question about the history of homeschooling

[clep3705]

I never heard about homeschooling until the mid-1980s. Did the laws change? In Texas in the 1960s and 1970s, I grew up thinking it was illegal in all cases not to send your kids off to school.

[OakLakeNC]

I never heard about homeschooling until the mid-1980s. Did the laws change? In Texas in the 1960s and 1970s, I grew up thinking it was illegal in all cases not to send your kids off to school.

Each state has it's own laws, but it is not illegal anywhere in the US. California is known to be very strict, you must be a certified tutor. But these days, with online options, there is a lot of flexibility. Many families are probably doing some hybrid homeschooling- with some online public school courses and some parent led courses.

Not sure what the laws were in the 1960/70s. It might be have been illegal then.

Homeschooling is a mixed bag. You have some of the best and some of the worst. Sadly it is too often used as a cover for physical and sexual abuse, (Hana Williams, Erica Parsons and the four homeschool brothers in NC that were all raping their sister) Then you have the flip side- children who work hard and are not confined to the traditional curriculum box. Children allowed to study and pursue interests at their own pace. That works well for many, with the freedom of homeschooling some students can start excelling early on. Most families probably won't homeschool straight from pre k through 12th grade. There are usually combinations of schooling that are used. There are even these two day a week hybrid schools here, you mostly study at home but you have some direction and oversite outside of the home as well.

I always wondered about homeschool GPAs and report cards. Are there parents giving their kids Ds and Fs? Probably not. Public school kids get Ds and Fs all the time. When it comes to comparisons between homeschool students and public schools, there are some things, like grades, you can't accurately compare.

[ndelco]

I always wondered about homeschool GPAs and report cards. Are there parents giving their kids Ds and Fs? Probably not. Public school kids get Ds and Fs all the time. When it comes to comparisons between homeschool students and public schools, there are some things, like grades, you can't accurately compare.

When we homeschooled we used an accredited program through a school in Texas. We had to send in scanned copies of all tests and finals. We used this in order to have an accredited report card and transcripts. It was basically just like having the kids go to school except that they did all of their work at the house. They studied, they used the internet for certain projects or reports, they watched some videos for lessons at times, and they got some good grades and some bad grades. We sent them in either way because it was required to get the transcripts. I'm sure there are parents who "help" their kids get better grades, but I think in the end that will only hurt the kids. Either later in school or in college.

[dfrecore]

Each state has it's own laws, but it is not illegal anywhere in the US. California is known to be very strict, you must be a certified tutor. But these days, with online options, there is a lot of flexibility. Many families are probably doing some hybrid homeschooling- with some online public school courses and some parent led courses.

Not sure what the laws were in the 1960/70s. It might be have been illegal then.

Homeschooling is a mixed bag. You have some of the best and some of the worst. Sadly it is too often used as a cover for physical and sexual abuse, (Hana Williams, Erica Parsons and the four homeschool brothers in NC that were all raping their sister) Then you have the flip side- children who work hard and are not confined to the traditional curriculum box. Children allowed to study and pursue interests at their own pace. That works well for many, with the freedom of homeschooling some students can start excelling early on. Most families probably won't homeschool straight from pre k through 12th grade. There are usually combinations of schooling that are used. There are even these two day a week hybrid schools here, you mostly study at home but you have some direction and oversite outside of the home as well.

I always wondered about homeschool GPAs and report cards. Are there parents giving their kids Ds and Fs? Probably not. Public school kids get Ds and Fs all the time. When it comes to comparisons between homeschool students and public schools, there are some things, like grades, you can't accurately compare.

I've been homeschooling in CA for the last 10 years or so, it's one of the less strict states in the country (surprisingly). Being a tutor is one of 4 options in CA (written for the entertainment industry I'm sure), but just being a parent is also an option, no rules on what to teach, no need to test, no one to show your curriculum to, no portfolios to show, nothing. Just attendance of 180 days a year. That's it.

Regarding grades; I never gave my kids D's and F's, because I didn't let them move on to the next thing until they actually learned the material. A D or F meant "I don't understand this and we need to spend more time learning this." Because we don't have the artificial time constraints of a school year, if it takes my kids longer than 9 months to learn Algebra, then we take longer than 9 months. BTW - many of our local schools, private, public and charter do something like this as well - they have Algebra A and Algebra B - giving kids 2 years to take Algebra 1, because so many struggle getting through it in a year and need more time and for it to go more slowly.

