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Capitol Hill Homeschoolers Group
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Finding the right school for a child is not an easy task in the District. Some parents begin at birth asking questions of friends and attending open houses. If you want to stay on the Hill and not pay more than $10,000 a year for a private education, the public school offerings are certainly more abundant than even a few years ago, but may not be right for all children. Once your choices are exhausted, then what? Some families have chosen homeschooling. Unlike Maryland and Virginia, which has a large and well-organized homeschooling presence, homeschoolers in DC are largely unknown. But they are here, and surprisingly, quite a few are on the Hill.
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in a formal setting of public or private school. Although new to many, before the advent of compulsory education in 1852, most children were educated within the family and community.
How is it done? It depends on the family. Parents have the freedom to tailor a unique program based on a child’s interests, needs, or even weaknesses. Living in DC is a homeschoolers dream with an abundance of free resources, such as museums, nature centers, the Library of Congress, Discovery Theater, and even the White House. Parents new to homeschool can join an umbrella organization for guidance or a co-op, such as Classical Conversations, where families come together while their children learn with a parent tutor.
Kimberly Hart has struggled with whether or not to send her child across the street to the neighborhood school. “What is drawing us to homeschooling is the failure of the curriculum,” says Hart. “They are teaching to the test and packing the days with boring, dry, rote curriculum without all of the exciting extras that I did as a kid that kept school fun and exciting, allowed me to ask questions and do my own projects. My daughter asks so many questions and wants to explore things thoroughly. I would hate to see that go to waste in a school setting where she doesn’t have the space to do that. We just want the time and ability to explore things more fully and develop creativity and a love of learning at her pace.”
Elaine Yuko Qualter, who attended public school and also worked in public schools, has always been dissatisfied with the over-crowded classrooms and lack of individual attention. Homeschooling will allow Qualter to focus on the uniqueness of each of her children.
“I hope to honor each of my children as an individual and assess their needs accordingly. Maybe some of my children will actually benefit from or want a traditional classroom experience. Perhaps others will thrive under my private tutelage. We'll take it on a year-by-year, child-by-child basis and make decisions that will be best for them and best for our family. But I am not adverse to homeschooling for the entire 18 years if I need to,” says Qualter.
Carey Dougan, who recently revived a listserve for Capitol Hill homeschoolers, is not opposed to public school per se, and would send her children if she found the right fit. “Homeschool works for us right now,” says Dougan during a field trip to the Botanic Gardens.
Some have decided to homeschool for even more practical reasons, such as Jessica Eng who wants to avoid a long commute to a private school with young children. Eng also likes the idea of being able to integrate Bible and theology into their homeschool curriculum. “I like the opportunity for me (and my husband, Jeremy, when he is available) to teach not only academics, but to also spend our days investing in our children's character,” says Eng. “I've loved already the opportunity to teach them the Bible and theology over breakfast in a relaxed, unrushed environment.”
Sandra Brown enjoys the flexibility that homeschooling affords. “The reason why I decided to homeschool is because of my husband’s job. He travels quite a lot and homeschooling gives us the opportunity to travel with him,” says Brown who started homeschooling her daughter when she was three and half years old.
In addition to being good friends and neighbors, Cherie Bellamy and Pam Herbert are unique in that they homeschool their children together with the assistance of a private tutor. Both had children in private schools and pulled them out to teach them at home. “I knew my children were being marginalized in their private school and I needed to know they were getting the appropriate skill sets during their critical window for mastering this information,” says Herbert.
Homeschooling, Bellamy believes, helps to draw out the essence of the child. “Homeschooled children are permitted to know themselves in ways that traditionally educated children are not because there is an inherent freedom to explore different fields of study and pursue them at length,” says Bellamy.
“There is no compromise in terms of the materials, the intensity and the ability to customize a program to strengthen the individual weaknesses of each child,” says Herbert.
The curriculum and learning approach among parents is as varied as the reasons for homeschooling. Bellamy and Herbert both favor the classical and Socratic method, using The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer to guide their curriculum choices. Summer Wilkes likes the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling, though she and her mom, an educator of 42 years who encouraged her to homeschool, have been putting together their own preschool curriculum for her son. “He loves it and just gobbles it right up,” says Wilkes. “It is so much fun to watch him be so eager to learn. We do crafts, stories, activities, Bible time and various things like that.” Brown uses an accelerated Christian curriculum because of its ease of use and having all of the lessons laid out for her.
Homeschoolers on the Hill reflect the sentiment of many homeschoolers across the country, who believe that homeschooling allows them the freedom to create a tailor-made educational experience. “What I like most about homeschooling is the freedom to choose, Qualter agrees. “Allowing my children the freedom to choose and discover their own interests and to give them the tools and resources to deeply pursue them.”
Homeschool Resources on the Hill and beyond:
Capitol Hill Homeschoolers Listserv
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/capitolhillhomeschoolers/
Sankofa Homeschool Community
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SankofaHomeschoolCommunity/
DC Home Educators Association
www.dchea.org
Homeschool: How to start
http://homeschoolinformation.com/homeschooling/getting_started.htm
DC Homeschooling Laws
http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/District_of_Columbia.pdf
Classical Conversations
www.classicalconversations.com
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