In This Chapter
Support groups
Your local libraries
Your community: a microcosm of your world
Simple starting points
Resources
In This Chapter
Support groups
Your local libraries
Your community: a microcosm of your world
Simple starting points
Resources
HOMESCHOOLERS TRAVEL, LITERALLY, every day. They attend support group functions, use libraries, and participate in a wide range of community activities.
Most of our survey respondents say they belong to at least one homeschool association, usually a local one. Many also join regional, state or provincial, and national groups. Some find support on online bulletin boards and mailing lists.
As a destination, libraries rate just as high as support groups. “We almost live there,” Emma in Georgia writes. Who can blame them? Families homeschooling teenagers list more than twenty free educational services available at libraries.
Finally, community activities—such as 4-H, Scouts, volunteering, and co-op and college classes—provide expertise, service opportunities, entertainment, and social outlets for the journey. Freed from conventional school constraints, most homeschooled teenagers take advantage of a wide range of community resources.
HOMESCHOOLERS FIND SUPPORT at different levels. Local and regional groups provide social outlets and educational activities, like co-op classes. State and provincial associations usually publish legal information and other helpful literature, monitor state legislatures, and sponsor conferences. National groups watch federal legislation and court decisions that affect home educators. The largest national group, the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), provides legal advice to their members. HSLDA and other national groups also facilitate communication among state groups and often provide information to the media.
Approximately 80 percent of our survey respondents belong to local support groups. Sixty percent have joined state or provincial groups. Just under 30 percent claim affiliation with one or more national groups. Close to half of our survey respondents participate in supportive Internet bulletin boards and mailing lists.
Gina in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, explains her involvement: “We joined the local group to interact with real teenagers. I like the state group for educational resources. I love Internet groups for real support, encouragement, and advice, at my convenience.”
Johanna in Minnesota writes, “I belong to the state group to keep abreast of local and statewide events as well as legislative developments that could impact homeschooling families here. I visit Internet homeschool boards for a sense of connection to the larger homeschooling community and to investigate high school homeschooling options.”
Support groups are not just an American phenomenon. Claudia in New Zealand looks to her national support group for political representation and information. She finds personal support and activities for her teens at the local level. She says Internet mailing lists provide similar personal support plus stimulating discussion.
Some families never join support groups. They do not have time, see no need, or have had bad experiences. Others cannot find a group with a compatible educational philosophy. Marta, mother of seven, writes, “I cannot commit myself because I am too busy with my children.” Tina says, “I have not found support groups supportive. In fact, they can be discouraging.” Jane in Tennessee explains, “Most support groups are too conservative for our taste.”
Many support groups cater to early- and middle-years children. Kate in California writes, “We no longer participate in the local support group because my son has outgrown the activities and field trips offered.”
Karleen, once heavily involved with a local support group, found it more work than she anticipated. She says, “I started a group because I needed to talk with other home educators. I also wanted to help others. Unfortunately, after a while, I was the primary organizer. I burned out, and that group folded after four years. If I need support, I talk with a couple of other parents here who have teens. Or I use Internet bulletin boards.”
Local homeschool support groups vary tremendously. Some cater primarily to families with young children, others to families with teenagers. An estimated half of such groups require adherence to a particular educational philosophy or religious viewpoint. Others welcome all home educators. Many local support groups publish newsletters describing field trips, classes, resource centers, speakers, and used curriculum exchanges—in other words, enough activities to keep you busy every day of the week. Our respondents report that membership in these groups costs from $4 to $20 per year. In contrast, many free support groups meet informally in homes and parks to discuss problems and share resources.
Many local support groups publish newsletters describing field trips, classes, resource centers, speakers, and used curriculum exchanges—in other words, enough activities to keep you busy every day of the week.
Denise in Hawaii describes her religiously affiliated group: “I belong to my local support group, and I serve in two ways, as newcomer welcomer and membership coordinator. I started the group because I wanted to get to know other Catholic home educators in our area.” Anita also prefers sectarian local support. She writes, “We started a support group. We needed an academically based group that was Christian. We gathered twenty other like-minded families, and we became one of two couples in leadership.”
Carrie in Florida belongs to an inclusive association. “Our local homeschool group encourages any type of homeschooling style families choose. I prefer the open group over the religious group in our area, because I think it affords more variety, and does not require that we subscribe to values that are not our own.”
Obviously, not all support groups are created equal. If you join one, remember that the worker bees are all busy volunteer parents who homeschool their own children. If you join, expect support, of course. But also expect to help others, to be supportive.