This is why many homeschoolers start doing dual enrollment in high school - they take college courses at their local CC to show that they're capable of college-level work (and because it's tuition-free at CA CC's for high schoolers). Many of the families I know have kids who take much of their freshman year of college during their senior year of high school. They also take courses in things that interest them that may be harder to find like art, or auto mechanics, or welding. But even if they don't take college classes, a lot of the ivy league schools actively recruit homeschoolers, who are encouraged to turn in portfolios of their work in addition to the standard admissions paperwork. The acceptance rate of homeschoolers into Stanford is 25% - they actively recruit them, and say that they like the out-of-the-box thinking, varied interests, and self-motivation that sets them apart from the 4.5 GPA's who all apply with the same classes and same grades from the same schools, with parents who are doing a lot of the pushing.

And, while you may hear of abuse going on once in a while, you also hear about teachers sleeping with students, bullying, and other abuses in public schools as well. There have been studies done showing that homeschool families are more actively involved in the community as a whole - so they are not hiding at home, keeping their kids in a bubble, but are out there volunteering or being involved with different activities and plenty of other kids. Between sports, scouts, and homeschool co-ops and classes, homeschooled kids are not hiding away at home! Except my kids, who didn't want to do any co-ops or classes - they liked being home (although they're both very active in their sports of choice). Both are now in public school and doing just fine (A's and B's for the boy, A's for the girl).

[OakLakeNC]

When you throw in private schools, GPA becomes an even worse measure of a student. With some schools not giving the option to catch up before moving on it becomes basically useless. I got one D and one F in high school (Geometry and Spanish). The school's response is basically 'ok failing is not the end of the world, take it again next semester '. But it is still calculated into my GPA. In the end, didn't matter anyway to me. My SAT served as my placement test into community college. Even if I had bombed the SAT, the cc has Compass testing. If you bomb that, the cc has remedial classes. Really Ds and Fs aren't the end of world. I'm not overly critical of homeschooling. The holistic picture is full of pros and cons. The active learning approach (there is a DSST Foundations of Education term ) is wonderful. But quality homeschooling and opportunities flat line when unmotivated parents led. And I've seen (blogs) where homeschoolers call public schoolers robots. I will be critical of that just as I would somone who insults all homeschoolers. Some people need to check themselves. Ultimately homeschooling is one of many choices and families must decide for themselves what is best in their situation. Going through the DSST Foundations of Education now actually. The history of American education is interesting. It is mostly court cases. (It actually took Topeka, Kansas until 1998 to completely fulfill Brown v Board of Education-Topeka Kansas) Then you also have parents who want to to avoid being "helicopter parents." A picture starts to emerge when you look at the history of American education. You can maybe see why homeschooling might have been looked at skeptically in the beginning.

Re: California. I have a friend actively homeschooling in California. She has the exact opposite opinion. I'll remain neutral on whether CA is strict or not, since it there doesn't seem to be an agreement.

[dfrecore]

Re: California. I have a friend actively homeschooling in California. She has the exact opposite opinion. I'll remain neutral on whether CA is strict or not, since it there doesn't seem to be an agreement.

She needs to look at the actual law. She can check HSLDA or just Google it. There is no law in CA that you have to be a tutor (Option 4) - she may have been misled by someone. She just needs to establish a private school in her home (Option 1) by filing a Private School Affadivit between Oct 1-15 each year. No other major requirements except attendance. CA is one of the MOST liberal homeschooling states in the country.

Here's the actual wording of the law: "Instructors must be capable of teaching." No law defines what "capable" means, and officials are not allowed to exercise discretion.

http://www.pheofca.org/legalfactsheet.html

[McChristi]

I will agree with everything dfrecore has said. I homeschooled my 3 children for 15 years, and also operated a private independent study program for homeschoolers for seven years. The filing of a Private School Affadivit is the only requirement in CA.
With CA public schools at 42 ranking in the US, who is being mistreated?!

