I am so excited that Spring is here! There is just something about Spring that gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside. It just puts a huge smile on my face and makes me want to run down a hill! Okay, I know that was random....but truly, it puts me in a mood to do something random and spontaneous, like run down a grassy hill.....barefoot! :D With the coming of Spring my husband and I already have so many plans laid out for us already. We are helping my sister-in-law and brother-in-law move from Charlotte to Atlanta. They are sad to be leaving Charlotte (I'm sad too), but due to his job going to Mexico, he has taken a new job in Atlanta. I'm excited for them to be together again because they have had to live apart for a few weeks while he lived in a hotel near his new job. I can't imagine having to be away from my husband that long. I know they cried every weekend when he had to go back to ATL. They have a sweet home for sale in Charlotte, great for a starter family, completely renovated that they really need to sale. (If you are interested, e-mail me and I'll get you the hook-up :D ).
Next weekend we are working to help my grandmother move. Indeed, she is selling her recently purchased (3 years) home and moving to a home more out in the country. The saying is true, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl." :D She is wonderful and is so excited to move and to be able to "go fishing anytime I want to and go outside without the neighbors staring at me." Ask anyone who knows her, she is not one for settling down anytime soon. :D
But God is good and I am so excited for what this Spring has in store for me and my household. We are happy, happy, HAPPY and enjoying God's rich blessings while keeping Him first in our marriage and home.
What are your plans for this Spring? What can't you wait to do first?
Whoo hoo!!! I'm so excited! As MOST of you know, I'm a newly-wed, another WHOO HOO! I love being married, and that means I love fulfilling my God-given duties....feeding my sweet husband!
Another blogging friend posted on her blog about Kendra's "My First Kitchen" spice giveaway when you participate in her survey. I participated, and I won!!! YAY!
Below is a picture of what I have won! I am so excited and so is my husband. He said, "So we NEVER have to by taco seasoning again?!?!" Well, at least not for a little while.....lol!
Thanks Kendra for making my week.....and teaching me lots of things about cooking!!
Oh, and apparently she sells these, so you can purchase them at a very reasonable price!! YAY!
Just a quick "checking in" just to say "HI!" There has been so much going on since I've been "gone!" I just want you to know that I miss you! Thanks for those who have commented while I've been gone! True friends you are indeed!
This month I celebrated my 24th birthday! I can't believe it! Where has time gone!?! This is me with my brother-in-law, Kevin. Our spouses are twins, and WE share the same birthday. Imagine that?!? It was meant to be :D
Of course here is me and my sweet HUSBAND! (AHH, still in shock!) :D
I will be taking some much needed time off from blogging.
I've thought and prayed about these for the past few days and I've finally decided that it's best to take some time off.
I really enjoying blogging. I love reading other ladies' blogs and writing on my own blog. I do not write on my blog nearly as much as I read your blogs. Therefore, you may not miss me being at my blog, but you may not see my comments on yours for a little bit.
I really dislike feeling disconnected from you, but it is a must. Last night I had my final breakdown, emotional moment of "I've going in circles and have no time for anything!" My poor husband, he does not yet know how to handle these intense crying episodes. I generally don't cry...as I try to hold it all in, but when I do...WATCH OUT! lol
Here is the short list of things I need to get done before I will begin blogging (reading and writing on Blogger) again:
1) Finish writing the 130 thank-you notes that remain from my "new town" shower. 2) Catch up on all of the laundry and ironing that has been piling up. 3) Finish creating jewelry for salon #1 inventory. 4) Clean and organize our home office. 5) Establish a workout plan and make a habit to follow it. 6) Be in bed by 10:30 (this will come by force turned habit :D ) 7) Continue my weekday streak of getting up by 6 and have time with God before starting my day. 8) Catch up with family and friends via telephone. 9) Strive to "make my house a home" that my husband feels stress-free and cozy in. 10) Spend quality time with my favorite person in the world, my sweet husband, Jonathan.
I will miss you all. Please remember, if I haven't been commenting on your blog for while....it's not you.....it's me :D I will be back before you know it with some interesting posts and a GIVEAWAY! I'm so excited!
