Homeschooling and Technology: The Allure for Modern Families

September 27, 2011

Written by Malia Jacobson (www.thewellrestedfamily.com)
Posted with permission.

Modern homeschooling and technologyIf Seattle dad Mike Beery knows his way around pixels and PhotoShop, it’s no surprise; he’s a seasoned graphic designer. More surprising is the fact that he manages his business alongside a bustling classroom—granted, the class convenes at his family’s Beacon Hill kitchen table, and the students are his two children, Grace, 11, and Gavin, 8.

Together with his wife, Debi, a nurse at Swedish Medical Center, Beery juggles a home-based graphic design business with full-time homeschooling. Because they don’t fit into the mold of the typical homeschooling family — stay-at-home mom, breadwinning dad — people are surprised that homeschooling works for them, says Beery. “But if we can do it, anyone can.”

The Beerys illustrate the changing image of homeschooling. Like the graphic images Mike creates for clients, it’s a picture colored by modern technology, as electronic curricula and online schools make home education a possibility for people from all walks of life.

Homeschooling comes of age

Once thought of as an educational off-ramp for a select few, homeschooling is now a viable option for families that might not have considered it a decade ago. The population of homeschooled students grew by about 7 percent from 2007 to spring 2010. According to Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., founder and president of Salem, Ore.–based National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), there are now 2.04 million homeschooled students in the U.S.—an increase of 140 percent since the turn of the last century.

Thanks to lowered social stigma around homeschooling, it’s no longer something that’s left wing or right wing, reserved for the ultraconservative or new agers, says Ray. “It’s clearly a viable option for mainstream America.”

Just who is homeschooling these 2 million students? The needle hasn’t moved in terms of homeschooling demographics; there is still more than a grain of truth to the belief that homeschooling families tend to be white, religious and larger than average.

According to published reports from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the NHERI, the vast majority of homeschooled students are white (77 percent), and their families are helmed by married parents (97.9 percent), with a mother who doesn’t work for pay (81 percent). Most of the families (68.1 percent) have three or more children.

Reports from the NCES indicate that today’s home-educating parents are slightly less likely to do so for religious reasons (2.4 percent) and slightly less likely to be white (1.7 percent) than they were a decade ago.

According to the NCES, parents’ top reasons for choosing homeschooling have remained consistent: the desire to provide moral education, concerns about the school environment and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at local schools. The overarching theme, says Ray, is that most parents who choose to homeschool believe they can provide a better education at home, and they embrace their right to do so. That aspect of homeschooling hasn’t changed.

One-to-one learning

So then, what has changed about homeschooling in the past decade? What is prompting families to jump onboard? According to Ray, Beery and others, it’s a combination of technology-aided learning and a corresponding surge in educational options for homeschoolers, from free, government-run online schools and online tutoring to turnkey DVD curricula.

These new educational offerings do more than crowd display booths at homeschooling conferences. They remove a major access barrier to homeschooling—the need to have a parent at home full time.

By reducing the intimidation factor, the isolation and even the parental workload once associated with homeschooling, online schools and complete-school-in-a-box curricula make it possible for working parents, single parents and other nontraditional homeschoolers to successfully educate their kids at home.

Parents can choose from a growing menu of options to completely customize their child’s education, and that’s extremely appealing, says Ray. “With the variety of support systems, curricular materials and online support services that are available, there is absolutely no lack of anything that a homeschooling family could want,” he says.

The Beerys find balance with a DVD homeschooling curriculum that provides video instruction and lesson plans for each child. It’s rigorous and fairly structured, and, because the lesson plans come already tailored to each child’s grade level, Beery doesn’t need to spend hours each night preparing the next day’s schoolwork—something he doesn’t have the time for, since he often works at night. Prepping for each day takes about five minutes, he says.

“My wife and I provide support and help when the kids need it. She helps with math; I’m the history person. But they’re old enough to work pretty independently now.” Most days, the kids spend their mornings on lessons; Beery oversees their work and stays in touch with clients. Afternoons are spent at swim lessons, sports classes and other activities.

Technology-supported home learning also addresses the unique challenges faced by single and divorced parents. For childbirth educator Kelli Barr-Lyles of Spanaway, a divorced parent, Washington’s free online school, The Columbia Virtual Academy, is a way for her to meet her ex-husband halfway.

Her two sons, Jonathan, 13, and Christopher, 9, check in regularly with a learning adviser and fill out monthly accountability worksheets. The system builds learning outcomes into her style of “unschooling” while providing enough structure to keep her former husband, who favors more traditional education, happy.

“It drives me crazy, but it holds me accountable,” she says.

Technology facilitates learning in a way that homeschooling’s early pioneers couldn’t have dreamed of, says Barr-Lyles. Christopher is studying computer animation, something she doubts he would be able to pursue at a traditional middle school. Whether this is a real interest or a passing phase, she’s more than happy to help him follow his current passion. “The best thing about homeschool is the level of customization it offers. I can follow their interests.”

Modern homeschoolingCreating connections

Technology also increases the feeling of being connected and creates a sense of community, says Barr-Lyles. Finding support is important, especially as kids get older and the playdates and parent-child gym classes that once provided regular interaction with other homeschoolers taper off. Luckily, the nearest homeschool group is usually just a few clicks away on the web. “There’s plenty of support out there,” she says. She belongs to “at least a dozen” homeschooling support groups through Yahoo and Meetup.com.

Debra Green of Aurora, Colo., didn’t have the benefit of online support when she homeschooled her first two children, now 26 and 23. Now that she’s homeschooling her younger children, Lilly, 6, and Nathanial, 5, she draws on experience and resources from around the world through Heart of Wisdom, a worldwide Christian homeschooling group that communicates primarily through email and message boards. She organizes a local chapter, Home of Wisdom, in her hometown.

Virtual support groups create camaraderie and a larger pool of resources and knowledge, she says. “We can cry to each other and help each other.

Community programs, often facilitated and managed online, allow homeschooling families to circumvent one of the primary challenges associated with homeschooling: socialization.

The perception that homeschooled children aren’t well socialized just isn’t true, says Beery. Through community homeschooling programs, such as swim lessons and regular playdates, his kids interact with kids of all ages, and adults, too. “That’s important. I think my kids probably get more and better socialization than they would in public school.”

Tech troubles

But there can be downsides to the explosion of technology-aided homeschooling, says Ray. Often, too many choices mean that homeschooling can be overwhelming to newcomers. “When your child attends public school, the curriculum is figured out for you,” says Ray. But homeschoolers are faced with the significant challenge of sifting through dozens of curricular offerings and countless websites and message boards to find out which approach is best for their unique child. It’s information overload, plain and simple.

Starting homeschool was ex­tremely overwhelming at first, says Barr-Lyles. “You feel like the world is on your shoulders. I know my kids better than anyone else, so I had to figure out, how are we going to do this? But you have to weed out the ‘stuff’ out there that doesn’t apply to you and your kids, and it’s hard.”

Even with the world of technology-aided learning at their fingertips, modern homeschoolers shouldn’t discount the importance of face-to-face support. Local support groups, with their meetings, group activities and field trips, are always going to serve an important role, Ray notes. “People still want — and need — high-touch interactions,” he says. “I think that piece is never going to go away.”

For the Beerys, that means supplementing the DVD curriculum with a weekly homeschool co-op, where the kids learn alongside their friends. The face-to-face learning is the perfect complement to techno-homeschooling, says Beery; his kids get the best of both worlds. “We couldn’t do it any other way.

Tacoma-based freelance writer Malia Jacobson was homeschooled in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Her homeschool memories involve trekking to far-flung bookstores every fall to pick out textbooks and workbooks.