You may find exactly what you want in your vicinity—or not. If you find local support lacking, remember that many groups begin with two or three mothers brainstorming over coffee and tea at a kitchen table. Consider starting your own group. Lauren in New York did it. “I started the local support group almost eleven years ago. I was new to the area. People I met said, ‘Oh, there are lots of homeschoolers around here,’ but I could not find them! I put an announcement in the newspaper. That was the beginning. I simply wanted to find other adults, and my children needed other homeschoolers to interact with.”
Karla recently organized a new group to meet her specific needs. She writes, “I have started a homeschool group that begins activities this month. The existing group did not meet my standards for behavior, discipline, attitudes, and so on. So I have started a group that is by invitation and interview only, set up much as a church might interview potential members, so that all families understand and agree with our expectations.”
Claudia set up an inclusive group. “I formed a new support group because the one I was in at the time was a branch of a national organization which became exclusive, not by religion, but by political viewpoint. The political litmus test interfered with local activities. Several of us formed a breakaway group, which we set up with definite inclusive rules, based around local support and activities.”
Because homeschooling legalities center around state laws and regulations, many state groups focus on providing interpretations of educational statutes as well as monitoring legislation. They may also refer new home educators to local support groups, publish informative newsletters, organize statewide conferences, and otherwise help local support groups network with each other. Donna in Ontario, Canada, reports, “We belong to the provincial group because of the experience, knowledge and support they provide, not to mention the great yearly conference and quarterly newsletter.”
Not all support groups are created equal. If you join one, remember that the worker bees are all busy volunteer parents who homeschool their own children.
Some home educators, without access to a compatible local group, may find the nearest support for their efforts through a state association. Emma in Georgia says that the best support for homeschooling her teenagers comes from her statewide newsletter and annual conference.
California, where I live, resembles many other states in that homeschoolers can choose from more than one statewide support and networking group. All three groups here publish excellent newsletters and provide referrals to local support groups. One offers classes for new home educators throughout the year. The other two sponsor huge statewide conferences.
If you find local support lacking, remember that many groups begin with two or three mothers brainstorming over coffee and tea at a kitchen table.
Kate emphasizes the importance of working with a statewide organization. She explains, “My husband and I maintain a paid membership only in the state group [rather than a local or national group]. I believe every home educator should join and volunteer with their state organization to maintain our right to homeschool.” Annette in Arkansas agrees. “I support our state association because they consistently lobby for better state homeschool law and keep us informed of changes and needs within our state.”
Several national homeschooling groups exist, each with a different focus. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association defends and promotes the rights of families to direct their children’s education. HSLDA has a staff of attorneys, and paying members of HSLDA receive legal advice and support should they have a problem with their homeschooling. The HSLDA Web site primarily refers readers to Christian statewide organizations and resources. The National Center for Home Education, a division of HSLDA, networks homeschooling organizations in all fifty states for rapid response to federal issues. They also act as a clearinghouse for homeschool research and provide information to the media and other interested parties.
The National Home Education Research Institute concentrates on numbers, producing statistics and technical reports on homeschooling. They see themselves as a research clearinghouse, ready to educate policy makers and the public about homeschooling.
Confused yet? Just one more. The Internet-based National Home Education Network (NHEN) was formed to expand the general public’s image of homeschoolers. They see home educators as a very diverse group, and they encourage the distribution of information from a variety of viewpoints, rather than promoting one philosophy over another. They say, “We respect that what is best for one homeschool family isn’t necessarily best for another.” They maintain information files and conduct resource referral from their Web site.
Internet groups and online mailing lists fill a support-group gap for many home educators. Those who can find no compatible groups locally usually can find experience and good advice online—any time of the day or night.
In addition, national associations exist for various religious and ethnic homeschool subgroups, such as the Jewish Home Educators Network and the Native American Homeschool Association. The number of national homeschool organizations outside the United States continues to grow. See the end-of-chapter Resources for specifics.
Karen in Washington belongs only to an e-mail support group. She says, “They fit my style of homeschooling. I learn a lot about the different curricula and techniques that are available.”
Marla in Wyoming also finds the best support online. She explains, “The local support group, tiny as it is, will not accept members of my church. We have few homeschoolers locally. I use the Internet to meet like-minded people for support and ideas.”
Internet groups and online mailing lists fill a support-group gap for many home educators. Those who can find no compatible groups locally usually can find experience and good advice online—any time of the day or night. Virtual friendships form quickly as homeschooling parents worldwide share ideas.
My online experience dates from 1991, first with the now defunct Prodigy Homeschool Bulletin Boards, more recently as a co-host at Kaleidoscapes, one of many World Wide Web homeschooling discussion boards. In addition, I keep abreast of statewide developments through an e-mail loop for county contacts of our state support group, and I monitor national developments through yet another electronic mailing list. Boards and lists exist for different religious groups, for learning difficulties, for writers for various homeschooling publications, even for families using certain curricula. No matter what your interests or questions, you can find a discussion board or mailing list devoted to it.
If you think of libraries as merely places to borrow books, you have missed 90 percent of what they offer. Of course, library shelves contain thousands of useful titles for reading and research. In addition, almost all libraries now participate in Inter-Library Loan, a program that enables you to obtain almost any title on loan—not just from other nearby libraries, but from outside systems as well. I often wonder why people do not preview textbooks this way. Get that Saxon Math book Inter-Library Loan, and try it out first. Just ask at the front desk. Your librarian will give you a form to complete, usually asking simply for author and title.
Our survey respondents list an amazing variety of learning activities and resources at their libraries. Obviously big libraries will offer more services than small ones. Nevertheless, it pays to ask about all these resources, no matter what size your library. If they don’t provide it now, perhaps they will in the future. Ways those responding to our survey use their libraries include:
Reading magazines
Borrowing books
Borrowing books on tape
Buying used books
Borrowing music and foreign language CDs
Borrowing educational computer games
Playing educational computer games at the library
Viewing art and history displays
Participating in teen summer reading programs
Using meeting rooms
Attending lectures
Borrowing sheet music
Participating in book discussion groups
Finding community resource information
Using the reference section
Consulting the reference librarians
Taking free classes
Borrowing videos
Using homeschool resource files
Using the Inter-Library Loan system
Using computers—word processing
Accessing the Internet
Doing volunteer work
For all their advantages, some parents urge caution when visiting libraries. Viola in Nevada explains, “We don’t use the local library much. I do not like the trend toward a lack of censorship in the library, especially as it applies to trash on the Internet.”
In addition to regular libraries, teenagers have the intellectual maturity to use specialized libraries and collections. If you live near a college or university, visit their main library the next time your teen needs to research a question or new interest. Most large colleges and universities also have specialized libraries for science or history or music, for example.
In addition to regular libraries, teenagers have the intellectual maturity to use specialized libraries and collections.
There is more. Most towns, cities, and counties have local history collections—either in a historical society library or museum. Visit and peruse the resources. Family History Centers, libraries operated by the Latter-Day Saints Church welcome visitors for family history research. Church libraries carry many titles you will never find at the local public library. To review curriculum, call your local school district and ask if they have an educational library open to the public.
Libraries are precious treasures—education for free. Bring smiles, flowers, and even cookies when you visit. Make certain your librarians know that you appreciate their efforts.
AS THEY VENTURE into their communities, homeschooled teenagers first get their feet wet in the real world. In our case, many days our son and daughter spent more time away from home than if they attended school. They participated in 4-H and Civil Air Patrol meetings. They sang in the church choir and attended youth group activities. They joined other teenage homeschoolers for co-op classes. They volunteered regularly at hospitals, churches, museums, libraries, and soup kitchens, and irregularly at fairs and hot-air balloon festivals. They took weekly group music theory lessons. In the spring, they played on baseball and softball teams. They enrolled in college classes, and they worked paying jobs.
In similar fashion, many of our survey respondents report that their homeschoolers make the world their classroom with community activities, volunteering, alternative homeschool programs, and college classes.
Susanna in Illinois, lists her thirteen-year-old son’s activities. They include YMCA swim team, military base swim team, Prairie State Games (state-level Olympic-type competition), Boy Scouts, 4-H, USS swim meets, junior college–sponsored science classes, and junior goodwill games. Cheryl, homeschooling two teenagers, says they participate in church youth group and various homeschool support subgroups, such as a Teen Club and Chess Club. Molly’s thirteen-year-old daughter uses several community resources. She does gymnastics through the recreation department, dances with a local troupe, plays in a nearby college orchestra, and participates in 4-H.
TOP FIVE YOUTH PROGRAMS
Our survey respondents listed these five youth programs most frequently:
Church youth groups, particularly AWANA
4-H
Scouts
Team sports
Camp Fire
SURVEY RESPONDENTS’ VOLUNTEER SITES
Library
Church
Nursing homes/hospitals
Community drama groups
Tutoring programs
Nature preserves
Recycling programs
Radio stations
Children’s sports
Zoos
TV stations
Political campaigns
Camps
Preschools
Food banks
Most communities offer many activities for teenagers. Check first with your local 4-H and Scouting organizations. Then branch out to your parks and recreation department, library, and local colleges. If applicable, find activities at your church and local homeschool support group. Do a little research and networking. Community outlets can make what high schools offer look very limiting.
