...and other reasons to homeschool

I attended a small Christian school for kindergarten.

But I started late.

I was "held back" a year because of my September birthday. And from what I've been reading over the past week, I'm really glad my parents kept me back.

Since I had some downtime while out in California, I picked up Outliers. I've wanted to read it for a while now. Malcolm Gladwell has some pretty brilliant insights into the world. In this book, Gladwell points to--among other things--the inherent flaw in cut-off dates for school. Students who are on the young side of the early grades tend not to fare as well as those who have almost a year advantage. That's why some parents hold their children back for a year, so as to not handicap them from life. And, yes, Gladwell insists, the disadvantage does not go away with time.

I had an advantage, I guess, because when I finally started school, I was older than many of my classmates.

But then I had an even greater advantage: I got to start homeschooling.

Gladwell has his own solution to the problem. It involves starting school in three month shifts so that no student is too far behind developmentally than the others. And while I think his suggestion should be adopted in the school system, I have an even better idea: Start homeschooling.

Homeschooling overcomes just about every single potential barrier to success that Gladwell has covered thus far in his book.

In fact, while reading I jumped up from the couch and said, "Everything I read points to the benefits of homeschooling! This is crazy!"

So, for those of you already homeschooling: You're helping your children start off on the right foot toward success.

For those of you not yet homschooling, you should really consider it. Sonlight has prepared all the materials for you. Just check out our customizable complete programs. And if you need help figuring out which program will be best for you and your family, be sure to chat with a Sonlight Advisor on our website.

Homeschooling doesn't guarantee success. But from what I've been reading in Outliers, teaching your children at home provides many opportunities that make success possible.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

College tuition costs are huge. That's why scholarships are so helpful. I was awarded an academic scholarship as well as a small sports scholarship for swimming. That money ultimately paid for almost a complete year at my university. Talk about a major blessing!

Are there college scholarship opportunities for homeschoolers?

Well, I know there's at least one! Sonlight is giving away thirteen scholarships this year. These scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000 a year for up to four years of your college career.

You can apply for these scholarships if you have used at least five Sonlight Core programs over your homeschooling years. Access to these scholarships is just one more incredible benefit of using Sonlight as part of your homeschool journey.

Have a college bound graduate? You still have time to apply! All applications must be submitted by December 7, 2009. Click here for both Sonlight's scholarship application and the complete criteria.

Don't have a college bound student yet? You can listen to interviews with past scholarship winners on Sonlight's Speeches and Interviews page. Hearing from homeschoolers who have been so influential and successful is inspiring. Their accomplishments also underscore the fact that homeschooling really does work <smile>.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

I first bumped into Greg early in my Sonlight blogging career because someone linked to one of his anti-homeschool posts. Interested in hearing his dissenting opinion, I was even more pleased to discover that he was a huge anti-creationist as well.

I've been happily following him ever since.

And honestly, if you can get beyond the language that slips in--and pours out in the comments--it is fascinating to browse his posts. Like the one from yesterday about a common Christian lie. You've heard the chalk story, yes?

I've seen it pop up now and again across the blogosphere. It seems that people, and we Christians are no exception, really love to hear tales about how our side "wins" in this or that situation. But the Snopes article says it well, I think.

Chalk this one up as a charming parable, one not grounded in the facts as reported. It's David and Goliath in a classroom setting, the shaking-in-his-boots student taking on the ogre of non-belief in the form of a fearsome professor.

And I think it is important to keep this parable in the back of our minds as we listen to other things. What other lies are out there that we may be in danger of spreading?

Homeschooling allows us the unique opportunity to walk through these topics with our children. May we use these opportunities well!

Now, for something lighter from Greg: A very fun video about Auto-Tune. I know I've heard the sound before, but I didn't know the history. And, come on... this video has Weird Al in it. [NB: Obligatory notice: The video contains some pop-rapper-type video clips that contain women in typical pop-rapper-type apparel.]

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Brittany is a young mom. She has the common frustrations, fears and failures. The kids act up. She wonders if she's having a positive impact. She gets upset (but no more than her husband). Brittany currently has two little girls who try her patience, pick their noses and get incredibly excited when the rat takes a piece of hot dog from their hands. It's a fairly typical young family.

