Education Begins at Home in Many US Households

In the past children of all ages were taught by teachers hired by the (1) …………… in the same one-room schoolhouse.

In the 1980s, homeschooling became popular again among religiously (2) …………… parents.

About 3 percent of the American (3) …………… population won't be going to school in the coming fall.

Many parents believe that children get their (4) …………… values from the people with whom they spend the most time.

The way schools group students by age rather than ability is seen as (5) …………… by many parents.

It’s common practice that in home-schooling (6) …………… children of different age are taught together.

Quite often home-taught students are good at several subjects and win (7) …………… to go to college.

Some people criticize home teachers for lack of experience and (8) …………… to carry out the job.

2. For questions 1-12, read the text below and think of one word which best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

I think the initial thing that (0) …appealed… to me about homeschooling was that I liked my daughter. I wanted to be with her and I enjoyed the learning we had done together. As I checked out schools, read and volunteered, I became convinced that I could do a better job teaching her (1) ………. any teacher she would (2) ………. into in the school system where we lived. And then that day came (3) ………. my husband and I saw a couple of little children at the back of the grocery store dealing with illegal substance abuse (and we lived in a “nice” town with “good” schools). (4) ………., this did not stop us from caving into pressure when we were told that our daughter would be “deprived of a valuable experience” if she did not attend that “very good” little public school. Needless to say, it was not a valuable experience and it took us years to heal (5) ………. it.

Once we embarked on the homeschooling journey, we discovered it was better than we had expected or dreamed. Certainly, (6) ………. were moments that were difficult or trying, but none of those were any worse than your usual parenting stuff. And as each of the other two children was born and grew, it got better and we got closer. (7) ………. a wondrous thing it is to see your child grasp an idea for the first time! And how much fun learning is when it is not about rote memorization of seemingly meaningless facts, but an exploration begun out of curiosity or interest.

Now, I can see the other great reasons (8) ………. homeschooling that were not readily apparent to me when I began, twelve years (9) ………. . Things like a close, loving family, where my fifteen-year-old daughter not only likes to talk to me, but also still likes to cuddle. Things like my children retaining their innocence and joy of life as (10) ………. as a good moral foundation. Things like my children being excited (11) ………. receiving books for Christmas or birthdays, and being really excited about that. Or what about my daughter being really happy because she got to start Algebra this year, (12) ………. she was really looking forward to because it is “a detective story, except with numbers”.

3. Read the following article which focuses on some recommendations concerning homeschooling. Look first at the section headings. Then read the article and match the headings to their correct sections. There are two extra headings which do not belong to the article.

A BOOST YOUR CHILDREN’S MOTIVATION

B LET THEM SEE YOU LEARN

C FOCUS ON THE STYLES OF LEARNING

D CREATE A RIGOROUS HOMESCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

E THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

F “OWN” YOUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION

G ELIMINATE LEARNING LIMIT

SECRETS OF A+ PARENTS

Help Your Kid Go to the Top of the Class By Nancy Kalish

When Philip Bramsen started his fourth grade, he got an unusual new teacher. “She recognized that I had a special talent in math, and she let me learn at my own pace,” says the now-20-year-old from St. Charles. That meant that by the end of the ninth grade, Philip had zoomed through all of high school calculus.

“Sometimes it was tough, but she encouraged me to push through it even when I got frustrated,” recalls Philip. “She also knew when to back off. After lunch every day, she would read aloud from a novel or biography. It was nice to have a story hour even in high school.”

The extraordinary teacher behind Philip’s achievement was his homeschooling mom, Annette Bramsen, 43. “Lots of people are good at math,” says Philip, who is in the sophomore year at his dream college, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “but my mother helped me develop the necessary discipline to reach my full potential.”

It’s estimated that 850,000 to 1.9 million children are homeschooled today – numbers that experts calculate are growing by 7 to 15 percent annually. At the same time the profile of parents who teach their own children is changing. Homeschoolers are more urban and ethnically diverse than they were ten years ago. And religion has become less important as a motive for homeschooling.

Like Philip Bramsen’s mother, these parents are getting results. Although kids educated at home make up only 1.7 to 3.8 percent of the U.S. schoolchildren, 21 percent of the finalists of this year’s National Geographic Bee were homeschooled and so was the champion. Such students are nabbing spots at top colleges as well. Studies show that they score an average of 73 points higher on the SATs than their public and private school peers.

Although homeschooling parents obviously find the sacrifice worth the effort, taking over your child’s education is an enormous responsibility. Most people can’t give up the time or the income to teach their kids at home, and many are pleased with mainstream schooling. If you send your kids off on the school bus every morning, though, you can still provide them with many of the benefits of homeschooling. After all, you have been teaching your child successfully since infancy: you helped him form his first words, put together his first puzzles.

