This is not surprising at all but KTAR is reporting more Arizonans are homeschooling because Governor Jane Brewer is destroying the states education system so as a parent you have to home school.  We of course have been homeschooling prior to Jane Brewer took office anyway but still it is getting much worse under her.

One parent in Phoenix decided to home school her four children because she was turned off by what she calls the “institutional nature” of schools.

“There’s so little flexibility in schools, and so ability to individualize education to the child,” one parent says.

“You learn to teach by teaching,” she added. “That’s just as true with someone who has a four year degree as it is with a Mom.”

The Daily Press also recently ran an article on homeschooling in general.

“I liked the idea and we tried it out,” she said. “I really didn’t know anyone who did it.”

One parent said she has many reasons to home school her children. She wanted to be the one influencing them and also wasn’t ready to give up the time with them when they turned school age. Flexibility was another factor.

“The beauty of home school is really that individualized instruction.” That really sums it all up.  You don’t have to work on someone’s scheduling doing what someone else wants you to do and not even being able to decide how you want to do it but told you must do zyx even if it makes more sense to do it xyz.

I found an interesting statistic that an estimated 1.5 million children are schooled at home in the United States, which is about 3 percent of the school-age population, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

I am not sure how accurate that is or how they got this data but 3% is more than I would have guessed.

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Samuel Burgos brought a toy gun to school last November in Broward County, Florida, the zero tolerance policy towards guns kicked in, and Samuel was suspended and then expelled.

In an interview with CNN correspondent John Zarrella, Samuel said that he was playing “army” with his friends one weekend, and he decided to hide the toy gun from his brother, so he placed it in his school bag. He went to school on Monday and said that he forgot he had the toy with him.

Samuel has been out of school for almost a year. His parents have claimed to be “home-schooling” him since he was expelled for bringing a clear plastic, spring-action toy gun to school, which fired plastic beads.

“He has been deprived of an education. My son made a mistake, and they kept him out a year,” said Samuel’s mother, Karen Burgos.

Samuel spends his days playing baseball and practicing his studies with his parents. He should be in third grade now, but he’s already missed most of second grade and may find himself two years behind by the time this he is able to find a school that will accept him according to Samuel’s mother.

If he is “home schooled” how is he going to be behind two years? Or is he just at home and “no schooled?”

The school needs to realize a toy gun is not a real gun and the standard zero tolerance policy towards real guns does not apply.

However it sounds like his parents have chosen not to send him to another district, charter, private school, and are hiding under the cloak of home schooling him as they fight his old school and sue them for monetary damages.

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Subway contest turns down home schooled children in their recent writing contest with their official contest rules stating “Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied (sic) States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.” As a parent of a home schooled preschooler, I find this strange. Scripps National Spelling Bee contest winner was a home schooled child and other contest winners have been home schoolers. I agree with many of the comments I have read about how simple it would have been to include home schoolers. In fact, as one parent mentioned, it would have been great media for Subway and home school if the winner was a home schooled child who donated the equipment to a charity, school, or park.I’d love to hear what other parents have to say out there. I actually love Subway sandwiches but this blatant disregard for home schooling makes me want to never have another one from them again.

Read full article here

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