[OakLakeNC]

Maybe she is comparing it to states with zero homeschool regulations?! It is someone I've remained friendly with from the military. She and has a bachelor degree in psychology and the tutor credentials. (So a degree is not required to homeschool in CA? Was it ever?) I believe everyone's opinion, it is probably just a matter of perception.

[cookderosa]

I celebrated 20 years as a homeschooler this past year. For those interested in data, you can find it- there are studies that track outcomes. If you want neutral, you can visit our government's data page. They report findings in many areas. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education

Anyone homeschooling more than 5 minutes knows that if you're going to do a good job, it's a lot of work. I'm not a homeschooling apologist, so I'll leave that to someone else- but the mythology that surrounds homeschooling is thick, and wrapping it in strong conviction doesn't make it "more true," so for people using this thread to help gather information, I'll mirror Dfrecore's suggestion to look it up- google has the answers to all the basic questions, including legal requirements of each state. (*while California is not a "no regulation" state, on a scale of 1-4, they are a 2 which is "low regulation" state. I live in a state classified as a 3 "moderate regulation" and the requirements are completely easy to follow with minimal effort.)

To address the issue of child abuse, if you suspect child abuse - report it. Period. I'd also encourage parents to pay attention to the kids who are in public school, private school, etc. Where you go to school doesn't mean squat. Have you read A Child Called It? Abuse is abuse. HSLDA | Child Abuse

For Mr CLEP3705's questions
"I never heard about homeschooling until the mid-1980s."

John Holt was the grandfather (he was on Phil Donahue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLWPpln0rQ) but Raymond and Dorthy Moore were the first big-time vocal promoters of homeschooling that people grabbed onto. I read Better Late than Early before I had kids- late 80's, but they had an earlier book I think. Better Late than Early was huge- absolutely a blockbuster in the homeschooling world, and this was when there was no internet- so if you wanted information you had to connect through support groups and magazines. Since so little information was available, homeschooling was pretty homogenized at that time. You were either very religious or a far out hippy. Edit to add: that is no longer the case. In addition, what homeschooling "is" in 2016 is not what it "was" in the 80's. You just can't compare. It's also a mistake to generalize, so I won't.

"Did the laws change? In Texas in the 1960s and 1970s, I grew up thinking it was illegal in all cases not to send your kids off to school."

I pulled the Texas laws since I don't know them by heart (lol) but I do have a Homeschooling for College Credit Texas group so I know that it's a fantastic state to homeschool in. (they are a "1" on the regulation scale, which means no regulation). It violates my membership agreement to post the pdf document here, so I'll summarize the benchmark dates for Texas:
1915 - homeschooling recognized as a private school, allowed as an option when compulsory education was enacted. Public school oversight allowed.
1991- public school oversight ruled discriminatory and abolished.
1994- affirmed again and an official position was written regarding homeschooling in Texas. In short, there are no regulations or oversight beyond compulsory attendance including protection while enrolling in college (the parent issued diploma is valid).


EDIT to add: I just took a moment to read the requirements for California (a "2") vs my state North Carolina (a "3") and I think HSLDA got it wrong- it does have a lot of hoops (assuming you choose homeschool at home).

[dfrecore]

EDIT to add: I just took a moment to read the requirements for California (a "2") vs my state North Carolina (a "3") and I think HSLDA got it wrong- it does have a lot of hoops (assuming you choose homeschool at home).

Not sure if you mean that NC has a lot of hoops, or CA does?

The strange thing for me is that I would consider CA a 1 in terms of regulation. I never had to give my kids standardized tests. I never had to report to the local school district. I never had to have them seen by someone to for a periodic assessment. I never had to prove I was "capable" of homeschooling. I didn't need a degree or even a HS diploma. No one can ask to look at our curriculum (we have to teach basically the courses taught in other public schools in CA, but it doesn't say how or if it has to be done every year and there really are no guidelines). We can get a waiver if we don't want to immunize our kids (and it's now mandatory in the state to immunize if you go to daycare, preschool, private school or public school).

The only hoops we have to jump through are 1) to register as a private school each year; and 2) we have to keep attendance, and if asked by the appropriate authority, we have to show that single piece of paper (I used a calendar). That's it. I can't imagine what they would consider a 1, but CA certainly ranks up there in terms of ease of homeschooling.