Lynn Cannon learns best through playing back audio tapes of class notes, or seeing words highlighted in glowing colors.
‘I’m a tactile and audible learner,? Lynn says brightly.
Like any student, it takes a bit of wrestling with a concept before understanding dawns.
Then, Eureka. She’s got it.
For Teresa Cannon’both mother and teacher to the 13-year-old student’witnessing Lynn’s face light up with understanding is priceless. Such a moment is one of homeschooling’s many benefits.
A certified teacher, Teresa Cannon has taught in public and private schools. For 14 years she’s been her children’s teacher. Cannon, an Oakland County resident, shares what she’s learned by holding seminars like those at Brandon Library.
Why homeschool?
Parents teach their children for a variety of reasons.
Martha Kemp, formerly of Goodrich, homeschooled her six children for 18 years.
Third-grade sex education classes motivated her to rethink her children’s education options.
‘I wanted to pull them out of the public school system,? said Kemp. ‘With a private or Christian school I would’ve had to go back to work full-time. I was dreading (homeschooling) but saw no other alternative.?
Traditionally parents have homeschooled for religious regions, but parents also homeschool to custom-tailor education to a child’s unique learning style, strengthen family ties and values, minimize peer influence with students involved in drugs or other negative behaviors, and encourage students to become well-rounded civic-minded adult leaders.
Cannon cited a 1999 study, conducted by the College Library and Information Service of the University of Maryland using Iowa Tests of Basic Skills or the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency, administered by impartial testers to 20,760 homeschooled students in 50 states.
‘On average, homeschooled students in grades one to four performed one grade-level above their public and private school peers,? she said. The gap increased after fifth grade, with homeschooled students generally scoring four grade levels above their public and private school peers by ninth grade.
Socialization. The question of socialization arises so often it’s become clich? within homeschooling circles.
Rarely do students wind up later interacting with only their own age group in the wor place, pointed out Cannon.
?(Homeschoolers) have more opportunity to see adults interact and develop the skills they’ll use as adults,? she said. In many situations, students play with children of all ages, developing empathy and tolerance for younger children, as well as maturity in interacting with adults.
‘Most of us really want to teach our children how to get along with everyone,? said Cannon. ‘If you can get along with your family 24-7, you can get along with anyone.?
Opportunities for cultural diversity are also present, as homeschoolers often interact within child-centered groups, sharing field trips, or hiring a teacher for special subjects. Many children also interact with peers through scouting, church, 4-H, theatre, or other programs.
Deal-breakers. Cannon candidly encourages families to take a hard look at what they’re getting into before committing to teaching their children at home.
‘Not every child should be homeschooled, and not every parent should homeschool,? says Cannon.
‘Are you the type whose house has to be a certain way? Do you really understand the concept of 24-7? Are there issues with parents needing care??
Kemp, who originally dreaded teaching her children, said homeschooling became a positive family lifestyle within the first year’thanks to her husband’s organizational skills.
‘There are probably parents who shouldn’t (homeschool),? she said, ‘some who may be very disorganized, or if I didn’t have my husband. There are days that are very frustrating that would be easy to say, ‘Let’s just chuck it for the day.? ?
In a two-parent home, both parents should be in agreement, Cannon said, and children’s individual personalities need to be considered.
‘Are there behavioral issues? If you don’t have a handle now on how to reinforce good behavior, you’ll find it difficult.?
Parents will pay out-of-pocket for their children’s educational costs, which vary greatly. Using a discount-store curriculum book, parents may get by with paying as little as $50, or’with brand-new textbooks and materials’may pay over $1,000 per student. The cost of extracurricular trips should also be considered.
‘Homeschooling magnifies any problems, and there are time stresses. I am aware of only a couple single moms who homeschool, and it’s the most difficult thing imaginable.?
For $100 per year, members gain unlimited homeschooling legal representation through the Home School Legal Defense Association, headquartered in Purcellville, Va. To join, parents are required to sign an agreement promising to ‘diligently teach? their children.
While ?99.9 percent of parents who homeschool do so with the desire to do their very best,? the association doesn’t want to be affiliated with the minority of parents who may use homeschooling as a guise for truancy. ‘We cut ’em loose,? says attorney Chris Klicka, who has been representing homeschool cases in Michigan courts for nearly 19 years.
Legal issues. When Klicka began his career with the HSLDA, Michigan’s reputation for dealing with homeschooling families was one of the worst in the nation.
