The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [110]
Colfax, David and Micki. Homeschooling for Excellence. Warner, 1988.
The media fuss about their homeschooled sons going off to Harvard and the ensuing avalanche of requests for information prompted the Colfaxes to write this account of their approach to education, including specific book and equipment recommendations.
Colfax, David and Micki. Hard Times in Paradise. Warner, 1992.
Not strictly a homeschooling book, this often-funny account of how the Colfaxes came to homestead in the Mendocino mountains is an interesting look at homeschooling as just a part of everyday life.
Hailey, Kendall. The Day I Became an Autodidact. Dell/Delta, 1988.
This is a fascinating account of a year Hailey spent as an “autodidact”—teaching herself—after leaving high school early.
Lande, Nancy. Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days. Windy Creek, 1996.
These personal accounts from thirty different families give an idea of the range of possibilities homeschooling offers, though the volume is light on the less structured approaches.
Leistico, Agnes. I Learn Better by Teaching Myself and Still Teaching Ourselves. Holt, 1997.
Leistico’s two books, now in one volume, are personal accounts of her family’s approach to interest-initiated learning; they are encouraging for those who are nervous about letting their children take the responsibility for their own learning.
Llewellyn, Grace, ed. Freedom Challenge: African American Homeschoolers. Lowry House, 1996.
Fifteen black and multiracial families talk about why and how they homeschool and how their experiences compare with those of other homeschoolers; well worth reading for any and all homeschoolers.
Riley, Dan. The Dan Riley School for a Girl. Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
This is an unusual account of the author’s single year spent homeschooling his teenage daughter to remedy her lack of interest and her failing grades.
Wallace, Nancy. Better Than School. Larson, 1983.
Wallace, Nancy. Child’s Work. Holt, 1990.
These are possibly the best personal accounts of how unschooling works. Wallace recounts her children’s activities and also the struggle to have their approach to education accepted by doubtful school officials.
Legal and Social Issues
Arons, Stephen. Compelling Belief: The Culture of American Schooling. McGraw-Hill, 1983.
This is a provocative look at legal issues in American schooling and some of the seminal court decisions affecting American public and private education.
Arons, Stephen. Short Route to Chaos: Conscience, Community, and the Re-Constitution of American Schooling. University of Massachusetts Press, 1997.
Arons advocates educational reforms based on the idea that education is a matter of conscience, like religion, with effects on individual liberty and cultural diversity.
Deckard, Steve. Home Schooling Laws in All Fifty States. Deckard, biannual.
This includes summaries of laws and regulations concerning compulsory attendance and homeschooling, as well as reproductions of some states’ forms. Occasionally somewhat misleading because of frequent gaps between what the law says and how it is actually enforced.
Dobson, Linda. The Art of Education: Reclaiming Your Family, Community and Self. Holt, 1997.
Dobson talks about why conventional education no longer works well and how families can change things for the better.
Forer, Lois G. Unequal Protection: Women, Children, and the Elderly in Court. Norton, 1991.
Forer describes how legal efforts to “protect” children and others, despite the best intentions, often result in restricting their rights and failing to serve their needs.
Gatto, John T. Dumbing Us Down: The Invisible Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. New Society, 1992.
This is an impassioned, even inflammatory, collection of essays by an award-winning former public school teacher who now recommends independent study, community service, and plenty of opportunity to explore the real world as the best kind of education. Gatto’s description of what schools really teach, compared with what they say they teach, is scathing.