I stumbled onto yet another article about the advantages of homeschooling. I’ve been pushing that concept for many years, but I never tire of reading articles by others who have learned what our family learned: that your kids will turn out just fine without school. Enjoy!
This article describes in detail how the concept of homeschooling is taking off in Russia. In particular, Russian Christians like the American homeschooling method known here as Classical Conversations. A well-known Russian priest is working hard to promote this concept, and it’s working well for many families new to homeschooling.
It’s nice to see the success of homeschooling spreading to other countries.
“…after 26 years of teaching, I must conclude that one of the only alternatives on the horizon for most families is to teach their own children at home.” John Taylor Gatto
I’m so very sorry to learn that John Taylor Gatto has passed away. (Another informative obit HERE.) He was the New York State Teacher of the Year who quit teaching because he came to believe that schools were not good environments for children. After that, he devoted the rest of his life to speaking and writing about the negatives of forced schooling, and became a supporter of homeschooling.
Gatto’s work was a huge influence on me as a homeschooling parent in the 1990s. I had already been homeschooling for several years when I bought a cassette tape of his speech, “The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher,” at a homeschool convention. The first time I heard his message, it blew my mind. I listened to it over and over, in my minivan and my home cassette player. It helped me understand why I had been so unhappy as a child in the school system. It also gave me plenty of encouragement to keep homeschooling, which I did until my youngest child finished high school.
You know, I still have that tape, though I don’t know if it still works. (It’s got to be pretty worn out.) I also have most of Gatto’s books, which I highly recommend. Below are links to some of his videos and books.
RIP, John Taylor Gatto.
VIDEOS
Gary North shares several good ones HERE. And don’t miss this one:
BOOKS
Reading this news story just made me want to cry in frustration. Those poor kids are not being taught how to read and write. They flunk the tests, and the adults in their lives blame the tests (which cost tens of millions of dollars). Read one third-grader’s answer on a test (see photo in the article). Unbelievable! Note that these kids had been taught only using Common Core materials since kindergarten.
All it takes is one adult to read to a child, to help them learn to read, and then to help them learn to write. Schools make all of this so complicated, and clearly their current methods don’t work! What’s going to happen to these children if no one ever helps them learn how to read and write?
Any parent can do this. If you need help and encouragement in this area, read my FREE report, “Teaching Your Children to Write.”
Despite what some people might think, homeschooling isn’t cheap. You can start out with used books and inexpensive materials when your children are young, but as they grow, you need more expensive books to teach subjects like algebra. If you choose to use a distance education program, your costs will be even higher.
Some of our governmental representatives are trying to help homeschooling parents with these expenses by proposing educational savings accounts that can be used to save money (tax-free) to be used for homeschooling expenses. As former senator and presidential candidate Ron Paul says:
This provision will help homeschooling families and inspire more families to consider homeschooling. Homeschooling parents must not only pay for all their children’s education expenses, they also must subsidize government schools via property taxes and other taxes. A commitment to homeschooling may also require a parent to limit or even forgo outside employment.
Forgo outside employment, indeed! Living on one income is a daily challenge for many homeschooling families. Let’s hope this bill passes; every little bit helps.