| Many parents are disgusted with the dismal | | | | spends only two hours per day, seven days a |
| education their kids get in public school, | | | | week, year-round, on basics alone, logs over |
| but think they wouldn't have the time to | | | | three times as many hours 'on task' in a |
| homeschool their kids because both parents | | | | given year than does his public school |
| (or single moms) have jobs. | | | | counterpart. Moreover, unlike the public |
| | | | school child, whose day is largely taken up |
| The good news is that even working parents | | | | by non-task activities, the homeschooled |
| can homeschool their kids. Parents don't have | | | | child has ample time left each day to take |
| to depend on vouchers or charter schools, | | | | part in other activities - athletics, art, |
| which are few and far between. The time you | | | | history, etc..." |
| will need to teach your children the basics - | | | | |
| reading, writing, and arithmetic - is much | | | | So, according to the authors, if |
| less than you think. | | | | home-schooled children study for only two |
| | | | hours a day, year round, they will get three |
| Most parents are not aware of the fact that | | | | times more educational hours on academic |
| for over 200 years in this country, before we | | | | basics like reading, writing, and arithmetic |
| ever had public schools, most working parents | | | | than public-school students get. |
| taught their kids to read and do arithmetic | | | | |
| at home. Let me quote author and former | | | | Not only does teaching your child the basics |
| public-school teacher John Gatto from his | | | | at home take far less time than you thought, |
| wonderful book, "Dumbing Us Down": | | | | but teaching these skills is even easier |
| | | | today because parents now have tons of |
| "Were the colonists geniuses? [i.e., why did | | | | education resources available to them such as |
| our colonial forefathers have literacy rates | | | | the Internet and computer learning software. |
| close to 90 percent?]. No, the truth is that | | | | Also, bookstores like Barnes and Noble and |
| reading, writing, and arithmetic only take | | | | Borders have whole sections full of books |
| about 100 hours [italics added] to transmit | | | | about teaching your child to read, write, and |
| as long as the audience is eager and willing | | | | do basic math, as well as books that will |
| to learn. . . . Millions of people teach | | | | interest and challenge young readers. |
| themselves these things. It really isn't very | | | | |
| hard. . ." | | | | Once your children learn to read well, the |
| | | | whole world of learning opens to them. They |
| To be conservative, let's assume that because | | | | can explore any subject that interests them, |
| you're not an experienced teacher it takes | | | | and read ever more difficult material by |
| you three hundred hours to teach your child | | | | themselves in books or on the computer. For a |
| these skills with the help of learn-to-read | | | | small subscription fee, your children can |
| phonics workbooks and computer software. | | | | study the entire Encyclopedia Britannica on |
| Three hundred hours, divided by the average | | | | the Internet. They can access almost every |
| six-hour public school day, comes out to | | | | major library in the world through the |
| fifty school days, which is about ten weeks | | | | Internet, including the Library of Congress. |
| or three months. | | | | If your kids love to read and learn, the |
| | | | Internet provides unlimited resources. |
| Let me emphasize this point - it could take | | | | |
| you, or a tutor you pay, as little as three | | | | Once your children read fluently, you can |
| months to teach your child to read, write, | | | | point them towards your local library or |
| and do simple arithmetic. Again, to be even | | | | bookstore, supervise their studies, and see |
| more conservative, most children could learn | | | | where their interests lie. Your job is to |
| these skills in one year if you (or a tutor) | | | | introduce your kids to as many different |
| concentrated your instruction on these | | | | subjects and resources as possible. Have them |
| basics. Public schools take eight to twelve | | | | take art classes at the local YMCA, library, |
| years of children's lives, yet they turn out | | | | or arts and crafts store. Introduce them to |
| millions of high-school graduates who can | | | | different kinds of music. See if they enjoy a |
| barely read their own diploma or multiply 12 | | | | music lesson on the piano, guitar, or drums. |
| x15 without a calculator. | | | | Give them classic novels by great authors to |
| | | | read. |
| David Colfax and his wife Micki were | | | | |
| public-school teachers turned ranchers who | | | | Most home-schooling parents spend about three |
| taught their four sons at home in the 1970s | | | | to four hours a day homeschooling their kids. |
| and 1980s, and three of their sons eventually | | | | The key point to remember is that you have |
| went to Harvard. They co-authored a book | | | | many options and a vast amount of education |
| titled Homeschooling For Excellence, which | | | | resource material available to help you |
| describes their home-schooling experience. In | | | | homeschool your children and quickly teach |
| their book, they compared the time a child | | | | them the basics. |
| wastes in public school to the time average | | | | |
| home-schooling parents need to teach their | | | | The Resource section in my book, "Public |
| children the basics. Here's what they wrote: | | | | Schools, Public Menace" lists a wealth of |
| | | | education resources parents can take |
| "The numbers are straightforward and | | | | advantage of right now. You do not have to |
| irrefutable. The child who attends public | | | | depend on vouchers or charter schools. When |
| school typically spends approximately 1100 | | | | you take advantage of all the education |
| hours a year there, but only twenty percent | | | | resources available to you, home-schooling |
| of these-220-are spent, as the educators say, | | | | can be fairly easy and take much less time |
| 'on task.' Nearly 900 hours, or eighty | | | | than you think. |
| percent, are squandered on what are | | | | |
| essentially organizational matters." | | | | Don't your kids deserve the great education |
| | | | you can give them? |
| "In contrast, the homeschooled child who | | | | |