Eighty percent of our survey respondents report that their teenagers volunteer from two to twenty or more hours per week. Karen lists her sixteen-year-old son’s and fourteen-year-old daughter’s volunteer activities. They include recycling every month, collecting cans of food twice a year for the needy, and helping Dad at work in the local emergency room. Anita’s teenage daughter volunteers at a tutoring program and at a nature preserve. She also works for her church at the renaissance fair every year.
The two most popular venues, libraries and churches, provide many opportunities for service. At libraries, teenagers repair and stack books, act as computer docents, conduct storytelling, create special-events displays and posters, and work with Friends of the Library on used book sales. Teens also perform many useful volunteer services at churches, including office work and computing, gardening, cleaning, room-painting, child care, teaching vacation Bible school, and running the sound system.
QUICK & EASY
Enter the search term “family volunteering” into a search engine like www.google.com to read online articles about how your family can volunteer together.
Volunteering can count as “school.” Our daughter worked four hours weekly at a veterinary clinic, doing everything from taking vital signs on cats and dogs to observing autopsies. She learned to make up inoculations and identify microscopic parasites. We called it life science.
Teenage volunteers sample working conditions in various fields. At hospitals, they see doctors, nurses, and technicians close up. In television and radio stations, they go behind the scenes and observe exactly how managers juggle programs, personnel, and advertisers. Early exposure to different environments helps them further explore certain occupations or rule them out at an early age.
Although not an option in some areas, some families homeschooling teenagers use alternative education programs, especially for subjects in which they lack expertise. These programs take many forms. Homeschool support groups offer co-op classes, and private individuals offer courses. In addition, some public and charter high schools allow homeschoolers to take one or two classes.
Approximately half of our survey respondents use alternative education programs. Although most teens average four to eight hours weekly in these programs, two of our respondents report that their children spend up to twenty hours each week in alternative education. Except where public schools make classes available, funding almost always comes directly from parents, either in the form of direct payments to teachers or volunteered time.
Volunteering can count as “school.” Our daughter worked four hours weekly at a veterinary clinic, doing everything from taking vital signs on cats and dogs to observing autopsies. She learned to make up inoculations and identify microscopic parasites. We called it Life Science.
Several of our survey respondents explain how and why they use alternative education programs.
Pauline in Kentucky writes, “My daughter will be starting a biology class for high-schoolers taught by a homeschooling mom. It is her own private business.”
Sarah reports, “Our homeschool co-op and academy help with subjects I do not feel comfortable teaching. It makes our son accountable to someone else. We consider it good practice for college classes. He takes science, higher math, speech, and computer programming. Our co-op classes are free. We trade teaching time. For classes at our local homeschooling academy, we pay each teacher individually.”
Kate tells us about her son’s experience. “We currently attend a math class sponsored by a local private independent-study program. We pay $40 a month. My husband also taught a biology class and plans to teach chemistry to a group of homeschoolers. Each family contributes money for the supplies. The math class takes four hours each week. The lab portion of biology took six hours a month.”
Anita’s daughters take classes at public school. She has mixed feelings about it. “It’s good that my daughters have a decent German teacher. On the other hand, they get the negative influences of school. They can easily regress into doing just what it takes to make an A instead of doing their very best.”
Before you enroll your teen in any public school homeschool programs, always ask exactly what schools require of you.
Not every family with programs available finds them useful. Johanna explains, “We don’t use alt-ed programs. There are several large co-ops in our area, but they often have long waiting lists and seem quite rigid in approach. No programs are offered by our school district, which has a long history of being particularly unfriendly to homeschooling families.”
She continues, “Even if good alt-ed programs were available, we probably would not use them. First, I think it would take too much time. Right now we rarely have enough hours in the day to accomplish all we want to do. Second, I would be uncomfortable taking part in any public-school–sanctioned program. They almost always come with strings attached.”
Johanna makes a good point about programs through public schools. Many offer free textbooks and access to special activities like sports or band or choir. In return, however, some require weekly or monthly reports and standardized testing. Before you enroll your teen in any public school homeschool programs, always ask exactly what schools require of you.
At a recent graduation ceremony for Florida State homeschoolers, the emcee read a short description of each of more than forty teenagers receiving diplomas. More than 90 percent of them had taken college classes concurrent with their high school homeschooling. Several had accumulated more than a year’s worth of college credits.