Part 2 of "Home Schooling Benefits and Stereotyping"
Although an anti-homeschooler might come to light on what the benefits of home schooling are, there is still much stereotyping that people cannot seem to get past in order to accept home schooling as being a successful means for education. Dr. Ray put it wonderfully in his article “Homeschoolers on to College: What Research Shows Us.” He states, “Recognize that you may hold biases and prejudices you do not recognize. After all, about five American generations have been attending age-segregated, institutional places of learning for 12 years of our lives…” Ray concludes that the very persons reading his article probably have spent 16 years in public institutions (Ray 2004). He is right on target because, in general, people do not like things they are unfamiliar with. If it is different, then the people who practice it must be different, leading to negative stereotypes.
One common stereotype is that children who are home schooled are unsocialized. If being socialized means that one must spend seven hours a day with twenty-five other students at his or her same maturity level, then I would say, yes, home schooled children are unsocialized, but that’s not what that “unsocialized” means. In fact, what age group one socializes with is irrelevant in determining if one is socialized or not. Home schooling children tend to spend more time with people of all different ages. Patricia Lines states that most participate in church groups, clubs, and associations. Many volunteer within their communities. Lines also includes that parents who home school their children are very involved in politics, volunteering, and attending public meetings and events (Lines 2001). Linda Montgomery (1989) adds in Ray’s article that home schoolers are also involved in music lessons, sports, jobs, and other activities. She feels that home schooling nurtures leadership just as well, if not better, than the conventional system, that being public schooling (Ray 2004).
Home schoolers not only face the stereotype of being unsocialized, but also face the question “are you really educated?” Many people believe that a student not taught by a college graduate cannot be successful academically. Researches show that children in home school families with low income and with parents with little education, on average score higher than state-school averages (Ray 2000, 2004). Keeping in mind that state-schools are being taught by professionals, and home school students are often not taught by professionals, the results from this study go against the belief that students educated by their low-educated parents are set up for failure.
Not only did these researchers find results defying the stereotype, but ACT and SAT scores also illustrated these same results defying the stereotype. A study done by researchers Galloway (1998), Gray (1998), and Jenkins (1998) found that the average first-year GPAs, credits earned in the first year, ACT Composite test scores, and ACT English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science and Reasoning test scores were all higher than traditional high school graduates (Jones and Gloeckner, 2004). The three studies also found that those educated at home performed as well or better than institutional-school graduates at college level. As it turns out, studies actually prove those who oppose home schooling based on academic concerns are wrong.
Now that we have established that home schooled students perform just as well as traditionally schooled students academically, what about the stereotype that home schoolers are emotionally unsound. Numerous studies show that home schooled students are developing very well emotionally and psychologically. The idea that home schooled students are weird is often wrongly prejudging a home schooled student. If one is said to be weird, who is he or she being compared to that makes them weird? After all, what one person thinks is normal, another thinks is weird and vise versa. In our country, we encourage children to be themselves, yet when it comes to home schooling we automatically want to isolate them and say, “Oh that’s right, you were home schooled.”
Meredith, a 14-year old in Susannah Sheffer’s (1995) study, as reported by Ray (2004) said:
I was worried that I would become a typical teenager if I went to school,” and “I think that people would have seen school as an opportunity for me to ‘be like everyone else.’ But I didn’t want to be like everybody else. (p. 7)
For the most part, home schooling students do have self-confidence and the desire to strive to develop and grow as a person. J. Gary Knowles found that adults that were home-educated tended to be involved in entrepreneurial and professional businesses. The home schooling students he studied were very independent and strongly emphasized the importance of family life (Ray 2004). There is so much concern with whether or not students who are home schooled can actually take on the real world. Responsibility often comes from being around the home and taking on personal responsibilities that are necessary in keeping a home functioning properly.
To say that all home schoolers will fall short academically, socially, emotionally and psychologically, is quite arbitrary. With the growing number of students being home-educated, it is very important for people to stop prejudging home schooled students and look at the facts. Fighting the stereotypes of home schoolers should constantly be on the minds of parents who home school. Parents need to nurture and grow their children into self-confident individuals with values that are important to them. To home school a child means that one gets to work closely with his or her child and watch them grow, learn, and develop into a wonderful contribution to this world. Home schooling a child also means being set apart and often ridiculed. However, to see the “ah-ha” effect on your child’s face, and to see that they “get” something and they will grow from that, is very rewarding. The benefits are numerous, but to see those benefits, the stereotypes must be eliminated.
