Live Q&As

No, socializing as a homeschooler is not "the same" as in school.  Many of us feel it's better.  There are a lot of negative behaviors and peer pressures in schools that homeschooling helps keep kids away from.  Of course, getting out and doing things, finding a peer group for your kids can be a challenge.  In an area like this one though, with a little effort, it's not so hard.  My kids participate in numerous activities.  We're a part of two small co-op groups with families we've known for years who we see on a very regular basis.  We see friends at least 3 days a week and usually more.  Basically, the "socialization question" is a non issue for us.

To second Farrar, my interviews suggested that many home-schooling parents, especially urban ones, are part-of established co-ops and informal groups so that their children spend much of the week learning alongside other children. That said, this is still one of the major issues when/if home-schoolers transition into the school environment.

Many states, including DC, require a high school diploma, though you can apply for a waiver.  Teachers are not experts in absolutely every field either.  To be a good educator, I think the primary thing you need is a desire to learn along with your children (or sometimes a little ahead of them!).  Homeschool parents tend to be lifelong learners.

My guess is that the regulations are prohibitive.  As far as I know, there are not provisions for home educating a child other than your own in DC (as there are in other states).

There are lots of ways to get started.  There are great online communities with people to help out.  Two I go to are Secular Homeschool and The Well-Trained Mind Forums, but there are many others.  There are also good books to help you get started, such as Rebecca Rupp's Home Learning Year by Year.  And there are structured curricula, such as Calvert or Sonlight, which basically provide school in a box for parents who are nervous about their own ability to organize their children's education (or simply for the convenience).  Home schooling isn't for all parents, but I think almost anyone with a real committment to doing it can find a way to make it work.

This is a state-by-state decision in terms of oversight. Many states mandate that students are periodically tested and/or are part of a group that oversees home-schooling. D.C. happens to have very little oversight in this regard. Home-schooling parents are required to keep a portfolio of their child's schoolwork and officials reserve the right to review the portfolio.

One might argue that education in general needs more standards and oversight.

Homeschooling is a very diverse group, more than public schools.  I think, just as you would not judge all schooled children by the actions of a few, nor is it fair to judge all homeschoolers by interactions with a few.  Many of us homeschool to introduce our kids to the world, to not shelter them.  Nor are all homeschoolers religious.

I know of people who have successfully put children in school, both public and private.  When I worked in a private school we did welcome previously homeschooled students.  Homeschooling is very diverse.  I've heard of students who are way ahead of their peers and others who are behind.  One thing I'll add is that I've heard that it can be difficult because of transcript issues to enter a homeschooled child back into high school.

I understand this concern, but I think there are many things that can help compensate these days.  Many out of the box curricula sold to homeschoolers are extremely structured and organized.  They're scripted.  With love and patience and an ability to follow directions, they can be used by parents who may be unsure of their own skills.  Also, a parent who lacks academic skills may have other good skills to bring to the table - abilities in the arts, music, physical education, creativity, or other things.  Plus, with classes, co-ops and other community opportunities, much of a parent's job can be overseeing instead of directly teaching.  I readily agree that not everyone should homeschool.  Parents have to look at themselves and decide.  However, I'm also hesitant to tell anyone who has a desire to that it can't be done.  Nor do I like the idea of increased regulation for parental credentials.  After all, some "mere high school graduates" know a great deal.

The answer to this depends on the particlar family. In general, the families I interviewed in this particular group of neighborhoods did not think their local school was safe and/or that it's test results were far below their own expectations.

These are neighborhoods were the perception of residential ammenties is better than the perception of the schools and parents have long sent their children to out-of-boundary schools with good reputations. The issue for them now is that they can no longer get into the out-of-boundary schools because they are filled with in-boundary students.

You may be right on the reality of how schools educate, but like everything, these choices are based on perception (and test results.)

Having taught in both large and small schools, I can say that while I'm thrilled that new charter models are opening and I desire for parents to have as many choices as possible, none of these are like homeschooling.  Even the school where I taught with only 30 students is very different from having just a couple of kids to teach in your home.

Yes, but there is such a demand that the schools that develop a good reputation quickly fill up.

This is a great point. Educational needs vary by child. A school with the right reputation does not mean it's right for a particular child.

