Homeschooling looked very different twenty-plus years ago. Sonlight pioneered the literature-rich homeschool curriculum movement. All that existed before were textbook based curricula. In fact, Sonlight's model was such a radical departure from accepted educational models, my mom wasn't even sure anyone else would be willing to try it.

So what are the cultural shifts I've noticed recently?

1. Suppliers
Today, there are many startup companies trying to capitalize on Sonlight's wildly successful approach to homeschooling. But it's not just literature-based programs anymore. You can now find suppliers of other varied approaches to education. This has allowed niches to form. More than that, it allows homeschoolers to find "their approach" within homeschooling.

2. Success
Homeschooling used to be counter-cultural. Homeschoolers had to fight to make homeschooling legal. Today, especially with the flood of anti-public school documentaries saturating the silver screen, homeschooling is seen by many as a far superior option. And a great option it is!

This incredible success has lead to a relaxing of the homeschool culture. Sure, we still wonder if our children are learning "enough," but given the other options, we begin to feel we needn't worry. I consider the rise of unschooling to be one of many indications of this.

3. Studies
Sonlight broke from traditional school environments by rejecting textbooks. The "living books" movement has had incredible success. The trend I see now, however, is a further break from educational models. It seems that homeschoolers are moving away from even a literature-based model toward programs with even less reading. "You don't need all those books," I hear. "Instead, just read these few, carefully selected ones."

4. Simplified
And so parents, it appears, want things even more simplified. While Sonlight's homeschool curriculum offers many of these benefits--more instruction and opportunities with less parental preparation--I think the pendulum is swigging back. Textbooks are dull and uninspiring because of how their information is presented. The life and reality of historical events is replaced with a more quickly covered paragraph summary. Worse, textbooks do not inspire conversation and discussion. Stories provide a spectrum of human experience to consider, talk about and apply. As the homeschool world shifts toward a more simplified and focused experience, I fear that depth will again be lost.

Sonlight's literature-based approach does more than just make information memorable and enjoyable. As you spend time reading with your children, you draw closer to them and they to you. You get to experience the joy of learning with them. Your whole family gets to revel in the beauty of a well-told story, and you build bounds through the shared experiences of the worlds you visit within your books.

The cultural shifts of more curriculum suppliers taking advantage of homeschooling's success has created a demand for more study options and a more simplified approach to education.

Where does that leave Sonlight? Where we've always been: Seeking to offer you the very best homeschool curriculum so you are able to love learning with your students through great literature and resources.

What do you think of my summary? Have I totally missed it? What shifts have you noticed in the culture homeschooling?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

The social media world is lighting up questions about homeschool curriculum. Perhaps it's the weather, the time of the year or just something in the water. Whatever it is, right now the hope and promise of the next school year is more exciting than the current one. And with this excitement come the questions:

"Which Core should I get for my students?"
"What's this homeschool program like?"
"Should I use this resource or that one?"
"What do you do about _______?"
"How would you modify this?"

The insights of homeschool moms are in high demand. I see people asking all over the internet: forums, Facebook, blogs. As the questions swirl around the World Wide Web, I'd like to share a few places where you can consistently get great advice about homeschooling:

1. Sonlight Homeschool Advisors
   Sonlight's Advisors are homeschool moms, not sales people. Advisors aren't a group of people sitting in a call center or office waiting to sell you stuff. Sonlight's Advisors are homeschool moms who make time in their day to answer your questions about homeschooling and homeschooling with Sonlight.
2. Homeschool Conventions
   It's no coincidence that the convention season begins around now. This is the time you want answers, so this is time to provide them. Homeschool moms from all over the nation (and even one or two internationally) lug their boxes of Sonlight stuff to conventions to show you what Sonlight is like. They answer your questions, show you the materials and then make themselves available as a resource for you throughout the year.
3. Virtual Booth
   The Virtual Booth is my baby. I poured a lot of time and effort into this tool. You can get the basics of a convention booth before you take the effort and time to visit one. You can poke around a Sonlight convention booth, get lots of foundational information, and find some fantastic resources without moving form your spot right now. And the two "hosts" of the Virtual Booth? Also homeschool moms.

If you're looking for advice from homeschool moms for your upcoming homeschool year, we've got you covered. Chat with an Advisor. Find a homeschool convention. Or swing by the Virtual Booth.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

You make decisions on a daily basis that radically influence the lives of those around you. Your choice in schedule, rations, workloads and emphasis rivals that of any corporate executive. You may not feel like your life is a well-oiled machine but, with all the balls you keep in the air, you're doing great. ...mixed metaphors and all.

When I was young, I believed that leaders possessed a certain special something that enabled them to stand out in a crowd. As I've witnessed people over the years, that view has shifted. People like to be told what to do, what to think, what the right answer is. There are many areas of my own life where I'm happy to let someone else do the research, filter the details and give me the summary. I don't want to be responsible to know all that. And, in most cases, I don't have time anyway. But in those areas where I feel a certain level of proficiency, a modicum of mastery, I gladly share my take.

Leadership, then, isn't being someone or something special. Leadership is stepping up and deciding, directing and taking responsibility.

You do that every day.

While much of the rest of the world leaves the decisions about their child's education and daily interactions to others, you have bucked the trend. Certainly there are areas where you still take the advice and insight of others--your homeschool curriculum, for example. But in the practical outplay of your day, the buck stops with you.

You are a leader.

What sets you apart from the rest of the world in this area is that you have been willing to take responsibility and make decisions.