Bibliography*
Ensigh, Jacque (April 1998). Defying the Stereotypes of Special Education: Homeschool Students. Southern Connecticut University: American Educational Research Association, 4-8
Jones, Dr. Paul and Gloeckener, Dr. Gene (Spring 2004). First-Year College Performance: A Study of Home School Graduates and Traditional School Graduates. The Journal of College and Admission, 17-19.
Lines, Patricia M. (2001). Homeschooling. Eric Development Team, 1-7. Eugene, OR: Eric Clearinghouse on Educational Management.
Ray, Dr. Brian D. (Fall 2004). Homeschoolers Onto College: What Research Shows Us. The Journal of College Admission, 5-10.
Please excuse my Bibliography formatting, it's hard to fix in Blogger :D
For one of my Education courses at the state university I attended, I wrote an essay defending "Homeschooling." I'd like to share this essay with you. I'm going to divide it into a couple of parts, since it is pretty long. Feel free to leave comments for discussion! ___________________________________________________________________
Home Schooling:The Benefits and Fighting the Stereotypes
Mention the word “home schooling” and one will get a lot of eye-rolling and under-breath laughs.“Home schooling” is a dirty word.Do not say it, do not even think about it, and everyone gets along wonderfully.What is so wrong with the word “home schooling?”An average middle-school child can mouth every “cuss” word at length and merely get a shoulder shrug from a nearby adult.However, mention the idea of home schooling and people get nervous.If a pro-home schooler can get a word in edgewise, perhaps one who opposes it can be enlightened to its benefits while being persuaded away from the stereotypes that haunt the home schooling organization as a whole.
In an educational society that emphasizes multiculturalism and accepting others without prejudice, we are overtly against parents educating their children in their homes, even well organized parents with successful home schooling students.Even as this paper was being discussed verbally between myself and classmates, many of my classmates assumed that my position would be anti-home school.Upon stating my topic for my paper, my statement was met by “oh, yeahs,” as if saying, slam it (the idea of home schooling)!To their dismay, my confident smile was met with their dropped-faces to suggest, “you’ve got to be kidding me?You’re in favor?”
The average student in the education department would be quick to admit that the proper choice for education is public or private schooling.Professors in the education department will be honest and admit that the public education system in the United States is in serious trouble, not for closing, but in trouble with properly succeeding to educate.In fact, due to this concern of students succeeding, the No Child Left Behind Act has been put into play as a way of boosting the education system.If there is not an increase in student productively, the NCLB Act will see to it that money given to the school is stopped.Suddenly administrators are seeing dollar signs and scramble to make the best possible decisions in effort to stretch their budgets.
One has to question where the money is going and how we have lost sight of educating students without the main concern being money.Meanwhile, students in the public education system are being cheated out of learning some amazing things.This brings me to the first benefit of home schooling, if parents do not have $10,000 per child, per year, they can still afford to educate their children.As public education educates more and more children the tax payers pay more and more money to go to an unknown source.Parents who home school know exactly how much money goes into their children’s education to provide them with the best resources possible.
A study was done by Brian D. Ray in 2004 which concluded that the total annual household income for home schooling families waseighteen percent, making under $25,000; forty-four percent making $25,000 to $49,000; twenty-five percent making $50,000 to $74,000 , and thirteen percent making $75,000 or more (Ray, 2004).If the average home schooling household makes an annual $25,000 to $49,000, the parents are going to be aware of how their educational dollars are spent.This should help enforce the need for every resource possible to be used to better educate the children.It does not work that way though.
Let us put this into perspective:If the government gives $10,000 per student, per year, then a family with three children should get an extra $30,000 per year.What could a family of three making under $49,000 do with an extra $30,000 a year?A lot!Even though parents who home school never see the kind of money public schools are rewarded, their resources far exceed the public school system.The home schooling student gets immediate benefits when money is put into the educational resources, as opposed the public educated students who rarely sees the thousands of dollars the school receives on their behalf.Even parents who fit into the lower percentage, making under $25,000, take advantage of the resources available including libraries, museums, colleges, parks, churches, local businesses, and free literature materials (Lines, 2001).