ND Policy Council Fund Raising and Educational Event with Ron Paul

This is not a campaign stop for Ron Paul, but a fund raiser and educational event for the ND Policy Council.

4th Annual Free Market Forum - Legalize Capitalism
“Legalize Capitalism”
Presented by
North Dakota Policy Council
Presenting sponsor
Treasure Island Coins & Precious Metals


What: Free Market Forum
Where: Fargo Civic Center - Fargo, ND - (See accommodation options below)
When: Saturday, November 5, 2011 - (Tentative agenda below)
Tickets: (See below)
Why: To raise awareness of the NDPC, raise funds to promote free enterprise, and network with supporters of limited government. The United States of America must legalize capitalism once again to restore its greatness. Find out the path that Congressman Paul thinks we need to take to legalize capitalism.
(More information will be available soon.)

Ticket Information

(Click HERE to purchase tickets online. Email us at info@policynd.org with any questions or if you prefer not to pay online.)
VIP Table Sponsorship - $10,000 - This sponsorship comes with 10 VIP tickets to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 10 signed copies of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 10 dinner tickets with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
Table Sponsorship - $5,000 - This sponsorship comes with 8 VIP tickets to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 5 signed copies of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 8 dinner tickets with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
Table Sponsorship - $1,000 - This sponsorship comes with 2 VIP tickets to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 2 signed copies of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 8 dinner tickets with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
VIP Ticket - $500 - This ticket comes with 1 VIP ticket to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 1 signed copy of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 1 dinner ticket with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
Single Dinner Ticket - $75 - This ticket is for general admission to the dinner and speech and are available for only $50 for a limited time.

Because the NDPC is a 501c3 organization, the entire cost (minus the value of the meals and books) of the sponsorships and tickets are tax-deductible. We are also prohibited by the IRS from endorsing anyone to be president of the United States or any other elected office.

A Christian Philosophy of Education - By Gordon Clark

This book was influential in my life. When I first read it, I felt betrayed by my Christian pastors and teachers. No one ever told me how thoroughly my education could have been Christian and the advantages to having a thoroughly Christian education. Here are a few quotes to give you the flavor of Gordon Clark's writings.  J P Bartlett

" A narrow technical training provides no safeguard against being deceived. Only a liberal arts education that uncovers three thousand years of human motives, foibles, reflections, and devices offers hope." p. 19

"There is only one philosophy that can really unify education and life. That philosophy is the philosophy of Christian theism. What is needed is an educational system based on the sovereignty of God, for in such a system man as well as chemistry will be given his proper place, neither too high nor too low. p. 21

"...unless a thinking begins with God, he can never end with God, or get the facts either." p. 31

"The atheist who asserts that there is no God, asserts by the same words that he holds the whole universe in his mind." p.38

"Non-theistic justifications of arithmetic are failures because non-theistic theories of life are failures." p. 59

"In the Christian view, motive is as important as the overt act." p.66

"Experimentation itself, as the philosophy of science shows, is based on philosophic principles. The choice of methods of experimentation is directed by the experimenter's view of what the world is like." p. 68

"The early American colleges were distinctly Christian institutions. But the public school system, unlike the colleges, was not so inspired." p. 69

"The Scriptures say that the fear of the Lord is the chief part of knowledge; but the schools, by omitting all reference to God, give the pupils the notion that knowledge can be had apart from God." p. 73

"..Christians should organize as many schools as possible, and seek to dismantle the tax-supported school system. The exercise of liberty is essential to its preservation. p. 190

"Besides History there are Physics and Mathematics. So far as their details are concerned, it is harder to infuse the courses with Christian material. But it is not hard to do so when the discussion turns to their significance." p. 195

"The just about knowing more and more about less and less until one knows everything about nothing has almost come true." p. 195

"Broad views of the sovereignty of God as affecting all parts of the universe, and the consequence that science and theology form a single, organized, intelligible system, are both inspiring and necessary; but the only proof of which they are capable is their application to the details of physics, psychology, education, politics, and all else." p. 215

Gordon Clark penned this book in 1946.

