TIM’S RIGHT
I give up on “homeschooling” (the word, not the concept). I’ll still write LttE when a reporter misuses it (because of potential legal ramifications) but I’m going to use “home education” and “home educators” here at cobranchi.com. That means I’m going to need a new name for the blog. Nominations from the floor are open.
22 Responses to “TIM’S RIGHT”
![]() Comment by Tim Haas January 28th, 2005 at 12:44 pm |
Just do as the College Board did with SAT and countless corporations like AARP and BP have done — just adopt the acronym H&OES (which I’ve always thought looks really cool) as the official name. |
![]() Comment by Helen January 28th, 2005 at 1:07 pm |
Daryl, I’m really disappointed to see you – of all people – giving up. We named our magazine “Home Education” 22 years ago, but we use the word “homeschooling” at every opportunity, because as I wrote years ago when this came up on an email discussion list, I am NOT going to give them the word which so many hundreds of thousands of families have fought for decades to give meaning to. To do so would be a grave disservice to those hundreds of thousands of families who are just now turning to homeschooling for their own children. There are many, many people working hard to bring some clarification to this increasingly confusing situation. Hopefully their good work will be gaining a little more visibility in the coming weeks and months as we get some press releases and promotional ideas moving. |
![]() Comment by Tim Haas January 28th, 2005 at 1:27 pm |
Your point is a fair one, Helen, but given all the effort we put into distancing ourselves from the school model and the number of times we (and folks like Illich and Holt and Gatto) have felt compelled to draw a distinction between schooling and education, why not adopt the term that really describes what we do? In New Jersey, for example, “home-school” refers to the process whereby a school sends a tutor to homebound students, a usage that I believe predates our meaning of the word. Let ’em have it, says I, and we’ll work on imbuing “home education” with the full weight of its component words. |
![]() Comment by Daryl Cobranchi January 28th, 2005 at 1:31 pm |
Hopefully their good work will be gaining a little more visibility in the coming weeks and months as we get some press releases and promotional ideas moving. Anything I can do to help, let me know. How do you fight the cyber charters and the media? I have no problem with the existence of the schools. I’ve been fighting their use of the word every chance I get (to my readers’ utter boredom, I’m sure). But how do you explain the nuances to a reporter who probably doesn’t care? And if the reporters keep getting it wrong, so will everyone else. Yeah- we know the difference. My concern has always been that if the cyber charters confuse the public (and especially legislators), it opens us up to being pulled into whatever accountability measures they are required to meet. After all, hey, if some “homeschoolers” have to take the state tests, why not all of them? I’ve been writing LttE near every time one of these papers misuses the term; not one has been published. So, fat lot of good I’m doing. |
![]() Comment by Helen January 28th, 2005 at 1:41 pm |
I can’t say your offer isn’t tempting, Tim, especially given that we put the term on every issue we publish, but the word “homeschooling” is in legislation, in legal cases, in hundreds of books and countless other publications, in dictionaries, on hundreds of thousands of websites – and is still almost universally accepted as meaning education which happens within the family unit. It’s a good word, a strong word – which is why so many people want to co-opt the use of it to promote their own interests, their own programs. It’s a powerful word that people recognize, make assumptions about, and they’ll buy something labeled with the word if they think that’s what they’re getting. This is much larger than the political dynamics of one state, Tim. The meaning and use of this single word has incredibly far-reaching implications. |
![]() Comment by Helen January 28th, 2005 at 1:45 pm |
Don’t think your letters fall on deaf ears (blind eyes?), Daryl. We sometimes receive dozens more letters than we can print in an issue, but we read them all, and we take them into consideration the next time we have an issue to make a decision about. Keep writing, even if it’s exasperatingly pointless. Someone is opening those envelopes and reading what you write. As you can probably guess I have a LOT more to say on this topic, but I need to be elsewhere very soon, so I’ll have to rejoin this discussion late this evening. |
![]() Comment by Tim Haas January 28th, 2005 at 1:52 pm |
This is much larger than the political dynamics of one state, Tim. The meaning and use of this single word has incredibly far-reaching implications. And that’s exactly my point, Helen — did you school your kids at home? I don’t, and neither do most of the home educators I know. Yet the school model is the default impression the general public brings to any discussion. (Not all because of the word, I grant — having been schooled themselves, it’s their starting point.) Don’t most of our state organizations in fact work to keep “homeschooling” from *being* defined in state and federal legislation? But the very fact that the term is being co-opted proves that meaning is shaped by mass action. I’d like to get out in front of the curve and stake out a new phrase that better encompasses the breadth of the movement and better describes the true intention of our efforts. With apologies to Ivan Illich, let’s deschool homeschooling. |
![]() Comment by J Aron January 28th, 2005 at 2:15 pm |
I agree with Helen – we really should stand our ground to fight the usurpation of the term homeschool… |