Another benefit of home schooling is curriculum enrichment.Imagine the things a teacher can do with her class if only she had more time with the students without a set of rules on what to test; notably, the standardized test.A teacher with time to take her students outside for science, or to a museum for history would help stop boredom in its tracks while engaging the students in discussion and deep interest; that is what home schooling parents get to do.Without a set schedule, parents can involve children’s touch and sights into the lessons.For example, taking children outside when discussing the seasons and involves children in the change of nature helping them accept change as it takes place.As a child, I never liked Autumn; this season meant things were dying, which was very depressing.A parent could take their child outside and explain to them why Autumn exists.Sure leaves change color due to the absence of chlorophyll, but why?Children will always be asking, “why?”Parents can go beyond what a teacher takes time to teach and explain to their children about ideas and concepts not normally taken into depth.Leaves die so trees can rest in Winter due to less water and sunlight, helping them to be ready for Spring time again.
Teaching children at home offers flexibility not allowed in the schools so children can grow and learn at their own pace with far less limitations.Suppose a child is very advanced academically and strives for more information; or what about the child that is further behind academically and needs more time for understanding concepts?Parents can tailor to each of their children’s needs, unlike a teacher would be able to.Teachers have many limitations that they simply cannot avoid.Parents of publicly educated children are expected to make up for those limitations at home, or the child misses out completely.Often the latter most likely takes place.Parents are better able to use the proper learning styles that suit their children, rather the one-style-fits all method of teaching.Understanding a child’s learning style is important in insuring they get the most out of their education.
When it comes to children with disabilities, many public school teachers find themselves out of their comfort zones as schools move to all inclusive classrooms.My professor recently proposed the question, how many classes does an education graduate leave with that will prepare him or her to work in a classroom with a student with a learning disability? One is the answer.Suddenly a teacher goes from having “normal” students to having one with a learning disability: what happens then?The teacher will most likely have a hard time including the student and be more likely to fail to educate the student properly.
Unfortunately, a teacher might unknowingly present underachievement to a child in order to avoid challenge without even realizing he or she is doing so.However, when the parent is home schooling her child with a learning disability, it goes beyond statistics and learning on a conceived one-size-fits-all time table.However, the parent recognizes that her child is special and that for the child to make achievements at her own timing, that itself is rewarding and demonstrates success.Jacque Ensign wrote, “Defying the Stereotypes of Special Education: Home School Students.”
Ensign gives great examples in her work that wonderfully illustrates the benefits of a child with learning disabilities being home schooled.She contends (1998):
The hallmarks of the educational philosophies and pedagogies of the homeschoolers are: 1)focus on the whole child rather than primarily on the child’s disability or extreme ability, 2)Individualized attention, and 3)care, patience, and respect for the child to lead the teacher in both the timing and the content of what the child is ready to be taught.(p. 7-8)
This simply cannot take place within the public school system.
One of the biggest reasons parents choose to home school is for religious purposes.Parents who want a certain religion instilled into their child’s life should consider how public education plays a part in his or her religious experience.The negative implications would be more apparent given that approximately seven hours a day is spent with peers and authority with different religious backgrounds.While there is nothing wrong with working along side someone with a different religious background, if a parent is working to foster their child’s spiritually, time spent outside of that religion can be crucial.For example, I want my children to be brought up under strong Christian values.To teach my children about living a Christian life, that lifestyle would need to be nurtured under my close supervision, most would call this “sheltering”.This is another “dirty word”.
The next post will contain the "Sterotypes of Homeschooling" and the references.
With the coming of Spring my husband and I already have so many plans laid out for us already. We are helping my sister-in-law and brother-in-law move from Charlotte to Atlanta. They are sad to be leaving Charlotte (I'm sad too), but due to his job going to Mexico, he has taken a new job in Atlanta. I'm excited for them to be together again because they have had to live apart for a few weeks while he lived in a hotel near his new job. I can't imagine having to be away from my husband that long. I know they cried every weekend when he had to go back to ATL. They have a sweet home for sale in Charlotte, great for a starter family, completely renovated that they really need to sale. (If you are interested, e-mail me and I'll get you the hook-up :D ). 