What do you think?

Home School Political Action Needed = You Become a Delegate

In order to advance home school freedom in North Dakota, people who want home school freedom need to be elected to state offices. Home educating families that use the Bible as their guide to what is righteous and good in politics, government, law, and economics are in the best position to significantly impact politics in North Dakota by their participation in the delegate process. The delegate process is where candidates get selected at Republican and Democrat conventions by the delegates. It is an easy process, but God-fearing Bible-doing candidates won't get their names on the ballet without God-fearing Bible-doing people present as delegates.

Please pray about involving all your family members ages 18 and over as delegates and see what a great impact you can have on your district and state. Younger family members could consider helping at the conventions also.

I plan to be a delegate again this year. There are 2012 candidates who will improve the home school climate in North Dakota and they need your help by being a delegate. I don't know of anything that the NDHSA can do to promote home education freedom more than to help home school families become delegates and support likeminded candidates. Call me at home to discuss the details if you like at 701-263-4574. The following article includes the details.

Jim Bartlett

How do you defend liberty and control government? Become a Delegate!

How do you ensure the right people are elected to office?

How do you secure your rights, those of your children and protect our nation from an ever growing and powerful government which is controlled more and more by officials that don’t share your beliefs, don’t represent your values and are working against the will of the people?

By voting in the November election? NO, by then it’s too late!

By the time you go to the polls to vote, the deciding has been done and all that’s left is for you to ratify the decision with your vote or to simply not vote. The person who will be elected has already been selected. The choices of who you can vote for have already been made. If you wait until November to get involved, to influence who will represent you in elected office – it’s too late.

If you want your vote to have the biggest impact; if you want to actually have a part in determining your choice of candidates – you need to be involved in your legislative district and become a delegate to your party’s convention. It is the delegates that determine who you will have the opportunity to vote for in November.

At the district level:
The party (Democratic or Republican) chooses who will have input on the party platform and thus what the platform will be. (In North Dakota the platform is composed of “resolutions” presented by each legislative district at the party’s convention).
The candidates for the state legislature are chosen.
The delegates to the state convention are chosen. And it is these delegates that determine who will represent the party on the Election Day ballot.

What does a Delegate do?

A Delegate to the State Convention represents (in fact, determines) the will of the party, and carries the voice of the grass roots. The Delegate helps direct the path the party takes by deciding who will be the party’s candidates in state and federal races. Delegates to the State Conventions choose the Delegates to the National Conventions where the presidential candidates are chosen. All the debates about who is the best candidate and how much support will go to each candidate are all really decided at the district level and then at the State Convention. After that, voting on Election Day is little more than as a rubber stamp for what others have already decided.

How to become a Delegate in 5 easy steps
1. Find out what Legislative District you live in and who Chairman is for your Legislative District.Here is the interactive map of North Dakota’s legislative districts: http://web.apps.state.nd.us/hubexplorer/legislativedist/viewer.html

For the ND Republican Party:

http://www.northdakotagop.org/about/district-chairs/

Note: This fall district boundaries will be redrawn to adjust for population changes since the last US Census. This will likely only affect those who live in larger cities, especially Fargo and perhaps Grand Forks. But to be certain, check the map again in late December or early January.

2. Attend your Districts Reorganization and Nominating Convention.

Contact the Chairman of your Legislative District. Ask them when they will be holding their Reorganization Meeting and their Nominating Convention. Mark these dates on your calendar and attend. Some districts may hold both the Reorganization Meeting and the Nominating Convention at the same time. The Reorganization Meeting is where party members elect the leadership of your Legislative District. This is important because a District Chairman has a lot of say in deciding who becomes a delegate or candidate and how the party rules are applied to party business. Reorganization meetings are normally held in the spring of odd-numbered years. However, where new district boundaries are created, there will be a new reorganization meeting held sometime between November of 2011 and early March of 2012. The Nominating Convention is where candidates for State Legislature are nominated and Delegates for the State Convention are chosen. Even-numbered districts select their legislative candidates in the years of the presidential campaign. Odd-numbered districts elect their legislative candidates in the off-presidential years. For the 2012 election even numbered districts will be nominating their candidates for the state legislature.

