house will feature various guest speakers on the non-teaching parent’s role and homeschool support. Jewett will talk about homeschooling through high school, and Stevens will give a presentation on the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which holds its own open house in Rochester this spring.
Jewett — who has now homeschooled in four states — said she originally
thought she would send her children to private schools.
After reading through home education textbooks while working for a publishing company, she was inspired to teach her kids at home.
Now, her oldest, Emma, is 16, and she is continuing learning at home en route to graduation.
“One thing I love is having total control over the curriculum,” Jewett noted.
Her kids study Greek and Latin, a wealth of American and world history and the traditional subjects from Christian-based as well as secular literature.
Curriculum control comes at a bit of a cost. Parents must purchase all educational materials themselves. The HSLDA estimates homeschool parents spend an average of $500 per child per year.
Stevens, unlike Jewett, said she always knew she was called to teach her children at home. She got an extra nudge in that direction when she met a woman who said her grandchildren had just been taking in a homeschool lesson at a ski resort, in a hot tub.
“It has worked out just wonderfully for us,” she said.
Both mothers said that it can be challenging to schedule lessons for all kids and organize extra-curricular activities.
Students home schooled in Minnesota can partake in their area public school’s after-school clubs and teams.
However, with the scheduling challenge, comes the great flexibility of having a kitchen table as a classroom.
“My kids will study on Saturday mornings sometimes. We just have to
move things around, but we have the freedom to do that,” Stevens said.
A common misconception of home education is that it is difficult to teach higher-level courses, both mothers said.
Stevens and Jewett follow a methodology in which, beginning at fifth grade, learning becomes more independent. By high school, learning is almost totally independent, with the parent as coach rather than teacher.
Jewett said she also uses online and computer teaching resources. Her childrens’ math classes are taught completely by a virtual instructor on a computer program.
“I believe there are excellent teachers out there,” Jewett said. “This
just works best for us.”
Emma, who is particularly fond of science, said she enjoys being homeschooled.
“I guess that I don’t know what to compare it to though… From what I hear from kids who go to regular school, I don’t think I’d prefer it,”
Emma said.
She pointed out that getting on the bus at 7:45 a.m., waiting for peers to finish lessons to move further, and following a strict routine would be things she would not enjoy.
“I know I have to study certain subjects for a certain length each
day… but I can move them around the way I like,” she explained. “I just love learning. I know that.”
To learn more about homeschooling in Minnesota, attend the open house and/or visit the Minnesota Department of Education Web site at education.state.mn.us.
AAACHE Open House
Austin Public Library
Saturday, Jan. 30
10 a.m. to noon
Free, open to the public
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Comments
Posted by barry510 (anonymous) on January 27, 2010 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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Posted by leftthehatebehind (anonymous) on January 27, 2010 at 6:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Home schooling works great for some, but I think it really needs to be monitored.
I know of a family that home schooled their children buy popping them in front of a computer for a couple of hours. The mother sent them into mainstream school and most of the kids were a year or two behind. Not only that, they lacked social skills.
I am sure it works great for some kids/families and the kids excel, but not all, so like I said- it should be monitored more.
Posted by mrkcc (anonymous) on January 27, 2010 at 7:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I feel really sorry for home schooled kids. The real world is not an easy place and it slaps them right in the face when they leave "home". ....the same with those poor kids at Pacelli.
Posted by amom (anonymous) on January 27, 2010 at 10:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mrkcc - you seem ignorant. Poor kids at Pacelli? Are you suggesting a Christian education is not as good as public?Please do not feel sorry for home schooled kids either. Somehow you were taught wrong about the "real world". It is as easy as an individual makes it. Bummer it is tough for you.
Posted by ruserious (anonymous) on January 27, 2010 at 10:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said amom!!
What I find ironic is the fact that someone who is criticizing education can't even write a full sentence.
Posted by Hootch (anonymous) on January 29, 2010 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Poor kids ? are you kidding they've all got cell phones and cars and they can afford a private school.
Feel sorry for me, I never had that.
Posted by Hootch (anonymous) on January 29, 2010 at 10:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wiki:Test results
Figure 2. Homeschool Students Compared to the National Norm Group in Grade Equivalent Units, Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Homeschool Students in 1998, Lawrence M. Rudner, University of Maryland, College Park. From Education Policy Analysis Archives
Figure 1. Academic Achievement of Homeschool, Catholic/Private and the Nation's Students, Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Homeschool Students in 1998, Lawrence M. Rudner, University of Maryland, College Park. From Education Policy Analysis Archives
Numerous studies have found that homeschooled students on average outperform their peers on standardized tests.[91] Homeschooling Achievement, a study conducted by National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), supported the academic integrity of homeschooling. Among the homeschooled students who took the tests, the average homeschooled student outperformed his public school peers by 30 to 37 percentile points across all subjects. The study also indicates that public school performance gaps between minorities and genders were virtually non-existent among the homeschooled students who took the tests.[92]
New evidence has been found that homeschooled children are getting higher scores on the ACT and SAT tests. A study at Wheaton College in Illinois showed that the freshmen that were homeschooled for high school scored fifty-eight points higher on their SAT scores than those students who attended public or private schools. Most colleges look at the ACT and SAT scores of homeschooled children when considering them for acceptance to a college. On average, homeschooled children score eighty-one points higher than the national average on the SAT scores.
Posted by cooper (anonymous) on January 30, 2010 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Hootch I also found the info you typed. The facts speak for themselves.
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