The world needs more people like you.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

P.S. I totally understand the pressure to "get it right" when you realize that people are letting you make the choice. It still rattles me a little when someone here at Sonlight lets me make the final call. If, like all great leaders, you'd like some insights and answers from someone who has gone before you, please feel free to contact a Sonlight Advisor. These homeschool moms will be happy to answer your questions and offer you their expertise as you make important curriculum decisions.

"I'm giving up. I can't do this anymore."

The words barely echo the true hurt and frustration. Another homeschooler is experiencing burnout or worse. Life has conspired to cripple this individual, and in a last resort of cathartic expression a blog post is born.

Moved, I click over from my RSS Reader; only to discover the post has been removed. The internet remembers, even what we'd like to forget. I have, through the power of technology, caught a glimpse into a scribbled out experience of life. The blog author has "taken back" what they wrote. But what I don't know--and rarely ever see--is why the post was deleted. Did they feel too vulnerable? Did they realize they were merely feeling overwhelmed last night? Did they discover something that made them change their mind about the whole thing? And why, I wonder, did they publicly post it in the first place if they now feel it no longer appropriate to share?

I am well-acquainted with change. We update Sonlight every year, seeking ways to better serve you. This means that every year you benefit from what we've learned in the past. On the other hand, change is hard, and it can be incredibly frustrating too. In fact, we list our yearly curriculum updates as one of the reasons you may not want to buy from Sonlight. We make the changes and move forward. So I know things disappear and are replaced with new ideas and thoughts.

But "ghost posts" are different. They indicate some change in thinking. And it makes me curious: Why the change?

Have you ever bumped into a deleted blog post? Have you ever removed one of your own? What changed your mind?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

"The culture there assumes it's your responsibility to keep things locked up. It's not someone else's responsibility to not take your stuff."

We were discussing, over lunch yesterday, the ideas summarized by Vishal Mangalwadi. One of my co-workers shared about her experience studying in South America. The culture of theft was just one of the radical differences there from what we experience here in the US.

Then, as I stood in the shower this morning, three key ideas suddenly clicked together. Here's my thesis: Piracy has created a culture of theft in the United States and, just as "adult entertainment" has completely changed, the digital revolution demands of us a higher level of holiness.

I'm sure you're aware of the ways the internet has changed the face of the "adult" industry. It is no longer required to go to a seedy part of the city and physically purchase a dirty magazine. Now, from the comfort of your favorite computer chair, you can obtain just about any kind of "adult" material you may be interested in... for free. And, as virtual worlds continue to claw their way into reality, Huxley's Brave New World of the Feelies inches closer. "How are men going to remain faithful to their wives in such a world?" one of my coworkers asked.

"The solution," I was quick to propose, "is to become more holy. Unfortunately, you can't legislate holiness and it's not easy. But these advancements in technology are forcing us to become more like Christ."

The internet--coupled with digital delivery--has made piracy a common practice as well. Right now, I could find just about any song I could imagine online. With a little more effort, I could have it on my computer. It's little wonder, then, that I get questions every week from Sonlight students asking about the legality of copying music. If you can find this stuff on major legal sites, how can it be illegal/wrong?

Well, teenagers aren't the only ones discussing this topic. John August recently blogged about sheet music piracy and both his post and the fascinating original article have been flooded with comments on both sides of this issue.

Here's what struck me this morning: The arguments often boil down to a fundamental disagreement over responsibility. Is it your responsibility to keep your stuff locked up, or my responsibility to not take your stuff?

Yes, just as we could argue about the complexities of obscene materials on the internet, we could go around and around with the issues surrounding digital copyright law. But as I stood under the hot running water of my shower--something my coworker did not have when she lived in South America--everything clicked:

I'd rather not live in a culture of theft.

Talk to your kids about being Christ-like and piracy.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

P.S. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm happy to share what I know and think about this issue if you have specific questions. This is important because your children are growing up in a world where their morality is the only thing between them and an endless stream of instantly accessible sin. It's much easier to practice being like Christ in the little things right now.

You are a one man band.

...so to speak. I realize you are probably not in a band and most of my readers are female. The band man thing is a metaphor. As a homeschool mom (parent), you do most of the teaching on your own. The common critique of such a system--by those with a different educational model--is that you can't possibly be proficient enough to compete with a "professional educator" who is armed with an educational degree and tends to teach but one subject... a subject said educator has "emphasized" in their formal studies.

My formal college studies involved a general overview of filmmaking. I didn't "emphasize" a single aspect of filmmaking. I never took a course on cinematography or lighting. I didn't have a class dedicated to sound design or animation. No one taught me how to color correct a sequence or normalize an audio file. I've had to constantly teach myself the ins and outs of web compression as they change from year to year. I am the epitome of the one man band filmmaker. If it needs to be done, I need to make it happen.

Am I limited? Absolutely. I wasn't able to have a monster shot I needed for Sonlight Field. I don't have a studio where I can control the lighting and sound of my productions. I have to get people who really don't want to be on camera to look great. My mom is a good sport, letting me force her to be in my videos. And I've been quite successful at getting people to agree to be on tape <smile>.

But am I ever going to be on the same level as Hollywood?

No.

And that's okay. I have incredible flexibility and control over what I produce, when I produce it, and how I go about it. I don't require budgets of millions of dollars. I get to learn new things on a regular basis. I am free of the political and moral nastiness of "the industry." And what I create just so happens to bring joy to thousands of families all over the world.

Not bad for a one man band.

As a homeschool mom, you have incredible flexibility to teach your children in a way that benefits them the best. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars per student each year (even if it may feel like that sometimes <smile>). You get to learn new things. You are free of the political and moral issues surrounding "the industry." And what you do also brings joy and meaning to you children who will ultimately have the opportunity to spread that throughout the world.

Not bad for a one man band.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester