HEY, THEY’RE OUTSIDE!
A kitchen-table-ish shot in the back yard — two and a half cents, I guess. But the copy — ugh! (Passwords at right, all caps.)
The moms meet on a Friday night at Barnes & Noble in Burnsville. They wear lipstick and leather jackets, sip frothy coffee drinks, laugh and talk about books.
But listen in on their conversation, and it becomes clear this isn’t just any moms’ night out.
They talk about Minnesota regulations for home schools.
Online support groups.
Choosing a curriculum.
Educational CD-ROMs.
Teaching strategies.
Field trips.
“The greatest gift you can give your child is your time,” says mother Michelle Gillette-Lacko to the group.
The other mothers nod.
The women, who meet monthly for this girls’ night, are part of the new generation of home-schooling families. Instead of yuppies, call them huppies — home-schooling uber parents.
Thanks for your submission. I’ll send it to the terminology committee right away.
I’ll give the reporter some credit, though — for oppo she went to an unusual source:
Home-schoolers must excuse Tom Keating, Minnesota’s 2004 Teacher of the Year, if he favors a public-school education. That’s not to say he doesn’t believe there isn’t a place for home schooling. He just wants parents considering it to think it over carefully.
“The question for parents is, ‘Why do we want to do this?’ It’s a serious gut and heart check,” says Keating, who teaches at Turning Point alternative school in Monticello. “Because, if we’re running from something, that would be a little scary. If we’re raising a generation of kids in cocoons, we’re in trouble.”
Keating says some of the home-schooled students he has met make the transition into public school at the high-school level when the subject matters become more challenging. They adapt nicely, he says, after sometimes struggling to learn to work in a group dynamic.
He encourages home-schooling parents to read up on brain development and child psychology, so they can understand their child’s stages of development. He also advises parents to get kids involved in varied activities outside of the home.
The path — it’s so clear now. I’m in awe.
3 Responses to “HEY, THEY’RE OUTSIDE!”
 Comment by Gene April 25th, 2005 at 8:35 pm |
He encourages home-schooling parents to read up on brain development and child psychology, so they can understand their child’s stages of development. |
 Comment by Chris April 25th, 2005 at 9:13 pm |
Get involved outside the home? Damn, I wish I had thought of that years ago. |
 Comment by Anonymous April 26th, 2005 at 7:12 am |
“The question for parents is, ‘Why do we want to do this?’ It’s a serious gut and heart check,” If only more parents did this before registering for that first Kindergarten class! |