Leaving the learning at home - More blacks choosing to teach their own children

[The Straight Story]

Leaving the learning at home
More blacks choosing to teach their own children

Hubert Rowry's memories of his public school education still haunt him.

As a black student growing up in Beaumont and Austin, Rowry, now 33, says he often felt isolated and ignored in school. White teachers seemed to give white students more attention than to black students, and that affected his learning and self-esteem, said the Cypress resident.

"So many things happened to me in terms of racism from teachers, principals and other students," Rowry said. "I decided I'm not going to subject my kids to that."

His three children, ages 8, 6 and 3, have never been in a traditional classroom. He and his wife, Chelsea, home school them.

Once seen by many blacks as something only whites do, home schooling has steadily gained momentum in the black community in the past eight years and is expected to continue to grow, say home school experts.

"Ten years ago, there were not that many people of color home schooling," said Brian Ray, president of National Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Ore.

General dissatisfaction with public schools and increased awareness about home schooling are motivating blacks to change course, experts said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5964005.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. As long at the curriculum is sound and the kids keep up with or outpace

their peers in school, it's a good idea.

For my own family, I couldn't home school my kids. They don't listen to me. (And I have a B.S. in Elementary Education, so I know I could do a credible job if they _would_ sit down and work with me.) I can enrich what they learn at school here and there, but no way could we do it for all day every day.

[Kerrytravelers]

3. Me, too. I am a CA teacher, but don't see myself as being a successful home educator.

I work with home school families. When it works, it can work well.

[Kerrytravelers]

2. I'm an Ed Specialist with a chartered homeschool-independent study program.

We're a public school, so we don't get too many of the "homeschooling for the Lord" types. I have quite a few minority families that I work with.

[LisaM]

4. Although in general I'm not a fan of home schooling,, I can see that there are situations

that require it. I have a friend whose husband is a park ranger, and they move a lot. In one of the towns they lived near, the people and town were so impossible that she had to home school them (one of those types of places that want to ban Al Gore's movie from the library). So I could understand it in that case, and if my kids were being subjected to a hostile environment, I could see doing it too.

It's tricky because I don't think that it's totally fair to the kids and I also don't think that students who don't enroll in the school (thereby giving the school the $5K or so that the state pays per kid) should get to be on the sports teams, etc.. I have many reasons for thinking this which I've detailed exhaustively over the years, but situations like this family faced do show that it's not always as clear cut as it seems.

[The Straight Story]

5. For me it is all about choice

Doesn't bother me how others feel about it as long as people are allowed to make choices.

I am pro choice on everything from smoking and drinking to reproductive health to education, to whom you associate with and how, etc and so on.

[panAmerican]

6. I have the pleasure of knowing some home-schooled kids

Very self-assured, wickedly smart, sociable, and curious about the world. Personally, I am very much FOR the idea, as long as the parent is resourceful enough to really widen their kids' horizons.

While my siblings and I weren't home-schooled, we did go to private school, and on weeknights we also had a tutor come to our home. So we had 2 sets of homework to hand in almost every day, and I can say that truly made us better learners, and gave us a renaissance-type of education.

[The Straight Story]

7. My sister has homeschooled all 3 of her kids

They are well adjusted, very social, and had a wonderful time of it all (the oldest is heading to college this year).

Perfect? Nope. But my brothers 4 kids were all public school and only 1 graduated and the rest can barely read or write.

Different strokes for different folks, as I said before - I favor choice and I believe most adults are capable of making the right choice based on their needs and to deny them those choices is wrong IMHO.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

8. K&R hang in there S.S.

:headbang: