I conducted a survey online recently about the educational choices of families with extremely and profoundly gifted children. These are children who have generally skipped several grades and/or who have IQ scores in the +160 range.
I wanted to know how many are homeschooling. I had just finished reading the book Gifted Children by Ellen Winner (HarperCollins Basic Books 1996). It was a well-written book with lots of useful info on children with many different types of gifts, and overall I was favorably impressed. But I was surprised to see her opinion that homeschooling should be a last resort-- even for profoundly gifted children.
So I surveyed the parents in my online group of parents of eg/pg kids and asked about their educational choices. I asked for information about where their eg/pg children who are school age (6 years or older) have attended school, and where they are currently attending school. I grouped the responses into three categories: Only Homeschooled; Only Public/Private Schooled; Have Tried Both Home and Public School. The results were quite interesting.
In the Only Homeschooled group there were 16 families with 19 children. The oldest three children were 19, 13 and 11. Ten of the children were currently 6 years old.
In the Only Public/Private Schooled group there were 21 families with 31 children. The oldest three were 21, 19 and 18. Four of the children were currently 6 years old.
In the Both Home and Public/Private Schooled group there were 29 families with 44 children. The oldest three were 23, 20 and 18. The oldest three that were not yet in college were 14, 13 and 13. Two of the children were currently 6 years old. Of these 44 children, 26 are currently being homeschooled, 7 are currently in public school, 4 are doing some combination of home and public school but are not yet in college, and 6 are in college. (This does not add up to 44 because one families did not report where their children are currently attending school.)
This was interesting to me. I think it shows the trend toward homeschooling in recent years, in that the younger children are more likely to be starting out in homeschool, while the older children were more likely to begin in public or private school, then move to homeschool later.
I received several comments from the parents along with the data. Most of them were to the effect that they had tried public school, but it was a complete disaster, so they resorted to homeschool as a last option. One family said they would never consider homeschool. A few families said they didn't even bother with public school, but homeschooled from the beginning. These were usually families with younger children, so homeschooling was not uncommon when their Children reached school age.
After completing this survey, I wonder if Ms. Winner is still, ten years later, of the opinion that homeschooling should be a last resort.
Our own family started out with our children attending public school, then we tried private schools, and finally admitted there was no option other than homeschool. So we did come to it as a last resort-- but now that we're here I wonder what took us so long. Homeschooling has been wonderful! What started out as an arm-twisted, under duress situation, has become my first choice for educating my children. Not all our Children are eg/pg, but most of them are bright enough that a regular classroom was not the best, or even an appropriate situation for them. At home they are able to progress at their own rates (faster in math, slower in English, or vice-versa, or whatever).
One thing I find interesting is that when people hear that my 10 year old is going into 10th grade, they often say, "Oh, well homeschooling is different." Does this mean 10th grade at home is easier than 10th grade in public school? (not) Or that being at home, it's easier to move at your own pace? (yes) Either way, I'm glad this is where we are. I hope each family out there finds the best possible educational option for themselves-- be it public, private, home, some combination of these, or something totally new.
Book recommendation of the day: Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. This book has NOTHING to do with the (stupid) movie that came out recently. It's a true story about a family in the 1920's with twelve very bright children and an energetic, loud, funny, time-saving father. (And only 10 miles from national headquarters!)
I wanted to know how many are homeschooling. I had just finished reading the book Gifted Children by Ellen Winner (HarperCollins Basic Books 1996). It was a well-written book with lots of useful info on children with many different types of gifts, and overall I was favorably impressed. But I was surprised to see her opinion that homeschooling should be a last resort-- even for profoundly gifted children.
So I surveyed the parents in my online group of parents of eg/pg kids and asked about their educational choices. I asked for information about where their eg/pg children who are school age (6 years or older) have attended school, and where they are currently attending school. I grouped the responses into three categories: Only Homeschooled; Only Public/Private Schooled; Have Tried Both Home and Public School. The results were quite interesting.
In the Only Homeschooled group there were 16 families with 19 children. The oldest three children were 19, 13 and 11. Ten of the children were currently 6 years old.
In the Only Public/Private Schooled group there were 21 families with 31 children. The oldest three were 21, 19 and 18. Four of the children were currently 6 years old.
In the Both Home and Public/Private Schooled group there were 29 families with 44 children. The oldest three were 23, 20 and 18. The oldest three that were not yet in college were 14, 13 and 13. Two of the children were currently 6 years old. Of these 44 children, 26 are currently being homeschooled, 7 are currently in public school, 4 are doing some combination of home and public school but are not yet in college, and 6 are in college. (This does not add up to 44 because one families did not report where their children are currently attending school.)
This was interesting to me. I think it shows the trend toward homeschooling in recent years, in that the younger children are more likely to be starting out in homeschool, while the older children were more likely to begin in public or private school, then move to homeschool later.
I received several comments from the parents along with the data. Most of them were to the effect that they had tried public school, but it was a complete disaster, so they resorted to homeschool as a last option. One family said they would never consider homeschool. A few families said they didn't even bother with public school, but homeschooled from the beginning. These were usually families with younger children, so homeschooling was not uncommon when their Children reached school age.
After completing this survey, I wonder if Ms. Winner is still, ten years later, of the opinion that homeschooling should be a last resort.
Our own family started out with our children attending public school, then we tried private schools, and finally admitted there was no option other than homeschool. So we did come to it as a last resort-- but now that we're here I wonder what took us so long. Homeschooling has been wonderful! What started out as an arm-twisted, under duress situation, has become my first choice for educating my children. Not all our Children are eg/pg, but most of them are bright enough that a regular classroom was not the best, or even an appropriate situation for them. At home they are able to progress at their own rates (faster in math, slower in English, or vice-versa, or whatever).
One thing I find interesting is that when people hear that my 10 year old is going into 10th grade, they often say, "Oh, well homeschooling is different." Does this mean 10th grade at home is easier than 10th grade in public school? (not) Or that being at home, it's easier to move at your own pace? (yes) Either way, I'm glad this is where we are. I hope each family out there finds the best possible educational option for themselves-- be it public, private, home, some combination of these, or something totally new.
Book recommendation of the day: Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. This book has NOTHING to do with the (stupid) movie that came out recently. It's a true story about a family in the 1920's with twelve very bright children and an energetic, loud, funny, time-saving father. (And only 10 miles from national headquarters!)
posted by Rebecca =) | 1:12 PM
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