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Home is where the school is
by Suzie Hanrahan
Their children do not hibernate inside their houses, they have friends and they are not doing anything illegal.
Instead of going to school, these kids play at the park, swim at the beach, enjoy dance classes, visit with friends of all ages and work off of the kitchen table instead of a desk.
A growing number of parents and their children are opting for homeschooling, both in the South Bay and nationwide. Homeschooling rates grow up to 15 percent each year, and about 1.3 million American children, from grades K through 12, forego schooling for alternate forms of education, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. More and more parents are trying to involve themselves with their children’s education on a more personal level by controlling it through the homeschooling option.
Six homeschooling proponents came to the Manhattan Beach Barnes and Noble bookstore last Wednesday evening as part of the South Bay Homeschooling Resource Group, to discuss their experiences.
Diane Hess, Diane Fresquez, Kelly Magner, and Paul and Barbara Kartsonis answered questions posed by moderator Tamah Kushner, herself a homeschool advocate, regarding the pros and cons of keeping children out of traditional school settings.
"I love that we get to spend so much time together," said Hess. She likes being able to tailor her children’s education according to their personalities, needs, and interests. "I really enjoy that. If something doesn’t work, we just throw it out," she said. Her 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter have never attended school.
If electing to homeschool their children, parents can choose one of five ways in which to do so: hire a private tutor, work through a charter school or Independent Study Program (ISP), or file an R-4 form, establishing one’s own home as a private school. Charter schools and certain ISP’s are considered public and receive state funding.
Benefits
Homeschooling allows parents to customize their children’s education. The hours, costs, curriculums, and formats are suited to individual families.
"Every child is unique," Fresquez said. "Every child learns at a certain pace."
There are several reasons why parents choose to homeschool. Some are afraid of the dangers their children will face with a traditional education, such as violence, cruelty, and teasing. Others dislike the inability of schools to deal with individual learning styles, learning disabilities and gifted children.
One of the most common misconceptions regarding homeschooled children is their lack of socialization, social skills and assimilation, said members of the Resource Group.
"The social life is a big plus. That’s been one of the benefits that has been a surprise to me," said Magner.
All of the panel members cited positive social effects of homeschooling.
"He’s not as stressed out," Magner said of her 12-year-old son. "He has a lot of friends in the neighborhood, and then in the homeschool group."
A number of networks on national, state, and local levels support parents and children experimenting with homeschooling.
"You can appreciate and enjoy a wide variety of people. When children are at home they feel good about themselves," Fresquez said. "They go into relationships assuming they probably will work. I have a hard time budgeting their days out with park days, beach days, dance classes. I think actually they have a better chance at socialization."
Time and Costs
The time and costs of a homeschool education vary from household to household. Charter schools and public ISP’s cost nothing. Filing a personal R-4 form costs $40 in Los Angeles County but nothing through the state.
A homeschool education can cost as much or as little as wanted, panelists said. The time spent learning at home is just as flexible.
"We try to homeschool about four hours a day, sometimes on weekends," said Barbara Kartsonis. "Every year I try to change it around. We don’t set a time schedule."
Other homeschooling parents, however, are more structured. Whatever schedule they chose, the panel members agreed that it is nice to have the choice of how their children are taught. They also choose their children’s study plans.
"We use packaged curriculums, games. We do a lot of games. My kids love games," said Hess. However, charter school students, like Fresquez’s grandchildren, work under requirements from the state.
Adequate Testing?
Critics of the homeschooling system point to the lack of testing as a soft spot. Without tests, it can be difficult to measure knowledge.
Some homeschooling parents that don’t test find other ways of monitoring learning growth. "I guess how I know they’re learning is that I’m there when the light bulb goes on. It seems redundant to see that light bulb and then test," Hess said.
Fresquez agreed, "You can’t really pin it down but you know it’s happening."
Magner chose not to test because of her own experience as a student. "I didn’t like tests. They caused me a lot of anxiety or I found them boring," she said.
While some homeschoolers do test, most find the practice to be unnecessary.
"Testing is a recommendation, not a requirement," said Paul Kartsonis. "You understand what your child gets and doesn’t get. It’s not a pass-fail."
The Kartsonis family was frustrated by the one-size-fits-all mentality of the classroom setting.
"I don’t know anyone who has quit homeschooling because they found it too frustrating," Paul Kartsonis said. "For us it was purely an academic situation. Our son was in a classroom where he was not being challenged."
The Kartsonis children, Rachael, 12, and David, 14, had few complaints. "I like it because in homeschool we learn interesting facts and expand on things you can’t learn about in regular school," Rachael said. "I don’t think there’s anything bad about it."
Her brother agreed. "Here you learn it and if you don’t get it you can focus on it longer. You can focus on it at the dinner table," he said.
His only complaint was that he feels he’s always in school. "It seems like a blessing and a curse," David said.
Socialization has not been a problem, they said. David described his homeschool group as racially and religiously diverse. "We probably have more friends than kids in public school. We have so many friends we can’t keep track of them," Rachael said.
Their friends are a variety of ages, but each learns independently.
Fresquez also disliked the idea of kids of many different learning levels being grouped together. She feared the teasing and bullying she felt her grandson would face. "I knew he’d get chewed up in the system," said Fresquez, whose grandson, whom she homeschools for her daughter, had socialization and learning problems when he was younger.
It’s Not All Good
The panel members also spoke on the disadvantages they face as homeschooling parents, which mainly arise due to the number of hours they spend in close contact with their children.
"It’s very difficult to hide your faults," Fresquez said. "You get really close. I was overprotective with my children and I found that can happen with homeschooling."
None of the panelists felt that they were limiting their children’s college choices by keeping them out of a competitive school environment. Hess said that homeschooled children are often self-directed and highly motivated. She hopes that she has taught her children to resist and adapt to the cultural shocks of college life.
Information regarding homeschooling options in the South Bay can be obtained by calling the South Bay Homeschool Network at (310) 538-1247. ER