Homeschooling

the phenomenon and library support

presented by Jaclyn Lee Parrott

Defined:

homeschooling, also called home education,  educational method situated in the home rather than in an institution designed for that purpose. It is representative of a broad social movement of families, largely in Western societies, who believe that the education of children is, ultimately, the right of parents rather than a government. Beginning in the late 20th century, the homeschooling movement grew largely as a reaction against public school curricula among some groups.

“There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

• Mid-19th century – apprenticeships and communal activities

• Early 20th century - universal compulsory school attendance laws established

• 1883 - Hints On Home Training and Teaching by Edward A. Abbott

• 1912 - The School in the Home by A.A. Berle• 1977 - John Holt – “unschooling”• 1977-2001Growing Without Schooling -

magazine• 1980s - 20,000 homeschoolers in United

States• Today – 2.4 million homeschoolers

HISTORY

Famous HomeschoolersGeorge Washington, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson

Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Agatha Christie, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joseph Smith, Blaise Pascal

Ansel Adams, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Andrew Carnegie

Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander the Great, Julian Assange (WikiLeaks)

Francis Collins (physician-geneticist, leader of Human Genome Project),

Reid Barton (most successful mathematician in contests in history)

Joey Logano (youngest driver to win NASCAR), Kaitlyn Maher (top 10 on America’s Got Talent), Tim Tebow

“I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays and have things arranged for them that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.” ~Agatha Christie

WHY?Not just “No Sex” “No Darwin”

• Deficiencies in public/private education system• Quality time (one on one)• Family as mission• Religious reasons/Counterculture• Moral/Ethical• Safety concerns• Unique educational, physical, or mental health

needs (personalize education)

“As regards moral courage, then, it is not so much that the public schools support it feebly, as that they suppress it firmly.” G.K. Chesterton

HOW?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJHt-m3

VX6o

Homeschooler

Stereotypes

“Fun isn’t hard if you’ve got a library card”

I WAS HOMESCHOOLED

MY STORY

Library Services and Resources

Talk to them

Google your city and “homeschool”

Homeschool groups

Local homeschooling conferences, lectures, fairs

Surveys or focus groups

• Traditional marketing

• Special area in library

• Volunteer program

• Teen advisory boards

• Homeschoolers as library advocates

• Extended loan period

• Grants

Programs

Orientation

Basic library skills instruction (57 Games to Play in the Library or Classroom by Carol K. Lee)

Advanced Information Literacy Skills (Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning from AASL and AECT)

Encourage use of library meeting rooms

Handouts listing state laws

“It is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read.”~Ezra Taft Benson

Programs for parents

• Library catalog• NoveList• Reference Books:• A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children’s Picture

Books• Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade

6• Best Books for Middle School and Junior High

Readers: Grades 6-9• Best Books for High School Readers: Grades 9-12

• Storytimes• Book Groups• Craft programs• Other activities: Back to Homeschool Party• Open Houses• Literature based programming (book themed

event)• Curriculum Swap• Displays• Preparing for College • Booktalks• Pathfinders

Other Programs

Fiction featuring homeschooling

Alice, I Think, by Susan Juby (12 & up)

Ida B… and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan (10-14 yrs.)

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan (11 & up)

What Would Joey Do? By Jack Gantos (10 -13 yrs.)

Special Collection

Homeschooling collections statement

Periodicals

Books

Curriculum and supply catalogs

Teaching Aids, Equipment, and Manipulatives

Curriculum kits

What Homeschoolers Want from Public Libraries

Laws and compliance regulations of state regarding homeschooling

Directory of homeschooling groups in area

Statewide and national homeschool organizations

Contact people in local schools/state superintendent

Listing of area agencies, museums, park services, educational resources

Booklists of library materials

Children’s programs and services

Listing of homeschooling suppliers (publishers, correspondence, distributor catalogs)

• Library involvement with homeschooling organizations• Bulletin board in library for meeting calendars, contest information,

reviews of new books of interest, monthly pages from Chase’s Calendar of Events, dates of book sales

• Displays of home school projects, art, hobbies, etc.• Curriculum guides from local schools• Workshops on topics such as various subject areas, new books, etc.• Tours of the library, ILL information, printouts from periodicals• Special programs, reading programs, bibliographic instruction• Volunteer program (tutoring, fundraising, reviewing materials,

lobbying, putting on plays for other children)• Access to recent publisher’s catalogs and book review journals• Audiotapes and CDs• Use of library’s meeting room • Use of personal computers or audiovisual equipment• Library column in local homeschooling newsletter• Excellent readers’ advisory service• Special borrowing privileges• Good collection of children’s books, creative materials, historical

fiction, biographies, trade books on science, math, and history

Anderson, E. (1996).Homeschooling and libraries--An intimate view. Alki. 12, 22-3.

