The video that accompanies the Fox News article Homeschooling New York City children (by Dana Archin, 10 October 2017) includes an interview with Laurie.
Homeschooling Myths Explained This article first appeared on the Momthingz website (which now appears to be defunct), with the comment: "I just want to thank Laurie for this amazing article. Laurie answered all the questions I had about Home Schooling and so much more. Even if this isn't the route you take now, whatever you decide, Laurie has some fascinating view points that made me really think about what I personally contribute to my son's learning resources. Her website contains so much more - do check it out! And thanks again Laurie!"
"Homeschool Advantage" by Julia Israel in Time Out New York. And don't miss the note from parent Elsa Haas at the bottom of page two: "About the testing: don't let it scare you off if your child 'doesn't test well...' "
When asked whether being homeschooled made him feel different from his schooled cousins:
"I can just be myself all of the time. I don't have to change myself to fit into the group."
Christopher, age 10
"As the movement grows larger and more diverse, evidence is mounting that home-schooling, once confined to the political and religious fringe, has achieved results not only on par with public education, but in some ways surpassing it."
Life Without School, by Ellen Rowland — Working on the Omelet: Thoughts on Cooking and Unschooling
Inspiring excerpt from the book Everything I Thought I knew: Unschooling My Children, Deschooling Myself, by Ellen Rowland, about her reasons for homeschooling.
Here is an article from the Washington Post: This is How You and Your Child Select the Right College.
Written by the president of College of the Atlantic (COA, which my son attended), this article contains some excellent advice on how to take a close look during your visit. I remember when we went to visit COA, I sat and ate lunch next to a faculty member, joined a small class with an animated group discussion, encountered imaginative and engaging approaches to a subject that I thought was familiar, all while my son was doing the same thing in other places with other people.
"Cab-School Student Earned Ticket to Harvard" (NPR, 7/21/2010). This article tells the story of a homeschooled student who studied on the road, in the cab of her mom's truck, and was solicited by Harvard – further proof that the most selective schools seek out homeschoolers with diverse backgrounds.
Lefty Parent, Living and Parenting Without the Rule Book, a blog by parent and unschooler Cooper Zale.
Parental Patience and Children's Reading:
A Pilot Study of Homeschooled Children, by Karen Keys and William Crain. An article on late reading documents the success that can happen when you allow a child to move at his or her own pace, concentrating on the enjoyment of reading rather than on acquiring the skill. The authors also note that schools, with their high pressure approach of early drilling, sometimes lose readers who do not catch up later, unlike their homeschooled counterparts who catch up naturally when they are allowed to move at their own pace.
"Kitchen-classroom conservatives" from The Economist. Quote from the article: "A generation ago, home-schooling was rare and, in many states, illegal. Now, according to the Department of Education, there are roughly 1.5m home-schooled students in America, a number that has doubled in a decade. That is about 3% of the school-age population. The National Home Education Research Institute puts the number even higher, at between 1.8m and 2.5m."
"The Anti-Schoolers" -- Home-Schooling grows in New York City. From the New York Times, 15 Oct 2008.
"Homeschool Advantage" by Julia Israel in Time Out New York. And don't miss the note from parent Elsa Haas at the bottom of page two: "About the testing: don't let it scare you off if your child 'doesn't test well...' "
CUNY Radio has a podcast on people who have self-created different things. The interview starts with the Maker Faire, and then leads to a piece on homeschooling with Laurie Spigel and other parents. The reporter has some misinformation. My older son had a scholarship to NYU Film school years ago, and he is now no longer attending college. Also, I never gave her the impression that homeschooling is not a choice to people in the lower income brackets. Personally, I was totally broke when I started, and that's what led to the "what's free or cheap in NYC" a vast list or activities that is currently on my website. I have always believed that anyone can do this, regardless of income. However, if both parents choose to work full time and there is no one available to be with the child, then I do not believe that homeschooling is a good choice.
Going to YouTube and searching on homeschool brings up 479,000 links (as of March 2017), including Seven Lies About Homeschoolers , a funny short video made by a teenage homeschooler. Watch also Homeschooling in NYC, made by a group of homeschooling kids.
A teenager started The Independent Project, a program of self-directed learning within a high school. Every week each student selects and pursues a single question in each major academic area, and also works on a term-long project that is a personal endeavor. This is an interesting model for self-directed learning, individually and in groups.
Sylvia Ashton-Warner was a New Zealand writer, poet and educatorwho spent many years teaching Maori children, using stimulating and often pioneering techniques which she wrote about in her 1963 treatise Teacher and in the various volumes of her autobiography
John Taylor Gatto, a New York State Teacher of the Year, retired from teaching claiming that he was no longer willing to hurt children. He is a tireless campaigner for education reform. His books include: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992); The Exhausted School (1993); A Different Kind of Teacher (2000); and The Underground History Of American Education (2001).
Sir Ken Robinson explores ways to connect peoples' natural aptitudes with their personal passions to achieve at their highest levels in education and business. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for his outstanding achievements in education and the arts. Ken Robinson has written numerous books, including The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.
Changing Paradigms – how do we make change happen in education and how do we make it last? RSA lecture.
Cevin Soling, an independent filmmaker, recently made an excellent documentary called The War on Kids that takes on the education establishment in a hard-hitting way. It won "Best Educational Documentary" at the New York International and Independent Film and Video Festival. The closing remarks in the trailer are made by John Taylor Gatto.
Animal School, an eye-opening reflection on how we view children and how we teach children in our current education system.
video: TED talk, by David Helfand on the creation of Quest U., an alternative university in Canada (a local homeschooler /unschooler attends this university and loves it).
"The Love of Learning", by Bard College President Leon Botstein, on the value of a higher education, along with some advice on what to look for in a university.
. Read an opinion
piece on homeschooling which Bethany wrote for CNN: My View: Why I chose home schooling
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