History of education in America Part 1

This video will start to take you from the beginning of America's free schools and how the education system evolved to socialism where we are at today!

Home School In California

 California Private School Affidavit (PSA) Also Known As R4

In California, families can legally home school their children by establishing a private school in their home and complying with the private school requirements of the California Education Code. Parents who have established a home-based private school cannot be prosecuted for truancy. This is the home school or unschool method many people use.

Want to know more about how you can legally home school in California. Establish your home as a private school in California.

Home School Regulations


Home Based Charter Schools
 
Online Home School Programs

Unschooled Children Learn Because They Love Life And Learning!

Family Business A Way For Your Family To Create A Family Income Together! :)

Isn't It Time Families Worked Together As A Family!! Things May Not Seem So Bad :)

My dream is for families to get a great system like this one and as a family watch and learn then take action on the information as a family creating a great family income!! 

I know what some of you are saying. You are not sure what my intentions are or if I am just being a product pusher. You may not be totally comfortable with this post. I can assure you my intentions are good and I would not want you to purchase anything that you did not want and would not use. With that being said please keep reading!  Click Here...

Home School Progress Report 2009

Home School VS Traditional School!

I just read this great article about homeschooling and traditional schooled children. This new study provided by HSLDA Home School Legal Defence Association paints a good picture of how home schoolers are doing compared to institutionalized educated children. This study showed only slight differences among home schoolers academically and huge differences among home schoolers and traditional schooled children. This study looked at home schoolers from all areas including family income, children per family and more. This is definitely worth reading and it didn't take but five minutes.

You can read this report here Home School Progress Report 2009

Why Homeschool: Scholarships for homeschoolers - the website

Why shouldn't their be Scholarships for home schoolers? Check out how a family is making it happen for some homeschoolers and this is just the start. I hope one day their are Scholarships available to every college bound home school student! 

Why Homeschool: Scholarships for homeschoolers - the website

Standardized Testing And Home School, My Thoughts.

    I have been doing some thinking on the pros and cons of standardized testing in schools and among homeschoolers who are forced to partake in this ritual. The method of state standardized testing is a way of tracking the academic progress of school children, testing them on basic knowledge. The student is given a score and placed among a statistic for their age and grade. Schools like this because they feel it gives them an idea of what the students know and if they meet the standard for their age and grade set by our education system. Schools are then commended for high scores among the masses of their students while low scoring schools, students and teachers are looked down on and encouraged to raise those scores. This may increases the stress of the teachers and students only making the problem worse! Standardized testing says that all children at like ages and grades must know generally the same information in the same way. Standardized testing does not take into consideration the home life of the student, the people who talk to them and don't, as well as their ability to learn at the same rate as other kids who are taking the same test.

The reason why schools are so fond of standardized testing is because it provides them cookie cutter information for the cookie cutter society they are training kids for! They can weed out the "fast" learners to the "slow" learners and label them accordingly. This may produce stress and depression for the "slow" learners and high levels of "self esteem for the "fast" learners. "Great job you have a high score" as they get a pat on the back for all of their hard work. The "slow" learners just get "you need to do better or you will fail" then they are placed in a class where they can "improve" and continue to do work that offers little to know challenge. That was me in the resource classes sitting their with the other "slow learning" or lazy kids who just wanted to get by and get out! I loved to score low on tests, and I loved the easy classes, there were less kids and the classroom was open for free conversation with the teacher as well as more art time. Yet that didn't change my self esteem, I always thought I was one of the dumb ones or at least that is what I was led to believe.

Deep down inside I knew I could do it if I really wanted to but why? so I can keep up with the other kids labeled "smart" and "good students" I didn't want to keep up I wanted to just learn and find my own way. I finally got out of school early thanks to independent study, finally I was allowed to learn at my own pace and surprise surprise I had the time to learn even more and of all the things I found that I have always wanted to learn! I finally felt like an individual. Anyway, this is about standardized testing and home school not me. Like most parents I want to do all I can for my children without doing to much damage lol! We are using a public Charter for our home school needs and he is in 2nd grade and will be required to do standardized testing in May. I have my reservations however and I am sorting it all out hence my post. He has already been tested on reading and was not allowed to participate in the program two years ago for Kindergarten until he had the assessment test. A passing score meant he was ready for Kindergarten curriculum, he passed but what did this really prove? It proved he was in line or even ahead of other students his age and was capable of doing the State mandated curriculum. Possible useful information for a cookie cutter life in a school that wants all the kids to learn, think and act in a certain way. I am not trying to say anything bad about the home based Charter school we use, but I have realized that it is still a public school with minds sets much the same. You need to take this into consideration before using a Public Charter Program. Learn more about home based Charter School Programs.

When I began this home school journey I wanted freedom to teach my kids in a way that was all them not every other kid. I am learning now about real education and how my own kids learn. Do I really want them to learn in a way that makes them better capable to score high on a test or learn in a way that speaks to them and actually allows them to learn and use their God given minds as an individual who they are made to be! Fortunately the program we are in offers much freedom and control on my part and we are happy with it so far (still way better than a regular public school).     

About standardized testing, I did try to see it the other way and have for many years. I said why not Standardized testing after all kids must have a basic knowledge so that they at least know what people are talking about in general conversations as well as do basic math and write a book report. We must know how kids stack up to other kids in the nation and we must track their education with tests made up with information they probably memorized anyway! When you spell it all out it really sound ridiculous, I am realizing that as I write this lol!

Standardized Testing: What Can It Hurt Anyway? I will explore this on another post in the mean time please comment and tell me your side. I want to hear the opinions of many people so please share.

Thanks for reading, to your families success!

Joanne Utke

Unschooled Children Learn Because They Love Life And Learning!

"The Best Way To Learn Is To Teach!"

A great saying but if you are an unschooler you might prefer this one.

"The Best Way To Learn Is To DO!"

I agree with both, unschooling as well as homeschooling is a one of a kind learning experience for the whole family. The parents learn by guided teaching and answering the many questions of a young healthy mind. And the kids learn much, much, more by doing things them self, looking up a topic and searching for the answers. The children learn because they love life and learning! And the topics they study are topics they have chosen to learn.

The fact is you learn and absorbed waaaay more when you are interested in the topic, you have a driving desire to learn it. The information has more value to you, you will remember it and be more likely to use it.. Not only that life experience is a great teacher and can teach us all the subjects as long as we stay active! Homeschooling / unschooling is not for the lazy, but active life loving learners.

If you went to school like me you would probably remember constantly being forced, bribed into learning and absorbing info that you just were not interested in at the time or not at all. It was a chore to learn and not fun ( so not what learning should be about ) and all so they can test you on it later. In unschooling you and your children learn because you want to know about something.

No stickers, or points are earned for learning, or bribed to the child in order that they make them self learn. The only reward is self satisfaction, a great self esteem, and the all around good feelings of bettering ones self.

Not that these things can't be achieved in a school, only that these things are achieved as unschoolers feel in a better way and without all the extra negative stuff that can come out of public school or even a private school. Homeschooling provides a safe place where your children can learn about them self, their family, the world and anything else they are interested in! Apposed to being away from their family 7 hours a day Mon-Fri most weeks a year, were they are taught in a production line fashion.

In conclusion to this post, I feel that homeschooling and unschoolng offer us freedom to learn and grow in the direction our hearts take us. I am glad I am learning about unschooling as well as homeschooling and the best part is I am absorbing everything I learn because I want to learn it.

I love to learn about many things and have only begun my education since I have been an adult. I went to school my whole childhood up until I was 16 years old were I finished school at home. That is when I really started educating my self on topics like health, and exercise. I even loved learning about it so much I got my personal training certification at 18 years old and worked at a gym.

I can honestly say that school taught me how to read, write, spell, and do basic math. My real education was the unschooling I provided myself at the age of 17 when I graduated from high school independent study.

I hope I have inspired you to look into homeschooling and the unschooling philosophy for your family. If you already home school I hope that by me sharing with you what I am learning about it you may also have the desire to continue to learn about this wonderful way of living life with your children!


More from this blog on Unschooling:

Eclectic Homeschooling

What is Unschooling? Home Schooling

The Unschooling Handbook

What is Unschooling? Home Schooling

Have you heard about unschooling?

It is a form of home schooling except the child learns what they are interested in the most.The child has the freedom to learn what they love, many people still incorporate standard book work with this while others may not.

For us we have the workbooks we do for math reading and spelling but everything else we just do what ever we are into and my son has so many questions and wants to know everything so we look things up learn about the holidays as they come up go to the library and get books to answer the questions my son has.

My kids learn reading, writing and spelling with work books but every thing else they learn the most from coloring pages, talking, reading books, asking questions and figuring things out!

One day my son wants to know about dinosaurs so we read a book and discus it the next day it may be something else or we can spend a whole week on one subject.

I consider us half unschooling and half home schooling I am training my kids for life and entrepreneurship not a JOB or to be like every one else. I could not accomplish this sending my kids to a school. I think structure is very important but freedom and knowledge to do and learn what you want is what America and Life is all about!, I like the fact that my kids don't go to school we just have a Passion for learning!  I would like to go unschool when my children have reached the teen years after the 8th grade mark.

Children are naturally curious learners! We need to provide them with an environment that is conducive to that natural ability to learn. Children also learn best when education is not forced on them and will learn when placed in a educational environment not a school.

Unschoolers typically don't use curriculum, tests, especially state testing. Parents are not teachers they are facilitators and only assist the child in learning what the child wants to learn. Education is not forced but done freely, naturally and at the child's lead. They don't use grades or other titles invented by schools that refer to the stage in education the child is at. In unschooling there are no stages of education like grades the child just learns at his own pace. Here are some quotes to help you understand unschooling even more.

To unschool your kids you do have to follow your states home school laws at Getting Started Homeschooling.


“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ~ Albert Einstein


“When you teach a child something you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself.” ~ Jean Piaget


“There are only two places in the world where time takes precedence over the job to be done. School and prison.” ~ William Glasser


“Education is a private matter between the person and the world of knowledge and experience, and has little to do with school or college.” ~ Lillian Smith


“None of the world's problems will have a solution until the world's individuals become thoroughly self-educated.” ~ Buckminster Fuller


“All the time you are in school, you learn through experience how to live in a dictatorship.” ~ Grace Llewellyn

See  this fun post called Famous Home Schoolers