Brostrom, D.C. (1995). A guide to homeschooling for librarians. Fort Atkinson, WI: Highsmith Press.

Brostrom, D.C. (1997). No place like the library. School Library Journal. 3, 106-9.

Campbell, C.B. (2002). Shelby county public libraries and homeschooling parents. Alabama Librarian. 1, 11-12.

Furness, A. (2008). Helping homeschoolers in the library. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Furness, A. Helping homeschoolers in the library. [PowerPoint presentation]. http://homeschoolingandlibraries.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/helping-homeschoolers.ppt Retrieved February 13, 2009.

Gemmer, T. (1987). Homeschoolers

SUGGESTED READS

Gemmer, T. (1991). The library response to homeschooling. Alki. 3, 20-3.

Isenberc, E.J. (2007). What have we learned about homeschooling? Peabody Journal of Education. 82 (2/3), 387-409.

Kaplan, P. (2001). Reaching out to homeschooling families: Services and programs. Illinois Libraries. 1, 44-6.

Kleist-Tesch, J.M. (1998). Homeschoolers and the public library. Journal of Youth Services in Libraries. 3, 231-41.

Klipsch, P.R. (1995). An educated collection for homeschoolers. Library Journal. 120(2), 47-50.

Lerch, M.T. & Welch, J. (2004). Serving homeschooled teens and their parents. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Madden, S.B. (1992). Learning at home: Public library service to homeschoolers. Alki. 3, 20-2.

McCarthy, A. & Andersen, D.L. (2006-2007). Homeschoolers at the public library: Are library services and policies keeping pace? JLAMS, 3(1), 5-44.

McLean, C. (2001). Outreach to homeschoolers. Alki,3,13.

Ray, B.D. (2004). Homeschoolers on to college: What research shows us. The Journal of College Admission, 184, 5-11.

Sheffer, S. (1995). A sense of self: Listening to homeschooled adolescent girls. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc.

Scheps, S.G. (1999). Homeschoolers in the library. School Library Journal. 2, 38-9.

Scheps, S.G. (1998). The librarian’s guide to homeschooling resources. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Slattery, A. (2005). In a class of their own: as more families turn to homeschooling, public libraries can be an invaluable resource. School Library Journal. 8, 44-6.

: )QUESTIONS?

“Homeschooling will certainly produce some socially awkward adults, but the odds are good they would have been just as quirky had they spent twelve years raising their hand for permission to go to the bathroom.” ~Quinn Cummings, The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling

• Dreher, Rod. Crunchy cons: how birkenstocked burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party). Crown Pub, 2006.

• Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "homeschooling", accessed March 21, 2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/270081/homeschooling.

• Helping homeschoolers in the library. American Library Association, 2008.

• Homeschooling. http://www.conservapedia.com/Homeschooling

• Homeschooling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_homeschooled_people

• Homeschooling. Dan Boylan; Joy Chong-Stannard; Colette Fox; Joshua Kamakawiwoʻole; Dan Mather; Lisa Rabe; Stacey Roberts; PBS Hawaii. ; 2007

• Johnson, Abbey. “Make Room for Homeschoolers.” American Libraries Magazine, 2012.http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/youth-matters/make-room-homeschoolers

• Library Services for Homeschoolers. http://www.libsuccess.org/Library_Services_for_Homeschoolers#Excellent_Websites.2FInitiatives_for_Homeschoolers

• PERLSTEIN, LINDA. "DO-IT-(ALL)-YOURSELF PARENTS. (cover story)." Newsweek 159, no. 6 (February 6, 2012): 46-51. Vocational and Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2013).

• Scheps, Susan G. The librarian's guide to homeschooling resources. American Library Association, 1998.

• Shinn, Lora. "A Home Away from Home." School Library Journal 54, no. 8 (August 2008): 38-42. Vocational and Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2013).

• Quotes About Homeschooling. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/homeschooling?auto_login_attempted=true

Bibliography