NORTH TEXAS JEWISH ORTHODOX HOMESCHOOLERS
QUESTIONS ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING
Below are some frequently asked questions that members of NTJOH have received. They are answered by two members of our group who have very different learning styles. Staci tends to follow the traditional homeschooling approach where the homeschooling day revolves around bookwork and writing. Chana Miriam follows the unschooling approach. Staci's answers will be designated by an S, while Chana Miriam’s answers will be designated by a CM. General answers will have no designation.
WHY?
Why did you decide to homeschool?
S - You’ll find that there are so many different reasons families decide to homeschool. It could be that they’ve always had a vision of educating their children at home or it could be that they have decided to try homeschooling out of necessity due to the high cost of day school tuition. Whatever the reason may be, most find that homeschooling allows them to teach their children al pi darko in a pressure free environment while developing a family dynamic and relationship with their children which would have been difficult to maintain had their children been in school for 8 hours a day.
CM - Of course, tuition was a big factor for us. But more importantly, we firmly believe that our child will receive a better education at home. While at home, I will be able to work with my child one on one and use teaching styles suited to him and cover material which interests him in a way that holds his attention.
HOW?
04
DIFFICULT?
05
How do I go about homeschooling?
There are as many philosophies on how to run a homeschool as there are homeschooling families. Basically, anything goes. And if you live in state like Texas it makes it even easier to run your homeschool the way you want because Texas has some of the most lenient homeschooling laws in the country. To sum up some of the homeschooling approaches and how people implement learning in their home, there are unschoolers, online homeschoolers and traditional homeschoolers. In fact, there probably aren’t enough labels to really describe everyone's approach, but those are some of the broad ones. It’s quite common to not be entirely one or the other as most people are a mix of all approaches.
Is homeschooling difficult?
You bet! Unless, of course, you enjoy not getting any sleep, rarely getting a break and watching your children attack your house and each other on a daily basis. If that’s the case then homeschooling will not be hard for you! Seriously, we could wax poetic about the many beautiful and memorable moments which take place during homeschooling but right now we won’t. We’ll be brutally honest and save the poetry for a different time. Homeschooling is hard work. It’s a full time job. If your only motivation for homeschooling your children is as a reaction to tuition costs, then after a few weeks of homeschooling you may find yourself wondering if saving all that money is really worth the headache. The flip side, however, is like the old adage, “If you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life.” It’s hard work, but if you have a strong desire to teach your children and if you can see all the wonderful things that happen during the day despite the obstacles, then you’ll want to stick with it. Whether you choose to work outside the home to pay for your children’s Jewish education or choose to work inside the home to give them a Jewish education yourself, some amount of effort will need to be expended. It would be unreasonable to expect that a homeschool could run effortlessly in the same way that it would be unreasonable to expect a paycheck for doing nothing at work. If you’re considering homeschooling then you should go into it the same way you’d approach any new job...prepared. You should research your curriculum and think about how you plan to manage your classroom as well as your home (i.e. how to encourage your children to finish their assignments while also getting dinner on the table). Embarking on homeschooling shouldn't be an afterthought. Rather, it will be an investment of time to map out a plan and even to do a trial run during winter or summer vacations to see how it goes. Even though all beginnings are hard, most homeschoolers find that homeschooling gets easier the longer they do it.
LAWS?
Do I have to be a teacher or submit anything to the state?
In Texas, a homeschooler is not required to be certified to teach, register with the state or any other governmental authority, or submit any paperwork, schedules or curriculum plans to anyone. Also, homeschooled children in Texas aren’t required to take any kind of testing (unless you want them to. See below question on “Testing” for more info). If your child is currently enrolled in public school, you will have to withdraw him or her from school. For more accurate information on current and specific laws in Texas, visit the HSLDA website.
COST?
How much does homeschooling cost?
S - Cost will all depend on what curriculum you choose. With a plethora of curriculum choices out there it’s easy to be overwhelmed and then broke! There’s no need to go overboard. Yes, there’s always going to be some amazing, innovative and creative program to teach math, grammar, history, science, etc., but just try to remind yourself that when schooling took place in a one room school house with no bells or whistles many generations ago, kids came out better educated and skilled than they do now. Remember, the goal is to educate your child, not to excite them with the fanciest curriculum or software.
CM - As an unschooler, there may be no curriculum costs. While you could technically do it without spending money, that's not the way I choose to do it because I feel my child's education will be significantly better with resources from outside the home. For example, if my son wants to learn about dinosaurs, we will be taking a trip to the Perot Museum (gas and admission fees) or to Dinosaur Valley State Park (more gas and entry fees). We may buy some 3D puzzles, and of course, art supplies, etc. - you get the idea. Our plan is to have an "education budget" each month rather than a set curriculum.
GRADE LEVEL?
How will I know if my children are on grade level if I decide to send them back to school?