![]() Comment by Tim Haas January 28th, 2005 at 2:31 pm |
The more I think about this, the more I think it makes sense for the inclusive camp to champion this new phraseology, not least because my reasoning has apparently already resonated subconsciously — Home Education Magazine, National Home Education Network (NHEN), National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD), various longstanding state and local groups (such as VHEA, until the other day). Talk about a way to confound first impressions! “So, you guys are homeschoolers [subtext: Christian right-wingers]?” “No, we’re home educators.” [mental disconnect; drive of conversation ceded to responding party] “The term ‘homeschooling’ really doesn’t describe what we do …” |
![]() Comment by Chris January 28th, 2005 at 3:39 pm |
I’m having a hard time coming up with a good reason to care what we are called. The bastardization of the term homeschooling is a predictable result of the increase public perception of good news about homeschooling over the last few years. My only concern is that Daryl’s worst case scenario could come true and we could get exposed to increased regulation. On the other hand, more people realizing that you can be educated outside of the schoolhouse is a good thing. It’s a shorter leap from school-at home to true home education than it is from schoolhouse to home education. Of course, the real question is should I change my masthead? At present it uses the term homeschooling. As for this place – I like HE&S – Home Education & Stuff. It gives Daryl more room to go off topic 😉 |
![]() Comment by Daryl Cobranchi January 28th, 2005 at 4:22 pm |
How ’bout HomeEd & Other Stuff (HE&OS)? |
![]() Comment by Tim Haas January 28th, 2005 at 4:42 pm |
I like the symmetry. |
![]() Comment by Tim Haas January 28th, 2005 at 4:51 pm |
Judy: “Our kids don’t go to school — we’re SPIs.” Long I sound, of course, and it would have to be “instructor”. Think of the fun! |
![]() Comment by darby January 28th, 2005 at 5:21 pm |
HE&OS works for me – though I have no intention of becoming “yet another home education blog”. Otherwise, I think it’s a fine idea. |
![]() Comment by Stephanie January 28th, 2005 at 6:22 pm |
Funny that this comes up right now — I’ve been trying to figure out what to call what I plan to do with my 2 year old when he gets to school age. I don’t really like the term “homeschool” because it sounds like the same thing as school but without the peers — not what I’m planning. Also, everyone has their idea of what homeschooling is (what about socialization?) and maybe if I used a different term, it would help get people off their pre-set track and think about what we’re *doing* rather than what they think homeschooling is. Something like independent education, or just “we’re keeping him out of school” or “we’re taking care of his education as a family” I haven’t thought about it too much (obviously) and he’s only two, so I figure I have time… |
![]() Comment by gill bates January 28th, 2005 at 9:50 pm |
Back when we still had children in the gov’t indoctrination centers we were trying to get the school to use a program my son’s pediatric neonatal developmental specialist (MD) was recomending to no avail. I asked the principal if she was a neonatal developmental pediatric doctor to which she replied “no, we are educators”. I’ve had nothing but distain for the term ever since. How about tutor-mentors, guides, adults. Anything but educators. |
![]() Comment by Brian Sassaman January 28th, 2005 at 11:52 pm |
Parental Units Heuristically Lovingingly Enlightening Adoring Scions Eagerly or PUHLEASE I like it…like totally. |
![]() Comment by Lillian January 29th, 2005 at 6:58 am |
When asked about the boys’ schooling, I’ve always said, “They don’t go to school.” The person doing the asking nearly always then says, “Oh, you’re homeschooling?” Maybe from now on I’ll say no. |
![]() Comment by Chris January 29th, 2005 at 9:47 am |
How bout we just refuse to answer the nosy public questions? “It’s none of your damn business” will work just fine in many situations! Personally, I rarely speak of home education. If I’m at a store with the kids or something and the clerk tries to make small talk by mentioning school I usually just ignore the question. |
![]() Comment by Gene January 29th, 2005 at 1:44 pm |
I like being asked about my kids schooling; it is an opportunity to plant a seed of doubt regarding the public school system. I haven’t come up with the perfect response yet; still looking. The word “homeschool” has caused perception issues so I don’t say “homeschool”. My current response is something to the affect this is their 4th year in college (at age 15 and 17) and the 4 and 6 year old will start at an earlier age. Then I proceed to bash the school system; can’t help it. No one speaks up against the school system, blindly accepting their dogma. Its a scam and a fraud with disasterous affects, and need to be brought to the attention of the public…See what I mean…There I go again… I know I need a better presentation…. College is a lot of fun for them. My kids have up to 8 weeks to drop a college course. I only have them remain in the class if they love it. Luckily they have chosen well and have only dropped for switching to another class. Gene |
![]() Trackback from American Homeschool Association January 28th, 2005 at 1:50 pm |
Daryl Cobranchi’s Temporarily Nameless Blog Link: Cobranchi.com. Daryl posted: “I give up on “homeschooling” (the word, not the concept). ” I’ve been trying to convince him why he shouldn’t. Could use some help. |
![]() Trackback from O'DonnellWeb January 28th, 2005 at 4:15 pm |
What’s In A Name Homeschool & Other Education Stuff has gone temporarily nameless as Daryl contemplates changing the name. The term homeschool has been… |