Between a rock and a hard place...

So I'm running an experiment this week and next. I'm doing "school related" things for 5.5 hours a day, things like reading books on home schooling, taking care of organizing, doing whatever bizarre new paperwork they come up with next to enroll Charlie in COVA, that kind of stuff. The point of this is to see how I can manage to fit laundry, housework, errands, and Kayla (not to mention me time) into a day that includes 5.5 hours of teaching. If you are wondering how it's going, don't ask. :)

I tell you this because today I chose to search the internet for anything and everything I could find relating to home schooling, and more specifically, schooling at home through a charter school, like we will be doing. Here's what I discovered. Schooling at home through a public charter school puts us between a rock and a hard place in the home school world.

Let me start with this. You wouldn't believe how many different types of home schooling there are. Unschoolers, deschoolers, Christian homeschoolers, child-led home schoolers, secular home schoolers, cirriculum home schoolers, it goes on and on. I'm going to clump everyone into one of 3 groups - Those who send their kids to regular public school, those who independently home school, and those who school at home, which (apparently) is a whole different thing. You all know about regular public school. Those who independently home school are "typical" home schoolers... they do their own thing, whether it be with lessons from a cirriculum they create, or they don't have lessons at all, just teach their kids in the "school of life", and everything inbetween. This group includes the majority of what I will refer to as "Christian home schoolers" which does NOT mean simply home schoolers of the Christian faith but those who home school BECAUSE they are Christian, a lot of times because they think Bible lessons should integrate with academic lessons, and you can't get that at public school. Those who "school at home" are often much more structured, using schedules and purchasing entire cirriculums, and often testing their kids. This is where people like us fall, who are using a charter school, run and funded by the government.

Here's where the problem comes in. Charlie will be going to a public school, with all that entails. He will take standardized tests, he has an IEP, and everything is paid for by someone's property taxes. :) But, he'll be doing this from home. Now, the independent home schoolers aren't all too fond of this idea. They fought hard for the right to teach their children themselves, with no interference from the government or the public school system, and they see this kind of duality as an isidious way for the government to enforce more rules and regulations on home schoolers in general. The Christian segment of this group is also opposed to the fact that not only do the cirriculums these charter schools choose to use have no reference to religion except in a historical context, but they don't allow anyone to teach non-secular material during "school hours" and won't pay for any non-secular materials. A lot of (not all, sorry mooless) public school proponents and employees are against the charter school at home concept because they are aginst home schooling and ignore the part about it actually being a public school. SO, we are pretty much hated by everyone. :)

Now let me say before I get accused of anything, that the people at Charlie's school now have been, if not actively supportive, tolerant of our choice for Charlie's future education. So has my mother, a public school employee for many years, and, I think, not the biggest fan of home schooling. But, in cruising the information superhighway earlier today I found that many independent home schoolers are REALLY against anyone who schools at home through a charter school. Especially (and I find this ironic and sad) the Christian element. I actually saw one comment where the Christian woman was ranting about how evolutionism is just propaganda and she said "take your atheistic religion back to hell where it belongs!" What a nice, tolerant, CHRISTIAN thing to say. I mean really. There was an entire website dedicated to some Christian home school support group and how they wanted to make sure none of those "charter schoolers" were trying to get in on their activities. Nice. Very "love thy neighbor" of you.

Anyway, here's the way I look at it. Why can't we all just get along? Instead of worrying about their autonomy being taken away, can't the independent home schoolers and the charter home schoolers work together to create a world where the government pays for you to home school (up to a limit of course, equal to what the public school in your neighborhood would be getting if your kid went there) and yet you can still choose what cirriculum you use, and what electives you can teach? Can't the Christian home schoolers practice what they preach (and preach and preach and preach, sometimes :)) and be supportive of those who take on the challenge to teach their own children, no matter how they choose to do it? The rule is don't talk about politics or religion, and if everyone in a given group of home schooling parents followed that rule, there would be no reason they (and their children) couldn't be friends. In the meantime, I face the challenge of fnding home school support groups in our area that will be tolerant of the way I have chosen to home school. I'd like to hear what you think - leave a comment. I fixed it up so anyone can now. :)

Here's some interesting reading for the day:

Home School Legal Defense Association

- see what I am talking about above.

Technorati

- type in homeschooling, and my bet is you'll find plenty more about my above comments. Then type in anything else and see what people have to say about it. :)

Letter to the Editor

- In the hard copy of the paper, the top of the letter underneath covered up my name. Go figure. I still had a lot of phone calls today, most positive. :)

Old article from Wired magazine

- an interesting article on the prevalance of Autism Spectrum Disorders in communities with a high percentage of smart people. Just proves I'm smart, since I have an ASD kiddo, right? :)