S - Although I’ve never dealt with sending my kids back to school, my guess is that the school to which you decide to send your children back (even if it’s the same school they left) will probably have some kind of evaluation test to determine where they’re holding academically. My suggestion would be to call the school where you think you may want your child to go in the event you stop homeschooling and find out what the admissions standards are. My experience with homeschooling so far has been that since I make sure to keep my kids working every day with a curriculum (i.e. grammar, math, writing) then I know they’re on grade level. In fact, in most subjects, they’re above grade level because they can work as quickly as they want. Likewise, if there’s a child who’s struggling then there’s no better way to keep him/her up to speed than with one on one learning. I think the key is finding a curriculum that works for you and your children so that you're motivated to stick with it. As long as you're working with your children on a daily basis you’ll know if they're meeting the right milestones and learning the right skills for their age.
CM - There are so many lists online that outline skills by grade level. You could also pay for an independent assessment. Some private schools also assess students before accepting them.
TESTING?
Do my children have to take any kind of testing?
S - Although testing is not required of homeschoolers in Texas, if you’re concerned about whether or not your child is on grade level compared to his or her peers then you may want to consider having your child take a standardized test at the end of your homeschooling year. I did this with my two older elementary school age children after our first year of homeschooling (ages 11 and 8 at the time) not necessarily because I was concerned about their grade level, but because I feel test taking is a skill that I want them to have. Throughout schooling (especially if you’re college bound) and then again when finding a career, knowing how to take a test could make or break an opportunity. There are many different standardized tests out there for k-8 and then the PSAT, SAT and ACT during high school. You may even be able to get the Texas standardized tests online. Another option is to have your child tested through a gifted program. The main ones that I know of are Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY), Stanford EPGY and Duke TIP. I chose to have my kids tested through CTY. They took the SCAT test at a local Prometric testing center. I plan on doing it every year not just to keep them used to test taking, but to also keep them used to test taking at a testing center which for some kids can be very anxiety provoking if they’ve never experienced it before. However, I think it’s also important to take testing with a grain of salt. Public schools have instituted a whole slew of standardized tests with all kinds of strict stipulations for schools and teachers to meet to ensure "no kids are left behind," yet, kids are still coming out of school well below other countries in math, and writing skills are embarrassing. If you're working with your kids you'll know very soon what they're accomplishing and where they need help. If your child is in 5th grade and working out of a 5th grade math book, and he's doing well, then he's exactly where he needs to be. If he's in 5th grade and he’s working out of a 3rd grade grammar book and you see that he's learning and progressing then he's fine. A good curriculum will take away all the guess work out of what skill or information a child needs to master next in order to advance to the next grade.
CM - HB 1844 (passed in 2007) requires local school districts to provide PSAT and AP tests to home-schooled students who live in their attendance area. You can either call your school district for test dates, times and locations, or look on their website.
TRANSCRIPTS?
If I want to send my child to high school or college, which requires transcripts from an accredited school, how do I show this?
S - I haven’t fully investigated this since my children are still young; however, from what I understand if your plan is to homeschool during some or all of high school, and especially if your child is college bound, you’ll need to start keeping records of any work completed so that you can submit it with a college application. Many college bound homeschoolers will take dual enrollment courses at a community college which would then provide a transcript from an accredited institution showing that the necessary high school courses were completed (most colleges require a certain number of credits of high school English, Science, Math, etc. as part of their admissions process). Either a dual enrollment course at a community college or a transcript from an accredited online high school should satisfy this. It’s always a good idea to contact the school you’d like your child to attend one day to get clarification on their admissions requirements for homeschooled children.
CM - As Staci stated above, many homeschooled students who want to go to college will attend local community colleges to obtain course work with a transcript, and that is my personal recommendation. Colleges are becoming more and more welcoming to homeschooled students. Homeschooled students should absolutely take the SATs, write an essay, and get letters of recommendation in addition to their community college course work. Whether you choose to build a transcript through community college or not, it's a really great idea to start compiling a portfolio of your student's high school years. Did your child start a business? Play in a band? Design a website or app? Blog? Participate in sports? Do community theater? Create an event? Your child needs to show that he or she is well rounded and capable, just like any other student.
YESHIVA?
Will my son be on the same level as his day school peers and will he be able to attend a mainstream mesivta or yeshiva?
This is a big question for a lot of families. Whether or not your son will be on par with his yeshiva age peers while you’re homeschooling will depend on you and what kind of learning you institute in your home. Since all homeschooling families are unique in how they implement learning in their home, you may not be able to find a specific homeschooling-for-yeshiva formula that you could emulate. What will you find is a wide range of views and strategies that people have used which could help point you in the right direction. It’s always a good idea to think about what your options are ahead of time so you can see where you child could potentially be headed (and don’t forget that by that age they have their own opinions too!). For instance, some families hire a rebbe to keep their son up to speed, some may choose to only homeschool through middle school and then send their son to a yeshiva high school, some may choose to send their son to a one or two year yeshiva program before college and some may choose to have their son attend a college which also offers yeshiva style learning. We recommend signing up for the JOH message board on Yahoo in order get some feedback from the many
families who have dealt with this very issue. Maybe one day this site could even have a list mesivta, beis medrash and college options out there for frum homeschoolers. If you're interested in seeing this section expanded, or if you have any specific info that you’d like to share, send an email to info@ntjoh.com.