Homeschooling Myths: A Personal Perspective

By Amy Earls

Homeschooling has been in the educational mainstream for a few decades now. Over two million school-age children (K-12) are currently being homeschooled, and the number keeps going up. This is not a new phenomenon, and you can successfully teach your children at home. However, even with the rising number of homeschooled children in the United States, there are several myths that continue to make people question this viable, educational method.

In Homeschooling Myths: A Personal Perspective, Amy Earls tells about her own experiences when encountering the various myths that "concerned" people felt the need to confront her with. While it is possible to find all sorts of helpful websites that talk about homeschooling myths, few share personal experiences related to those myths. Here, Amy talks about how she has handled each myth presented to her and why the myth is, in her opinion, just that-a myth.

Within the book, you will also find several quotes that pertain to homeschooling myths, educational quotes, and a brief description of the various methods of homeschooling. You might also encounter a few reasons for homeschooling that might resonate with you, personally.

It is Amy's sincere hope that this book will help you in your own homeschooling journey or even help you determine if homeschooling is right for your family. If you have family members or friends that are questioning your decision to homeschool, pass this book along to them. Maybe it will help. If you are not in agreement with your loved one's decision to homeschool, perhaps this book will open your mind to the possibilities and opportunities that this educational method offers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637107126

Amy Earls

Amy Earls is a professor of first-year college students and holds a master's degree in education for adult learners with a focus in writing. Amy is passionate about helping young adults build a strong faith. When she's not grading papers, she's writing or dreaming up ways to make life an adventure. She lives in a bike-riding and Beaver-loving college town in Oregon with her husband, two daughters, and a never dying goldfish.

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Homeschooling Myths

A Personal Perspective

Amy Earls

Copyright © 2021 Amy Earls

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2021

ISBN 978-1-63710-711-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63710-713-3 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63710-712-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Homeschoolers are extremely sheltered.

Homeschoolers are extremely sheltered.

Homeschoolers are extremely sheltered.

What about advanced math, science, or English?

What about advanced math, science, or English?

How do you keep records?

How do you keep records?

How do you keep records?

How do you keep records?

How do you keep records?

Road Schooling/World Schooling

This book is dedicated to the following people:

Ty, my amazing husband; my three beautiful children:

Carolyn, Lillian, and Erin; and my wonderful mom, Rose.

I love you all so very, very much!

Disclaimer

The information referenced in this book relates specifically to my personal homeschooling experiences. The general information about myths, misconceptions, and misinformation about homeschooling are relevant to myself and others I have spoken with over the years.

The material provided in this book is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice for homeschoolers and/or homeschooling. Parents and guardians should consult the specific homeschooling laws pertaining to their state of residence and seek legal counsel if necessary.

Acknowledgments

This book came about because I wish there had been one easily found when I started investigating this thing called homeschooling. Sure, there were lots of articles and websites dedicated to it, but I wanted something tangible; I wanted a book that I could easily pull off of the shelf and reference whenever I felt it to be necessary. There were so many times that I would get frustrated because I couldn’t find that one specific article I had read only days or weeks before. If I had had a book at my disposal, it would have been much easier. So, I decided to write this one to give potential homeschoolers a handheld device, if you will, to read, reference, and share with their families and friends.

I want to thank each of my children for their patience with me throughout the years. I know it wasn’t always easy being with me all day, every day, but I know we had way more good days than bad. That’s an understatement, isn’t it? The good days far outweighed the bad ones. I absolutely loved watching you grow and learn, and I am so very proud of the beautiful women you have become.

I also want to thank my mom, Rose. You were always on board with this crazy idea of mine. You never questioned it. You always supported it and me. You were there to offer encouragement and support with your love and kindness. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I love you so very much.

In addition, I want to thank my amazing husband. Other than my mom, you were always there for me and the girls. You gently questioned my motives in the beginning, but you lovingly agreed to join me on this journey, and your support has always been greatly appreciated. You are my rock, and you gave me the confidence I needed to know I could do this successfully. I also love and appreciate all of the help you offered throughout the years and for taking over with higher math and science when your expertise was much better suited to teaching the material than mine was. You are absolutely amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a better father for our children or life partner for myself.

Finally, I want to thank all of my fellow homeschooling parents and students with whom I’ve come in contact with over the years. I know I don’t remember all of your names, but I remember your faces. Thank you for sharing your stories and experiences with me. I truly appreciate it.

Introduction: How I Came to Homeschooling

How I Came to Homeschooling

My homeschooling journey started in a somewhat unconventional way. When my children were young, we had the opportunity to live in another country for six months. During that time, I worked with our public school system in the US and homeschooled them for the duration of our stay. When we returned to the States, we put our oldest two back into public school. This was a bad idea because our oldest child was not happy and not doing well in that setting. We had had issues with the public school before we left the States, but it seemed that her return was worse for her. In addition to that, our absolutely loving and friendly (sometimes too much) middle child was being bullied by a young girl in her class. So, we decided to homeschool our youngest children, and we placed our oldest in a private school.

Private school was a good thing in that our oldest child excelled in the setting and really enjoyed her time there. Unfortunately, the cost became quite prohibitive for us, and we looked for other options. We began homeschooling her for the beginning of her seventh-grade year and entered her name in a lottery drawing for a lab school at the local university. As luck would have it, she was accepted for the spring semester, and we enrolled her there for the remainder of her seventh-grade year. This setting was not good for her at all, so she only stayed for the one semester. Because of this and a brand new elementary school opening down the street from our house, we enrolled all of