I mean, you have a pet rat. Right? Right?

And like most young families, these girls are learning at home. They're learning how to get dressed, how to not talk with their mouths full, how to identify shapes and colors, as well as how to play well with their sister.

But the fear lingers: Are the kids learning anything?

Brittany is happy to announce that, yes, yes they are! In fact, after many... many... many admonitions to keep her mouth closed while chewing, Brittany has seen some considerable improvement in the three year old. Brittany was so excited, she told me about it on the phone today.

This is home education.

And home education works.

Children all over the world learn how to tie their shoes, scribble pictures, count, sing, recognize shapes, identify animals and plants, attach significance to dates and so much more!

...all at home.

And that is why homeschooling is such a great option. Homeschooling is merely a natural continuation of something every parent does with the children they care for.

I've said all this before. But today I'm seeing it play out in my own house.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

One of my bloggy friends mentioned googling hate sonlight. And I thought, 'Hmm... I should write a blog post about the things that make Sonlight horrible so when people search for it, they hit my blog!' <Bwahahaha ha!>

Of course, those who have swung by my blog searching for "sonlight curriculum bad" only stuck around for 40 seconds.

So, please, before you close this tab, here are 27 Reasons NOT to Buy from Sonlight. The article contains a list of 27 things that make Sonlight a bad choice for your family. If you're looking for reasons to hate using Sonlight, 27 Reasons is the article for you.

What are the reasons I've heard? For your reading pleasure:

3 Reasons People Hate Sonlight:

1. I once chatted with a homeschooler--my age--who said that Sonlight was way too easy and it bored him. Not sure how that could be true, but I can't really argue with his experience. My guess is that he just didn't have a properly selected Core. If you need help choosing a Core that will best fit your family, chat with an Advisor (yes, it's free).
2. I've read several blog posts about how Sonlight brainwashes people and feeds them lies. Unfortunately, people on both sides of issues claim this. So Sonlight is probably more in the middle than is comfortable for some (see Reason 11).
3. Sonlight has way too much to do! This complaint is raised in Reason 6, so you should already know about it..

Bonus 4th Reason: And, of course, Sonlight costs money. That's because you get a hundred pounds of books and materials. And, well, that costs money. So that's not a good reason to hate Sonlight, but it is a legitimate complaint: When you buy lots of good stuff it costs money. I don't like it either.

What are some the reasons you've heard why people hate Sonlight?

Granted, I love Sonlight. But I know Sonlight's not for everyone.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Last night one of my friends mentioned that the director of Planned Parenthood had resigned and was now working for the Coalition for Life.

"Whoa! That's crazy," I said.

And a little misleading.

Turns out that it was a director of an abortion clinic in Texas.

Still... it's interesting. To me, at least.

First: Cool "win" for pro-lifers. So why haven't I seen this on the blogs? Have I just missed the ones that are talking about it?

Second: Lame "spin" that boarders on lying. Some small-time director had a change of heart. That's nice, but hardly earth-shattering. Is that why I'm not hearing about this more?

Third: Why can't I find any major news stations--or news websites--talking about this? I mean, KBTX isn't exactly nationally known... right?

So where is the spin and what is the cause of the silence?

And what do you make of this post?

How long do we have to wait before 20-20 hindsight starts to kick in? Or is that just a myth? What do we really know of history and how do we interpret it? What of people's motivations? And how do we get beyond our own biases and, as Simon and Garfunkel put it, seeing the things we want to see and disregarding the rest?

I just got the strange sensation that news reports are like textbooks. Somehow the presentation feels similar. The vignettes of solid facts that often lack emotion or, worse still, present a monochromatic world. I don't like that. That can't be the way things are.

And that's why I like the wild, emotional, conflicting world of blogs. This jumble of opinion and personal experience reminds me of the literature that made up my historical studies as a child. Granted, there are few blogs that match the literary quality of the award-winning books I experience because of Sonlight. But the human reality is similar. And I like that. What's more, I think more literary modes of presentation allow us to see more clearly what is spin and what is better left unsaid.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father