3. Read and understand your State Party and Legislative District by-laws.

The ND Republican Party by-laws are here: http://www.northdakotagop.org/rules-and-mode/ Your Legislative Districts will also have their own version of these by-laws. You need to get a copy of your Legislative District’s by-laws from your district chair.

4. Actively participate in your District Nominating Convention.

It cannot be emphasized enough: Attendance at these meetings is vital! There is no substitute for your attendance. There is no other opportunity to have your voice heard. Once decisions are made at the District Convention, it’s final. Get to know the candidates seeking your party’s nomination to represent your district in Bismarck. If you are not able to find out about the candidates before the Nominating Convention come prepared to ask the candidates questions. Do not allow the nominating process to proceed if there are things you are uncertain about or that don’t make sense to you.

Ask questions: Understand what is being considered and why before casting your nominating vote. You are not there to rubber stamp the party’s agenda but to ensure that the candidates and agenda that emerge are ones that represent your beliefs and philosophy of how your government should function.

Choosing Delegates to the State Convention: It is only at your district nominating convention that delegates to the State Convention are chosen. The process for choosing Delegates depends on:
The District’s bylaws
The number of people who attend this meeting
The number of delegates your district is allowed
The leadership style of the District Chairman.

If your district is allowed a large delegation—say 70 delegates—and only a handful of people show up for the meeting, then it is likely that everyone who attends the meeting who wants to be a Delegate will be. Delegate positions that are not filled at the convention may then be appointed by the District Chairman. That’s why it is important to have good district leadership. You may vote at the meeting to send 20 liberty-minded people as Delegates to the State Convention, but if the Chairman fills the remaining 50 delegate seats with those who support the status-quo, then your efforts to steer the party towards liberty will be thwarted. On the other hand, if the district is only allowed a small number of delegates — say 20 and 30 people show up for the meeting, then it is likely that all the Delegates will be voted on at that meeting.

Since the majority rules at these meetings, you want to be sure that you have brought plenty of liberty-minded people with you to this meeting, otherwise those few Delegate seats might go to people who will not necessarily be working for a pro-freedom platform or will not support pro-freedom candidates. The only way to ensure the District meeting moves the party towards small constitutional government and nominates like minded candidates is for you to attend and participate in your District’s Nominating Convention.

It is also important you make sure to bring other like-minded people with you to the meeting. You want to ensure that whatever voting takes place moves the party towards an agenda of smaller government and personal liberty. If you think you and your friends constitute a majority at the meeting, you might consider presenting a slate of delegates. If, for example, the District is allowed 70 delegates, you might present a slate of 40-50 delegates that you know will all work to move the State Convention towards a pro-freedom agenda. That would leave the District Chairman with 20-30 other seats that s/he can fill to his/her liking, but it ensures that the majority of the Delegates who represent your District will work for a small government, pro-liberty agenda at the State Convention. It also means that you don’t necessarily have to have all 40-50 of those people attend the meeting. But you do need to make sure that you have a majority of the voters at that meeting committed to pass that pro-liberty Delegate slate at the meeting. To successfully present a “slate of Delegates” be familiar with the District’s by-laws to ensure your nominations are within the bounds of the District by-laws. Before presenting a “slate of Delegates” know you have a majority of those attending that will support the slate you present. If you don’t have a majority, an alternate slate could be presented made up of individuals with a liberal/progressive mindset.

5. Attend the State Convention

The state GOP Convention will be held on March 31 – April 1 in Bismarck, ND. The likely cost $75-100 plus the cost of travel. Stay in touch with other political groups, such as Campaign for Liberty. Many of these groups will help people defray the costs of the convention (especially hotel and transportation expenses).

