Barrow Journal

It troubles me to see a surge of interest in homeschooling after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. I love homeschooling my family, and I have to admit that after the tragedy, I was glad my children weren’t attending school that following Monday. But is this a reason to homeschool? Not if it’s the only reason you have for homeschooling.

While only 4% of U.S. children are homeschooled, this is a fast-growing movement. Of course, I am an advocate of homeschooling. I love to talk to people who are thinking about it for their own family. At the same time, I don’t think everybody has to do it. It should depend on your child’s needs and also the needs and desires of the parents.

People should understand that homeschooling isn’t just “school at home.” Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Your whole family is in it together, and you are going to be together all the time. If you have extended family or extra resources to help, that’s great, but it’s still a lot of togetherness. Even for the most patient parents, it can be tough.

Friends and family have commented that I have a lot of patience, and I often chuckle and think to myself that they don’t really know me. I suppose I am more patient than some, but I’m also introverted, and I like a lot of time to myself. I try to balance my love of my children and this lifestyle with my needs, but that’s not always possible. I accept that. [Full Story »] 

My husband told me I ought to listen to an episode of a podcast called Mac Power Users: Episode 93. This episode is an interview with Fraser Speirs, a mobile education consultant. He works for the Cedar School of Excellence in Greenock, Scotland, and he also writes books, travels and does public speaking about using mobile devices and technology in schools. The Cedar School of Excellence was one of the first schools to give Macs and then iPads to all of its students.

Obviously, it would not be feasible for most schools, especially publics schools, to offer an iPad to every student. The Cedar School of Excellence is a small, private K-12 school, but my husband knew I would find the ideas behind the use of technology useful in our homeschool. I did, and I also think it could be useful for any parent who is involved in their child’s education and working with them at home.

Listening to Speirs’ talk reinforced my opinion that technology is not something we should shield children from. I know parents have different views on “screen time,” and I respect that. We need to set up boundaries for our children and use technology as a tool and not as a babysitter. But our children are in a unique position to grow up with technology (something we never had), and someday they will be competing in a world with more advanced technology. We parents need to assist them in acquiring useful skills. [Full Story »] 

I’ve had a number of people ask me advice on how to meet other homeschoolers.

To be frank, these parents were discouraged at their efforts to meet other homeschoolers because all they found were Christian homeschooling groups who required a “statement of faith.”

I don’t mean to insult anyone by bringing up such issues, but these are topics potential homeschoolers have to deal with. People who chose to build an exclusive community have an easier time banding together and standing up for their beliefs because they’re all on the same page. Their families are making a profound statement to the rest of the world. As someone who doesn’t want to exclude on the basis of belief, I can’t do anything about them, but I want to speak for those who are more open and tolerant. We, too, need to make a statement despite our varied and diverse belief systems. [Full Story »] 

Some changes have been made to the homeschooling law in Georgia, and they will go into affect in the 2012-2013 school year.

There are two major changes that homeschoolers need to be aware of. The first is that they will no longer turn in their paperwork to their local school districts. Now they will report directly to the Department of Education.

The second major change is that homeschoolers will only be required to turn in attendance forms once a year to the Department of Education. Currently homeschoolers have to turn in a monthly attendance form to their local school district. This change will no doubt come as a relief to many homeschooling parents. [Full Story »] 

Most people are unaware that kindergarten is not mandatory in Georgia. Recently I contacted the Georgia Board of Education, and they told me that many homeschool families file a Declaration of Intent to homeschool for their kindergartener, and they turn it into their local school district. This is not necessary.

According to “Code 20-2-690.1 Compulsory Attendance: a) Every parent, guardian, or other person residing within this state having control or charge of any child or children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays shall enroll and send such child or children to a public school, a private school, or a home study program that meets the requirements for a public school, a private school, or a home study program…” [Full Story »] 

Foshie and Jamica Bell are local parents who decided to homeschool many years ago. Jamica is also the founder of the Barrow County Homeschool Group, which she began less than two years ago. It was a pleasure to interview Jamica because her reasons for wanting to homeschool and her “philosophy” resonated with me very much.

Jamica also makes homeschooling look easy considering she has seven children: Eshantee, age 20; Nia, age 19; Jamica, age 17; Asha, age 15; Eden, age 12; Foshie, age 9 and Zion, age 4! [Full Story »] 

Carrie and Arnie McGarry are homeschooling parents located right here in Barrow County. They have homeschooled their three children since birth: Alexandria, age 8, Gavin, age 5, and Samantha, age 1.

Recently I asked Carrie what her reasons were for wanting to homeschool. She said there were many reasons, but two main issues were a concern for her. First, she thinks that public schools are more concerned about testing scores than what the children are actually learning. Second, she didn’t care for all the homework. “Adults who work for eight hours a day are not expected to come home and then work for a few more hours,” she said.
“My children are given individual attention and have so many opportunities for experiences that they wouldn’t be able to have in a school building,” she continued. [Full Story »]