School and Education aren’t the Same Thing Unschooling doesn’t mean no education; it just means no school. The unschoolers I know put in significant time and effort providing education by asking and answering questions, finding resources, connecting kids with mentors, traveling, supporting passions, etc. Despite all this great parenting, it can be hard to justify […]
Alfie Kohn Loves Research! Alfie Kohn (@alfiekohn) has a gift for analyzing research and pulling out practical applications for educators and parents. I’ve been impressed with every book of his I’ve read, so I came to The Homework Myth: Why our kids get too much of a bad thing with high expectations. It didn’t disappoint. […]
A Library is a One-Stop Shop Public libraries are just the coolest idea ever! Thanks, Ben Franklin! There’s really no need to spend piles of money on curriculum for your homeschool. Let’s face it, curriculum is for teachers, so they can feel sure they’ve covered specific topics. It’s not for kids and doesn’t improve their […]
Reading Wars are Pointless After thirty-five years of teaching reading, I can absolutely say we need to quit fighting over which method is “the science of reading” or “research-based.” Information on reading outcomes for every imaginable method is available if you care to read it. I have. I actually enjoy reading dissertations and meta-studies. Weird, […]
School Choices As a dyslexia tutor, parents often ask me what schools are best. It’s helpful to map out the choices. Depending on the community, choices might include public, private, parochial, specialty school for dyslexia, online school, free schools, home-school with various curriculums, unschooling, co-op or micro-school, or a combination. The first task: discuss what’s […]
Find out Why Public School is Attractive Home-educated children sometimes decide they want to try public school. This can cause a hard-working homeschooling parent to wonder why. In fact, that’s the first question to ask. The student has a reason, and that reason is the most important piece of the puzzle. It may take time […]
Answers or Assumptions? A dyslexia diagnosis sends parents looking for answers. Often, the people with the answers are also the people with a program to sell. A common assumption is that children need to do well in school in order to do well in life. Another assumption is that the only way to succeed in […]
A Diagnosis Brings Relief and Panic Parents who consult with me following a dyslexia diagnosis report two emotions: relief that they know why the student is struggling to read, and panic about the resources needed. Both responses are realistic. Happily, the panic can be laid aside once the parent has more information. From my experience […]
Online School is Hard on Kids with Dyslexia Obviously, online school work presents special challenges for all students and teachers. But there’s an extra challenge for students with dyslexia and the teachers who are doing their best to provide a great education under difficult circumstances. Students with dyslexia often depend on classroom discussion to correct […]
Suddenly Homeschooling Over fifty million students attend public schools in the U.S. Over half of those are home due to the COVID19 virus school closures. Likely, this number will rise over the next few weeks. Parents homeschooling in a pandemic face a job they didn’t ask for and haven’t had time to prepare for. So […]