That said, there have been a number of comments here about poorly executed home-schooling. Home-schooling can be a great educational experience, but it's not for every family.

I think it's hard to know what's really happening in a home where you don't know it that well.  It may, indeed, be a big problem.  Or, it may be that the middle schooler works online through a program, does his work in the middle of the night (I know a couple of families with kids who school at odd hours) or is having a purposeful break or deschooling time.  Of course, if you really suspect abuse, then calling CFS is a good idea.  However, if you only feel that the child might not be getting the best education, then I think that's very hard for you to assess.

What a great experience you had. One thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority (experts estimate 70%) of home-schooled children transition into a formal school by high school. Many of these families are providing the more generalized education of early grades.

I've heard this argument many times.  I understand the idea that by working within the school system, parents can influence more change.  I'm glad there are some parents who want to do that.  However, I, like others, don't see that I would make enough of a difference in my own children's education.  Not only that, but for me, the anger and effort of doing that work would probably do me in.  We're people, we're not examples to be made or sacrificed to some future improvement in the system.  As I said in another answer, even if the schools were to become the innovative, amazing places I wish they were, they would still be nothing like homeschooling, which is really a unique educational experience.

It's not against the law, but forming a "school" requires much more -- not just in terms of building codes and insurance, but also in terms of testing and curriculum -- than having a few families meet several times a week in a homeschooling co-op. The latter is a very typical arrangement.

My kids have a variety of teachers.  They have me.  They have my husband.  They have the other parents in our co-ops, who teach them twice a week.  They have their ballet teachers.  Their art teacher (well, they did last year), their summer camp counselors, their Destination Imagination coach, their soccer coaches.  They have the people in our community and the docents at the museums.  So...  no, I'm not worried!  If I ever encounter something I'm having trouble teaching, I'm not afraid to find a new teacher for it either.

These last two questions come from the same interesting premise. It's an argument that often gets voiced in the voucher debate.

The other perspective is that children are individuals and their educational needs are individual. Is it "selfish" to send a special needs child to a specially-designed school or another child to a language-immersion program.

The overall concept may be worth debating, but many (most?) parents make choices for their children based on individual family needs.

This is absolutely true.  However, when you're talking about unhappy children, bored children, frustrated parents, or children who simply could be learning more, including many things not measured by standardized tests, then I think it's when we meet up with some of the many limitations of standardized testing.  The metrics that judge our neighborhood schools are pretty limited.

Unless a person suspects abuse, there's no one to contact.  The reverse is also true.  Unless one suspects abuse in a school, it's difficult to affect change for a student who isn't learning.

I would just like to add that many homeschoolers are on a different timetable from the public schools.  A homeschooled 2nd grader who doesn't know who George Washington is might be doing a classical history cycle learning about the middle ages instead.  A family with an 8 year old who is just learning to read may have purposefully allowed her to work at her own pace.

Some people stumble into homeschooling or unschooling and end up sticking with it because the lifestyle is terrific.  We don't have to worry about so many things - packed lunches, early busses, sick days, fitting in family vacations - that people have to worry about in even the best schools!

In a literal sense, yes, it is a selfish decision to homeschool because it is done thinking of one's family and children, not other peoples' children.  However, I'm not sure why this is an argument against homeschooling.  I also don't think it's a race.  I'm not educating my kids to "beat" public school kids - I'm doing it for their sakes.  I'm glad public schools are there.  I wish they were better, but I think they do an important job and don't do it nearly as badly as society likes to beat up on them about sometimes.  

As were most of our country's founding fathers!

I enjoy the time when my kids are at co-op.  And when they're in summer camp.  I didn't decide to do this because I'm bored.  And I made my decision long before I had my career or my kids.  Now that I'm not working, I don't find my life especially empty either.

I'm not an unschooler myself, but I know unschoolers.  I think it takes a lot of effort to unschool, but as a philosophy, I have no issues with it.  Many unschoolers do a lot of teaching with their kids, they just wait for the kids to request it or they leave interesting resources around (called strewing) for the kids to find and look at.  There's definitely an end of unschooling called radical unschooling that I'm less comfortable with, but I recognize that it's not up to me to say.  I trust parents to educate their children and I want people to trust me to do so with mine.