Home School Online

Time4Learning, an online homeschool & enrichment service, received this email awhile ago….

 “A homeschool acquaintance told me about your site so I had to try it. First, I have to say I was really looking forward to having my children do your program. So much so that I even signed up my two boys . They’ve been having a pretty good time with it ….

But that’s not why I’m writing and canceling our subscription. …. I must say, your interpretation of what homeschoolers want is light years away from reality….I say this after taking a look at what your 8th grade “lesson plans” had to offer. Dang folks! Do you really think I’m going to let my 8th grader read the kind of trash that you offer in your first language arts lesson? I mean really.

I looked up “Surviving the Applewhites” on Amazon (bold added by editor) and was appalled that you can even think that a book so disparaging of homeschoolers could even possibly be attractive. Was the intent to show us just what we were missing by not sending our children to public school?…..”

Here is how I answered…..

“I am very sorry to have upset you. Time4Learning takes its educational content seriously. We have licensed the CompassLearning system which is sold into schools around the country. We make it available to users at home with minimal adaptations and at as low a price as possible….

When I got your email earlier this weekend, I looked up the book. Since I had not personally read it, I acquired a copy and read it. I have not read the Amazon summary but generally I have found Amazon to be very accurate on questions of price but somewhat undependable on questions of content. Have you found differently?

Surviving the Applewhites is interesting and a fast read. Here is what I have found.

 The book was a Newbery Honory book in 2003 for literature and as such, it is on many recommended reading lists for students. As a homeschool enthusiast, I am pleased that a major children’s book uses homeschooling as its context instead of the usual stories where “John and Jane go to school every morning…”

The book tells the story of a difficult rebellious adolescent (Jake) who is taken in by a unschooling family in ahomeschooling in North Carolina made up of a set of colorful tempermental characters.

The story is a combination of coming of age and dealing with issues of adolescence, identity, self-worth, and family. Do I think the family is ideal or typical? No, this is literature. The family is more than a little dysfunctional although big-hearted and full of talented people. Their approach is unschooling which works extremely well for some of the children in the family, not so well for others. The family itself is portrayed a little cartoonishly.

I found that as literature it would have been more appropriate for a younger grade than 8th grade since it’s vocabulary and style were simple, it lacked subtlety, and was a little formulastic.

However, the book did support the content of the lessons that it was supposed to and it is very well written. I’m sorry that you found a review of the book which led you to believe that it was inappropriate.

Anybody care to comment? Anybody went to help build my list of homeschool fiction?

Aren’t you curious about the focus of this blog and who writes it?  Here it is:

Blog Topic: In the bad old days, homeschooling was hard. To shop, we called publishers who thought we were weird & treated us badly. Curriculum fairs were great but were never near my backyard. The curriculum swap fairs were legendary but actually getting to one that had what you wanted ……We often read in the magazine about great new books and curriculum but no sooner did we hear about them, than they were out of print. ;-<   And you cannot imagine the difficulties in tracking down what the real laws and possibilities were about homeschooling.

Today, thanks to the internet and a critical mass of homeschoolers, homeschooling is a blast. And effective. Come join the fun!  And the wired homeschoolers who judiciously mix alot of books, with alot of people, with the amazing resources of the internet...we're unstoppable.

No longer weird, homeschooling is now very trendy. Everyone knows about it and has an opinion on it. For instance, if you are a teacher, you are against it.  Except as a way to get a few of your least favorite students out of your class.   In fact, I just stared into my crystal ball and I predict that in 2008, homeschooling will be a Time Magazine cover story.  (Note that I write this on Feb 12, 2008. You ought to be able to check back on the waybackmachine.com in the future and see that I predicted this).  Oh yes. And perhaps 4% of the K-12 population this year has selected homeschooling as the way to educate their children.  They're in favor of it. Sorry teach.

 Author: The author of this blog is the founder of Time4Learning.com.  He is btw considering taking on a co-author for this blog who wants to share insights about how the Internet is transforming homeschooling. And wants to predict how the internet and homeschooling will transform the rest of the educational system later on.

  Wit, big ideas, and clear concise prose are required.  To apply: info@ thisdomain address.  (BTW - this is not a get-rich type writing project but, we ought to be able to keep your internet lit up for awhile)

I can’t seem to find a good list of fiction books about homeschoolers. Could you please help me build one? To be clear, I’ll outline two categories of books that I’m not researching and then zero in on the type that I am looking for.

Homeschool How To, Philosophy, or Rah Rah Books - There are lots of books (and websites) which are non-fiction which provide useful hows tos, or whys or go-for-its. I’m not looking for these.

Great Novels and Fiction - There is the existing body of literature which can serve as the basis of a literature, reading comprehension, or any other type of course. These could be sorted by quality, by age appropriateness, and whether they are supportive of any specific philosophical viewpoint. This is als not what I’m looking for.

I’m looking to build a list of books that are stories that include homeschoolers. I’d also like to find reviews of them. I’m curious whether these is a good body of literature that includes homeschooling as a theme or environment. As a starter, this is what I’m aware of:

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan. Kids literature. Fine.
The Applewhites book starts with a traditionally-school adolescent who is having alot of problems. He is sent as a foster kid to a rural homeschooling “unschooling” family full of some stereotypical characters. The cityboy “comes of age” through his experiences on the farm and with the family. For a review of the Applewhite .

Schooled by Gordan Korman. Kids literature. Bad. The homeschooled boy is a terrible representation of being a social misfit-homeschooler. The middle schoolers at public school are horridly behaving. The hippie homeschooled boy is basically tormented in school to the point where it would be impossible for the reader not to pity him. (excerpted from a review of Schooled by ChristineMM)

The Adventures of Lil’ Wolf, Twinkie, Toes, and Flower Girl in the Homeschool Forest by Jacqueline R. Campos. Editorial description from Amazon: Come and join in all the fun of the Wolf Family as they share their homeschooling adventures with you! It is never a dull day in the Homeschool Forest, with the gentle Flower Girl, lazy Toes, fun loving Lil’ Wolf, and the very clever Twinkie.

Other suggestions?
- One parent sent me the homeschool fiction list from something called WorldCat.  Thanks.