Homeschooled teenagers take college courses for several reasons. Amy in Maine explains, “Our teenagers enroll in college classes to be independent from us and to boost their confidence in their ability to do well at conventional-style schooling.” Janice adds, “My teens take one or two college classes each semester for the challenge, to start accumulating college credits, to ease into a classroom environment before full-time college enrollment.”
Some families find that college classes offer subjects and resources not available even at large high schools. Molly in Colorado says, “Our teen takes college classes. It’s the only way to get music theory.” Kate, in California, reports, “Our son takes eight semester hours per quarter at our local community college. Having recently received a huge grant from Microsoft, they have wonderful computer science classes. We cannot begin to reproduce all the equipment he has access to at college.”
Lauren, across the country in New York state, relates a different experience. “Our daughter took three college classes one semester. She audited them—no credit, no payment. She took them for the content and the experience of college classes. Her art history professor volunteered to write a college recommendation for her.”
Jill in California writes about supervising the college experience of young teenagers. “My daughter enrolled in an American Sign Language class for two semesters at a local junior college. She was fourteen at the time. Because of her age, my husband sat at the back of the class reading.”
Unfortunately, some states make it difficult for homeschooled teenagers to take college courses. Monica in Wyoming reports, “Our local community college does not allow homeschoolers to take classes without a GED. And in our state, no one under eighteen can take the GED.” If you find yourself in a similar position, consider correspondence and online colleges. Many institutions nationwide will allow your teenager to enroll in courses. See end-of-chapter Resources for contact information.
College classes, community activities, libraries, support groups—the world is wide open for your teenagers.
Contact every local support group in your area, go to their meetings, and ask about activities for teenagers. When you join a local support group, ask how you can help. If you cannot find a compatible group, don’t give up. Consider forming your own group. Post library notices, ask existing groups to refer people to you, and advertise in the newspaper to locate like-minded families.
Visit one or more online homeschool support group Web sites.
Request literature and sample newsletters from all state homeschooling organizations. Join one or more to learn about proposed education legislation and to get information about conferences, curriculum exchanges, and seminars.
Make a trip to your library, interview the librarians, and learn about all of their services. In addition, visit one or two college or other specialized libraries in your area.
Call community youth organizations to learn about participation. Church youth groups, 4-H, and Scouts rank high, so begin there.
Using the list of volunteer activities in this chapter, brainstorm options with your teenager. Even organizations without established volunteer programs welcome eager teenage helpers who are available during the daytime.
If you have older teenagers ready to try a college class, collect catalogs from local community and private colleges to see what classes your teens might enroll in.
Check for more organizations and updates at:
The Eclectic Homeschool Organization Web site, http://www.eho.org/national.htmcheck
Catholic Homeschool Network of America, P.O. Box 6343, River Forest, IL 60305-6343, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8579/chsna.html
Homeschool Legal Defense Association, P.O. Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134, http://www.hslda.org
Islamic Homeschool Education Network, 241 Meadowbrook Drive, Bolingbrook, IL 60440, e-mail mshgofil@aol.com
Jewish Home Educators Network, c/o Lisa Hodge Kander, 2122 Houser, Holly, MI 48442, http://snj.com/jhen
Latter-Day Saint Home Educators Association, LDS-HEA, 2770 South 1000, West Perry, Utah 84302, http://www.ldshea.org
National Center for Home Education, P.O. Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134, http://www.hslda.org/nationalcenter
National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network, 5383 Alpine Rd. SE, Olalla, WA 98359
National Home Education Network, P.O. Box 41067, Long Beach, CA 90853, http://www.nhen.org
National Home Education Research Institute, P.O. Box 13939, Salem, OR 93709, http://www.nheri.org
Native American Homeschool Association, P.O. Box 979, Fries, VA 24330, http://expage.com/apge/nahomeschool
Association of Canadian Home-Based Education, Suite 145, 35-2855 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2H5, Canada, http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/achbe
Education Otherwise, P.O. Box 7420, London, N9 9SG, United Kingdom, http://www.education-otherwise.org
Homeschoolers Australia, P.O. Box 420, Kellyville NSW 2155, Australia, http://homeschool.3dproductions.com.au/support/homeaust.html
Ryan, Bernard. Participating in Government: Opportunities to Volunteer (Community Service for Teens). Ferguson Publishing, 1998. Also, Helping the Ill, the Poor, and the Elderly; Increasing Neighborhood Service and related titles by the same author.
See chapter 4 Resources—Online message boards
See chapter 15 Resources