“Not every teacher is a parent, but every parent is a teacher,” says former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennet. “No teaching degree can replace the intimacy of knowing your child – his interests, his good hours, his bad hours, how to get him to open up and ask questions without embarrassment. Parents need to be reminded that their role as teachers doesn’t end just because their child goes to school.”

Here, then, are some methods that even parents who would never consider homeschooling can pick up from those who do.

Lesson one: 1 ……………………………………...

“We tend to view education as school-based, when in fact, it takes place everywhere,” says Linda Dobson, 49, author of the First Year of Homeschooling Your Child. “Homeschoolers actively search opportunities to use the real world as a classroom. When Dobson’s children, whom she teaches herself, expressed interest in a house being built in their neighbourhood, she asked the architect if the family could watch the process. “He was happy to show us blueprints and take us on tours of the house at many different stages,” reports Dobson. “The kids learned firsthand how walls are put up, and how to measure accurately. Then they drew a blueprint of our own house and compared the two.” Many homeschoolers tap people in the community. They emphasize that children need to try on futures and see real-life examples of people who are excited about what they are doing in the world. “If your child is interested in military history, take him to visit your neighbour who served in World War II,” says Dobson. “If your daughter wants to be a veterinarian, invite your local vet to dinner.”

Lesson two: 2……………………………………….

A teacher with a class of 25 kids can’t continue a unit on, say, ancient Egypt just because one child is still keen – but you can. “Rather than allowing your kid’s enthusiasm to be squashed with the end of a unit, be proactive in finding ways to keep it going,” says former homeschooler Amy Silver. Ask the teacher to recommend books, videos and websites. Allow your child to examine museum exhibits to his heart’s content. Let him build a miniature mummy’s tomb at home and continue researching and making artifacts for it throughout the year. The benefit to your child will go way beyond thorough knowledge of a subject. “Delving deeply into a subject of a kid’s own interest not only builds important independent research skills but also love of investigation and learning,” says Silver. “It gives kids the courage to go beyond the limits next time and explore further.”

Lesson three: 3……………………………………...

Some children are visual learners, who absorb best when they see something. Others are auditory (need to hear it) or kinesthetic (need to have a hands-on experience), and some are a combination. Uncovering how your child learns best will help you to be more effective when helping with homework or even teaching how to load the dishwasher. Many homeschoolers key into learning differences and teach accordingly. “My five-year-old is a kinesthetic learner, which means he has to be up and moving,” says Lisa Dean. “So when we were learning the alphabet, I had him make the letters with his body. To learn fractions we baked. He scooped up quarter-cups of sugar and divided dough in thirds.” Homeschooler Judi Thomas, 42, has discovered that her ten-year-old daughter Juliet is an auditory learner. “So we listen to tapes of songs about grammar, geography, whatever we are learning. She also needs to read aloud and discuss what she is reading. Understanding how to help her learn has made all the difference.”

Lesson four: 4……………………………………...

One of the best parts of homeschooling is that you can continue your own education – and your kids can see you doing it. “It is good for kids to observe you reading books, doing research and getting all excited,” says Linda Dobson. “They pick up on your love of learning and model that behaviour.” Revising the roles also has its benefits. “After our seven-year-old has read a book, we have her ‘teach’ us about it,” explains Lisa Dean. “In order to explain it she has to synthesize what she has learned. Best of all, it makes her so proud!” Sometimes, of course, learning does not go that smoothly, which is why it is also important for children to watch parents struggle with something new. “Kids sometimes see their parents as omniscient beings who seem to know everything effortlessly,” says homeschooler David Albert. To set his own children straight, Albert bravely took up the violin at the age of 47. “I was awful when I began, but it was great. They saw me curse but keep going until I got better.” If you can’t throw yourself into a new hobby, talk to your kids about the effort that Mr. an Miss So-and-So of the worlds put in to master their skills.

Lesson five: 5………………………………………..

“By claiming possession of our kids’ education, we are showing them that we think it is important – important enough for the whole family to work on,” says Lisa Dean. “You don’t have to homeschool to instill this value,” says professor Kane, “but you do need to be more than a homework watchdog.” The more involved a parent is the more a child benefits and this goes for father’s help as well. A study released in April by the University of Illinois found that when dads or other father figures showed involvement and concern simply by asking their children about what they were learning those kids did better in school. “In some ways, teaching my son is the hardest part of my day,” says Bennet. “But it is also the best part because we are doing it together.”

4. Read the text about homeschooling in America and answer the questions below choosing the best option (A, B, C or D).

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