‘When I started it was open season on homeschoolers,? Klicka said. ‘The big battle was over certification. Ninety-five percent of homeschooling teachers were not certified, yet kids were scoring in the 80th to 90th percentile. The state’s troubles stretched on for 10 years. That was all struck down in 1993.?
In the historic 1993 case, People v DeJonge, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned all lower court cases and struck down teacher certification for private and homeschools as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.
Thanks to later legislation, Michigan families are now virtually free of any homeschooling regulations, except the requirement to teach reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar.
HSLDA aggressively lobbies to keep Michigan’s current homeschooling laws in place, Klicka says.
Occasionally a school district misinterprets the law, believing the district can impose its own standards on top of state requirements.
?(School districts) have no authority to add on extra regulations,? said Klicka, whose seven children are homeschooled.
Although not required by law, HSLDA recommends Michigan homeschooling families teach children approximately 180 days per year, and maintain records of daily instruction.
Getting started. With a wealth of curriculums to choose from, where do prospective homeschoolers begin?
Cannon recommends finding a seminar, or other homeschooling families. Highly resourceful parents can start at the library or on the Web by researching Michigan’s law for themselves through the Michigan Department of Education site at http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6525_6530_6564-25431?,00.html, followed by researching the HSLDA site at http://www.hslda.org.
With legal requirements firmly in mind, Cannon recommends obtaining a copy of the local school district’s ‘scope and sequence?, outlining the broad view of your child’s grade-level requirements, and the sequence in which requirements will be taught ‘so your child is comfortable if you wish to transfer them back in,? said Cannon.
Getting the right information may depend on whom you talk to.
‘A new secretary, for example, may not be aware they can give out (scope and sequence).?
Two types of homeschooling support groups exist, and both are helpful, says Cannon.
Parent-centered groups support parents with teaching concerns or who need support while homeschooling their children.
Child-centered groups fulfill any curriculum needs collectively decided by parents. A parent who’s not confident about teaching math may wish to teach science in exchange for another parent’s math class, or pay a teacher or tutor in a special subject. Child groups are also helpful in providing students with athletic, music, art, foreign language, science labs, or other programs.
Curriculum choices are extensive, and should be made based on a family’s desire for religious or non-religious material, as well as their child’s personality. Some companies offer testing to direct parents to a fitting curriculum.
Other considerations. During Kemp’s homeschooling years, she bore in mind the family’s intention that the children would eventually return to a private or public school setting. While her children were generally better prepared than anticipated, one child found herself at a disadvantage because she lacked lab sciences.
Local school districts respond to homeschoolers on a case-by-case basis, says Goodrich Superintendent Kim Hart.
‘Some do very well, others have some social issues to deal with, and some, academics that need to be addressed, i.e., gaps in what we’ve taught and expected that they may not have been exposed to,? said Hart.
While few transfer out of the district, exiting students either return within a few months or remain homeschoolers until nearly of high school age.
‘Those who get their children into a homeschool group with other local families that also find a way to include art, music, gym, etc., tend to do better,? Hart said.
At the high school level, structure, socialization, and discipline are the most common problems with returning students, said GHS principal Kenneth Andrzejewski, who feels public school officials generally are ‘very accepting of home schoolers? while trying to ensure academic success within the district’s traditional environment.
When it comes to extracurriculars, homeschooling families can’t’and won’t’look to public schools. In March, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that public school districts don’t have to allow homeschooled students on their sports teams.
Despite the fact that homeschooling families pay school-related taxes that aren’t being paid back to their local districts, families aren’t looking for financial help, which would invite government intervention, said Klicka.
Cannon encourages teaching students college skills like taking notes before dual-enrollment in community college courses, which automatically solves the problem of applying to four-year colleges without high school transcripts.
From the trenches. Families who’ve undertaken the homeschooling challenge aren’t expressing regrets. It’s given both Kemp and Cannon great respect for public school teachers, who teach under even more demanding circumstances. It’s also bonded the family unit.
‘It drew us closer together in a different way,? said Kemp. ‘It pulled my husband in, which was a good thing. We have a relationship between us that I don’t think we would have been able to share if we hadn’t homeschooled. It was cool, a real gelling of the whole family.?
Lynn Cannon says she wouldn’t change a thing about her education.
‘I like what we do,? said Lynn. ‘I think I’d do it the same.?
A list of homeschooling resources is available through the adult services link of the Brandon Library Web site at http://www.brandonlibrary.org. The library holds its next seminar Aug. 19.
To learn more about homeschooling seminars, contact Teresa Cannon at tlcannon03@hotmail.com.