Nail Clippers for Weasels

That is why I have fiddled with Blogger's code and finally figured out how to make Anonymous's comments no longer show up on a post's main page. They will still be in the "Post a Comment" section until I delete them, but at least my blog's posts will be cleaner. Now, on with the post!

All Things Being Equal, Who's Best?

I was forwarded a link to the August, 2009 NHERI findings summary. There are some interesting stats, but one idea really caught my attention:

There are no statistically significant differences in achievement by whether the student has been home educated all his or her academic life [or] whether the student is enrolled in a full-service curriculum...

There are [marginally] statistically significant differences in achievement among homeschool students when classified by ...amount of money spent on education, ...degree of structure in the homeschooling, [and] amount of time student spends in structured learning...

In other words: It looks like it doesn't much matter what curriculum you use or for how long.

At first that stung. I really want to be able to tell everyone that Sonlight is the shining difference in the homeschool marketplace. I would love it if the study had said, "Students who use Sonlight far and away out-perform their peers." But that's not what the data show.

Thanks for bursting my bubble.

But then I thought about it more: So what? This actually reinforces something I've said over and over again, "Homeschooling is a great option!" And Sonlight, Sonlight is one of the really great options; not because your students will suddenly become smarter, more gifted, test better, achieve great things or outshine their peers. Sonlight is a great option because of the very thing we guarantee:

You will love to teach and your students will love to learn with Sonlight, or your money back.

Your educational outcome will be more-or-less on par with other excellent homeschool results. Sonlight won't be what makes your students succeed. But Sonlight will provide you with a homeschooling experience that you and your family will love.

And if all other things are equal, that's a really big deal.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

P.S. I don't know much about weasel nail clippers, but I do have a bit of experience with trimming rat teeth. Not very much fun. Thanks, Mrs. C, for this blog's title.