** Go to http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Click on ND for updates. Here you will be kept informed about issues as well as provided additional training, insights and information on the convention process. Be fully informed. Be fully prepared. This will make you an effective Delegate

Baraminology

Baraminology is a new field of biology and is the creation science alternative to classifying biological organisms with evolutionary thinking.  It is not yet complete, but neither is the evolutionary three or five or other kingdom classification systems.  God created by kinds that don't have common parents.  He created plants, he created animals, he created people.  He created horses, he created dogs, he created lizards, he created fish.  Evolutionary based classification systems attempt to connect all kinds and species.  The Bible and the creationist work on the Baramin system of classification don't connect the kinds.  Here is one drawing to get you thinking about Baraminology and some quotes on the key points.  There is still plenty of room for further research into God's taxomony of biological life.

"The Darwinian macroevolution model is represented by a single tree of relationships, every form of life being related to every other form of life (Figure 1). In the baraminic model there is a forest of trees without connecting roots (Figure 2). One of these rootless trees would have branches representing only human diversification, another for canids, another for felids, etc.  For people reared on an evolutionary diet, the above menu can be difficult to swallow and digest, because students of biology have been taught to think genetic relationship rather than genetic discontinuity. "

Here is how the Christian researchers are viewing their work in Baraminology:

"It is like there has been a huge snowfall covering the trees to the top, and we are digging down into the snow to identify the connections, the branches, limbs, and trunk. Is there one tree below? Or is it an orchard of separate distinct trees? As the data slowly come into view we will have arguments about what is connected to what, or whether there is discontinuity at a given place."

It sure would be nice for this to have already been figured out, before we study science and biology, but it seems that this process of man taking dominion by naming things in alignment with God's creating of things is still work that needs your generation to flush out the details of.

Try sketching out a few kinds yourself to see how far you get.  How far can you get starting with your favorite pet?  Penguins?  What problems do your notice with the five kingdom system: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species?  What problems do you see in discussing a new system of classifying biological life?  How far does the Bible go in biological classification? Does body, soul, spirit all need to be part of baraminology characteristics? How would you differentiate a fly from a horse from a eukaryotic cell or person specifically and Biblically?

References 1, 2, 3

Scriptures

1. Genesis 1:11
   And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
2. Genesis 1:12
   And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
3. Genesis 1:21
   And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
4. Genesis 1:24
   And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
    
5. Genesis 1:25
   And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
   )
6. Genesis 6:20
   Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
7. Genesis 7:14
   They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
    

Home Schools Rise in China

Home schools emerged in many places of China today due to the parents' concern about the public education, the China Youth Daily reported Monday.

A growing number of parents in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces are choosing to let their children receive an education at home rather than attend public kindergartens, primary, junior or senior middle schools.

Some parents think their children cannot realize the happiness of learning, acquire useful knowledge effectively and master learning for a modern society through the current methods taught in schools.
A recent seminar about launching home school projects was held by 21st Century Education Research Institute in Southwest China's Yunnan province, attracting a lot of advocates.

Wu Gang, who used to operate an IT company in Sichuan province, chose to stop his company to take his son to Dali, Yunnan province, to be taught at home, after his child was not willing to go to school. Wu's son, now 15, is self studying natural and social science and holds an insightful view on some problems, which Wu believes is due to home lessons being an effective and relaxed way of learning. He also believes teaching at home will give his son more free time to practice study and make friends, as well as to expand his views.

Ririxin School, one of a number of home school style private schools in Huilongguan and Tiantongyuan communities in north Beijing, which was set up in 2006 by four families who wanted to give their children a better education, now has about 150 students. Although it has developed into a formal school, it features parent self-help teaching and parents' participate into school affairs.
Experts say the trend of home schools is due to a diversified demand for education and people should recognize the value of home teaching and attach great importance to the parent's participation in a child's education.